A curious question: do you guys experience...

[RyanD]

Hello people,
I've got a curious question that I've been wanting to ask for a while. I am very artistically and especially musically oriented, and am studying music in university. Besides the obvious emotional benefits of music, I experience obvious physical benefits regularly through a certain experience, and I was wondering if any of you experience it as well. When I listen to a peice of music that is moving or that I just completely love, I get a very pleasurable physical sensation in my body: I get a tingling sensation, quite strong, rush through my body from head to toe. Its the same kind of tingling that rushes over your body when you get a massage and they "hit the good spot." Anyways, I will often experience this several times througout listening to a peice of music, and I estimate that I get it 30+ times a day. I'm just curious of anyone else gets this same experience.

Ryan

[little monkey]

Definitely! And it doesn't have to be classical!! Anything that lights my fire will do it. Goose-bumps tingly, hot and cold, like a wave.

You're lucky to get it 30 times a day though!

Makes me think I should listen to music more often ...

Do you find that a piece of music that does it, will "wear out" after a while, ie. the effects drop off the more you listen to it?

just interested!

[J F]

Yes, I get this as well. I do love music, and certain notes combined with oneanother give me the tinglies, but I am especially respondent to visual stimulus, probably because I am an artist. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it when something gives me the tinglies. It makes every ill and every concern completely disappear, and you are left only with this wonderful sensation that you can't and don't want to pull away from. It's not even an emotional thing, you're not thinking or visualizing anything. You just simply experience something on a primal, instinctive level that feels pure and energizing. (sigh)

[shelley]

Oh yes, definitely. I get it from music and from favorite movie moments. The songs tend to change over time - what used to work won't indefinitely or maybe I just need a break, but the movie moments work a long long time, sometimes getting even better as time goes by.

I'm always changing my songlists in my mp3 player to heighten the good mood effect. My lists are given names like "in the groove" because they put me in a particularly fine, grounded and focused mood.

[RyanD]

Thanks for the interesting replies, guys. J F, its interesting that you can get "the rush" just by looking at things. I guess its just a personal thing. Little monkey, to answer your question, I would have to say both yes and no . I find that for me some music is, very kind of fundamental and rudimentary, if that makes sense? It's very mature, I can listen to it all the time and never get bored of it. Kind of like food. Other music, for one reason or another, provides more of an intense emotional response, but it gets old faster. Too often isn't great, like dessert. Like Shelley says, with music like this I listen to it for a while, then put it back on the shelf. A month or two later I'll "rediscover" it, and get the same emotional rush. I think its also how much attention you pay to the music. If I am feeling very imaginative and creative and listen to music with my eyes closed, it is very difficult to become bored, because my full attention and sensory capacity is focused on all melodies, harmonies, and colors in the music. Its hard to describe, but when I listen like this it feels much fuller and sort of "3D," like it creates another world in my head. But if I'm listening as I do homework or something, much of it whisks over my head and I don't care as much. Thats why I love meditating on music.

Ryan

[jano]

I get high off of music all the time. I mostly listen to film music which is probably uncommon. As an aspiring film composer I try to get that same sort of thing in my own music. It can be pretty tough though.

[glein]

I get that from really good music. My mood gets totally affected by music so i have to watch myself when I listen to heavy stuff or I can go all crazy eyes on people! lol

[shelley]

I like film scores too! Especially what Danny Elfman does because his creepy sound is just so fun (Halloween is my favorite holiday heh). I also really like Thomas Newman.

[jano]

Elfman is actually my favourite composer with Edward Scissorhands being my favourite film score ever.

[RyanD]

Hey guys,
Yeah my favorite film composers are Howard shore (Lord of the Rings) and James Horner (Braveheart, Titanic). Music composition is certainly something that I will pursue in my life. Its a very interesting subject, I've read a good book with testimonies about how great composers call upon higher intelligence (I call it God, call it whatever you want) and this higher form reveals to them the music while they are in a trance-like state. It's quite fascinating!

Ryan

[shelley]

Yes, music composers sometimes channel their work. Apparently the original score of Handel's Messiah is fascinating to see on display in Germany because he wrote it SO fast, like taking dictation, that you can see it there on the page - scribble scribble!