Uplifted in D minor

I've been wondering on and off for years why blues music makes me happy.

A boatload of studies have been done on the human brain's reaction to various types of music. I haven't read very many, but one I remember from college concluded that certain sequences of notes fire off neural patterns that parallel certain emotional triggers.

So, running up a major scale might spark the same connection in your brain that makes you feel bright and energetic; while running down a minor scale might give you a sense of melancholy or lethargy. Other learned types say a song can make the listener feel joyful or terrible regardless of key—it's all about tempo. Slow tempo = sad. Fast tempo = happy.

But none of these explanations seem too compelling to me. It's all interesting to consider, but true depth of feeling isn't likely to be captured by a scientific instrument in a measurable quantity anytime soon. Especially given the limitless complexity and individuality of our brains.

The best conclusion I can rustle up is that blues make me happy because they offer empathy without complication. Blues is simple music. The greatest one-chord tunes in the world are blues. They're famously easy songs to write (my man done me wrong, my dog died, I got no home, I'm on the road) and equally easy to hear. Blues talk about universal experience. They don't need analysis. A beat is a beat. A wail is a wail. A strum is a strum is a strum.

The conscious, literate brain is pretty much irrelevant in blues. There's nothing intellectual about it. Blues could care less what's on your mind. They just hop in there, sit down in a rocking chair, and tap out a rhythm. They figure it won't take long until you join them.

4 bars for the feet, 4 for the heart, 4 for the hands, and you're all set. If you don't feel it, you're thinking too hard.