Critical listening and altered states

I was pleased to find this old thread because it concerns a topic that I’ve been thinking about recently. I started researching and writing about this as part of a proposed response to the Analog thread entitled The Sacred Ritual of Vinyl: A Return to Mindful Listening started by @unreceivedogma. However, it seems to fit better here and I’ll leave the connection to vinyl for another time.

There seems to be a general presumption here that altered states of consciousness (ASC) are all about drugs and being wasted. This is not necessarily so. They can also occur spontaneously or for a variety of other reasons and are particularly associated with music. Palhares et al wrote the following in a 2024 paper:

“Listening to and performing music is frequently associated with significant transformations in the quality and intensity of subjective experience, configuring, in many cases, altered states of consciousness (i.e. notable deviations from ordinary mental functioning). Such states may include absorption (Høffding, 2018; Vroegh, 2019), trance (Herbert, 2011), or flow (Tan and Sin, 2021).”

I have experienced spontaneous ASC throughout my life in different situations. Sometimes these happen when listening to live music or playing guitar. The deepest involve a feeling of being almost outside time, the body and space. I hope this doesn’t come across as fanciful because I am far from being a mystical person. ASC are real phenomena that are due to chemical processes in the brain. 

I am not a psychologist so my understanding of the academic literature on ASC may be somewhat naive. Nonetheless, a recent paper maintains that it is not that consciousness is altered per se, but rather that the world including the body is misrepresented to that consciousness. Therefore, all sorts of weird stuff like supposed alien abduction, out of body experiences and near-death experiences are also classified as ASC. To avoid confusion with pathologically induced ASC, one author suggests the use of the alterative designation Non-Ordinary Mental Expressions (NOME).

For an overview of the research literature on ASC and music, see Time Is the Key: Music and Altered States of Consciousness, January 2011, Jörg Fachner in the book Altering Consciousness: A Multidisciplinary Perspective. 

As far as I can remember, my first experience of ASC occurred on a summer evening when I was a young child. I was standing at the centre of a big lawned area bordered by a high stone wall. Other children around me were playing hide and seek. I felt like I was observing the scene from slightly above and was detached from it. At the time, I wouldn’t have been able to articulate what I had experienced. Later, I probably would have dismissed it as an unreliable childhood memory, except it has happened again since. On various occasions throughout my life, I’ve had experiences that I recognise as being similar. There is no mistaking the feeling. These ASC usually involve a sensation of being outside time, disconnected from my body and space. Yet at the same time, I can be highly focussed on what I can see, hear, and feel.

The first time I recall having an ASC-like connection to music was when I heard my teenage friend’s older sisters’ Bob Dylan records on a little Dansette type record player. With these songs, it wasn’t just the music itself that took me to a different place – it was also the imagery of the words. A door had opened up for me. As I got into my teens, psychedelic sounds appeared almost without warning. One day at a seaside fair ground, I heard Sgt. Pepper in its entirety for the first time over the Tannoy. The sound quality must have been awful, but the music was mesmerising. On another occasion when walking in Valkenberg, hearing Baby You’re a Rich Man had a similar effect. 

As I got older, ASC were often associated with my early sexual experiences and listening to music after sharing a joint with friends at university – sex & drugs & rock & roll! Although I was never more than an occasional marijuana user, it showed me a deeper way into musical absorption. After university, I found that a good sounding hi-fi system was an excellent substitute for being stoned while listening to music. Along the way, playing the guitar led me to the wonderful sounds of the pre-war country blues artists. I was drawn into the surreal mythical Invisible Republic that Greil Marcus has since written about and was so influential on Bob Dylan, among others. This felt like a real place to me.

ASC can also occur when falling in love. In my mid-thirties, I unexpectedly had a mutually shared ASC experience when a female colleague slipping into a trance triggered me to follow her down into the same state. That was a powerful thing and over thirty years later I still think about it. It proved to be a turning point that heralded profound changes in my life, both positive and negative. I can appreciate why some people might consider ASC to be of spiritual significance. Although, being more of a scientific disposition, that is not how I regard them. They have great therapeutic potential for healing.

