---
title: Why Do We Cry When We Listen to Music?
description: Are certain passages of music, for example the violins jumping one octave in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, guaranteed to make us weep?
image: https://blog.sharmusic.com/hs-fs/file-14335287-jpg/images/nigel-tufnel-spinal-tap.jpg
---

### [sharmusic.com](https://www.sharmusic.com/shop.axd/sharmusic.com)

Enjoy FREE 2-4 Day Shipping on your order of $30 or more! (shipped to the 48 contiguous states)

[![Shar](https://blog.sharmusic.com/hubfs/SharMusic_December2018%20Theme/Images/logo.jpg)](https://www.sharmusic.com/)

- Shop
- [Rentals](https://www.sharmusic.com/Rentals/)
- [Learn](https://www.sharmusic.com/SHAR-Library/)
- [Teach](https://www.sharmusic.com/shop.axd/Teachers)
- [![Shar Collection](https://blog.sharmusic.com/hubfs/SharMusic_December2018%20Theme/Images/logo-collection-black.png)](https://collection.sharmusic.com/)

- [Log In](https://www.sharmusic.com/shop.axd/LoginForm)

```

```

** 

Search ✕

- [Home](https://blog.sharmusic.com)
- Shar Music Blog

# Shar Music Blog

- [Shar Services](https://www.sharmusic.com/Services/)

