Music can help improve moods of people, a latest study states.

Psychologists at the Universities of Kent and Limerick, the United Kingdom and Ireland found that beautiful but sad music could help alleviate people's moods.

The researchers examined the effects of Self-Identified Sad Music (SISM) on 220 people and told them to recollect an emotionally saddening memory and the music they chose to listen to afterwards, which reflected their mood. They studied the choice of music people made in sadness.

The results showed that most of the participants chose music that they categorized as beautiful but sad. Such music alleviated their moods. The researchers stated that the participants did not choose such music just to improve their mood. They said that respondents picked this kind of music because it was beautiful sounding.

The researchers found that what influenced the choice was the memory that it invoked, its beauty and what the music itself conveyed

 "The results showed that if an individual has intended to achieve mood enhancement through listening to 'sad' music, this was in fact often achieved by first thinking about their situation or being distracted, rather than directly through listening to the music chosen," Dr Annemieke van den Tol, Lecturer in Social Psychology at Kent's School of Psychology, said in a press release.

 "Indeed, where respondents indicated they had chosen music with the intention of triggering memories, this had a negative impact on creating a better mood. The only selection strategy that was found to directly predict mood enhancement was where the music was perceived by the listener to have high aesthetic value.

The study, 'Listening to sad music in adverse situations: How music selection strategies relate to self-regulatory goals, listening effects and mood enhancement,' was published in the 'Psychology of Music.'