When playing guitar, I sometimes experience ASC. I learned from a professional guitar player that this is not unusual for musicians. He said that he himself always experiences them within five minutes of starting a concert performance. Apparently, sports people also use ASC to enhance performance and call it the flow. For me, a quest for a better acoustic guitar tone had parallels with my attempts to upgrade the sound quality of my hi-fi system. As I endeavoured to be a better listener and player, these two activities reinforced each other. They involved similar sensations and states of mind. I tend to go through alternate phases of throwing myself into one or the other of them.

I feel that when a listening session gets to be particularly pleasurable and the music comes alive, I have feelings not unlike the ASC that I outlined above. It takes me three or more albums to reach the right mental state for maximum enjoyment of the music. That’s surely longer than the system would take to warm up. It takes me a similar length of time to get fully into my guitar playing.

I don’t want to give the impression that every time I play or listen to music I go into a deep ASC. That appears to be in the main reserved for rare special occasions when I am particularly chilled out on beautiful summer evenings. It’s more that I enjoy the feeling that I am heading in that direction even if I don’t often reach this destination. Maybe, there are different depths of ASC that can be experienced - I am not knowledgeable enough to say for sure. I need to delve more into the relevant academic literature. I presume the shallower ASC are the absorption that is mentioned therein. There is some suggestion in this literature that those who have experienced drug induced ASC, may be able to repeat them later without the use of drugs. Perhaps, I am still reliving the stoned listening of my college years.

The literature also suggests that individuals who are most susceptible to being hypnotised are more likely to have ASC experiences. That may explain why not everyone experiences ASC quite so readily as me. For example, my wife is very much rooted in the here and now. She  rarely experiences anything like this and can’t bear sitting down to exclusively listen to recorded music. It is a shame we can’t share that. For her, music is only for live concerts or background listening while she’s doing other things like driving or exercising. 

Moreover, research has shown that judgers like her need higher dosages to achieve drug induced ASC than perceivers such as me. Judgers prefer structure, organization, and closure in their lives, often making plans and sticking to them. In contrast, perceivers are more spontaneous and flexible, preferring to keep their options open and adapt as situations arise. From a Jungian perspective, the great advantage of having lived our lives is that we can understand ourselves. I suspect these traits have a bearing on how we relate to music. That might be either on an intellectual or a visceral level.

In summary, my own subjective experience and the relevant academic literature suggest that ASC such as absorption, trance and flow are of great significance in listening to music as well as performing it, even without a little help from our friends. I am going to have to give further thought on how this relates to a preference for vinyl  records over digital sources.

Finally, I’ve just ordered a Blu-Ray of Ken Russell’s typically over the top “Altered States” movie mentioned in previous posts. I did enjoy back it in the eighties so look forward to watching it again with my wife. Goodness knows what she’ll make of it.

@hilde45 

Thank you for starting this thread, thus giving me the opportunity to spew out all my thoughts on altered states of consciousness.

Someone once told me that ideas are worthless unless communicated. I also find that that they are better out than in for the sake of my peace of mind.

What started out as a reflection on the virtues of vinyl records became a learning opportunity for me. Also, it’s enabled me to join up some more of the dots in my life.

Sorry post was so long. I edited out most of the personal recollections. Otherwise it would have been twice the size.

I bet you didn’t think your thread would be coming back to life four years later.

@sns 

Thank you. Some interesting insights there.

I didn’t know that about where Wishbone Ash got the name Argus from. It’s a favourite of mine, too. I’ve bought it twice and am still on the lookout for a clean vinyl copy. My son and I went to see Andy Powell’s latest version of the band recently. My son loved it, despite being born thirty years after their heyday. It was great to share the experience with him, even though I missed the other members of the original lineup. 

@larsman 

Thanks. Glad to hear cannabis is still doing it for you.

I sometimes think about trying it again. Unfortunately, my wife would not approve because she thinks it could get her struck off as a nurse. 

I just asked Generative AI for more information on Musical Absorption. This is what it came up with.

