by Yale Fox, NYC-based researcher and DJ/Producer If you’re reading this blog, you no doubt love music and have probably experienced chills when listening to certain songs. But have you ever wondered why that happens? From a DJ’s perspective, understanding what gives a listener chills can greatly impact his or her sets and the receptivity of the crowd. The more chills we can induce, the better time the audience has, which in turn feeds us on this visceral chain reaction. Achieving these music-induced chills, or frissons, involves balancing predictability with unpredictability. I’ve taken parts of Dr. Huron’s theory and boiled them down plus adapted certain parts.
At the core, these chills exhibit themselves as a result of surprise. It is the failure for the organism to predict its environment and what is going to happen next. This manifests itself as a sympathomimetic response activating the body’s fight-or-flight mechanism. The neurotransmitters released during this type of response are catecholamines; epinephrine (adrenaline) and dopamine. I also believe some opiod.
This brief and pleasurable scare is equivalent to the reason we enjoy rollercoasters and watch horror films. Now lets consider some of Dr. Huron’s examples for when else we experience these frissons:
Stepping in to a warm bathtub – This is a classic example of the organism not being able to predict its environment. The body feels a sudden change in temperature and reacts by eliciting the fight or flight response.
Nails on a chalkboard, or a loud scream – It comes as a surprise again, and is usually a sign of warning or help from another member of our species. Whether running to help, or running for safety, it’s an indication that something unexpected is occurring in the environment.
First of all, the ability to conduct a lab on this is nearly impossible. People are surprised by different things- there would be no way to control for such an inherently unique variable.
I’ve heard anecdotally that people experience this during points in house music. I would anticipate these are during the builds and releases. A large part of music that we enjoy is the balance between predictability and unpredictability. On a side note- this is a good way to think about track selection for your DJ sets, trying to put yourself somewhere in between a predictable and unpredictable place.
Personally, the only music that really gives me chills is lyrically based. More specifically, punchlines and complex verses. This still fits the theory, as usually these lines are totally witty and unexpected. There’s no way of really predicting the verse before you hear it.
The fact that it is a heightened emotional response means it likely becomes imprinted for future reference. Additionally, if I know the words to the song, I find I don’t get chills when I hear it again.
Let’s put it up to open debate. What songs give you chills?
About the Author
A native of Toronto, Yale Fox’s research findings have been featured in The New York Times’ Freakonomics section, and have been widely published in other journals. “Inside the DJ Booth: How Strategic Track Selection Can Enhance Experience, Foster Loyalty and Boost Profits” gathered steam with its ground-breaking and scientific insight into the nightclub world. A working DJ and producer, Yale currently resides in New York City.
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