In this period, which is not exactly a happy one for me (I don't have a steady job and I have to endure hardships to pay the bills and the rent, BUT I DON'T DEMURIZE... yet) I am realizing that I always feel the need to listen to sad songs, happy songs make me feel uncomfortable.
"Sad songs say so much" sang Elton John in 1984 in one of his best-loved songs.
He went on to say, more or less, that there are times when we all feel the need to share a pain, when a sad memory haunts us, and we feel the need to turn on the radio to have some old singer tell us about the same pain we are feeling.
If it is easy to imagine the reasons for enjoying happy music, it is more difficult to explain why we decide to listen to sad music.
If happy music has the power to cheer us up, you would think that when we are sad we would want to listen to happy songs, but this almost never happens. Why is that? Do we want to wallow in our unhappiness?
I tried to find the explanation on the internet, from some reliable source, and I found that this strange effect was studied a few years ago by the psychologist E. Glenn Schellenberg and the sociologist Christian von Scheve on behalf of the American Psychological Association, the most important professional organisation of American psychologists.
More than a thousand of the most successful songs from the 1960s to 2000 were analysed, with reference to the Top 40 songs published by Billboard magazine. The evaluation was done by measuring the rhythm of the songs in beats per minute and their pitch was determined by musicians. Where both minor and major modes were present in a song, the classification followed the predominant key criterion.
The research found that 'the lyrics of major pop hits have become increasingly negative and self-focused but that the music has also become increasingly sad and emotionally nuanced'.
What does this mean? That we are increasingly sad? We can no longer fulfil ourselves.
Sad songs help us to reflect, to get in touch with our deepest selves and to reflect on our condition, but it is up to us to take the next step.
But an ever-increasing supply of sad songs being repeated on the radio
can it depress even people who have a happy outlook, putting the focus on less happy aspects of their lives and magnifying them?
In my opinion yes, what do you think?
Post owned by the author. Photo released under free licence | Andrew Neel Unsplash
