What role does sad music play in happiness?
When it comes to emotions, sad music is commonly associated with a seemingly obvious one: sadness. However, many people claim that sad music actually makes them feel happier. This raises a few questions: Why do we derive pleasure from sad music? What kinds of audiences seek happiness through it? And, lastly, how can sad music be used to increase one’s overall happiness in life? One researcher who has addressed these questions is music and psychology scholar Sandra Garrido, who breaks down some of her research in her TED Talk entitled “Why Do We Like Sad Music?” She places the people who listen to sad music into three categories based on what they experience: absorption (immersion in the sounds), reflection (processing of emotions and experiences), and rumination (unintentionally worsening depression) [1]. She particularly emphasizes that sad music can be dangerous to an already depressed person [2].
However, although Garrido’s three categories of absorption, reflection, and rumination do hold some truth, they do not encapsulate the entire spectrum of what draws people to sad music; elements of catharsis, relatability, and energy levels are also significant reasons as to why many people listen to sad music, including those with depression. Through the pathways of not just absorption and reflection, but also catharsis, relatability, and matching energy, people are capable of deriving pleasure from sad music to increase their life’s happiness.
Reasons for the enjoyment of sad music differ based on the individual. However, responses that correlate with several of the aforementioned categories can be found in both interviews with musicians themselves and regular music listeners. I conducted a survey of 40 regular music listeners between the ages of 16 to 22 entitled, “How Do You Feel About Sad Music?” Among several questions on the topic of sad music and its effect on respondents’ personal happiness, one question was simply if, and why, they enjoy sad music. One respondent to the survey said, “I enjoy experiencing an emotional response to good music, even if that means sadness” [3]. Similarly, in an interview with Nylon, when asked why sad music makes her feel better, notoriously “sad” singer and songwriter Phoebe Bridgers (Listen: “Funeral”) responded, “…because I’d rather feel something than nothing,” and stated that, “Music that changes your mood is like alchemy for your feelings” [4]. These perspectives speak to the element of absorption, or immersion in the emotions of the music that is so intense, it alters one’s own emotions. Bridgers’ statement also provides one possible explanation for why people with depression may choose to listen to sad music; Bridgers herself struggles with depression, and the concept of wanting to feel “something” rather than “nothing” is a common response to depression, which can often have an emotionally numbing effect on the brain that people seek to escape [5]. When asked the same question as Bridgers, singer-songwriter Nandi Rose, who uses the stage name Half Waif (Listen: “Torches”), responded:
Listening to sad music when you’re sad is a mirror, and we all love to be seen. It’s like shouting into a canyon and hearing your own voice echoing back — there’s undeniably something lonely about the sound, but there’s also a comfort and relief in having that which is familiar returned to you. Maybe it’s also a way of taking ownership of an emotion that often leaves us feeling a loss of control [6].
Rose’s response demonstrates how powerful both the catharsis and relatability of sad music can be; the imagery of “shouting into a canyon” brings to mind the idea of catharsis and releasing one’s emotions out into the open, and while she acknowledges that listening to it can feel “lonely,” the “comfort and relief in having that which is familiar returned to you” shows that because the music is relatable, this process of catharsis through listening to sad music ultimately leads to a sensation of feeling better [7].
These sentiments were echoed by several of the individual responses to my survey of regular music listeners. When asked to describe how sad songs make them feel in three words, one respondent said, “validated, relatable, connected,” and another said, “wistful, emotional, connected.” Another — placing their words in a seemingly intentional order — said, “sad, cathartic, better,” and yet another said, “aware, alive, human”. These responses further demonstrate the common emotions that listeners experience through sad music; not only are they able to have their feelings validated and expressed through the songs, but they also experience a sense of connection to other listeners, to the artists, and to their own sense of humanity because of the feelings evoked by sad music.
A study entitled “The Paradox of Music-Evoked Sadness: An Online Survey” reveals the more complex emotions and pleasurable effects that contribute to the enjoyment of sad music. One particularly interesting finding has to do with who is drawn to sad music: although “relatively few studies” have been conducted on the correlation between personality and the tendency to listen to sad music, the study states that people with more empathic tendencies in their personality are more likely to gravitate towards sad music [9]. A possible psychological explanation for this is the brain’s production of prolactin, a hormone that is typically released to have a consoling effect on the brain when experiencing sadness [10]. When a listener hears the indications of “sad acoustic voice” in music, such as lower pitch, slow tempo, and a darker timbre, prolactin is synthesized and released from the pituitary gland, evoking the calming, consoling effect of the hormone [11]. In fact, tears themselves involved in a cathartic, “good cry” contain prolactin [12]. It is possible that because more empathic people are more likely to feel the effects of others’ emotions, they are also more likely to be impacted by the emotions in sad music, and therefore release higher concentrations of prolactin, leading to a comforting, “rewarding” feeling that they are inclined to return to [13].
In addition to those with a higher tendency towards empathy, sad music also attracts people who, arguably, struggle to be happy: those dealing with depression. As mentioned earlier, Sandra Garrido attributes this to “rumination,” or a desire to wallow in a depressive state [14]. This certainly is true for some people struggling with depression; in response to my survey of regular music listeners, one participant reported that sad songs make them feel “depressed,” “lonely,” and “worse.” However, although this perspective is valid, rumination is not the only thing that makes sad music attractive to people with depression. In a study conducted on people with Major Depressive Disorder, or MDD, participants were shown clips of happy music (“Track 8” by Jay Hannah), neutral music (“Pickles” by Edgar Meyer), and sad music (“Adagio for Strings” by Samuel Barber), and asked to choose which they preferred to listen to [15]. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the majority of MDD participants chose the sad clips; however, their self-reported reasoning was that the sad music was more low-energy than the other options. Therefore, the sad music was not attractive to them because of its inherent emotion; instead, not only was it calming to them, but matched their own low energy levels that MDD can cause. In this case, their depression was not worsened by the sad music, but rather the opposite; it helped them to feel soothed, calm, and at peace [16].
