A survey of musical chills experiences while performing music

Musical chills are subjective emotional experiences accompanied by goosebumps, shivers, and/or tingling sensations. Chills have been linked to expectations and structural changes in music, and recently to being moved and social bonding (Bannister, 2019). Almost all research on musical chills addresses listening contexts. However, there is some rationale for expecting music performance to elicit chills, since performing can induce strong emotional experiences (Lamont, 2012) and social bonding (e.g., Camlin et al., 2020). Currently, research on chills while performing music is substantially limited. This study aimed to investigate chills experienced while performing music, underpinned by three questions: Do people experience chills when performing music? How do people characterise these experiences? What factors underlie these experiences? 219 participants completed a questionnaire asking whether they had experienced chills while performing music, and if so, whether they could describe such an experience. Open-ended questions targeted the subjective experience of chills, music being performed, performance context, and the specific moment in the music when chills occurred. Quantitative questions targeted whether the performance was solo or ensemble, and the importance of various aspects for the chills experience. Qualitative data were subject to content analysis. Chills appear common in music performance, with 81% of participants (n = 177) reporting having experienced them. Of 162 recalled experiences, most involved performances with others (n = 114) rather than alone (n = 37). Initial qualitative data analysis indicates that chills during performance are moving experiences, involve strong emotions, can involve a sensation of merging with or being enveloped by the music, and sometimes occur when everything ‘aligns’, ‘clicks’, or ‘feels right’. The music and co-performers were rated as key factors of chills experiences, contrasting with audience, venue, and context. This study provides the first empirical investigation of chills while performing music, demonstrating that such experiences may be common. Further analysis will identify key characteristics and important factors of the phenomenon, with findings outlining a need to study strong emotional experiences of music performers.