'Happy' And 'Sad' Music Might Not Be Nearly as Universal as We Thought

It is the end of the film. The main character's love interest is wounded, their dog runs off, and it's raining. It's a gut-wrenching moment and the music is playing in a somber minor key.

There could be some people in the audience who don't like the score as much as they think.

A history of global influences of dominant musical cultures suggests that we might only experience music as joyful or depressing.

From pop music to Hollywood soundtracks, there's usually a more cheerful, uplifting mood when it comes to the harmony and melody of the song.

Minor is the description of a tune that progresses a little more slowly between key notes. It's the sound of break up songs, pensive moments during soaps, and tear jerker scenes in the movies.

It's easy to assume there's something biological going on with the relationship between major progressions and positive feelings.

The origin of this connection is a mystery. Some think it could have something to do with the occasional half-step thrown in to make us fall.

The overall impression is akin to vocalizations mimicking friend or foe, if it has something to do with an averaging of the pitches.

The emotions of music should be universal. Several studies involving remote communities that hadn't been exposed to a lot of Western music have mixed results.

The researchers behind this latest study went to remote regions of the country with music recordings consisting of cadences in major and minor keys in an attempt to produce more definitive evidence on the matter.

A total of 170 adults from the Uruwa River Valley were paid to take part in the survey and listen to recorded snippets of music that ranged in pitch, mode and timbre. All the participants had to do was tell the researchers if the samples made them happy.

The villages in the region are tucked away in the folds of a mountain.

What little influence of Western music they've had is woven into the hymn of Lutheran missionaries, with the resulting songs known as "stringben" in the pidgin language.

With differing access to churches, no exposure to Western music traditions, and different customs on engaging with music of various types, the population has a unique opportunity to test whether a difference in tone makes a difference.

The study was conducted in a soundproof room in Australia. The majority of the volunteers were regular fans of Western music.

The results show that the emotional responses to the mean pitch of a piece of music are related to previous exposure to Westernized music.

It is possible that the last few chords of a musical piece have a non-cultural origin.

The results of the study show that there is no indication that our happiness is hidden in our biology.

The question of how music traditions became associated with emotional language is still being answered.

Humans and some of our relatives have been playing music for a long time. It's difficult to tease apart from its cultural backdrop, since we play it at funerals, weddings, or when we're alone with our thoughts.

Our culture will change with it.

The research was published in a peer reviewed journal.