Why sad music can make you happy
As humans we spend most of our lives trying our best not to be sad, so why do we listen to sad music? According to a new article from the NY Times, we may enjoy it because it actually makes us experience positive emotions. From the article:
We found, as anticipated, that felt emotion did not correspond exactly to perceived emotion. Although the sad music was both perceived and felt as “tragic” (e.g., gloomy, meditative and miserable), the listeners did not actually feel the tragic emotion as much as they perceived it. Likewise, when listening to sad music, the listeners felt more “romantic” emotion (e.g., fascinated, dear and in love) and “blithe” emotion (e.g., merry, animated and feel like dancing) than they perceived.
Read more at NY Times.
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Last Row is a weekly music podcast for the fans in the back, with no prior music bona fides required for entry. From up-and-coming artists and new songs to good music videos and bad live shows, we'll be talking about it all from our vantage point in, where else, the last row. -
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