A survey of musical chills experiences while performing music
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21511642 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Scott Bannister (0000-0003-4905-0511, University of Leeds, corresponding author), Emily Payne (0000-0003-2109-8126, University of Leeds) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-27 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychology of Music (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0305-7356 • E-ISSN: 1741-3087 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/03057356251383805 |
| OpenAlex | W4415604247 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 92 |
Musical chills, a subjective emotional experience associated with goosebumps, shivers, and/or tingling sensations, have recently been linked to experiences of social bonding. Thus, there is some rationale for expecting music performance to afford chills, as performance can involve strong emotional responses and social bonding experiences. However, almost all musical chills research focuses on listening contexts. This study explores experiences of musical chills while performing music. Data for the study were collected through a questionnaire survey with 218 musicians about their chills experiences. Results show that chills are experienced by musicians during performance and that they are largely positive experiences. Important factors for chills in performance include various musical features, performance qualities, interpersonal connections between performers, and personal associations with the music and performance context. Findings align with links between chills and social bonding, although further research is required to understand underlying psychological mechanisms of the phenomenon. Finally, various characteristics of chills in music performance suggest that the experience may be linked to psychological wellbeing, posing a novel route for continued research
Active listening · Chills · Closeness · Interpersonal communication · Interpersonal relationship · Musical · Diverse Music Education Insights · Music Therapy and Health · Neuroscience and Music Perception
Sweet Anticipation
The ice-breaker effect
Characterisation of music-evoked autobiographical memories
Intensely pleasurable responses to music correlate with activity in brain regions implicated in reward and emotion
Interpersonal synchrony increases prosocial behavior in infants
Towards a Psychological Construct of Being Moved
The Emotional Sources of "Chills" Induced by Music
Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music
Music Structure and Emotional Response
Music and social bonding
Vigilance and social chills with music
Interpersonal Entrainment in Music Performance
Phenomenological Differences in Music- and Television-Evoked Autobiographical Memories
Cultivating meaning and self-transcendence to increase positive emotions and decrease anxiety in music performance
Higher empathy is associated with stronger social bonding when moving together with music
Shivers and Timbres
Music chills
Psychoacoustical correlates of musically induced chills
The benefits of participation in a choir and an exercise group on older adults’ wellbeing in a naturalistic setting
Musicality and the human capacity for culture
The evolutionary nature of musical meaning
Music practice and participation for psychological well-being
Trait Empathy associated with Agreeableness and rhythmic entrainment in a spontaneous movement to music task
Motor performance in violin bowing
Chills in music
The Phenomenology of Aesthetic Peak Experiences
Music strengthens prosocial effects of interpersonal synchronization – If you move in time with the beat
The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience
Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion
Joint music making promotes prosocial behavior in 4-year-old children☆☆☆
Group singing as a resource for the development of a healthy public
Holicipation
The Sudden Devotion Emotion
Three Approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis
Intercoder Reliability in Qualitative Research
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |