‘Researchers surveyed close to 800 participants on their
feelings after listening to sad music, and found that most people actually feel
consoled when they hear it, especially during periods of other emotional
distress. ... Sad music can also help regulate negative moods and emotions’. Internet sources
There’s something
that’s true for me; sad music makes me feel better. But not until tonight did I look it up to
discover that it’s a fairly common phenomenon. At least in my case if I’m
feeling bad sad music helps me deal with it and if I feel fine it makes me feel
even better.
I listen to sad music over and over. Sarah McLachlan’s music
is profoundly sad. Apparently her heart
has been broken by multiple lovers and she likes singing about it. Her
Wintersong is one of the saddest songs ever, so I listen to it in every season.
Judy Collins, one of my favorite 70s singers, sings equally “depressing music.”
But instead of feeling depressed, my mood is lightened. During Christmas I channel
surfed into a Carpenters special. It was
one of those public broadcasting fund raisers so I had to endure a generous
amount of fund solicitations. But I
stayed with it and watched the whole thing.
I was not only reminded of the horrible tragedy of Karen’s untimely death
at age 32, but I noticed for the first time how sad much of the music is. I
mean really, “Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down”. I’m listening to it now and it’s sad, but it’s
not. Her silky smooth voice and the
music is beautiful. Her voice flows like cream from a ceramic pitcher. “What I
feel has come and gone before… nothing to do but frown. Rainy days and Mondays
always get me down.” I feel your pain Karen and it feels really good. But I’m
just talking about the music and not the pain of her life. There’s nothing that feels good about
that. It’s just sad.
If you’ve been reading me for any length of time you know
about my love affair with Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. This music based on Gregorian chant has been
called the saddest music in Western civilization. I listen to it once or twice a month. Do I listen to this profoundly sad music to
feel bad? No, I listen to it to feel
good. I not only enjoy the music itself,
but I enjoy reminiscing about the afternoon in the fall of 1973 when discovered
it for myself. I had no idea I had stumbled onto “great music”, music that was
performed by the best symphony orchestras all over the world. I wouldn’t know till much later that Adagio
for Strings was the most performed American music in Europe. Looks like a lot
of people enjoy sad music. That afternoon at the Enterprise State Junior
College I didn’t know any of that; I just knew it was the most beautiful music
I had ever heard.
Do you share my love of the music of Carole King? “Beautiful”, her life story, is on Broadway
now. Again apparently I’m not the only person who enjoys her music. I’m
listening to one of my favorite of King’s music, “So Far Away.” Her homesickness bleeds through her words and
music in an undeniable way. So sad. So
beautiful. So good for the soul. That song became popular during the summer of
1971, the summer I sold books door to door in Kentucky. While hitchhiking I
would hear it played on random car radios and in my profoundly lonely state, it became my most trusted
companion. It’s still one of my favorite songs.
My favorite music of any genre including all pop, Christian, choral and classical is Leonard Bernstein’s Mass.
This incredible work scored for multiple orchestras, ensembles, soloists
and choirs is at its core a tragedy. A priest, a celebrant is at the center of
the performance. His descent into
madness and subsequent transformation is a feat of musical genius. I visit this music, especially the final
soliloquy, over and over. When it's over it doesn’t make me want to pop a pill. It makes me
want to sacrifice a cow.
Obviously, this list could go on and on indefinitely. There is no shortage of sad songs and music. And that’s a good thing since there’s no
shortage of sadness. Having a bad day? Feeling a little down in the mouth? Take two Carpenters and call me in the morning.
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