What's the song that makes us feel the best? Science says Don't Stop Me Now by Queen

A list of songs that put the most in a good mood sees Queen's Don't Stop Me Now at the top.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

The Queen? A timeless myth. And their Don't Stop Me Now is also the song that puts you in a good mood, word of science

This is a bit like the year in which they were "rediscovered", if anything were needed. Again, in fact, Queen rode the wave of notoriety thanks to a film, Bohemian Rhapsody, which routed the box office and is nominated for an Oscar for best picture. And, by Freddie Mercury's group, it's also a song that makes us feel at peace with the world. Which?

Don't Stop Me Now, without a doubt, and after that there would also be Dancing Queen by ABBA (almost obvious) and Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys.

In short, at least so say the scientists of the University of Groningen, who in a cognitive scientific study have drawn up a real list commissioned by Alba, an electronics brand that wanted to find out what are the preferences of the British in terms of music and which the songs they manage to put you in a good mood.

A study that seems bizarre but actually makes us pay attention to how many times we say "No, this song anguishes me!". It is really true and many times it is not only the fact that that melody makes something sad resurface in our mind, but it is also and above all the way in which that same melody was created.

Indeed, at the base of the sad and melancholy songs and of those that instead give energy and smiles, there would be one true mathematical formula that sounds like this:

Rating = 60 + (0.00165 * BPM – 120)^2 + (4.376 * Major) + 0.78 * nChords – (Major * nChords)

In practice, according to neuroscientist Jacob Jolij who led the study, the formula measures i beats per minute, the scale in which it was written and the number of different chords used. These three factors would be the key components to define the songs that make you feel good, that is, those that characterize the “feel-good songs”, to which the lyric part concerning the text must also be necessarily added.

"That of the songs that have a comforting effect on the listener is actually a very personal matter - explained the neuroscientist - music is intimately connected with memories and emotions and these associations determine in a very marked way if a song is in able to put you in a good mood or not ".

Furthermore, according to the scientist, these same factors should be taken into consideration by those who compose the music if they want to create a "good mood song"

"It's about the lyrical tone, the musical tonality and the tempo - he said - Christmas songs, for example, evoke happy memories in us, thanks to a major key that sounds cheerful to our ears and arouses something we associate with trust and safety. A faster tempo of 150 beats per minute, however, albeit unconsciously, gives us a sense of energy - he says - by combining these three ingredients together you get the formula for the perfect 'feel-good song' ".

And, then, curious to know which are the greatest hits of the last 50 years that make us feel better and ready to give us the right boost?

Here they are:

1. Queen, “Don’t Stop Me Now”

2. ABBA, “Dancing Queen”

3. Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations”

4. Billy Joel, “Uptown Girl”

5. Survivor, “Eye of the Tiger”

6. The Monkees, “I’m a Believer”

7. Cyndi Lauper, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”

8. Bon Jovi, “Livin’ on a Prayer”

9. Gloria Gaynor, “I Will Survive”

10. Katrina & the Waves, “Walking on Sunshine”