Anatomy Of A Tear-Jerker

stardogs

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#2
Fascinating!

Of course I must be kind of odd because I really dislike that song - I turn the station every time it comes on, couldn't stand to even list to more than the first few seconds of the youtube link. LOL
 

Taqroy

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#4
That is really interesting but I'm with stardogs - I can't stand that song. Lol. I LOVE Rolling in the Deep though.
 

Beanie

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#6
Read the comments. Plenty of people don't like Adele or that song in particular.

The comments are far more interesting anyway. It's not a new "trick" in music, and to say it's because of the music is over-simplifying it. I heard the song I don't even know how many times... working in radio, probably 50 times, before I actually stopped and really listened to the WORDS. Not the melody.
It was probably another four or five times after having really heard what she was saying that I completely broke down into tears while singing along.

So to say "oh it's the music!" is missing the mark.
I like this comment:
"...Measuring listeners' responses, Dr. Zatorre's team found that the number of goose bumps observed correlated with the amount of dopamine released..." Ya that must be it.

Or, just maybe, it is simply that nearly everyone has a nearly-suppressed emotional encounter that Adele's songs bring smashing to the forefront of consciousness. And it is the realization that no matter how successful you think you've been at moving on, you know deep down inside you never have and never will. Hmm...

Funny enough, I almost posted on Facebook last night about how much I wish Set Fire to the Rain would die off the radio, because every time I hear it, it reminds me of somebody I would rather never think of again. And it's not the musical arrangement that does that. It's the perfect description of him and the end of our relationship that exists in her lyrics.
 

Doberluv

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#7
Read the comments. Plenty of people don't like Adele or that song in particular.

The comments are far more interesting anyway. It's not a new "trick" in music, and to say it's because of the music is over-simplifying it. I heard the song I don't even know how many times... working in radio, probably 50 times, before I actually stopped and really listened to the WORDS. Not the melody.
It was probably another four or five times after having really heard what she was saying that I completely broke down into tears while singing along.

So to say "oh it's the music!" is missing the mark.
I like this comment:



Funny enough, I almost posted on Facebook last night about how much I wish Set Fire to the Rain would die off the radio, because every time I hear it, it reminds me of somebody I would rather never think of again. And it's not the musical arrangement that does that. It's the perfect description of him and the end of our relationship that exists in her lyrics.
That depends on the listener. Perhaps for you, it's missing the mark. I am more moved by the music than lyrics in most cases. I thought she sang it well and put a lot of feeling into the music, something that not everybody does. I also think the song is very pretty. She has a nice voice for this kind of style...not a well trained sounding voice, but just right for this. And the expressiveness is just beautiful.

I didn't pay that close attention, but I didn't notice much in the way of dissonant cords or intervals (like 2nds) and resolutions written about in that article. Maybe the person was talking about something more in general...not this particular song.
 

Beanie

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#8
If it depends on the listener you can't say science has found that it's the music that makes people cry, LOL.
 

GipsyQueen

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#9
I love Adele, but I REALLY can't listen to someone like you or rolling in the deep anymore. I listened to them over and over again about a year ago and now the someone like you is one number one, it drives me crazy. I really like one and only though :)
 

Doberluv

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#10
If it depends on the listener you can't say science has found that it's the music that makes people cry, LOL.
No, I don't think science can say unequivocally that it's the music making someone cry. Someone might be thinking about their best friend who just died in a car accident. Or there may be some other thing. But they do see the same responses in the brain like they see with other things that cause these emotions and see activity with dopamine and serotonin and those correlate with those certain aspects of music mentioned... and it seems to be a trend with many people tested. That suggests that there are certain musical nuances or techniques that are typical in how they affect certain structures in the brain.
 

lizzybeth727

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#11
I had to drive around - listening to the radio - for a few hours this afternoon after I read the article. I noticed that a LOT of songs give me goosebumps, even when I'm not thinking about the song, when I'm just hearing the song while letting my mind wander. Every time I got goosebumps, I thought back to the music that was playing, and it was always during one of those appoggiaturas the article talked about. Always. Made me laugh every time, too, when I realized how clearly the music gave me goosebumps. :D

Every now and then, too, a song will make me tear up when I don't really know why. Often it's an instrumental piece that will do it, too, so I can't say it's necessarily the lyrics.

Very interesting.
 

lizzybeth727

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#15
I think it's a mixture of music, voice, and lyrics.

Music doesn't make me cry, but it can mess me up inside. None moreso than Hurt, the Johnny Cash cover.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o22eIJDtKho
Just listening to it.... It's FULL of appoggiaturas, pretty much one every eight beats. Plus it's in a minor key which I think automatically makes people sad.
 

Doberluv

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#16
Lizzybeth, a vast majority of the music I listen to has no words. I started playing piano when I was about 3 yrs old and when I was a tad older, started classical music. Well....classical, romantic, baroque etc...and have been loving it ever since. There are pieces that so powerfully cause great emotion in people who love music. Bach, Chopin...I love a piece by Grieg that I played in high school, Concerto in A minor. It is really beautiful and very moving. (that's just one that stands out) Bach wrote for church music. Bill Buckley said that Bach's music proves there's a God. :D I love that. (even though I don't believe in a personal God)

But anyhow, I was in a few small ensembles in high school and college. One was a madrigal group....all acepella, mostly from the Baroque era... (no instruments.) It was usually Latin and it was all about the voices, the cords, the moving parts, the resolutions. We sang on the radio up in B.C. That music was so beautiful and fun to sing. So, yeah....music doesn't have to have words at all to evoke strong emotion in many people.
 

lizzybeth727

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#17
I love a piece by Grieg that I played in high school, Concerto in A minor.
Oooh, I love that one too. "In the Hall of the Mountain King" must be one of the greatest pieces of all time. ;)

I was a band geek, but I do remember playing pieces in high school that literally made me cry.
 

Doberluv

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#18
What did you play? My daughter was a band geek too...played clarinet and was very good. I wish she'd play more now. We played a Mozart duet for clarinet and piano. It was cool.

I probably won't get back to Chaz for a few days....going to my Mom's. But I'll try to remember to check back when I get back. (sometimes I forget to go back to a thread.) LOL.
 

lizzybeth727

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#19
I played clarinet too. I wasn't great but I'm pretty good at the theory, LOL.

I love Mozart, he features clarinets a lot. I'll have to look up that duet. :)
 

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