Anita Taschler and Richard Parncutt University of Graz, Austria

Ecstasy and trance in musicAn intercultural comparison

10th International Conference on Music Perception and CognitionSapporo 2008

Altered states of consciousness

• Changed perception and cognition• inner world: state, emotion• outer world: hallucination, synaesthesia• distortion of time, importance, memory; illusion• ways of thinking, subjective logic

• Changed identity• self awareness• bodily and mental control• environmental and social interaction

Ecstasy• Etymology

– Greek ékstasis: intense joy or delight

• Main feature– intense positive emotion

• Subsidiary feature– moderately high arousal

(tension, not mobility)

Trance

• Etymology– old French: transe = to cross over

• Main feature– low arousal

• semiconscious, between sleeping and waking• hypnotic, reduced tension, concentration• slow reactions

Induction of ecstacy & trance (e&t)

psychoactive plants or substances monotonous music control of breathing unnatural posture concentration

(Rätsch, 1998)

Flow

Flow is the mental state of operation in which the person

is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of

energized focus, full involvement, and success in the

process of the activity.(Csikszentmihalyi und Csikszentmihalyi, 1988)

A combination of mild trance and mild ecstacy?

Humanities research

Epistemologies: history, ethnology, anthropology, cultural studies

Topic: institutionalisation of e&t, e.g. shamanism sufi-ritual tarantella-dance

(Bourguinon, 1997; Goodman, 1994)

Psychological context

“peak experiences”(Maslow, 1968)

music as trigger for strong emotions (Rousseau, 1768; Sloboda, 1985 etc.)

“Strong experiences related to music: A descriptive

system” (Gabrielsson & Lindström, 2003)

Possible empirical approaches

How can e&t of musicians be investigated during performance?

Like emotion, e&t can be monitored in three ways:• behavioral • neurobiological• experiential

Behavioral approach

• Idea:– video performance and ask observers to

rate e&t of performers from recording– observers would include audience members

and performers themselves

• Problem– altered states are not generally visible

Neurobiological approach• Idea

– have performers wear neuroimaging headsets• e.g. NIRS (quiet, portable)

• Problems – current technology (e.g. NIRS) is too invasive,

would affect performance and e&t states– we still need concurrent behavioral or experiential

information

Experiential approach• Idea:

– have performers rate own e&t during performance• Problem:

– limited to quantitative data– would distract from performance and affect e&t

• Idea: – interview after concert

• Problem: – experience can be ineffable (can’t be put into words)– memory can be unreliable, distorted (esp. with e&t)– statements depend on musician’s post-concert state & linguistic

fluency and on interviewer’s identity & style

Some research questions• How often do e&t happen? • How salient are the experiences?• Are they perceived as positive or negative?• What happens exactly?

– experience– behavior– physiology

• What causes/enables e&t during performance?• What effect do e&t have on the musical content?• Relationship between performance and listening• Function and evolutionary origin of e&t

Our aim

investigate e&t with music focus on musicians (experts) focus on performing, not listening

(as in Gabrielsson & Lindström, 2003)

intercultural comparison exploratory qualitative study

12 participants

sex 9 m, 3 f

age 19 - 50 years

origin Austria, Germany, Italy, Senegal, Morocco

instruments jazz voice, piano, double bass, dance, drums, percussion, keyboard

professional experience

6 - 30 years

Method• semi-structured interviews

– mostly German; some Italian, English – duration: open (30-90 minutes)

• locations – Graz cafés, bars (after concert)– rehearsal rooms, at home

• recording – minidisc– transcription

Interview questions

• What do the words e&t mean to you?• Describe any experience of e&t

– in the concert you just gave– in your recent performances

• Demographics

Translation

• German, Italian, English• Only for presentation (not analysis)• Compromise between preserving

– original words and order (literal)– meaning (holistic)

Analysis

qualitative content analysis after Mayring (2003) paraphrasing generalisation (level of abstraction) reduction summary of categories

comparison with the descriptive system of

Gabrielsson & Lindström (2003)

Content categoriesGabrielsson & Lindström (2003)

• general characteristics• physiological reactions and behaviours • perception• cognition• feelings/emotions • existential and transcendental aspects • personal and social aspects

Our additional categories categories

context of performance comparable states

subcategories differences in definition prevalence exertion abandon erotic feelings openness lasting impression

Frequency of occurrence• „I experience that (ecstasy) in every concert at least once.

