If you've ever doubted the power of music, then here's some scientific evidence that will satisfy the disbeliever in you - a study on native African people has revealed they, without any prior exposeure to Western music, can still pick out happy, sad, and fearful emotions from its mysterious language!
The researchers said that their findings indicated that the expression of those three basic emotions in music could be universally recognized
"These findings could explain why Western music has been so successful in global music distribution, even in music cultures that do not as strongly emphasize the role of emotional expression in their music," said Thomas Fritz of the Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences.
The basic feature in Western music is the expression of emotions, but in other musical traditions music is often appreciated for other qualities, such as group coordination in rituals.
The researchers set out to find out whether people, who had no prior exposure to Western music, could appreciate its emotional aspects.
For the study, they enlisted members of the Mafa, one of about 250 ethnic groups in Cameroon.