Why is Trance uplifting?

Emp_Fab

Why does Trance music make me feel happy?  Well... focused really...  What is it about the uptempo, frequently repetitive synth lines that takes my mind to a happier place?

How does that work?  Calling @viz !

BloodEagle

Only you know why it makes you happy - personally, having lived and tried to sleep in the same building block as a dance club for years when I was younger, uptempo frequently repetitive synth lines have the opposite effect 

cruxiform

Some Trance is known as ‘uplifting house’. I have some trance tunes from my DJing days that instantly lift my mood. Paul Oakenfold played some beautifully uplifting trance that always gave me a boost. Some stunning tunes on this mix:

https://youtu.be/UifN-HME9Eo

The mix from Summersault into Wide Open Space is sublime.

Springywheel

Listen to repetitive rhythms long enough and your conscious mind semi-subsides. That is, there's a propagation of  activity within the 'spatial' right hemisphere associated with musical awareness, art and expression. I'm pretty sure also that there have been studies showing how certain forms of music release dopamine and serotonin into the system. 

The idea of repetitive rhythms used to induce trance is not new - there are native american and aboriginal tribes that have been using this technique for thousands of years to commune with their Gods, ancestors etc. Whether you believe in that or not, they do enter deep states of trance from the repetitive nature of their instruments (usually drums made of animal skin - buffalo in the case of the native americans). 

poopot

It’s either the synths, the beat or the MDMA…

one of the three I reckon…

Alterlifeson

I am no music theorist but I think it’s the uplifting melodies against the chords changes used.

The are Above and Beyond tracks that ascend anything with a guitar in it for the chills down the spine feeling. 

JerkMoans

Yeah: probably because it's usually enjoyed after a fucking monster fistful of pills.

Philtre

It's completely depressing for me.

viz

Emp_Fab said:

Why does Trance music make me feel happy?  Well... focused really...  What is it about the uptempo, frequently repetitive synth lines that takes my mind to a happier place?

How does that work?  Calling @viz !

Sorry, been away! I think it’s because it requires very few brain cells to interpret, so is comforting to those who fit into that category

Not really, I guess it’s that meditation is supposed to be good for one’s mental state, and this music is hypnotic and … well, trance-like. I don’t really know much trance music, could you post some clips of what you mean?

mrkb

Is that the music that sounds like a washing machine spin cycle?

merlin

Why is Trance uplifting?

Coz in your e state you can love the DJ for doing absolutely fuck all and having zero talent and getting totally disproportionate amount of cash. 

RobDavies

merlin said:

Why is Trance uplifting?

Coz in your e state you can love the DJ for doing absolutely fuck all and having zero talent and getting totally disproportionate amount of cash. 

Harsh.   

I’ve tried it.  It’s very difficult to be a good DJ - yes, anyone with a bit if nous can be a record selector, but to be a successful DJ (in the modern sense ) requires tremendous skill.  

CHRISB50

merlin said:

Why is Trance uplifting?

Coz in your e state you can love the DJ for doing absolutely fuck all and having zero talent and getting totally disproportionate amount of cash. 

Take the blinkers off buddy.

It’s a skill. Just like playing the guitar. 

TheBigDipper

I once heard a Karl Heinz Stockhausen quote (it may have been someone else in that classical field, but fairly sure it was him). The context was discussing the repetitive rhythms of Can or Neu - both of whom I'm partial to, and Stockhausen taught two Can members before they formed Can.

"In repetitive music, the music doesn't change, but after a while, the listener does" or something similar. I think he's right. 

So, anyone want to suggest some Trance I could listen to that does the same thing? 

Mattharrier

TheBigDipper said:

So, anyone want to suggest some Trance I could listen to that does the same thing? 

System F - Out of the Blue
Ayla - Ayla
Space Brothers - Shine
Dejure - Sanctuary
Marc et Claude - La

Find a mix album with any of those on (preferably something older and a live mix rather than a "UItimate Dance Anthems" CD, as the mixing will be done properly instead of stitched together in Protools) and you'll find some classics.

Ferry Corsten Live at Innercity is a stone cold monster.

Mattharrier

RobDavies said:

merlin said:

Why is Trance uplifting?

Coz in your e state you can love the DJ for doing absolutely fuck all and having zero talent and getting totally disproportionate amount of cash. 

Harsh.   

I’ve tried it.  It’s very difficult to be a good DJ - yes, anyone with a bit if nous can be a record selector, but to be a successful DJ (in the modern sense ) requires tremendous skill.  

Agreed - the basic mechanics of beat matching aren't too hard but picking tracks that 1) work together 2) fit together and 3) make the crowd respond in the desired manner is an arcane art. Some of the top DJs do make ludicrous amounts of money, but is still small change compared to, say, professional footballers (who just kick a ball around a couple of times a week, if we're being deconstructionist).

Philly_Q

I have two Trance albums.  I only have them because they were released by Wishbone Ash, in a rather odd mid-'90s career tangent.

They're called Trance Visionary and Psychic Terrorism.  They made them with someone called Mike Bennett who I assumed was some sort of trance guru, but just Googling him he seems to be a jack-of-all-trades producer who's worked with some big names.

They're alright.  I might put them on this evening.

merlin

RobDavies said:

Harsh.   

I’ve tried it.  It’s very difficult to be a good DJ - yes, anyone with a bit if nous can be a record selector, but to be a successful DJ (in the modern sense ) requires tremendous skill.  

CHRISB50 said:

Take the blinkers off buddy.

It’s a skill. Just like playing the guitar. 

Of course it is. And using a massive dollop of irony is also a deep skill.... making people unaware that you're using it.....top talent. I award myself points. 

I know that proper, professional DJing takes a good deal of technical know-how and segueing tracks really well to tie in with how the crowd is feeling requires good skills too. I do think that much of it is formulaic though. And I also think that much of it is money for old rope and just done by numbers. Speaking from listening and dancing experience. 

I was in the Hacienda in the early 90s. And the Whirligig too, also early 90s.  To name two places....

Johnnyseven

JerkMoans said:

Yeah: probably because it's usually enjoyed after a fucking monster fistful of pills.

This. It's specifically made to be so it makes a club full of people off their heads on E feel awesome!

Grunfeld

TheBigDipper said:

"In repetitive music, the music doesn't change, but after a while, the listener does" or something similar. I think he's right. 

So, anyone want to suggest some Trance I could listen to that does the same thing? 

@TheBigDipper ; Love that quote.

Got some nice stuff from classic era on this playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7lzFqF68OfqZCVEdu6P0LE?si=e277904d65dd49a7

and about 22 hours to keep one going on this one...

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6D5m6wNYT5kS6Wn9JZnQfn?si=eaeca530c3354c3b

MagicPigDetective

Grunfeld said:

TheBigDipper said:

"In repetitive music, the music doesn't change, but after a while, the listener does" or something similar. I think he's right. 

So, anyone want to suggest some Trance I could listen to that does the same thing? 

@TheBigDipper ; Love that quote.

Got some nice stuff from classic era on this playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7lzFqF68OfqZCVEdu6P0LE?si=e277904d65dd49a7

and about 22 hours to keep one going on this one...

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6D5m6wNYT5kS6Wn9JZnQfn?si=eaeca530c3354c3b

That’s a hell of a playlist!

 I’m more partial to techno. This playlist by Kelly Lee Owens is superb

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWYMVjvqDxZQX?si=GAwNpEZYTRirFZkUVkVpvw