If not I am not satisfied with the concert.” (case D, ♂)

• „Trance happens every day. I think when I sing melodies in my head I am already in trance.” (case B, ♂)

• „Ecstasy occurs more often than trance.“ (case I, ♂)

• „I don`t know how often it happens.“ (case A, ♂)

Symptoms

• „..first of all I had a smile on my face the whole time. And besides that I was incapable… I could not talk to anybody.“ (Fall F, ♀)

• „yes, I am under pressure. Physically I recognise when that happens (breaths out deeply).. as if you sit on a roller coaster and it goes down.“ (Fall F, ♀)

• „ecstasy really gives to me the creeps.“ (case F, ♀)

Synaesthesia

„Music does not do that directly, but it creates pictures and experiences and that leads me into trance.“ (case B, ♂)

„..that you are concentrated and hear only that, and then there emerge pictures..incredible.“ (case B, ♂)

„maybe you would think in colours and moods. You are isolated from the outside and full of yourself“ (case G, ♂)

Relationship to music

„the feeling of floating, feeling your voice transcending yourself, and feeling yourself strongly.“ (case J, ♀)

„you can forget about everything and be deep inside the music for a moment.“ (case E, ♀)

Musical structure

„F. played one of those cool licks, in that moment the drummer reacted on that in a good way and without thinking I filled all the corners they left out, and bam! The music was catapulted to another level“ (case C, ♂)

„then it (the solo) comes out naturally..there are no more wrong notes. Everything fits together and grooves. Probably because everybody plays out of that state of mind.“ (case C, ♂)

Exertion „It was an extreme effort for an hour. On the one hand

the effort of playing itself, on the other hand the knowledge of what we are doing in that moment.“ (case A, ♂)

„These are the moments where I get to my physical limits, the body is overloaded with tension, until you get to that moment, you need a lot of power, it goes right through you.“ (case D, ♂)

„We reached our physical limits.” (case A, ♂)

Cognition

„..I was empty - or is it better to say full. I was empty of thoughts and full of impressions.“ (case F, ♀)

„If you are completely concentrated on a thing, you may also be in a kind of trance. You are focused on one thing and there are not thousands of thoughts coming through your mind.“ (case B, ♂)

„I don’t think anything.“ (case G, ♂)

Loss of control / self

„The fingers move automatically.“ (case E, )

„I was completely gone. For a moment I forgot that I was singing in front of an audience. “ (case E, ♀)

„I think in ecstasy you loose yourself and fall completely into the whole thing.“ (case J,)

Out-of-body experiences

„I was kind of – I don't know – up on the first floor and watched myself. As if the music played itself.“(Fall C)

„It was like a dream. I am up. I don't touch the ground, though I was on the ground. There was bright light, not like the sun, but more delicate. Not even I knew it. My hand was dirty. People said: ”You where gone!” I didn't know were I was. It was good. I saw people - good ghosts.“ (case I, ♂)

Emotion

„..there are situations that are just overwhelming. And you say Wow! It is such a great feeling that you find it worthy to go for that in life. To keep on searching for what gives you such a good feeling.“ (case C, ♂)

„Sometimes you feel that you're in love, sometimes you feel innocent, sometimes you feel guilty.“ (case K, ♂)

Comparable states

„There is a feeling of ecstasy, when I go windsurfing on the Neusiedlersee, like I did 2 weeks ago. Or when I go snowboarding. Playing an instrument is another of those things.“ (Fall G, ♂)

„It is like reaching the peak of a mountain - like standing 100 meters from the peak of Mount Everest and you have no more power to climb, but you will keep on going anyway no matter what comes. You will reach the peak.“ (Fall D, ♂)

Spirituality

„Trance is communication between the soul and the ghosts. In Senegal Trance means that the human being goes to another world - to the world of the ancestors..“ (case I, ♂)

Trust

„Trust is very important. As a soloist you have to be able to rely 1000% on your musicians.“ (Fall G, ♂)

„The atmosphere is important too. If you stay around people you trust, and you can just be yourself.“ (case J, ♀)

Confidence and motivation

„It strengthened me in what I am doing. That has to be a sign „(Fall E, ♀)

„If I compose a tune, I feel that it is going to be great. Then I get the feeling that I have to work on it. It gives me the power to keep on working“ (Fall K, ♂)

„I don’t have to fear. I already got more respect.“ (Fall E, ♀)

Trends in the data intense emotions (mostly positive) ways of thinking time perception bodily control experience of importance

personal, social and musical insights strengthen musician’s confidence contribute to motivation to perform

Factors that promoted or inhibited altered states of consciousness

degree of preparation setting stage fright competition among musicians individual mood identification with the music physical and mental exertion

Significance and functions of e&t

socio-cultural functions emotional communication spirituality, religion identity confidence, motivation regeneration, healing

creative musical functions personal, social and musical insights increased motivation to practice

e&t and the origins of music

• Does (did) music promote (social) survival in dangerous situations?– creative insight– identity (spirituality)– motivation– recovery, healing

Further research

• systematically compare descriptions, definitions and everyday use of terms (altered states, e&t, flow)

explore gender differences compare soloists with group members Do musicians really perform better in e&t/flow? repeat study with classical performers or children explore relevance for expertise and skill acquisition

Thanks for your attention!

contact: anitataschler@hotmail.com