{"id":41056,"date":"2025-07-09T19:40:27","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T14:10:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/09\/frisson-and-fire-the-power-of-music-to-move-us-antara-sen\/"},"modified":"2025-07-09T19:40:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T14:10:27","slug":"frisson-and-fire-the-power-of-music-to-move-us-antara-sen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/09\/frisson-and-fire-the-power-of-music-to-move-us-antara-sen\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cFrisson and Fire: The Power of Music to Move Us\u201d Antara Sen"},"content":{"rendered":"
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New Delhi [India], July 9: <\/b>I recently came across the word \u2018Frisson\u2019 in the context of music. It refers to the physical sensation of a shiver or goosebumps accompanied by a strong emotional response, triggered by a particularly moving or captivating musical passage. I hadn\u2019t realized that this feeling required a distinction apart from being human; that everyone didn\u2019t get teary eyed at the sound of specific chord progressions or deeply personal lyrics. Google to the rescue and I am informed that only a percentage of people respond physiologically to the stimulus of music.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On 17th May, in Mahalaxmi Racecourse, twenty-six thousand people experienced collective frisson in sweaty, nostalgic abandon at the Guns n Roses concert. It had rained earlier that day, offering some respite from Mumbai\u2019s oppressive heat. The air felt markedly different, charged with humidity and excitement, as fans from across India, wearing Guns and Roses t shirts, started to pour into the grounds.\u00a0 Conversations whirled around us as we waited in queue. Strangers who hadn\u2019t met before then, exchanged stories of how their trains or buses were filled with concert goers; of which hotels they were staying at and which songs they hoped the band would play. Everyone was beaming, bound by contagious anticipation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Concerts or any festival or celebratory gathering highlight the primal need of humans to partake in collective joy; to be a part of a voice bigger than ourselves There are forces at work in such gatherings that can\u2019t be captured in any selfie or Instagram reel. These forces lift the boundaries we have drawn around our lives and usher us into one big community tethered by exultation and human connection.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a technical term for the process that leads to this phenomenon of rhythmic human connection. It\u2019s called <\/span>entrainment<\/span><\/a> \u2013 the act of synchronization of rhythmic movement between individuals, or between an individual and an external rhythm, like music. Broadly, it is a process where two or more independent rhythmic processes synchronize with each other.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From a sociological viewpoint, Emile Durkheim coined the term \u2013 Collective Effervescence. This refers to the exhilarating, shared experience of unity and belonging that arises when individuals come together in a collective ritual or event. This feeling of excitement and emotional fervor strengthens social bonds and reinforces shared values. Durkheim believed this phenomenon was crucial for maintaining social cohesion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Durkheim gave recognition to this concept in 1912, and over the next century, we have witnessed musical performances mobilizing entire movements, both in the political and cultural space. Protest songs are the defining soundtrack of dissent and freedom of expression. Bob Dylan and Joan Baez\u2019s folk music during the Vietnam war, Faiz Ahmed\u2019s \u2013 Hum Dekhenge, Bella Ciao sung for the partisans of the Italian resistance, all originated from different parts of the world but commonly questioned authority and inspired activism. Is there anyone alive impervious to collective movement and song, to seeking transcendence and unity? Music is perhaps the greatest elicitor of awe there is.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Frisson<\/p>\n

The Mahalaxmi grounds are a crescendo of chaos as people throng the various food and drink stalls. The more ardent fans have been there for hours and have already formed a teeming concentric circle around the front of the stage. Thousands are still making their way through the various entrance gates. Without warning or announcement, the stage lights up and we hear the iconic opening chords of \u2018Welcome to the Jungle\u2019. In that moment, we think \u2013 \u201cThis is it. They\u2019re here. It\u2019s begun\u201d. A loud roar reverberates from the audience and envelops us from all sides. Those that are still outside are sprinting towards the main stage. I realize my throat is catching to be able to bear witness to this moment. This moment that is a culmination of months of anticipation, of the opening chords of a song we have grown up listening to and to watch the world around us erupt into collective rapture.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you object to the content of this press release, please notify us at pr.error.rectification@gmail.com. We will respond and rectify the situation within 24 hours.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Delhi [India], July 9: I recently came across the word \u2018Frisson\u2019 in the context of music. It refers to the physical sensation of a shiver or goosebumps accompanied by a strong emotional response, triggered by a particularly moving or captivating musical passage. I hadn\u2019t realized that this feeling required a distinction apart from being […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41057,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[631],"class_list":["post-41056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}