Music can heal you in many ways, but nothing comes close to the salve of sad songs when you’re at your lowest. Imagine Emma, who comes home after a long and stressful day at work, dealing with tight ...

Sadness is generally seen as a negative emotion, but we tend to find it pleasurable in an aesthetic context. What is the nature of pleasure that people experience from listening to sad music?

“When all hope is gone, sad songs say so much.” It turns out that Elton John knew what he was talking about: Several studies have found that many people do choose to listen to sad music when they’re ...

Music is a part of every culture around the world. In fact, the ability to appreciate music is built into our brains, suggesting music has an evolutionary function. Many music studies look at the long ...

People who come to therapy after experiencing a difficult breakup often mention that they have been turning to music as a source of emotional release. They sometimes ponder questions like: “Why am I ...

People with depression listen to sad music because it makes them feel better, according to a small study that is one of the first to investigate why people turn to tearjerkers when they’re already ...