when an artist suddenly features one of five auditory cues indicating loss, resulting in listener chills when combined effectively with a Structural Pattern
“That tremble in her voice really moved me. Chills all over my arms and legs.”
How It Works
When artists use the Grief pattern, they mimic the vocalizations that humans (and animals) produce when we experience social loss. Crying, sobbing, wails, and other anguished sounds share a set of rare, distinct features. These features are difficult to fake, which helps grief cues serve as honest signals of emotional pain. There are two theories of how the Grief pattern triggers listener chills. One is that grief cues make us “feel” the pain of a performer and imagine what it would feel like if we lost a loved one. A second theory posits that grief cues make us feel cold chills to encourage us to hold the person in distress to warm up. According to the theory, this grief response evolved to encourage infant care-giving.
Grief and Alarm cues share many technical features and tend to appear together.
Top Structural Pattern pairing:
Genre that most uses pattern:
Technique 1: Rapid oscillation (vibrato)
Fast, irregular rises and falls in pitch that mimic how the human voice shakes unpredictable when we are emotionally upset. Some of the ways artists implement this technique are:
— Vibrato on certain acoustic instruments (e.g. violins, cellos, Uellian pipes, saxophones)
— Production techniques and electronic instruments (e.g. pitch modulators, Hammond organ, etc.)
Genre
Song
Artist
Frisson Reported by Listeners
Technique 2: Pharyngeal voice
A nasal sound like the “ng” at the end of the word young. This sound occurs when humans cry and our tears mix with mucus, causing more air to pass through the sinus than the mouth. Some of the ways artists implement this technique are:
— Child singers (e.g., especially young male singers that naturally produce a nasal-heavy sound)
— Lyrics emphasizing ng, m, n, and i sounds
Genre
Song
Artist
Frisson Reported by Listeners
Technique 3: “Breaking” voice
Uncontrolled transitions between modal and falsetto registers, mimicking how our pharynx tightens when we cry and causes unpredictable swings into falsetto. Some of the ways artists implement this technique are:
— Instruments mimicking breaking voice with disjunct motion
— Extended vocal techniques (e.g. yodeling, ululation)
Genre
Song
Artist
Frisson Reported by Listeners
Technique 4: Falsetto
Sounds with a thin, “airy” quality that mimics how humans unconsciously shift up into the falsetto register when we are emotionally upset. Some of the ways artists implement this technique are:
— High-pitched notes on string instruments mimicking falsetto (e.g. artificial harmonics above natural range)
Genre
Song
Artist
Frisson Reported by Listeners
Technique 5: Gliding contours (“wails”)
Prolonged, falling notes with a gradual rise-and-fall contour, mimicking the wails humans are unable to maintain a stable pitch and volume when we grieve. Some of the ways artists implement this technique are:
— Certain alternating progressions that mimic wailing (e.g. I-iii-I-iii, IV-iv-IV-iv)
Genre
Song
Artist
Frisson Reported by Listeners