06/06/2019 A New Theory as to Why We Love Sad Music - Pacific Standard

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A NEW THEORY AS TO WHY WE LOVE SAD MUSIC

New research nds it stimulates a pleasant form of mind-wandering.

TOM JACOBS · NOV 6, 2017

Ever feel embarrassed to be at a concert, and suddenly realize that your mind has been wandering?
This can lead to self-scolding: You paid good money for that ticket, and you didn't even pay
attention!

Well, give yourself a break. Chances are you began to mentally drift during a sad song, or the
anguished slow movement of a symphony. According to newly
newly
newly published
published
published research
research,
research that's a perfectly
natural occurrence—and it helps explain why we
we
we find
find
find melancholy
melancholy
melancholy music
music
music surprisingly
surprisingly
surprisingly enjoyable
enjoyable.
enjoyable

"When listening to sad (as opposed to) happy music, people withdraw their attention inwards, and
engage in spontaneous, self-referential cognitive processes," reports a research team led by Liila
Liila
Liila
Taruffi
Taruffi
Taruffi of the Free University of Berlin. "Our study suggests that the multifaceted emotional
experience underlying sad music, often described by listeners as melancholic yet pleasant, shapes
mind-wandering in a unique way."

In the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers describe three experiments—two in which
participants described their mental state immediately after listening to a piece of music, and a third
in which their brains were scanned as they listened.

In the first, the 216 participants recruited online listened to "music previously shown to evoke
emotions of sadness and happiness, while keeping their eyes closed." Sad pieces included Song
Song
Songfor
for
for
Bob
Bob
Bob by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis; happy ones included the
the
the finale
finale
finale of a Haydn string quartet.

Immediately following each piece, they were asked "Where was your attention just before the music
stopped?" They answered on a scale of one ("completely on the music") to seven ("completely on
something else").

The second experiment was similarly structured, except the happy and sad musical excerpts were of
approximately the same tempo. (The researchers point out that slow music doesn't have to be sad;
some is simply peaceful and contemplative, such as pieces used in the background for yoga practice.)

The researchers report that "music evoking sad, low-arousal emotions increased the strength of
mind-wandering," while that evoking happy, high-arousal emotions did the opposite. With happy
tunes, "listeners are more focused on the music itself, and exhibit reduced mind-wandering levels."

The final experiment, which featured 24 people who underwent brain scans, found sad music
produced a more robust response in the default mode network—"a set of brain regions typically
active during rest periods." This reflects the fact participants tuned out the world and went inward.

"An additional interesting result was the form of mental experiences during music," the researchers
add. They report music generated far more images than words, "pointing to a strong link between
visual mental imagery and music processing."

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06/06/2019 A New Theory as to Why We Love Sad Music - Pacific Standard

Who needs music videos when we're creating our own?

These results may have practical implications. The link between music and mind-wandering "could
be harnessed to improve creativity," Taruffi and her colleagues note. Indeed, a 2012
2012
2012 study
study
study found
mind wandering can stimulate innovative thinking.

So if you find yourself creatively stuck, cue up Samuel Barber's Adagio

Adagio
Adagiofor
for
forStrings
Strings
Strings and let your mind
roam.

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