Musical absorption refers to a state of heightened attention and altered consciousness where individuals become deeply immersed in music, experiencing a sense of being moved and transformed. This state can involve both intense focus and a sense of detachment from external reality.

Here’s a more detailed look:

Key Characteristics of Musical Absorption:
    Intense Focus:
    Listeners become intensely focused on the music, often to the exclusion of other stimuli.

Sense of Alteration:
There’s a subjective experience of being affected or changed by the music, potentially leading to emotional responses like awe, connectedness, or feeling moved.

Loss of Self-Consciousness:
Some individuals report a temporary loss of self-consciousness or a sense of being "lost in the music," according to research on the topic.

Time Distortion:
The perception of time can be altered, with minutes feeling like seconds or vice versa.

Positive Transformation:
Many individuals report experiencing a sense of positive transformation or a feeling of being moved by the music.

How it relates to altered states of consciousness:
    Not a single state:
    Musical absorption can encompass a range of experiences, from focused listening to more intense states where self-awareness is diminished.

Connection to neural entrainment:
Some studies suggest that the rhythmic nature of music can influence brainwave activity, potentially leading to altered states.

Distinct from mind-wandering:
Musical absorption is distinct from mind-wandering, where attention drifts away from the task at hand.

Potential for therapeutic applications:
Understanding the effects of musical absorption could lead to new therapeutic approaches for managing stress, anxiety, and other conditions.

In essence, musical absorption is a fascinating phenomenon where music can profoundly alter an individual’s state of consciousness, creating a unique blend of heightened attention, emotional response, and a sense of being transported to another realm.

I am thinking that musical absorption is better description of what we audiophiles do than critical listening.

@stuartk 

Musical absorption is being in altered states of consciousness. As I posted above in the words of AI.

"In essence, musical absorption is a fascinating phenomenon where music can profoundly alter an individual’s state of consciousness, creating a unique blend of heightened attention, emotional response, and a sense of being transported to another realm. "

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If you can achieve this readily, the system has done its job well. Do we need any further evaluation than that? I’d say possibly not.

We got there because the mastering was good and the system can correctly reproduce a tune, image well, play deep bass, etc.

@mahgister 

@stuartk 

@hilde45 is correct in what he says.

Even just listening to music for some people is sufficient to induce altered states of consciousness. No stimulants are needed.

This is well documented in the scientific literature. Here is just one example of a book on the subject - Herbert, R. (2011). Everyday Music Listening: Absorption, Dissociation and Trancing. Aldershot, Ashgate.

"Abstract
In what ways does listening to music shape everyday perception? Is music particularly effective in promoting shifts in consciousness? Is there any difference perceptually between contemplating one's surroundings and experiencing a work of art? Everyday Music Listening is the first book to focus in depth on the detailed nature of music listening episodes as lived mental experiences. Ruth Herbert uses new empirical data to explore the psychological processes involved in everyday music listening scenarios, charting interactions between music, perceiver and environment in a diverse range of real-world contexts. Findings are integrated with insights from a broad range of literature, including consciousness studies and research into altered states of consciousness, as well as ideas from ethology and evolutionary psychology suggesting that a psychobiological capacity for trancing is linked to the origins of making and receiving of art. The term 'trance' is not generally associated with music listening outside ethnomusicological studies of strong experiences, yet 'hypnotic-like' involvements in daily life have long been recognized by hypnotherapy researchers. The author argues that multiply distributed attention - prevalent in much contemporary listening-does not necessarily indicate superficial engagement. Music emerges as a particularly effective mediator of experience. Absorption and dissociation, as manifestations of trancing, are self-regulatory processes, often operating at the level of unconscious awareness, that support an individual perception of psychological health. This fascinating study brings together research and theory from a wide range of fields to provide a new framework for understanding the phenomenology of music listening in a way that will appeal to both specialist academic audiences and a broad general readership."

@hilde45 

Did you get that copy of Everyday Music Listening from the library? How are you getting on with it? I am finding it quite academic in writing style but interesting. I think it’s going to need repeated reading of some chapters to get the most out of it.

It is probably also worth exploring a few more recent papers to get a more complete and up to date view.