To be sad nobody wants, and nevertheless humans expose themselves to
intentionally sad music again and again. Which sounds paradoxically, is quite
meaningful: If gloomy sounds help to adjust negative feelings a study shows.
“Make not such a sad face”, guess/advise we our colleague, or “smile once
again”. Who is over long time sad and depressed, needs every now and then even
psychological advice. Its something negative, something, which one does not
want, is sad. Why thus do humans hear voluntarily sad music and for it even much
money give out to visit in order a concert?
Liila Taruffi and Stefan Koelsch of the free University of Berlin wanted to know
more exactly, what is behind the phenomenon and have 772 humans from different
culture areas online to their music preferences asked. The men and women should
in 76 questions and in music-free environment to information give, as gladly
they which music generally hear, which song it in which tendency to prefer and
as her thereby to feel in each case.
“Sad music causes a large range of complex feelings, which can be also positive
in parts”, explain Koelsch and Taruffi. With the effect to the music on each
particular go it particularly around sympathy. It was shown that humans with
high projecting ability and small emotional stability particularly profit from
sad music. According to survey the tender sounds help them in particularly large
measure to adjust negative feelings to arrange and find comfort.
“Those are also altogether the substantial motivation for humans to hear sad
music”, write Koelsch and Taruffi. The investigation could be interesting
therefore for the development of new music therapies. “A therapy with sad music
could aim at, the well-being from healthy humans to strengthen”, writes the
researchers, “in addition, with the treatment by psychologically patients to be
used”.
