Every now and again, I experience an altered state of consciousness while listening to music or playing guitar solo and with a band. It is characterised by a feeling of disconnection and a heightened auditory and visual awareness. There are no substances involved, although the experience has parallels with being stoned.
It also happened to me in my childhood and more recently where the sound of rustling leaves in the quiet period when completely chilled out towards the end of a gloriously sunny day on holiday stands in for music.
I find this to be an amazing experience that can take music to a whole different level. A couple of weeks ago, this phenomenon gave me a new appreciation of an album I’d never got into before, Paul Kantner’s Blows Against the Empire. It was like watching a spectacular sci-fi movie. A professional musician once told me that he reaches this state within five minutes of starting every public performance. He called it using the “lizard brain”, which is a concept that has no scientific basis.
Unfortunately, it is a fairly rare occurrence for me. Perhaps, it depends on the degree of focus on music during practice and performance or concentration during listening sessions. I have found that there is a body of literature in psychology concerning this subject with applications in areas such as music therapy.
The reason I mention this is that I wonder if some other audiophiles also reach this state during listening sessions. Also, it occurred to me that my quest for improved sound quality may be unconsciously driven by an urge to get back to that place. Perhaps, it’s why so many musicians take recreational drugs – a kind of short cut to this nirvana. Being a practical person, my wife thinks this is all a bit crazy. Nobody appears to have a clue what I’m on about. I hope you guys don’t feel the same.
It also happened to me in my childhood and more recently where the sound of rustling leaves in the quiet period when completely chilled out towards the end of a gloriously sunny day on holiday stands in for music.
I find this to be an amazing experience that can take music to a whole different level. A couple of weeks ago, this phenomenon gave me a new appreciation of an album I’d never got into before, Paul Kantner’s Blows Against the Empire. It was like watching a spectacular sci-fi movie. A professional musician once told me that he reaches this state within five minutes of starting every public performance. He called it using the “lizard brain”, which is a concept that has no scientific basis.
Unfortunately, it is a fairly rare occurrence for me. Perhaps, it depends on the degree of focus on music during practice and performance or concentration during listening sessions. I have found that there is a body of literature in psychology concerning this subject with applications in areas such as music therapy.
The reason I mention this is that I wonder if some other audiophiles also reach this state during listening sessions. Also, it occurred to me that my quest for improved sound quality may be unconsciously driven by an urge to get back to that place. Perhaps, it’s why so many musicians take recreational drugs – a kind of short cut to this nirvana. Being a practical person, my wife thinks this is all a bit crazy. Nobody appears to have a clue what I’m on about. I hope you guys don’t feel the same.
