As neuroscientists have documented, music has perhaps the most direct connection to our emotional core of any art form.
Thus it’s no surprise that we turn to music to help us feel strong emotions.
The last week, though, I’ve paid attention to a very specific phenomenon: that of extending a feeling by listening.
I had two revelatory musical experiences in mid-April: first, The Real Group in my town, and then Hamilton in Chicago – in the space of eight days. And what I’ve noticed is, to relive the emotions I had during those performances, I’ve been basically alternating between the recordings of each. I loved the recordings before mid-April, but over the last few weeks, those recordings have enabled me to relive those experiences, and extend the powerful positive emotions I had when hearing them live.
Hearing great recordings always heightens emotions, but in the immediate wake of great performances, they allow you to relive transcendent emotions.