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Are We Different?

All my life I have been more attuned to sensory experiences than my friends, family, or colleagues. I started to notice this in high school when I would go on and on about how great a particular passage sounded while playing in bands, I would rave about a meal that I ate, the smells of pleasant or unpleasant things, or a particularly good looking passage in a movie or piece of art.  

This question arose for me last week when talking to a friend and relating that I frequently get chills and goosebumps listening to music (live or in my living room). He looked at me as if he had no idea what I was talking about, and thought I was nuts. I thought that happened to everyone!! Since then I have been conducting an informal survey of folks I know about exactly that question. Again, most folks have no experience of this and think I'm bit off. So I wonder: Are we different? Is it something in our biology that lands us in the realm of audio-obsession, constantly looking for the perfect sound stage in our living rooms, and criticizing badly engineered recordings, or scoffing at the sound designers for poorly mixed live shows?

What is it that separates the music enthusiast/lover from the obsessed, ever-searching-never-satisfied, gear-heads which many of us are? 

Share your thoughts (and also do you get chills and goosebumps listening to Beethoven/Charlie Parker/The Stones?)
birdfan

Showing 2 responses by birdfan

birdfan's avatar
birdfan OP
175 posts
 
@nonoise  is it particular sounds as in timbres, certain instruments, frequencies?? For me its a groove, a feel, or when someone absolutely nails a lick, when a band hits an ending so tight together you would swear it was contrived, a beautiful melody. Also thanks for the term. I did a little read. I wonder is "openness to experience" akin to or correlated with  "sensory seeking".. Which I most certainly am. 

@ronrags you go to the ancient question... Nature or nurture?As an aside,  I too walk into rooms and feel those around me.. guess always been a bit empathic, made a damn career of it.. I also feel these two qualities are tied together(sensate focused/aware and empathic), possibly as they are both very right brain... Lots of dopamine released with the right gear and the right tune I must say..

@chayro I am just starting to admit(at times) that I might have a bit of problem.. I can relate with fiddling over gear instead of enjoying the tunes or dancing...I slap myself when I catch it .. 
birdfan's avatar
birdfan OP
175 posts
 
@falconquest .. For myself playing music started as a mathematical puzzle to be conquered.. Only with muscle memory and thousands of of hours of listening did it start to become "creative"... but, when a moment of creativity does show its head, its as if I become only a vehicle for an idea already extant.. For me I guess it started in the left brain and became a whole brain experience only with practice.. no talent here...  
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