What's that tingly feeling we get from great music?
Illustration by Aaron McConomy, Colagene, Creative Clinic
by Summer Tao
Frisson. Even its name evokes a rising buzz. It's a physical sensation that swells up when we experience something emotionally stimulating, but not so much that it overwhelms us entirely. It shows up as goosebumps or tingles across the body and is sometimes described as a skingasm.
We experience frisson when we're overwhelmed by the beauty of nature or an exceptionally moving speech. We feel it when music lands just right. But, what is going on under the skin? And is it OK that some of us chase that feeling?
Aaron McConomy
A happy feeling under the skin
Neuroscientist Dr. Hayley Nelson describes frisson as, "a physical reaction, experienced by approximately half to two-thirds of the population, typically triggered by stimuli such as music, art, or film. This reaction is characterized by a rush of the neurotransmitter dopamine throughout the body, evoking a sense of exhilaration and pleasure."
In plain terms, it's a rush of happy sensations caused by outside stimulus. Most people who experience it point out shivers, goosebumps, and a feeling of being emotionally lifted. Like many psychosomatic experiences, it's hard to pin down, despite people attesting to it. Researchers have linked the physical signs of frisson to contextual nervous system responses. In these cases, frisson is amplified in social settings like raves or spiritual gatherings that can cultivate a whole-body experience.
Dr. Nelson says that, "there are robust links from the auditory cortex to areas of the brain involved in emotion regulation. This complex neural wiring is believed to facilitate the profound emotional responses often associated with frisson." This view is echoed by audiologist Dr. Amy Sarow who notes that, "One hypothesis is that the 'musical chills' phenomenon is elicited due to modulations in the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems."
What we do know is that it's often triggered by emotionally moving experiences. These include feeling in sync with a crowd, successfully anticipating a moment in film, and natural beauty — just to name a few. Musical markers that trigger frisson are thankfully better studied. Dr. Nelson can list quite a few: "unexpected deviations in harmony, rhythm, or melody, increases in loudness, the introduction of new instruments or voices, abrupt changes in tempo or rhythm, and specific chord progressions."
There's no definitive answer for why we experience it. Some researchers hypothesize that frisson is a response to sounds that are tonally different to speech. It may be an adaptation to alarm calls like screams or a caregiver's singing. Whatever its origin, frisson is something many people can feel and identify with.
Aaron McConomy
High on music
Both of the experts I consulted identified music as a major trigger of frisson. Any sufficiently stirring experience can set off tingles, but music seems to hold a perfect storm of those criteria. Maybe it's because music is a human universal, a practice embraced by all societies. Its impact is just as meaningful in a group or in isolation. Music is also diverse enough to match each person's criteria for calling up that magical moment. That high.
In research and media alike, musical frisson is characterized as a pleasant experience. The goosebumps arise due to pleasurable peaks in the listening experience, not nails-on-chalkboard sounds. (Unless nails-on-chalkboard do it for the listener. It's all pretty subjective.)
That positive experience is what makes musical frisson worthy of pursuit. It's a shot of happy hormones into our brain that Dr. Nelson says can lead to, "feelings of pleasure and inspiration, increased openness to experience, and stress relief." Musical frisson bears the qualities of a gentle high with none of the bodily and psychological risks. It's perhaps one of the reasons why avid music listeners like myself are forever probing for new music. Frisson is one component of the joyful and relaxing experience of music.
The next step is what we can do with this delectable sensation. Dr. Sarow identified potential therapeutic uses for frisson alongside mindfulness practice. Research supports Nelson’s assertion that frisson can be linked to positive openness toward new experiences. We don't know its full potential yet. Wherever that future takes us, frisson is a ghostly and pleasurable experience. It often appears without warning, which, in its own way, further enhances the good experience.
And after years of following my musical frisson, I'm starting to think I have it wrong. The tighter I grasp it, the more it slips through my fingers. Maybe it's time to invite beauty into my life without running after it.