### Posts by Topic

- [#BlackIsClassical (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/blackisclassical)
- [#caseconfessions (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/caseconfessions)
- [#childrensday (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/childrensday)
- [#confidence (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/confidence)
- [#fathersday (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/fathersday)
- [#internationalchildrensday (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/internationalchildrensday)
- [#playon (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/playon)
- [#tinaavsharian (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/tinaavsharian)
- [20th Century (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/20th-century)
- [20th Century Composers (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/20th-century-composers)
- [50th Anniversary (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/50th-anniversary)
- [A Million Ways To Play (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/a-million-ways-to-play)
- [Accessories (12)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/accessories)
- [ACMP (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/acmp)
- [Adventures in Violinland (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/adventures-in-violinland)
- [Advice (8)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/advice)
- [Alternative Strings (12)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/alternative-strings)
- [American Case Company (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/american-case-company)
- [American Classical (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/american-classical)
- [Andrés Cárdenes (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/andrés-cárdenes)
- [Arnold Steinhardt (8)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/arnold-steinhardt)
- [Auditions (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/auditions)
- [Bach (7)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bach)
- [Bags (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bags)
- [Barenreiter (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/barenreiter)
- [Bass (29)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bass)
- [Bass Bag (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bass-bag)
- [Beethoven (10)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/beethoven)
- [Beginner Violin (34)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/beginner-violin)
- [Bernard Greenhouse (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bernard-greenhouse)
- [Bernstein (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bernstein)
- [Birthday Blogs (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/birthday-blogs)
- [Black History Month (9)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/black-history-month)
- [Blackwing Pencils (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/blackwing-pencils)
- [Blog (9)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/blog)
- [books (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/books)
- [Bows (15)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bows)
- [BowStopper (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bowstopper)
- [Brahms (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/brahms)
- [Bullying (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/bullying)
- [Busking (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/busking)
- [Buying Guide (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/buying-guide)
- [cadenza (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/cadenza)
- [Carbon Fiber (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/carbon-fiber)
- [Carlo Lamberti (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/carlo-lamberti)
- [Cases (11)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/cases)
- [catgut (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/catgut)
- [CD Play-Alongs (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/cd-play-alongs)
- [Celebrations (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/celebrations)
- [Cello (46)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/cello)
- [Chairs (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/chairs)
- [Chamber music (11)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/chamber-music)
- [Charles Avsharian (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/charles-avsharian)
- [Cheap Violins (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/cheap-violins)
- [Checklist (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/checklist)
- [Children's Music Series (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/childrens-music-series)
- [China (7)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/china)
- [chinrests (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/chinrests)
- [Christian Howes (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/christian-howes)
- [Christian Tetzlaff (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/christian-tetzlaff)
- [Christmas (7)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/christmas)
- [Claire Delbos (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/claire-delbos)
- [Classical (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/classical)
- [Classical Music (39)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/classical-music)
- [Classical Revolution (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/classical-revolution)
- [Coloring Contest (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/coloring-contest)
- [Composers (17)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/composers)
- [concert mute (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/concert-mute)
- [Conservatory (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/conservatory)
- [Contests (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/contests)
- [Cushy (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/cushy)
- [Dame Ethel Smyth (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/dame-ethel-smyth)
- [David Crowder (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/david-crowder)
- [Debussy (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/debussy)
- [Diversity (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/diversity)
- [Donation (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/donation)
- [Dvorak (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/dvorak)
- [eCatalog (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/ecatalog)
- [Edith Eisler Scholarship (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/edith-eisler-scholarship)
- [Education (32)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/education)
- [Electric (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/electric)
- [Electric Violin (7)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/electric-violin)
- [Elementary School (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/elementary-school)
- [Elgar (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/elgar)
- [Embassy (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/embassy)
- [Ensemble Playing (8)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/ensemble-playing)
- [Entrepreneurship (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/entrepreneurship)
- [Ernő Dohnányi (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/ernő-dohnányi)
- [Evelyn Avsharian (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/evelyn-avsharian)
- [Expand the Canon (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/expand-the-canon)
- [Fanny Hensel (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/fanny-hensel)
- [Female Composers (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/female-composers)
- [Fiddle (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/fiddle)
- [Fine Instruments (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/fine-instruments)
- [Flexible Ensembes (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/flexible-ensembes)
- [folding stand (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/folding-stand)
- [Folk (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/folk)
- [Food (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/food)
- [For Fun (21)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/for-fun)
- [Franz Hoffmann (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/franz-hoffmann)
- [French Violins (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/french-violins)
- [Fritz Kreisler (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/fritz-kreisler)
- [German Violins (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/german-violins)
- [Gifts (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/gifts)
- [Good Vibrations (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/good-vibrations)
- [Green Line (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/green-line)
- [Gregorian Chant (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/gregorian-chant)
- [Guide (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/guide)
- [Guitar (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/guitar)
- [Halloween (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/halloween)
- [Haydn (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/haydn)
- [Health (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/health)
- [Heritage (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/heritage)
- [Heritage Go! (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/heritage-go)
- [High School (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/high-school)
- [Higher Education (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/higher-education)
- [Holiday Music (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/holiday-music)
- [honorable mentions (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/honorable-mentions)
- [Humidity (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/humidity)
- [Humor (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/humor)
- [Improvisation (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/improvisation)
- [In Home Trial (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/in-home-trial)
- [In the Key of Strawberry (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/in-the-key-of-strawberry)
- [Injury (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/injury)
- [Instrument Care (14)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/instrument-care)
- [Instrument Repair (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/instrument-repair)
- [Instrument Stand (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/instrument-stand)
- [Irish Fiddle (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/irish-fiddle)
- [Italian Violins (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/italian-violins)
- [Jascha Heifetz (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/jascha-heifetz)
- [Jazz (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/jazz)
- [John Cheng (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/john-cheng)
- [Jonny Greenwood (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/jonny-greenwood)
- [K&M (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/km)
