i got this warm fuzzy feeling when i played bass last night

Manfred-Klose

ok so i had to go check out a friends band last night. i ended jamming a few songs with on bass guitar (i am mainly a guitarist but do play bass as well, but only basic stuff)

so we jammed a few songs, and i got this warm feeling inside when i played, it just felt good.
i haven't had that experience in a while.

its hard to explain what it feels like, but imagine you feel indestructible right at that moment and can do anything.
we were playing some ACDC, so that might also contribute to it.

i might have just described the effects of cocaine, but i suppose this is what you call dopamine?

for those that dont know, check out what dopamine is :
http://news.discovery.com/human/music-dopamine-happiness-brain-110110.html

anyone experienced it before ?

Jack-Flash-Jr

Every time I pick up my trusty j-bass ?

Ray

Only with dopamine I mean copamine I mean I'm not coping

Averatu

Your description is almost how I feel playing a good gig to a receptive energetic audience, some call it the energy flow between band and crowd. Never been a fan of drugs, so I cant relate the 2.

Averatu

Ray wrote: Only with dopamine I mean copamine I mean I'm not coping

I know the feeling, its like a full bottle in front of me, I mean a full frontal lobotomy.

Manfred-Klose

lol dont get me wrong, i dont do or support drugs, just relating it to descriptions from the internet.

i do get it often when i play a good gig.

it just occured to me last night.

Jack-Flash-Jr

It's also a communal thing... nothing like hitting a groove with friends (or even strangers) and building a musical monument in the air.
A good gig? It's better than drugs for sure.

V8

Manfred Klose wrote: so we jammed a few songs, and i got this warm feeling inside when i played, it just felt good.
i haven't had that experience in a while.

for those that dont know, check out what dopamine is :
http://news.discovery.com/human/music-dopamine-happiness-brain-110110.html

anyone experienced it before ?

Hey,

Yeah bro, it's why I play instruments and make music!

"Neuro-chemistry" is a interesting topic - (From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurochemistry) Neurochemicals such as norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin were classified as "putative neurotransmitters in certain neuronal tracts in the brain.".

I mostly play music to take my mind off stuff that's bothering me (E.g. work) - I think of it as meditative. In the 'zone' - I become aware of my enivronment, breathing, body, instead of focussed on the thoughts (that can) run rampant (E.g. I gotta pay the rent, the work I have next week is concerning me, what if this happens, etc...). The further I get away from what's bothering me, and the further I get into expressing myself and giving creativity a outlet, the 'happier' I seem to be...

Meditation 'eases heart disease' - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8363302.stm

And there are the well documented benefits of physical exercise (endorphins), breathing exercises, eating a 'balanced diet' and a variety of other 'healthy living' reccomendations.

What does this mean? In my humble opinion, there are a multitude of methods in which we affect our body & mind on a daily basis. A cup of coffee, beer, cigarette, conversation, thought, love, etc... could alter our 'mood' (subjectively) as it has a effect of our Neuro-chemistry.

The 'trick' seems to be, knowing ones own parameters and finding one's own balance?

Sometimes, I'm too focussed on playing guitar - too much self induced pressure to write/play, so I'll pick up the bass or sit behind the drums or maybe even sing along to a few tunes - just to remind myself, it's about the activity (and it's effects), not neccesarily always about the musical results...?

When I played bass in the old band, I just loved locking into a groove with the drummer - could hang there all day, it was sooo much fun ? And when we gigged, well that was just the cherry on the top!

V8