The Well-Tempered Ear

Why do we like sad music?

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By Jacob Stockinger

Why does sad music — or sad art — appeal to so many of us?

One psychologist and brain researcher — Matthew Sachs of Columbia University (below) — says it serves an evolutionary and social purpose by eliciting empathy for other humans and purging us of negative emotions, according to a story and interview on NPR (National Public Radio).

To The Ear, the explanation sounds a lot like the ancient Greek philosophy of catharsis that was the cornerstone justification for the public staging of great ancient tragedies by writers such as Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, and of course the famous tragedies of Shakespeare such as “Romeo and Juliet,” Hamlet” and “King Lear” that were famously popular dramas as well as great masterpieces of Western literature.

Consider the case of Samuel Barber’s often-played “Adagio for Strings,” analyzed at length in a book called “The Saddest Music in the World.” Or perhaps the “Pathétique” piano sonata by Beethoven and the “Funeral March” piano sonata by Chopin. Or the requiems by Mozart and Brahms.

Or consider the music “Beautiful Sadness” by the contemporary composer Cliff Masterson (below). You can hear it in the YouTube video at the bottom.  

Here is a link to the NPR story that discusses “the rules of musical melancholy.”

You can read it, or take four minutes to listen to it:

https://www.npr.org/2023/09/06/1173993223/understanding-the-joy-that-many-find-in-sadness

Do you find solace in sad music?

Does sad music make you feel better?

Do you have a favorite piece of sad music?

Or maybe a favorite tragic play, opera or work of art?

The Ear wants to hear.