Sad music evokes positive emotions: study

People like listening to sad music because it actually evokes positive emotions such as peacefulness and tenderness, according to a new study.
The study by researchers at the Freie Universitat Berlin involved more than 770 people around the world.
Researchers found that sad music can evoke positive emotions, like peacefulness and tenderness, and offers four distinct rewards, 'TODAY' reported.
"People turn to sad music for comfort, and to deal with bad feelings, but also simply for pleasure," Liila Taruffi, one of the authors, said.
"(Sad music has) potential to regulate negative moods and emotions, as well as to provide consolation. In this sense, sad music can play a role in well-being," said Taruffi.

The biggest reward turned out to be that sad songs allow you to feel sadness without any of its "real-life implications," researchers said.

Another important reward was "emotion regulation". Many respondents said that when they were in a bad mood, experiencing sadness through music made them feel better afterwards and provided an emotional boost.
Taruffi noted that may be because the songs help them to express and release their emotions.
"Sad music promotes and creates a space for reflection and reappraisal of personal experiences, thoughts and feelings," she added.
The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.