Are you feeling it?

In my day to day scanning of facebook, I find some interesting articles. One I discovered last night was about why music gives us chills. Now I guess I'm part of the "50% that does" as the article stated, as in 50% of people feel chills when listening to music. 

My first reaction was, "Who doesn't feel chills at some point?" But that's a similar reaction to my other most popular question, "How can you NOT hear an out of tune note?" These are not judgmental replies, but rather, a real bemusement on my part. When I take something so much for granted, it seems impossible to imagine it any other way. But that's another story for another time...

What's interesting about the article is it goes on to point out that the chill factor often hits when the brain is teased into thinking the music is going to that special section, and then does not. It's the unexpectedness that brings on the chills, and the biggest pay off in dopamine response tends to come when you're anticipating the "chill" event and then it occurs. 

I'm still not sure I totally get the process they describe, but it was cool to read some science on a very personal and visceral bodily response (that I have) to music (something I love and try to do as a calling). That said, it's unexpectedness that makes you "feel" it. I guess that follows. I know I was enjoying some unexpected and "firing on all cylinders" joy that my daughter had on her backyard swing this weekend.

I know I get a huge rise when I'm listening to live music and someone goes to a chord that is not in the "pop" canon. I always say those chords slay me. I've made it somewhat of a point to try and incorporate them into my songwriting for a while now. I never stopped to think if my reaction to these chords or "special moments" was personal to me alone, or the 50% that might get chills, and that there are some folks who no matter how clever the turn of phrase or diversion of musical path, they won't hear it that way. Hmmm. Makes you re-think quite a bit about life and how you perceive it.

I don't know, maybe this is not at all something new. Or maybe I'm overthinking a simple idea. I remember at a certain point of trying to write simpler. I find it as I type this entry, several edits along the way. My mind becomes more susceptible to distraction when I'm not on a tight schedule. I can't tell if I go into over thinking because I have the time to actually think about it or if I'm filling that open time with it, almost like creating a puzzle for lack of mental challenges. Some folks do the NYT crossword puzzle...

So, are you feeling it? Right now, I'm feeling not chills but some nice peace of mind. I actually got a cumulative 8 hours of sleep for the first time in a week and honestly, I feel like I got years of my life back. Funny thing was the baby had nothing to do with the messed up sleep. It was my first babies, the cats. And now I look forward to a show on Friday and am thinking about the set list. Now that I know 50% of y'all don't get chills, I wonder what are the best songs to put on that set. I'm going to let my mind wander and see where it lands... and you can make suggestions to what you want to hear. Maybe we'll meet in the middle.