How music of the past makes us happy
Scientific litsketch on boosting mental health
What type of music makes you happy? Most of us can agree that music can make us happy, especially the music that we listened to when we were growing up. Research shows that listening to the songs that were released before we were even born, but were enjoyed by our parents during our childhood can often remind us of our personal memories from childhood, making us feel happy and nostalgic (Krumhansl and Zupnick, 2013).
The songs we listen to when we are in our early 20s often remain our favourite songs for the rest of our life. So the songs that our parents listened to in their early 20s would have been their favourite songs that they listened to while raising us up. For example, if you were born in 1992, on average, your parents would have been 20 years old around 1980. So it’s likely that you would feel happy when listening to the songs that were released between 1980 and 1984 like
1980 Call Me – Blondie; Another Brick in The Wall – Pink Floyd
1981 Bette Davis Eyes – Kim Carnes, Endless Love – Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
1982 Physical – Olivia Newton-John, Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
1983 Every Breath You Take – The Police, Billie Jean – Michael Jackson
1984 When Doves Cry – Prince, What’s Love Got to Do With It – Tina Turner
It’s interesting that our musical preferences are established in our early 20s, that our musical preferences are passed down the generations, and that listening to the songs of our parents’ generation can make us feel happy and nostalgic.
Music definitely gives colour to life, making it more memorable and wonderful.
Krumhansl, C. L., & Zupnick, J. A. (2013). Cascading reminiscence bumps in popular music. Psychological Science, 24(10), 2057-2068.