There are songs that, for some reason, cheer us up and make us happy. They are usually happy, fun tunes that may surprise us at some point. But why is this happening? Why did it happen exactly with those songs and not with the others?

That’s what Professor Michael Bonshor, an expert on music psychology and the study of music in relation to human well-being and professor at the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom, wonders. To find out, he conducted a survey of Britons about their music listening habits and also about their favorite songs.

For teachers, the “perfect” song to brighten our day has a very clear structure that has been determined through various studies: it needs to use a major chord, seventh chord, 137 knock per minute, four knock in each bar and structure consisting of verse-chorus-verse-chorus.

That said, and according to survey data, the song that best fits this pattern is none other than The Beach Boys’ 1966 classic ‘Good Vibrations’, followed by James Brown’s ‘I Got You’, Madness’ ‘House of Fun’, Pink’s ‘Get the Party Started’ and Billy Joel’s ‘Uptown Girl’.

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There have been several studies that suggest that we tend to like songs with 137 beats per minute and we consider them to be fun songs. “Also, we love the seventh chord, as it adds more interest to the song; normal chords use three notes, while ‘seventh chords’ add additional notes that give a musical sense of ‘tension’ and ‘relief’.” said the expert The New York Post.

“On top of that, upbeat songs often have a strong 1-2-1-2 beat, which makes them danceable, and a short intro that means the song picks up right away and doesn’t have to wait long,” adds Dr. Bonshor .

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“On the other hand, with these songs we like to turn up the volume and also have instruments like horns or electric guitars emerge in place of softer instruments. Finally, a repetitive rhythm or a riffs what people get addicted to and make it memorable is the icing on the cake”, according to the doctor.

Several other revelations were also made in the studio about how we enjoy our favorite music. For example, 46% of those surveyed said singing their favorite song out loud elevates their mood, or that 58% confirmed that their favorite song usually reminds them of a happy time in their life, 38% confirmed it was in their teens. Based on the genre, pop, rock and dance music were chosen as the three happiest.