Have you ever noticed how a happy song instantly lifts your mood? It’s not just your imagination. Maybe you’ve also noticed that there are plenty of curated playlists out there (for example, on Spotify) that are organized specifically with the intention of making you feel energized, relaxed, or just plain happy. But how do people know which songs make them feel good? Can a song really boost someone’s mood? Happy songs have been scientifically proven to boost your happiness levels and reduce anxiety (Scott, 2023). In fact, listening to uplifting music is an effective way to increase feelings of contentment and fulfillment. When we listen to music that we enjoy, our brains release dopamine, a feel-good chemical that helps us relax and feel happier overall.

It turns out that there are predictable characteristics of songs that people universally claim are happy. Neuroscientist Dr. Jacob Jolij at the University of Groningen set out to un-weave the rainbow and come up with a mathematical formula for a happy song, as well as the ultimate feel-good playlist. He began by closely analyzing the music of the British electronic band Alba and found that every single song was about a cheerful situation (or else fun, nonsense lyrics), was a little faster than the average song (an average of around 145 beats per minute—20 more than the average pop song), and was always written in a major key, which sounds peppy and confident.

These three elements, he would soon learn, play a big role in our perception of how “happy” a song sounds. While Jolij admits that a happy song is “highly personal and strongly depends on social context and personal associations,” he still set about compiling his own mega-playlist of the world’s happiest songs.

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Categories: Voice over Work