The Appeal of Sad Music

CEBU, Philippines — Perhaps everybody understands the role of music in human life.

The curious thing is why sad music appeals to many people, if not most people.

Even those who swear to have ears only for happy music would have times when sad tunes would fit in just fine, when they are in sad moods and negative situations.

Well, music – happy or sad – helps in validating human emotions. But sad music works better in providing solace, in aiding reflection and relaxation, and even in providing rewarding emotional experiences. Sad sound tends to make the person keep in touch with his or her innermost feelings.

Listening to sad music might be particularly helpful when people are experiencing negative life events, according to Nathan A. Helflick, Ph.D., at www.psychologytoday.com. After happiness, Helflick points out, sadness is the most common emotion attributed to music. But while sad music may work for psychologically healthy people who are also more likely to apply healthy coping strategies, depressed individuals and ruminators use sad music both adaptively and maladaptively.

Recent research provides intense focus on the reasons why sad music is so popular. Helflick cites study findings where many people report that they choose to listen to sad music when experiencing sadness, and after experiencing negative events. A range of motivations bring this tendency on.

Sad music has also been shown to provide support when people are experiencing negative life events, as it enables the expression, identification, and understanding of the situation. In turn, it aids the experience of consolation, and, ultimately, acceptance coping.

In its first week of release in the U.S., Adele’s latest album, 25, sold more than 3 million copies. An Adele song, as most of you undoubtedly know, can be a real tearjerker. So then what is the appeal of her music?

Few people, if any, would choose depression over joy. Then why is sad music as popular as – or even more popular than – happy music? Functionalist approaches to emotion argue that people will generally prefer positive moods, but will seek out negative mood states to the extent to which they think the emotions might be useful in achieving a goal.

For instance, while people generally want to be calm more than they want to be angry, studies show that people will choose to watch an anger-inducing video – and more frequently than a calmness-inducing video – if they think that anger will help them in an argument later. Besides, such emotionally intense stimuli provide a harmless release of anxious or aggressive emotions.

Also, humans being sentimentalists by nature, sad music is perceived as more aesthetically beautiful than happy music.

Another study has found that people generally have a strong preference for happy music over sad music, but that this preference flips during or when people are seeking solace from a difficult life situation. Respondents in the study associate listening to sad music with increased acceptance, a state in which people feel like they can come to terms with a problem and its associated negative emotions, and move on. That is, in contrast to denial of the negative emotions, or emotional suppression, listening to sad music allows people to feel these emotions – to relate with the lyrics of a sad song, for example – and, in turn, reflect on their situation and ultimately come to a greater acceptance of it.

David Nield, at www.sciencealert.com, mentions a new study that sheds light on what’s going on inside the brain when a person matches music to his feelings. It looks like sad music can be enjoyable – rather than simply depressing – because it triggers positive memories that can help to lift the mood. Melancholic songs tend to elicit feelings of pleasure, comfort, and pain. According  to Nield, often these reactions are triggered by happy or sad memories recalled by the music.

Psychologist Adrian North from Curtin University in Australia says that there are two groups of possible explanations for why people enjoy listening to sad music: one from social psychology, and one from cognitive neuroscience.

In terms of social psychology, people feel better about themselves if they focus on someone who’s doing even worse, a well-known process known as downward social comparison. Everything’s going to be okay, because someone else is having an even worse day than one has. Another hypothesis from social psychology is that people like to listen to music that mirrors the tone of their current life circumstances – the songs act as a sort of tuning fork for people’s own situations.

On the side of neuroscience and the chemical processes actually going on inside people’s minds, some scientists think melancholy music is linked to the hormone prolactin, a chemical which helps to curb grief. The body is essentially preparing itself to adapt to a traumatic event, and when that event doesn’t happen, the body is left with a pleasurable mix of opiates with nowhere else to go.

Listening to music releases dopamine – a neurotransmitter associated with food, sex, and drugs – at certain emotional peaks, and it’s also possible that this is where people get the pleasure from listening to sad tunes. Also, it is believed that sadness is handled differently by the mind when a person experiences it through art rather than first-hand: example: a tearjerker movie, a poignant song, or a tragic painting.

Some research points to a melancholy temperament leading to works of art that are more appealing. Arguably, sadness seems to make people more focused and diligent, which could affect listening to as well as creating music. There is such a thing called “pleasant sadness.” There is a place for sadness, and indeed all negative emotions, in a meaningful, happy life.