Music sure can uplift your spirits, but a new study has revealed that patients suffering from pain or depression can be prescribed specific kinds of music to help alleviate their symptoms.

"The impact of a piece of music on a person goes so much further than thinking that a fast tempo can lift a mood and a slow one can bring it down," The Telegraph quoted Dr Don Knox, an audio engineer as saying.

"Music expresses emotion as a result of many factors. These include the tone, structure and other technical characteristics of a piece. Lyrics can have a big impact too," he added.

Knox's team will not only analyse the lyrics, rhythm and pitch in different compositions but also other factors like where or when you first heard it, whether you associate it with happy or sad events and so on.

They hope to develop a mathematical model that explains music's ability to communicate different emotions, and develop a computer program that could identify the best music to help patients.

Some songs a doctor might prescribe include 'Comfortably Numb' by Pink Floyd, 'What a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong and 'I Will Survive' by Gloria Gaynor. (ANI)