We give examples that show how to use them . And sometimes we explain where they come from . Today , our expression comes from music . A chord is three or more musical notes sounded at the same time . The word “strike ” means to hit . But when we play a note on a musical instrument , we can also say we struck a note . So , our expression for today is to strike a chord . In its most general definition , to strike a chord means something relates to you somehow . It resonates with you . If something strikes a chord with you , it is familiar to you in some way , for better or for worse . Something can strike a positive chord . It is familiar to you in a good way . It creates good feelings or thoughts . For example , a love song struck a deep chord with James . It is the song he sang to his wife at their wedding . Or maybe the song was playing on the radio when she left him . In that case , the song would strike a negative chord with James . Here are some other examples . A teacher's advice can strike a responsive chord with students . And a politician's speech can strike a sympathetic chord with voters . Those two words – sympathetic and responsive – are commonly used with this expression . You might hear people say something “struck a familiar chord .” But to me , this sounds a bit unnecessary . If something strikes a chord , it means it is familiar in some way . So , we don't need to add the word “familiar ” to the expression . But I have heard it used that way before . Maybe it means something is really familiar . Sometimes we use to strike a chord this way : If something creates strong feelings or thoughts , it strikes a chord . And that “something ” could be unfamiliar to the person . Here is another situation where we use this expression : If something strikes a chord with you , you approve of it . You agree with it . For example , during the election the politician's position on the economy and jobs must have struck a chord with voters because she won easily . Let's talk for a minute about sentence structure . If you look back at our examples , most if not all of them use the word “with " – with James , with students , with voters . But you can use this expression without the word “with .” In this way , “strike a chord ” means it caused a strong emotional reaction to something . For example , that movie must have really struck a chord . Everyone came out of the theater crying . Hopefully learning English continues to strike a chord with all of you … a positive one !