Solos twice as common in sad songs: Study

Solo performances are twice as likely to feature in the kind of songs that tighten our throats and leave us searching for a tissue, according to a study.

The study, published in the journal Music Perception, helps illuminate the ways in which a composer might intentionally impart sadness into the lines of an orchestral piece.

Orchestral passages with sad characteristics are twice as likely to feature solos, found a study led by Niels Hansen from The Ohio State University in the US.

"Composers make creative choices about their pieces based on a wide variety of factors, but one of the possible reasons for solos may be that they convey feelings of isolation, loneliness or vulnerability," said Hansen.

"One need look no further than this performance of John Williams' "Schindler's List," and its violin and English horn solos, to understand the emotional power of the solo, said Hansen.

Popular music employs the same technique to the same effect, he said, offering the example of the guitar solo, played by Prince, in The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."