I have tried to express this many times without much success.  I then read Don Robertson's articles at Dovesong.com and thought it might be interesting reading for those of us that love "positive" music.

The following was written by Don Robertson.

The term positive music may be unfamiliar to some people. When we use the term positive to describe music, we are using it to describe music that has beneficial qualities and is emotionally and spiritually uplifting, perhaps even healing. Additionally, positive music can be relaxing, calming, and mentally invigorating. Positive music is not about lyrics, but about the music itself.

During the early 1950’s, every song that you heard on the radio was positive. Pop songs were romantic, filled with feeling; country tunes were upbeat, and fun; people listened to polkas: they were fun and spirited; and rhythm and blues (or race music, as it was called then) was clever and evocative. At that time, there was no term to describe positive music because there was little music that wasn’t positive. But now, the airwaves are filled with pain-filled, angry heavy-metal music: music that is grating and highly disturbing to the nervous system, and "alternative music" that is tortured, ugly, and nervous. Because of the quantity of negative music that society now accepts, there is now a great need to understand the difference between music that is positive, healthy and healing, and music that is negative, depressing, unhealthy and stress-inducing.

Music has a definite effect on people, animals, and plants. In fact it can have a powerful influence on our body, mind, and emotions. Music with a ‘beat’ can stimulate your body; music with powerful melodies and harmonies performed with feeling can make you weep or cry out with joy; and music like the fugues of Bach and Mozart can be mentally invigorating. Every Hollywood movie producer is aware of the power of music, and that is why it plays such a key role in motion pictures. The music that accompanies movies grabs our feelings.

Often when I talk about a particular kind of music having a particular kind of effect, I am told: "But that simply can not be true. Music effects people in different ways, or the same person differently at different times." Music may seem to effect people differently, but that is because people can react differently to the music. We are able to apply a filtering process to the music we hear. If someone hates jazz, then a jazz piece with a positive effect will probably not make him feel good. But actually what we are talking about here is a filter. A filter is something that changes something that is passed through it by allowing only a certain part to pass through. We all have our built-in filters, our likes and dislikes, that can block the direct effect that music might have. A happy song might appear to make an angry person angrier, yet it is not the music itself that is creating the anger; rather it is the positive effect of the music. The angry person does not want to accept the song’s happy feeling: it points out his already existing anger, and makes that anger come to the surface.

When a major triad chord is played and you are listening to it, your body, mind, and feelings resonate with the three notes, the chord. Because it is the basic chord of harmony, it is harmonious. Matter resonates harmoniously, positively. In 1968, I discovered that there was a chord that was opposite to this chord. While the triad is positive, this chord, which I call the duochord, is negative. It consists of four notes (such as C, Db, F# and G). Its effects are negative. Music that is based on this chord invokes a negative sympathetic reaction.

The musicians of ancient cultures such as China, India, Turkey  and Greece understood these principals. In fact, Pathagoras, in ancient Greece, introduced a whole science that concerned them. Because the musicians of these ancient cultures understood these principals, they created music that was positive, uplifting, and beneficial.

And I received this in an email from a listener:

The article about positive music is a good one and oh, so true.   The music of our era, as well as in earlier decades, was so uplifting and calming (for the most part).  Even the more serious type songs, were not angry and destructive as is the music of today.    Here is something that might be of interest regarding that subject.   Prior to my retirement, I was employed in an institution for the developmentally disabled.   Many residents were both physically and mentally challenged and there were three shifts of direct care staff involved in their care.   I worked in an office located just off the ward in one of the buildings where they were housed.   The day shift were middle aged or older workers, while the night shift consisted of young people, mostly in their 20’s.    During the day time hours the music played on the ward was “positive” music, toned down in volume, while the night shift (came on at 3:00 PM) played rock and heavy metal with the volume cranked up to the max.   There was such a noticeable difference in the behavior and level of agitation of the residents when the rock music entered the scene.  It was incredible.  Not a doubt as to the effect it had on their moods and aggressive tendencies.   They were bouncing off the walls after 3:00 PM (as was I).