The “sad” song used in this experiment, Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings,” is considered to be “one of the most solemn and evocative pieces of American music,” and arguably encapsulates several of the elements of sad music mentioned in this essay [17]. Since its radio debut in 1938, the song has been used at several large publicly broadcasted events, such as the funerals of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Leonard Bernstein, to both move and console the audience. In an interview with NPR, music commentator, pianist, and composer Rob Kapilow comments on the strong sense of catharsis in the piece: “It starts from incredible sadness, builds to an incredible climax of intensity, and then finally reaches a kind of serene acceptance, which is completely appropriate for those occasions” [18]. He breaks down these segments of the song and explains that they are a “clearly calculated” expression of emotion, beginning with the first note, followed by a “three notes up, three notes up again” melody [19]:
(Play until 0:24)
After this melody plays three times, it is then followed by a climax in which two versions of the melody overlap themselves. At its peak, the first note of the song is repeated “in full force,” which Kapilow describes as “the most naked expression of emotion possible” [21]:
(Play 5:25–5:53)
The piece then returns to a shortened version of the melody that slows, bringing the piece to its “acceptance” segment [22]:
(Play 7:25–7:50)
Kapilow describes the emotional experience of the audience at the end of the piece:
We can’t emote any longer. Then we hear that final note for a split second, and then that chord is taken as the only possible resolution. We would have never dreamed that this is where acceptance lies.
This build-up and climax, followed by “serene acceptance,” shows both the catharsis and reflection that the song provokes [23]. Kapilow notes that the song’s slow tempo, a distinctive feature of sad music, is essential to creating these experiences because “acceptance is not a rapid process” [24]. In the case of “Adagio,” the presence of these emotions in the piece is particularly notable because the song has not just had this effect in a few individuals, but rather large groups of people, in such a way that has left a lasting historical legacy for being a song that can help with mass healing from tragedy.
The elements of absorption, reflection, catharsis, relatability, and energy levels have the ability to make listening to sad music a pleasurable and meaningful experience. Depending on the listener, sad music can become a variety of things: an immersive escape from reality, a tool with which to process emotions, a device through which to express those emotions, a reminder of the connectedness of the human experience, or a calming presence when experiencing emotional lows. Through experiencing sad music in these many forms, listeners can use it to connect with others and to increase the happiness and meaning in their own lives. This occurs on a deeply personal level, as shown by the various interview and survey responses, on a scientific and psychological level, as shown by the studies of prolactin and people struggling with MDD, and also on a collective level, as demonstrated by Kapilow’s dissection of “Adagio for Strings.” By examining these studies and individual experiences, it is evident that sad music can do a great deal more than just evoke sadness: it can benefit one’s overall life happiness.
Endnotes
- Sandra Garrido, “Why Do We Like Sad Music?,” TEDxSydney (May 2016), 6’35”-55”
https://tedxsydney.com/talk/why-do-we-like-sad-music-sandra-garrido/
2. Garrido, 5’45”-57”
3. “How Do You Feel About Sad Music?” was shared via SurveyMonkey and asked participants the following questions: “Using three words, describe your music taste in terms of mood.” “Do you consider yourself someone who enjoys ‘sad’ songs? Why or why not?” “Are you someone who cries to sad music?” “Describe how ‘sad’ music makes you feel in three words.” “Do you typically find that you feel better or worse after listening?” “Would you say that your taste in music plays a significant role in your life?” “Would you say that your music taste has a positive, negative, or neutral impact on your overall happiness in life?”
4. Lauren McCarthy, “Why Does Sad Music Make You Happy?,” Nylon (Nylon, May 18, 2020), https://www.nylon.com/life/why-does-sad-music-make-you-happy.
5. McCarthy, “Why Does Sad Music Make You Happy?”
6. McCarthy, “Why Does Sad Music Make You Happy?”
7. McCarthy, “Why Does Sad Music Make You Happy?”
8. “Hiking the Grand Canyon: 800 Miles of Magic and Misery.” National Geographic. Accessed December 10, 2021. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/graphics/grand-canyon-national-parks-interactive-map.
9. Liila Taruffi and Stefan Koelsch, “The Paradox of Music-Evoked Sadness: An Online Survey,” PLOS ONE 9, no. 10, (October 20, 2014), 2, DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0110490
10. David Huron, “Why Is Sad Music Pleasurable? A Possible Role for Prolactin,” Musicae Scientiae 15, no. 2 (July 2011), 146, DOI: 10.1177/1029864911401171
11. Huron, 149
12. Huron, 151
13. Taruffi and Koelsch, 15
14. Garrido, 4’19”-29”
15. S. Yoon, E. Verona, R. Schlauch, S. Schneider, and J. Rottenberg, “Why do depressed people prefer sad music? Emotion., 20, 615
16. Yoon, Verona, Schlauch, Schneider, and Rottenberg, 619
17. “Barber’s ‘Adagio’: Naked Expression of Emotion,” NPR, [Page #], accessed March 9, 2010, https://www.npr.org/2010/03/09/124459453/barbers-adagio-naked-expression-of-emotion.
18. “Barber’s ‘Adagio’”
19. “Barber’s ‘Adagio’”
20. “Adagio for Strings — Youtube,” accessed December 10, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlbcXgMb9Is.
21. “Barber’s ‘Adagio’”
22. “Barber’s ‘Adagio’”
23. “Barber’s ‘Adagio’”
24. “Barber’s ‘Adagio’”