A study has revealed why people choose to listen to this type of music. Here are the details.
The music It is an element that accompanies us throughout our lives, whether in good or bad times. Songs are capable of transmitting well-being, impacting human life. Although in everyday life we try to avoid sadnessthere is also a art to enjoy the emotion. Based on this logic, several studies have been carried out that lead to different hypotheses.
For some, sad music deepens and amplifies feelings of pain; to others it only produces melancholia and others, the moves them and gives them pleasure. Yale University philosopher and experimental psychologist, Dr. Joshua Knobeconducted a study that was published in The Journal of Aesthetic Education. It revealed that people do not listen to sad songs to fall into that feeling.
sad music
The Incredible Effect of Sad Music on Our Mind
Knobe and his team conducted an experiment that was divided into two parts. In the first, 400 participants were asked to mark as “good” or “bad” some songs. This music, which was not of the best quality but expressed great feelingshad a good reception from the members.
But this was already proven. A study published in the Journal of Popular Music Studies carried out a analysis of the lyrics and feelings expressed in the most popular songs on the Billboard Hot 100 list between 1951 and 2016, which reflects the songs most chosen and listened to by listeners. This revealed that themes of sadness or fear have been increasing over the years in the songs.
“This automatic sentiment analysis of 6150 songs shows clear and statistically significant changes “in the feelings expressed through the lyrics of popular music, generally towards a more negative tone. The results show that anger, disgust, fear, sadness and conscientiousness have increased significantly, while joy, trust and openness expressed in the lyrics of pop songs have decreased,” the researchers said.
And from there the doubt arose why this phenomenon occurred.
In the second part of the study, another 450 different participants were asked to value the connection they felt in a hypothetical conversation. For example: “A person you know is telling you about his or her week and expresses feelings of sadness.” Participants generally rated the Conversations about deep feelings were more desirablelike the pain of losing someone.
The study revealed that music behaves in the same way: as a dialogue between two people“It’s not the feeling of sadness that’s important in the song, but its ability to create a connection,” Knobe said.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
