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+--- Thread: Why does music give us the chills? (/thread-1572.html)
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Why does music give us the chills? - Magical Realist - Nov 12, 2015
There's a certain part of Ralph Vaughn William's "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis" that sends me into emotional bliss. It's only about 2 minutes long, but when I hear it I crank it up and imagine the multiple gates to heaven opening up one by one. Why does music give us the chills? Here's an explanation:
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"When your playlist strikes all the right chords, your body can go on a physiological joyride. Your heart rate increases. Your pupils dilate. Your body temperature rises. Blood redirects to your legs. Your cerebellum—mission control for body movement—becomes more active. Your brain flushes with dopamine and a tingly chill whisks down your back.
About 50 percent of people get chills when listening to music. Research shows that’s because music stimulates an ancient reward pathway in the brain, encouraging dopamine to flood the striatum—a part of the forebrain activated by addiction, reward, and motivation. Music, it seems, may affect our brains the same way that sex, gambling, and potato chips do.
Strangely, those dopamine levels can peak several seconds before the song’s special moment. That’s because your brain is a good listener—it’s constantly predicting what’s going to happen next. (Evolutionarily speaking, it’s a handy habit to have. Making good predictions is essential for survival.)
But there are competing theories. Neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp, for example, discovered that sad music triggers chills more often than happy music. He argues that a melancholy tune activates an ancient, chill-inducing mechanism—a distress response our ancestors felt when separated from family. When a ballad makes us feel nostalgic or wistful, that evolutionary design kicks into gear.
What’s interesting about Panskepp’s theory, though, is that chills don’t sadden most people. The experience is overwhelmingly positive. Recent research shows that sad music actually evokes positive emotions—sadness experienced through art is more pleasant than the sadness you experience from a bad day at the office.
And this may hint at another theory. The amygdala, which processes your emotions, responds uniquely to music. A somber tune may activate a fear response in the amygdala, making your hair stand on end. When that happens, your brain quickly reviews whether there’s any real danger. When it realizes there’s nothing to worry about, that fear response becomes positive. The fear subsides but the chill remains...."========http://mentalfloss.com/article/51745/why-does-music-give-us-chills
RE: Why does music give us the chills? - babe - Aug 21, 2016
I don't get chills......I get chicken skin, occasionally though......and when I sing a song....it comes from my core....and I feel it.
RE: Why does music give us the chills? - cosmictraveler - Dec 3, 2016
https://youtu.be/qiiyq2xrSI0
RE: Why does music give us the chills? - Secular Sanity - Dec 4, 2016
(Dec 3, 2016 07:59 PM)cosmictraveler Wrote: https://youtu.be/qiiyq2xrSI0
Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody
Yep, that one still works.
Is there a song preformed by a female that is comparable? What song preformed by a female is the most romantic or sultry song of all time?
RE: Why does music give us the chills? - Secular Sanity - Dec 7, 2016
I don’t think Mr. Cosmic meant to post his song in this thread. I was curious, though, so I searched for romantic songs performed by female artists.
There’s Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Barbara Streisand, Celine Dion, etc., but I couldn’t find one particular romantic song that could even come close to some of the male performers. Either, men are more romantic than women or men don’t have romantic needs. I’m not sure. They do seem a little sappier, though.
I made a list of the top 20 romantic songs for him of all time, and then asked several men to judge them.
This was their favorite.
RE: Why does music give us the chills? - cosmictraveler - Dec 8, 2016
(Dec 7, 2016 04:11 AM)Secular Sanity Wrote: I don’t think Mr. Cosmic meant to post his song in this thread. I was curious, though, so I searched for romantic songs performed by female artists.
There’s Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Barbara Streisand, Celine Dion, etc., but I couldn’t find one particular romantic song that could even come close to some of the male performers. Either, men are more romantic than women or men don’t have romantic needs. I’m not sure. They do seem a little sappier, though.
I made a list of the top 20 romantic songs for him of all time, and then asked several men to judge them.
This was their favorite.
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/W1tzURKYFNs
I did mean to post that song as to answer your question.
I have not heard of this song , I adore You, before now.
A woman who is very good is...
https://youtu.be/NkamRumVXn4
RE: Why does music give us the chills? - Secular Sanity - Dec 8, 2016
(Dec 8, 2016 07:17 PM)cosmictraveler Wrote: A woman who is very good is...
https://youtu.be/NkamRumVXn4
Ah, you're back. How refreshing!
Care to dance with the devil, a.k.a. The truth, or are you going to disappear with your Cheshire smile as usual?
Crazy in the head, crazy in bed, eh?
It is perfect! It is a great song because it was written by a man, Leonard Cohen.
Quote:Saunders: Did either of you ever try to take it a stage further and make it more physically intimate or become lovers? Did either of you ever want to?
Suzanne: Yes, he did. Once when he was visiting Montreal, I saw him briefly in a hotel and it was a very, very wonderful, happy moment because he was on his way to becoming the great success he is. And the moment arose that we could have a moment together intimately, and I declined. source
I, for one, would have never invested in Heidi Fleiss' plans for a male brothel. Women need to be desired. Men, not so much. What you’re after can be bought and sold, or better yet, wooed.
We don’t have to be romantic. All we have to do is ask.
RE: Why does music give us the chills? - Syne - Dec 9, 2016
(Dec 8, 2016 09:17 PM)Secular Sanity Wrote: I, for one, would have never invested in Heidi Fleiss' plans for a male brothel. Women need to be desired. Men, not so much. What you’re after can be bought and sold, or better yet, wooed.
We don’t have to be romantic. All we have to do is ask.
That's not universally true. Some men do need to feel desired, and as you imply...you can't buy true desire. I've dated several women who erroneously thought they could "get it" any time they wanted. As far as romantic female songs:
I know these aren't obvious "romantic songs", but they convey a romantic affect.
RE: Why does music give us the chills? - Secular Sanity - Dec 9, 2016
(Dec 9, 2016 12:23 AM)Syne Wrote: I know these aren't obvious "romantic songs", but they convey a romantic affect.
Alright, not bad. We’ll keep you for now, but watch yourself. Take a down a notch, will ya?
RE: Why does music give us the chills? - Secular Sanity - Dec 10, 2016
(Nov 12, 2015 10:54 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: There's a certain part of Ralph Vaughn William's "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis" that sends me into emotional bliss. It's only about 2 minutes long, but when I hear it I crank it up and imagine the multiple gates to heaven opening up one by one. Why does music give us the chills?
That's one of my favorites. My favorite part starts at about 2:40.
There was a topic at the other place. "Why are we so responsive to music?" One poster asked, why would a responsiveness to organized sound evolve? I thought it was an aspect of human culture selected to sound like an emotionally expressive human.
I was thinking a little more about Cosmic's song, though.
And she feeds you tea and oranges
that come all the way from China
and just when you mean to tell her
that you have no love to give her
then she gets you on her wavelength
and she lets the river answer
that you’ve always been her lover
Wavelength; it’s not just for hippies anymore.