Emotional Intensity Heatmap
A visual representation of emotional intensity across seventeen folk music genres. Each cell represents the strength of a particular emotion within a genre, revealing patterns of how different musical traditions express universal human experiences.
Intensity Scale
High
Medium
Low
Very Low
| Genre | Nostalgia | Melancholy | Love | Passion | Pain | Longing | Identity | Resignation | Social Reality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachata | Bachata - Nostalgia: Low Low | Bachata - Melancholy: Medium Medium | Bachata - Love: High High | Bachata - Passion: High High | Bachata - Pain: Medium Medium | Bachata - Longing: High High | Bachata - Identity: High High | Bachata - Resignation: Low Low | Bachata - Social Reality: Low Low |
| Fado | Fado - Nostalgia: High High | Fado - Melancholy: High High | Fado - Love: Medium Medium | Fado - Passion: High High | Fado - Pain: High High | Fado - Longing: High High | Fado - Identity: High High | Fado - Resignation: Medium Medium | Fado - Social Reality: Medium Medium |
| Blues | Blues - Nostalgia: Medium Medium | Blues - Melancholy: Medium Medium | Blues - Love: Medium Medium | Blues - Passion: Medium Medium | Blues - Pain: High High | Blues - Longing: Medium Medium | Blues - Identity: Medium Medium | Blues - Resignation: Low Low | Blues - Social Reality: High High |
| Tango | Tango - Nostalgia: Medium Medium | Tango - Melancholy: Medium Medium | Tango - Love: High High | Tango - Passion: High High | Tango - Pain: Medium Medium | Tango - Longing: High High | Tango - Identity: Medium Medium | Tango - Resignation: Medium Medium | Tango - Social Reality: Low Low |
| Flamenco | Flamenco - Nostalgia: Medium Medium | Flamenco - Melancholy: High High | Flamenco - Love: High High | Flamenco - Passion: High High | Flamenco - Pain: Medium Medium | Flamenco - Longing: Medium Medium | Flamenco - Identity: Medium Medium | Flamenco - Resignation: Low Low | Flamenco - Social Reality: Medium Medium |
| Country | Country - Nostalgia: Low Low | Country - Melancholy: Low Low | Country - Love: Medium Medium | Country - Passion: Medium Medium | Country - Pain: Medium Medium | Country - Longing: Medium Medium | Country - Identity: Low Low | Country - Resignation: Low Low | Country - Social Reality: Medium Medium |
| Ranchera | Ranchera - Nostalgia: Low Low | Ranchera - Melancholy: Low Low | Ranchera - Love: Medium Medium | Ranchera - Passion: Medium Medium | Ranchera - Pain: Medium Medium | Ranchera - Longing: Medium Medium | Ranchera - Identity: Low Low | Ranchera - Resignation: Low Low | Ranchera - Social Reality: Medium Medium |
| Enka | Enka - Nostalgia: Medium Medium | Enka - Melancholy: High High | Enka - Love: Medium Medium | Enka - Passion: Medium Medium | Enka - Pain: Medium Medium | Enka - Longing: Medium Medium | Enka - Identity: Medium Medium | Enka - Resignation: Medium Medium | Enka - Social Reality: Low Low |
| Morna | Morna - Nostalgia: High High | Morna - Melancholy: High High | Morna - Love: Medium Medium | Morna - Passion: Medium Medium | Morna - Pain: Medium Medium | Morna - Longing: High High | Morna - Identity: Medium Medium | Morna - Resignation: Low Low | Morna - Social Reality: Low Low |
| Sámi Joik | Sámi Joik - Nostalgia: Medium Medium | Sámi Joik - Melancholy: Medium Medium | Sámi Joik - Love: Low Low | Sámi Joik - Passion: Low Low | Sámi Joik - Pain: Low Low | Sámi Joik - Longing: Medium Medium | Sámi Joik - Identity: High High | Sámi Joik - Resignation: Very Low Very Low | Sámi Joik - Social Reality: Low Low |
| Griot Music | Griot Music - Nostalgia: Low Low | Griot Music - Melancholy: Low Low | Griot Music - Love: Low Low | Griot Music - Passion: Medium Medium | Griot Music - Pain: Low Low | Griot Music - Longing: Low Low | Griot Music - Identity: High High | Griot Music - Resignation: Very Low Very Low | Griot Music - Social Reality: High High |
| Ladino Ballads | Ladino Ballads - Nostalgia: High High | Ladino Ballads - Melancholy: High High | Ladino Ballads - Love: Medium Medium | Ladino Ballads - Passion: Low Low | Ladino Ballads - Pain: Medium Medium | Ladino Ballads - Longing: High High | Ladino Ballads - Identity: Medium Medium | Ladino Ballads - Resignation: Medium Medium | Ladino Ballads - Social Reality: Low Low |
| Cajun | Cajun - Nostalgia: Low Low | Cajun - Melancholy: Low Low | Cajun - Love: Medium Medium | Cajun - Passion: Low Low | Cajun - Pain: Low Low | Cajun - Longing: Low Low | Cajun - Identity: Low Low | Cajun - Resignation: Low Low | Cajun - Social Reality: Low Low |
| Zydeco | Zydeco - Nostalgia: Low Low | Zydeco - Melancholy: Low Low | Zydeco - Love: Medium Medium | Zydeco - Passion: Medium Medium | Zydeco - Pain: Low Low | Zydeco - Longing: Low Low | Zydeco - Identity: Low Low | Zydeco - Resignation: Low Low | Zydeco - Social Reality: Low Low |
| Norteño | Norteño - Nostalgia: Low Low | Norteño - Melancholy: Low Low | Norteño - Love: Medium Medium | Norteño - Passion: Medium Medium | Norteño - Pain: Low Low | Norteño - Longing: Low Low | Norteño - Identity: Low Low | Norteño - Resignation: Low Low | Norteño - Social Reality: Medium Medium |
| Corridos | Corridos - Nostalgia: Low Low | Corridos - Melancholy: Low Low | Corridos - Love: Low Low | Corridos - Passion: Low Low | Corridos - Pain: Low Low | Corridos - Longing: Low Low | Corridos - Identity: Low Low | Corridos - Resignation: Low Low | Corridos - Social Reality: High High |
| Qawwali | Qawwali - Nostalgia: High High | Qawwali - Melancholy: Medium Medium | Qawwali - Love: Medium Medium | Qawwali - Passion: High High | Qawwali - Pain: Low Low | Qawwali - Longing: High High | Qawwali - Identity: Medium Medium | Qawwali - Resignation: Low Low | Qawwali - Social Reality: Very Low Very Low |
Key Observations
Fado and Longing: Portuguese Fado shows consistently high intensity across most emotions, particularly in longing, melancholy, and nostalgia, reflecting its historical association with saudade, that untranslatable Portuguese word for deep emotional longing.
Identity in Folk Traditions: Sámi Joik and Griot Music show particularly high intensity in identity expression, underscoring how these traditions serve as cultural preservation vehicles for indigenous and ancestral communities.
Social Reality: Blues and Corridos stand out with high intensity in social reality themes, reflecting their roots in social commentary and documentation of lived hardship and injustice.
Passion Clusters: Genres like Flamenco, Tango, and Fado form a passion cluster with high intensity across love, passion, and longing, music born from intense emotional expression and dramatic storytelling.