SAD MUSIC MONTH - Part 2:

Why Do We Like Sad Music?

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Saturday 27/02/21

Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

It almost doesn’t make sense that sad music is so popular; why would we want to listen to something upsetting? Some people may be attracted to sad lyrics in songs as they can relate them to something negative in their lives. Having our feelings acknowledged by our musical heroes can remind us that we’re not alone in our struggles, which can make us feel better when we’re on a low.

I do this a lot. A couple of years ago I put my own private meaning to Car Radio by Twenty One Pilots, and hearing Tyler Joseph’s incredibly emotive vocal performance (especially the screaming at the peak of the song) influenced me to further explore the reasons I wasn’t happy in my life, which in turn has helped me begin to let go of things that were holding me back in my personal and professional development.

That massive, blubbering over share actually brings me to my next point. The emotiveness of vocal performance is a key aspect of why we love sad music. In 1995 Jaak Panksepp published a research article in the journal ‘Music Perception’ about the roots of our emotional reactions to music. His theory was that vocalists who distort their voices while singing sad lyrics could be provoking physical as well as emotional responses in audiences. The physical response he is referring to is described as 'chills’, a reaction that comes from deep within our subconscious (Panksepp, 1995).

So deep that vocal performances in songs like Numb (Linkin Park) and Rolling in the Deep (Adele) can be linked to our ancestral distress calls, triggering listeners emotionally and getting them invested in the music.

So far, it appears that lyrics do add some weight to the reasons we like sad music - however a fascinating study by the psychologist, Dr Shaden Denise Sousou revealed that sad lyrics had very little impact on listeners. She played participants songs with sad lyrics but happy sounding melodies. The lyrics of said songs were in an unfamiliar language to the participants and after hearing the songs in a different language they heard them again in their native tongue. As predicted by Sousou in her hypothesis the participants reported feeling happy, despite being aware of the anguish of the lyrics (Sousou, 1997). One of my favourite examples of an upbeat song with sad lyrics is Candi Staton’s, 'Young Hearts Run Free'. Its happy, disco beat and catchy melodies distract from the lyrics about being unable to “break away” from an abusive relationship. I only learned this recently despite having played the song at a wedding reception!

Overall, we aren’t going to listen to music that we don’t enjoy in some respect, and we’ll put our own meanings to sad lyrics or simply focus on the music to get what we want out of the songs we like. It’s up to us as listeners to choose what we take away from sad music because for pretty much every emotionally negative situation, there’s a song out there to match it - for us to cry to, ruminate over or just dance away the feelings.

What’s your favourite sad song and why do you love it? Let me know in the comments and keep your eyes out for my next blog about the benefits and risks of sad music.

-Will.

References:

• Panksepp, J. (1995). 'The emotional sources of "chills" induced by music'. Music Perception. 13(2), 171-201.
  

• Sousou, S.D. (1997). 'Effects of Melody and Lyrics on Mood and Memory', Perceptual and Motor Skills. 85: 21-40