The emotional connotations of tempo might have been learned through passive exposure to the conventions of Western tonal music, but it is also possible that they reflect natural correlations that exist between pace and emotional states. Indeed, there is strong scientific evidence that the emotional consequences of manipulating acoustic attributes such as intensity and pitch height are not restricted to Western listeners or Western music but appear to tap into universal links between the auditory system and emotional responses. This evidence has emerged from two lines of research.