Why does Adele’s Someone Like You get us sobbing?  The past 12
months have been a whirlwind success for Adele, topped off with
six Grammy Awards and two Brit Awards this month.  But why is
she so successful and why do people get so emotional when
listening to a song like Someone Like You?  According to a
psychologist at the University of British Columbia, it is
Adele’s clever placement of musical ornamentals that creates
such a tearjerker reaction in her listeners.  Speaking to the
Wall Street Journal, Martin Guhn, who in 2007 co-wrote a study
on the subject, explained that ornamentals “generates tension in
the listener”.  “When the notes return to the anticipated
melody, the tension resolves, and it feels good,” he explained.
His research follows a 20-year-old study by British psychologist
John Sloboda, who asked music lovers to identify parts in songs
that make them cry or provoke goose bumps. Out of 20 chosen
passages, 18 were found to contain an appoggiatura, an
ornamental that clashes with the melody to