The Chill (or, Why do we like music?)

Being the geek I am, I couldn’t help but wonder the other day, why do we like music? Sure, there are certain chord progressions that will never go out of fashion it seems. Pachelbel’s Canon in D, Oasis’ Don’t Look Back in Anger, Aerosmith’s Cryin’… all essentially the same song with one of the same chord progressions that has been an instant hit ever since the 1700’s (although technically the canon only became so popular in the 20th Century, the 70’s if I’m not mistaken, it’s still a long time). Don’t get me wrong, I like those songs and God knows Aerosmith’s my favourite band, all I’m saying is there are particular chord progressions that are bound to work and produce major hits.

However, that doesn’t explain why we get a very special kind of “chill” (not my word, that’s how scientists call it…) when we listen to certain songs and pieces of music.

I’ve read a couple of articles about this without any satisfactory explanations so far except for this one.

Music encourages dopamine to flood the striatum, which is a part of the forebrain that is in charge of planning and modulating movement among other things.  The striatum in humans is activated by reward, addiction and motivation. So apparently, this part of the brain doesn’t know the difference between music, cocaine, sex and brownies (both the special and the not so special kind). Well done, brain! Does this mean the phrase “sex, drugs and rock n’ roll” is incredibly redundant? Maybe.

The brain is apparently a really good listener, even though sometimes we’re not, and it is able to figure out harmonic and rhythmic patterns even if there is no previous musical training. The thing with music is, it sticks to a pattern for a certain amount of time, then it changes, even if it’s only for a couple of bars but it almost always does. It may be those changes that trigger “the chill”, when your brain’s prediction is not met in reality. Although other theories say it’s exactly the opposite, that the chills come from knowing exactly what’s coming up and it’s a reward for that little guessing game the brain likes to play; it may also be the build up to a certain section of the piece or song, when the music finally gets to that specific section you’ve been waiting for and the striatum goes “Ah! Finally!” = the Chill.

Yesterday I was talking to a good friend about this. She mentioned how certain pieces of music made her think of random objects and images (i.e. an orange wall), in her case, this happens a lot with Rachmaninov’s music.

In my case, the composer that always manages to make me feel something is Shostakovich, every single time.

In terms of “commercial music” there’s actually a lot of songs that do, the ones that come to mind right now are Radiohead’s  Climbing Up the Walls (pfft and one of the comments says “it sounds like heroin” so it’s not just me, excellent!), Temper Trap’s Science of Fear, and Depeche Mode’s Wrong … I know, they’re all very dramatic… in my defence though, what is perceived by the brain as “sad” and/or “sombre” gives that chill effect easily because it creates a fight or flight reaction of sorts and once it realises there’s nothing to actually worry about, the stress goes away but you’re left with the chill. Incidentally, this answers my other music philosophical question: Why happy people like sad music? … but I digress…

Some of the music that gives me chills I find inexplicable because as a musician I can tell you they are very anti-climatic songs based on 3 chords (4 when they get adventurous) which is fine but I’m telling you, they are completely pointless and anti-climatic, they don’t go anywhere, so what’s the story there? Why do we (or I?) get chills when there are no changes at all? I suppose this would support the brain guessing game theory… or could it be the brain throwing a tantrum, knowing it will absolutely not get surprised in this particular tune? Take Science of Fear or Wrong, not a lot going on there harmonically speaking, but then, take a look at Shostakovich, the man’s all over the place, so what’s the deal?

Anyway, from sounds evoking colours and random scenes to physical sensations, my friend and I agreed music can indeed feel like a drug at times and can be as addictive, just perhaps not as harmful.

Thanks for reading 🙂 please leave a comment if you can think of a particular song or piece that gives you the so called “chill”; I’m always on the lookout for new music 🙂