- [Kathryn Schutmaat (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/kathryn-schutmaat)
- [Koe (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/koe)
- [Kreisler (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/kreisler)
- [Lessons (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/lessons)
- [Mahler (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/mahler)
- [Manhasset (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/manhasset)
- [Mark O'Connor (10)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/mark-o39connor)
- [mark oconnor (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/mark-oconnor)
- [Mark Wood (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/mark-wood)
- [Martha Yasuda (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/martha-yasuda)
- [Mendelssohn (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/mendelssohn)
- [Method Books (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/method-books)
- [Metronomes (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/metronomes)
- [motivation (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/motivation)
- [Mozart (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/mozart)
- [Music By Black Composers (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-by-black-composers)
- [Music Careers (11)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-careers)
- [Music Clips (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-clips)
- [Music Degree (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-degree)
- [Music Education (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-education)
- [Music History (14)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-history)
- [Music Stands (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-stands)
- [Music Theory (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-theory)
- [Mutes (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/mutes)
- [My Very First Cello Method (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/my-very-first-cello-method)
- [Nerissa Nields (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/nerissa-nields)
- [O Sole Mio (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/o-sole-mio)
- [Olivier Messiaen (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/olivier-messiaen)
- [Online Lessons (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/online-lessons)
- [Orchestra Method (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/orchestra-method)
- [orchestra stand (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/orchestra-stand)
- [Paganini (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/paganini)
- [Parents (22)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/parents)
- [peak (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/peak)
- [Pedagogy (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/pedagogy)
- [Performance (20)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/performance)
- [Pernambuco (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/pernambuco)
- [photo contest (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/photo-contest)
- [Piano (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/piano)
- [Pickups (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/pickups)
- [Pizzicato (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/pizzicato)
- [Play-Alongs (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/play-alongs)
- [Practice (23)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/practice)
- [practice mute (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/practice-mute)
- [practice tips (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/practice-tips)
- [Pre-amps (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/pre-amps)
- [Preamps (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/preamps)
- [PRESTO (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/presto)
- [Product Reviews (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/product-reviews)
- [Professional H-Series (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/professional-h-series)
- [Progressive Rock (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/progressive-rock)
- [Puccini (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/puccini)
- [Quiz (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/quiz)
- [Rachel Barton Pine (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/rachel-barton-pine)
- [Rebecca Clarke (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/rebecca-clarke)
- [Recipes (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/recipes)
- [Recital (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/recital)
- [Relaxation (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/relaxation)
- [Revolution Strings (8)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/revolution-strings)
- [Richard Dare (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/richard-dare)
- [rock & roll (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/rock-roll)
- [Romantic (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/romantic)
- [Rosin (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/rosin)
- [Rossini (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/rossini)
- [Saint-Saens (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/saint-saens)
- [Sassmannshaus (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/sassmannshaus)
- [Schoenberg (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/schoenberg)
- [School (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/school)
- [Schubert (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/schubert)
- [Self-Improvement (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/self-improvement)
- [SHAR (32)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/shar)
- [SHAR Ann Arbor (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/shar-ann-arbor)
- [SHAR Apprentice (10)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/shar-apprentice)
- [SHAR Event (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/shar-event)
- [Sheet Music (18)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/sheet-music)
- [Shirley Givens (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/shirley-givens)
- [Shostakovich (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/shostakovich)
- [Shoulder Rests (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/shoulder-rests)
- [Sibelius (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/sibelius)
- [Silent Violin (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/silent-violin)
- [Social Media (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/social-media)
- [Sphinx Organization (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/sphinx-organization)
- [Stevens Point (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/stevens-point)
- [Stradivari (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/stradivari)
- [Straps (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/straps)
- [Stravinsky (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/stravinsky)
- [String Community (27)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/string-community)
- [string instruments (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/string-instruments)
- [String Quartet (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/string-quartet)
- [String Quartet Competition 2012 (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/string-quartet-competition-2012)
- [String Quartet Competition 2013 (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/string-quartet-competition-2013)
- [Strings (17)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/strings)
- [Student Violin (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/student-violin)
- [Summer Camp (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/summer-camp)
- [Super-Lite (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/super-lite)
- [Suzuki (31)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/suzuki)
- [Symphony (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/symphony)
- [Tartini (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/tartini)
- [Tchaikovsky (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/tchaikovsky)
- [Teaching (32)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/teaching)
- [Teaching Aids (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/teaching-aids)
- [Technique (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/technique)
- [The alt Default (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/the-alt-default)
- [The Lives of Artists... In Their Own Words (10)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/the-lives-of-artists-in-their-own-words)
- [The Rite of Spring (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/the-rite-of-spring)
- [Time for Three (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/time-for-three)
- [Tips (13)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/tips)
- [Tom Heimberg (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/tom-heimberg)
- [Toshira (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/toshira)
- [Total Violinist (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/total-violinist)
- [Tourte Mute (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/tourte-mute)
- [Travel (6)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/travel)
- [Traveller (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/traveller)
- [Troubleshooting (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/troubleshooting)
- [Tuners (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/tuners)
- [Urtext (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/urtext)
- [Used Violins (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/used-violins)
- [Valentine's Day (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/valentine39s-day)
- [Viola (53)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/viola)
- [Violin (140)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin)
- [Violin Bridge (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin-bridge)
- [Violin Concerto (5)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin-concerto)
- [Violin Making (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin-making)
- [Violin Method (15)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin-method)
- [violin practice (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin-practice)
- [Violin Repertoire (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin-repertoire)
- [Violin-Shaped Object (4)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin-shaped-object)
- [Vivaldi (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/vivaldi)
- [Wagner (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/wagner)
- [Website (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/website)
- [Wedding (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/wedding)
- [winners (2)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/winners)
- [wish list (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/wish-list)
- [Women's History Month (3)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/womens-history-month)
- [Wrist Rascal (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/wrist-rascal)
- [Zombie Survival (1)](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/zombie-survival)

