When a Melody Feels Like Magic
Sheila Tucker, LMFT, founder of Heart Mind & Soul Counseling propping myself up at Broad Creek Marina in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
📸 by MKAT
***This article originally appeared in the October 2025 issue of Celebrate Hilton Head, Bluffton, & Beyond (CH2/CB2).
It doesn't happen every time.
However, it has happened so many times that I've lost count.
I'm listening to a song.
And there's no other way I can convey it, other than to say the music or the lyrics, or both, deeply touch my soul.
It's a visceral, full body experience that can even leave the top of my head tingling. In an instant, chills race up my arms and the back of my neck.
Sometimes I smile, and other times I'm totally mesmerized, my gaze transfixed. Like when a chorus drops and suddenly you're weightless, floating in a lavender haze.
Goosebumps immediately take over where the chills left off, and then I'm left with this flooding sense of awe.
This spine-tingling phenomenon has a name. It's called frisson, or in this case, musical frisson.
I naively thought everyone experienced it. A conversation with a friend proved that's not true.
When she hears music, she doesn't have the same reaction. The music still moves her; sometimes she'll tear up, smile, or sing with passion when the lyrics are especially meaningful.
But still, no chills or goosebumps when the lights brighten, and the entire crowd belts out 'Don't Stop Believin' in unison.
Turns out, only about 50–55% of people do. Which, of course, made me immediately want to know: why?
A small study in 2016, led by Matthew Sachs, then a PhD student at the University of Southern California, looked at 20 participants. He found that 10 participants consistently reported chills from music, and 10 didn't.
Brain scans revealed differences between the two groups.
Individuals in the frisson group had stronger fiber connections between the auditory cortex (which processes sound) and areas of the brain associated with emotion.
They also showed higher activity in the prefrontal cortex, which helps us interpret meaning, such as the story within a song's lyrics.
Musical frisson isn't just in your head. It even affects your nervous system.
According to Dr. Haley Nelson, a neuroscientist, frisson is characterized by a rush of dopamine. As a refresher, dopamine is the neurotransmitter linked with pleasure and reward.
There's another theory that suggests a connection to your nervous system response. Musical chills may be the result of the shifts between your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) and your sympathetic nervous system (fight, flight, freeze, and fawn). Those spine-tingling thrills happen when your nervous system toggles between calm and aroused states.
Sachs explained, "People who get the chills have an enhanced ability to experience intense emotions."
While his study focused on music, these findings can be easily extended to other experiences as well.
In my personal experience, I agree. I've had the same goosebump experience while watching a sunset in the mountains, listening to an empowering speech, on a hike, at a theater performance, and at an art exhibit.
Never fear. For those of you who don't experience frisson, there are still so many mental health benefits to engaging in music (and the arts).
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, listening to music can:
Reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and pain
Improve sleep quality
Boost mood, alertness, and memory
For those wondering, the amount of time varies depending on your desired outcome. Combined, it's about five minutes to one hour a day, consistently, to reap those health benefits. And here's more good news. It doesn't matter what you listen to.
Consider this your unofficial permission slip. Listen to your favorite local artist, go to that concert or musical, and buy that vinyl. Or, better yet, pick up that guitar you've been saying you're going to start playing. I mean, it's for your health.
Even though you reap all the health benefits from listening to the music you love, I also suggest exposing yourself to music outside your comfort zone. Try different decades, cultures, or styles.
Why, you ask?
Additional research suggests that listening to unfamiliar genres may have a similar effect on the brain as weightlifting, helping to build new neural pathways. And who doesn't want those?
So in addition to pressing repeat on your go-to playlist, try a little musical cross-training. Explore jazz if you usually love pop. Give classical, hip-hop, folk, or indie a chance. Notice how your body reacts.
Do you lean in? Do you resist? Do you get goosebumps while listening to some genres but not others? Stay curious and keep experimenting.
Frisson aside, there's one thing I know for sure. Music is all about relationships. There's a relationship between the notes, between the musicians creating the music, the producers, mixers, and the listeners. You don't have to experience frisson to enjoy connection and mental well-being.
When you listen to music, you're not just hearing sound.
You're participating in a connection. A favorite song can take you back to a moment in time, linking you to people you love or places you've been.
Music's rhythms, lyrics, or chords can tether us to each other in ways words alone sometimes can't. You know, those nights when the music insists that we are family, even if you've never met
And yes, there's research to back this up.
The research consistently shows that strong social bonds or connection, reduce anxiety, buffer stress, and even lower risks of depression and chronic illness.
Music amplifies this effect by giving you shared experiences. Those times when you're belting out lyrics with friends or swaying shoulder to shoulder at a concert, or experiencing a connection with the artist when you feel understood through a song's story.
That sense of being seen, heard, and joined by others reminds our nervous system that we're safe, supported, and not alone.
So go ahead, sing along to your favorite band, explore something new, and see what kind of goosebumps (or connections) follow.
Mindfully yours,
Sheila Tucker is a licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of Heart Mind & Soul Counseling. She empowers clients who overthink, worry, and experience their fair share of anxiety to become more rooted in peace, ease, and confidence. When not in the office, you'll find her walking her pups or planning her next mountain getaway with her husband.
*** If you like what you’re reading and you want more, you’re in luck.
I have an email list.
By subscribing, you’ll know when a blog goes live instead of checking back on repeat. You’ll also receive strategies and skills to manage anxiety and relationship issues.
And I’ll let you know when I’m holding workshops and retreats.
I promise no spam.
Only witty words to inspire, entertain, and educate so you can begin to experience a greater sense of well-being…from the comforts of…wherever you are.
Oh, and you can unsubscribe anytime, so there’s absolutely no downside.
