There’s an interesting piece in the AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST this month about how people respond emotionally to music from cultures other than their own. It turns out that people can pretty much tell the difference between “sad” and “happy” music, even when they listen to unfamiliar music in unfamiliar styles from unfamiliar cultures. This argues against the hypothesis that we learn what music is “sad” vs. “happy” only from cultural conditioning.
The researchers have presented some “emotional-expression” rules that are pretty much cross-cultural in music. No surprises here. Softer and slower is sadder, louder and faster is happier. There are a number of others that are more elaborate and sophisticated.
The researchers also think that these emotional-expression musical rules are related to human language. Soft music and quiet speech are probably linked in the mind, and both are linked to sadness (broadly stated). This may derive from the biology of sound production. When people are sad, their vocal cords relax. This muffles the voice, making it likely that sad people will sing or speak softly. When people are angry or happy, the vocal cords tense up, which makes for louder vocal sounds.
Humans, and maybe lower animals, could learn early on to link loud volume with intense emotion or could even be hard-wired with the association.
“It is really central for us to determine the emotinal state of others,” says one of the researchers in the article, “The voice may be even more important than the face,” in expressing emotion.
Tempo may also be linked to biology–specifically heart rate and respiration. A decade of psychological reserach finds that slow, sad, music slows the heart rate, while fast music picks up pulse and respiration in the listener. As such, jusic may communicate emotion by actually inducing the emotion in listeners.
I seem to remember watching something about Humans possibly being decended from a species of ape that used “music” to mark teritory and attract mates in the same way that birds do.
A living ape species was shown doing just this .
The implication being that music is genetically hard wired into us.
Further circumstantial evidence for that may be seen on this site: that music does seem to be vital for human happiness.
I am increasingly fascinated by the ways in which music transcends culture. One of my favorite movies (though hard to watch in some ways, it’s a gut-wrencher) is The Mission with Robert DeNiro and Jeremy Irons.
The character of Father Gabriel is heroic, peaceful, resolute, and devout. I like how he uses music to reach out and begin understanding the Guarani Indians.
dale, i ran acorss this with my own son…when he as 4 we were riding in the car and listening to a slow air(i believe there was a sad story behind the tune). about halfway throught the tune he says" dad turn that off its too sad and i dont like to be sad"
i dont make a habit of listening to slow airs when im with the kids so he had never really heard one before. i think it may have to do with the minor key as much as it does tempo.
When I was about 11 years old, I found myself attracted to minor tunes a lot, and this has stayed with me. Anyway, at 11, I use to play these sad minor tunes on the piano and my sister would yell at me to stop doing that because it made the cats restless. They’d start meowing a lot and pacing, and she thought that meant they were affected by the saddness.
You may be interested in this summary of Leonard Meyer’s Emotion and Meaning in Music, especially the idea of the sense of surprise and the unexpected.
Of course they are. Think about listening to a moving, swelling piece of classical or pseudo-classical music, and how it’s almost telling you something linguistic even if you don’t know what actual words you would substitute.
Music lovers from everywhere and everytime could tell you this without any studies.
Even lyrical music can be understood emotionally without knowing the language of the singer. I heard a female Spanish singer once who’s heart was pouring out in some kind of broken hearted tragedy. It was beautiful though I couldn’t understand a word.
It’s not a question that it IS true but my question is why.
I have a song that I have “written” that just defies words for me. I put written in quotes because the song seems to have formed on its own, with little cognitive effort on my part, and I just began to play it - low pipe, high pipe, anything.
It is a slow song, E minor, and very contemplative. I presented it untitled to my mandolin teacher (who, to my knowledge, has no active religion), and after he had played it a couple of times, remarked that it seemed very spiritual.
I have given up trying to put words to the song. It feels like colorizing “Casablanca,” if that makes any sense. The most I have been able to do is title it “Prayer in E Minor.” Words, especially poetry, can convey and invoke emotion, but they can also be woefully inappropriate or inadequate.
This is interesting. I have always been attracted to melodies in minor keys and 3/4 rhythm. A minor key waltz will send me into an out of body experience every time.
I enjoy listening to songs sung in a language I don’t understand. The voice is easier to perceive as a musical instrument when word meaning doesn’t get in the way. I love to listen to Greek and Russian especially.
another minor key lover chiming in! In fact, we’ve been known to put major songs into minor keys - we just like the “feeling” that happens.
For instance, there’s an Old Time fiddle tune called “Hangman’s Reel” that is usually played in A major. It has the usual story about someone who was condemned to hang, and for his last request asked to be able to play a fiddle, and either played so well (or so long) that he wasn’t hung.
We play it in Em - we hang him!!!
“Whiskey 'Fore Breakfast” either becomes something Russian (Vodka 'Fore Breakfast?) or Jewish…
“Southwind” becomes “Northwind”…
As usual, not getting the point of my question at all. Not one iota.
Hey Missy, I like doing that too. Changing tunes from major to minors. The first time was when I was but a lad. I changed Camptown Races to a minor. I was so tickled I thought I was the only one who had thought of it.
For some reason, Dorian and Mixolydian mode both give me sort of a dreamy “I’m in love” feeling. Maybe it’s that natural sixth bumping up against that flatted seventh.
There’s a fair few Bluegrass and Cajun tunes, which can be played on fiddle, where the first part is played in Am in the lower register and then the second part is played in Amaj in the higher register.They often have very much the same notation but the sharps bring in a whole new attitude to the vibe.
I am hopeless at names but “the grumbling old man and his wife” is one that springs to mind.
The Cajun stuff I can’t even pronounce let alone spell.
I used to think I was Phrygian but I now I know that I am more. Mixolydian (whether indo or celtic) always evokes highland for me and Dorian the valley, the gorge, the moist bed of a waterfall.
I am going to do a little poll for you all. Please see here
