Definition

A set of auditory cues that make listeners feel an unnerving sense of intimacy or approach. Very close and very fast approaching sounds share a set of distinct acoustic features. It’s theorized that our brains have a heightened sensitivity to these features because we have limited time to defend ourselves if the nearby source producing them turns out to be dangerous. The more abruptly artists introduce proximity cues into their music, and the more performers intensify the unique features that distinguish them, the more likely we are to experience chills.

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Mechanism

When musicians use the Proximity pattern, they trick our brain’s object localization system. This system uses a distinction between peri-personal (~6 inches around our body) and extra-personal space ( >6 inches around our body) to prioritize signals from our environment. Our brain always prioritizes and urgently processes any sounds in, or about to cross into, our peri-personal space. Think of how you can ignore a buzzing fly until it comes close to your ear, but then you can’t help but unconsciously swat it away even though you know it isn’t dangerous. Researchers have confirmed that looming sounds in our peri-personal space are correlated with increased skin conductance and other well-known markers of frisson.

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Technique #1: Non-linear crescendos

The first Proximity technique involves accelerating increases in loudness (a reliable indicator of distance because the sound waves of close sounds have less space to cover, so the same acoustic energy is spread over a smaller area). In chills-inducing passages, the most reliable ways we see artists pull this off are:

• Rapid swells with constant pitch: where an artist features rapid, non-linear increase in volume lasting <1 sec, typically paired with overdubbed vocals or white noise risers 

• Added timbres, constant volume: where rather than increasing the volume of one timbre, an artist instead layers many timbres on top of each other during a quick build lasting 2-4 seconds, typically featured in the lead-up to a climax or resolution moment when listeners are distracted by the harmonic progression (making the increase in loudness more jarring)

• Certain impulse timbres : where an artist features certain percussive timbres that are conducive to rapid, non-linear increases in loudness that quickly fill in upper and lower frequencies, especially rolls on suspended cymbals, gongs, and tam-tams 

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Technique #2: Non-linear “brightness”

The second Proximity technique involves accelerating increases in “brightness” (a reliable indicator of distance because as sound travels through the air it loses acoustic energy faster in higher frequencies than lower frequencies). In chills-inducing passages, the most reliable ways we see artists pull this off are:

• Upward sweeps: where an artist features an accelerating glissando or rapid, chromatic step-wise motion into upper frequencies, typically isolated, ambient flourishes divorced from any melodic movement or harmonic progression to focus listeners on the proximity cue

• “Noisy” timbres: where an artist features certain instruments that effectively concentrate and bring out energy in upper frequencies, including white-noise risers, pads, wind chimes, suspended cymbals, or piano with pedal down, all typically paired with heavy reverb to prolong the high-brightness sounds    

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Technique #3: Whispering and breathiness

The third Proximity technique involves whispering and other forms of intimate vocals enhanced by microphones. In chills-inducing passages, the most reliable ways we see artists pull this off are:

• Whispering and “whisper-pop” singing: when a vocalist switching from chest voice to head voice or falsetto and adjusts their soft palette to create a more “breathy” sound, usually at the tailing end of a long exposed note or on the upbeat of a new section to make the onset as jarring as possible for listeners

• Close mic’d vocals: where a produces records an artist in a studio with limited reflectors or resonances and positions the mic right up against the vocalist’s mouth to achieve an especially crisp sound that enables listeners to hear every inhalation and movement of the mouth, tongue, and lips

• Certain reed instruments that produce an “airy” sound: where an artist feature the quiet entrance of certain timbres that can mimic the sound of a “breathy” singer, including the flute, oboe, and saxophone (the opera composer Puccini claimed the saxophone is the instrument closest to the human voice)

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Technique #4: Inter-ear variation

The fourth Proximity technique involves sounds that vary in arrival time and intensity across the left vs. right ear (or speaker). In chills-inducing passages, the most reliable ways we see artists pull this off are:

• Rapid alternating panning: where an artist temporarily concentrates the music (or one of the tracks)  into the left or right earbud (or speaker), and then alternates between the earbuds quickly and at a non-linear rate, typically paired with reverb and sustained notes to create a feeling of being “surrounded” 

• Spatial production effects: where an artist edits stereo tracks with varying reverb and mixing to diminish or enhance the perception of closeness, typically used in EDM to make it feel like the music is moving “away” from the listener before a drop before suddenly jumping “closer” on the drop itself

• “3D” recording techniques: where an artist uses binaural recordings, multiple mic positions across a recording studio, and other production methods to make sounds appear as if they are moving “around” a listener (with up/down movement beyond the standard left/right achieved with panning)

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Technique #5: ASMR sounds

The fifth Proximity technique involves sounds that trigger a sensation called autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR). In chills-inducing passages, the most reliable ways we see artists pull this off are:

• Crackling noise: when an artist abruptly introduces a sound that mimics the acoustics produced when a solid object changes states, for example wood crackling in a fire, crumpling a piece of paper into a ball, rustling a pile of dry leaves, or rapidly popping bubble wrap

• Certain wet sounds: when an artist abruptly introduces a sound that mimics the acoustics produced when a liquid changes states, for example rain falling onto a textured surface, a carbonated drink being poured into a glass and bubbling, water evaporating into steam, or water sloshing in a container 

• Quiet clicking or fluttering sounds: when an artist abruptly introduces the sound of certain objects making contact with each other that, in real life, would be difficult to hear without being close to the ojbects, for example fingers tapping a typewriter, scissors opening and closing rapidly, or spoken sounds where the tongue hits the top of the mouth (tk, ts, sk, ch, etc,)