[See all](https://blog.sharmusic.com/blog/bid/82624/Why-Do-We-Cry-When-We-Listen-to-Music#)

### Recent Posts

### Subscribe for Blog Updates

Search SHAR Blog

[![blog-banner3](https://blog.sharmusic.com/hubfs/blog-banner3.jpg) ](https://blog.sharmusic.com/)

## Why Do We Cry When We Listen to Music?

Posted by [Joe Chapman](https://blog.sharmusic.com/author/joe-chapman) on Mar 2, 2012 11:12:00 AM

- [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share)

I'm not sure if you all follow Alex Ross's music blog *[The Rest Is Noise](http://www.therestisnoise.com/)* but today I came across a post that has my brain in a tailspin. In a good way.

Ross's post is titled "[The Appoggiatura Imbroglio](http://www.therestisnoise.com/2012/02/the-appoggiatura-imbroglio.html)", and whatever the words "appoggiatura" and "imbroglio" mean alone or together, the post is about Grammy-winner [Adele](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adele_(singer)) and her song"[Someone Like You](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQl3WQQoQ0&ob=av2e)". Apparently, the song makes EVERYONE cry. To help explain why, *The Wall Street Journal *featured an article on the science behind songs that make us cry. Here's what the article, ["Anatomy of a Tear-Jerke](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203646004577213010291701378.html)r", by Michaeleen Doucleff, says:

*Chill-provoking passages, they [scientists Dr. Guhn and Marcel Zentner] found, shared at least four features. They began softly and then suddenly became loud. They included an abrupt entrance of a new "voice," either a new instrument or harmony. And they often involved an expansion of the frequencies played. In one passage from Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 (K. 488), for instance, the violins jump up one octave to echo the melody. Finally, all the passages contained unexpected deviations in the melody or the harmony. Music is most likely to tingle the spine, in short, when it includes surprises in volume, timbre and harmonic pattern.*

OK. So when the music builds, introduces a new voice, expands its frequencies, and then breaks an established melody, apparently listeners can't help but feel a tingle in their spines. As the article later suggests, the spine-tingle, depending on the context of the song, can turn into tears, exclamations of joy, or maybe even a nervous sweat.

And because the Adele song is about love lost, about wishing her ex- the best, and about declaring (so sad!) that she'll look for someone "just like you", listeners inevitably get out the kleenex. (I admit I felt a little verklempt myself.)

![nigel tufnel spinal tap](https://blog.sharmusic.com/hs-fs/file-14335287-jpg/images/nigel-tufnel-spinal-tap.jpg)Is *everyone* going to feel this way, though? Is it really scientifically proven that pianissimo to fortissimo, a new voice, expanded frequencies, and an unexpected deviation in melody will make us burst into tears? Alex Ross and another blogger, [Isaac Schankler](http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/sounds-heard-anatomy-of-a-truth-bender/), quote one commenter on the *The Wall Street Journal *piece:“I’d like some scientific explanation of why that song does nothing for me.” A little grumpy, I have to say, but a valid point. 

I can't help asking this question, though: Are these studies of what makes us cry in music just fancier versions of Nigel Tufnel in *[This is Spinal Tap](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_Spinal_Tap) *claiming that D minor is "the saddest of all keys"? Am I just a big skeptic or can you say that certain songs are basically guaranteed to make everyone weep without sounding a little ridiculous? 

I'm going to get our resident violinist and blog writer Alberta Barnes to post about this topic soon. In the meantime, I'm going to listen to Adele again and have a good cry.  

 Topics: [Violin](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/violin), [Mozart](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/mozart), [Music History](https://blog.sharmusic.com/topic/music-history)

#### Come See Us

SHAR Showroom  
 2465 S. Industrial  
 Ann Arbor, MI 48104

- [Get Directions](https://goo.gl/maps/pJkTYymTLn82)
- [See Store Hours](https://sharmusic.com/Pages/Customer-Service/Contact-Us/)

- [Shar Blog](https://blog.sharmusic.com/)
- [Browse Catalog](https://snapshotdesign.ipaperus.com/SharMusic/SHARMusicCatalog/)
- [SHAR Collection](https://collection.sharmusic.com/Violin/)
- *(800) 248-7427*

- [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharmusic)
- [Twitter](http://twitter.com/shar_music)
- [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/sharviolinshop/)
- [You Tube](http://www.youtube.com/user/SharMusicTV)
- [Blog](https://blog.sharmusic.com/)
- [Email](https://sharmusic.com/shop.axd/EmailSignup)

##### © 2018 SHAR products co., All Rights Reserved