Sad music can provide enjoyment, comfort or pain depending on the listener, new research has revealed.
The joint study from researchers at Durham University and the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, said their findings could have implications for how music therapy and rehabilitation could help people’s moods.
Writing in the PLOS ONE scientific journal, researchers said listening to sad music led to feelings of pleasure related to enjoyment of the music in some people, or feelings of comfort where sad music evoked memories in others.
However, a significant number also said they experienced painful emotions relating to the death of a loved one, breakup or divorce.
Lead researcher Professor Tuomas Eerola, professor of Music Cognition in the Department of Music, said: ‘Previous research in music psychology and film studies has emphasised the puzzling pleasure that people experience when engaging with tragic art.
‘However, there are people who absolutely hate sad-sounding music and avoid listening to it. In our research, we wanted to investigate this wide spectrum of experiences that people have with sad music, and find reasons for both listening to and avoiding that kind of music.
‘The results help us to pinpoint the ways people regulate their mood with the help of music, as well as how music rehabilitation and music therapy might tap into these processes of comfort, relief, and enjoyment.
‘The findings also have implications for understanding the paradoxical nature of enjoyment of negative emotions within the arts and fiction.’
Visit the University of Durham’s website for more information on the study.
The joint study from researchers at Durham University and the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, said their findings could have implications for how music therapy and rehabilitation could help people’s moods.
Writing in the PLOS ONE scientific journal, researchers said listening to sad music led to feelings of pleasure related to enjoyment of the music in some people, or feelings of comfort where sad music evoked memories in others.
However, a significant number also said they experienced painful emotions relating to the death of a loved one, breakup or divorce.
Lead researcher Professor Tuomas Eerola, professor of Music Cognition in the Department of Music, said: ‘Previous research in music psychology and film studies has emphasised the puzzling pleasure that people experience when engaging with tragic art.
‘However, there are people who absolutely hate sad-sounding music and avoid listening to it. In our research, we wanted to investigate this wide spectrum of experiences that people have with sad music, and find reasons for both listening to and avoiding that kind of music.
‘The results help us to pinpoint the ways people regulate their mood with the help of music, as well as how music rehabilitation and music therapy might tap into these processes of comfort, relief, and enjoyment.
‘The findings also have implications for understanding the paradoxical nature of enjoyment of negative emotions within the arts and fiction.’
Visit the University of Durham’s website for more information on the study.
