Music Hyperhydonia

Have you ever experienced frisson?



Frisson is a French word meaning “a sudden strong feeling of excitement,” or a thrill.

It is the feeling you get when you hear a certain piece of music and all of a sudden you have chill bumps all over your body.

You may also get that feeling when there is enough foreshadowing in a television show or film and you kind of know what may happen next, yet you start to get excited anyway.

For many years, I have been interested in the people who serve as music supervisors for TV shows. And, until recently, I had no idea that one of the very best music supervisors is also an actress on several programs: Christa Miller.

Miller is the music supervisor on the AppleTV+ series “Shrinking,” currently in its third season and rightfully noted for being one of the very best shows on TV these days. She also plays the character of Liz on the show. Her husband, Bill Lawrence, is the co-creator and showrunner.

This husband-and-wife team has been operating in Hollywood for decades. Lawrence created “Scrubs,” which had a 10-season run and has just returned with new episodes; Miller served as the music supervisor for that show and appeared as Jordan. Later, Lawrence co-created “Cougar Town,” which also enjoyed a respectable run, and Miller served as the music supervisor as well as played the role of Ellie.

Admittedly, I never really watched “Scrubs” nor “Cougar Town” – they seemed to be on at times I wasn’t around. But a few years ago, I fell in love with “Ted Lasso” – also co-created by Bill Lawrence, with music supervision by Christa Miller.

Which brings me to “Shrinking” and a term Miller introduced on a recent podcast about frisson: a condition called hyperhydonia.

What in the world is hyperhydonia?

Hyperhydonia is a condition in which music becomes so powerful, it touches you on a deeper, more spiritual level.  Miller says she has a playlist of 4,000 songs that give her that feeling, but she is always listening out for the newest artist who might have something different to say than what we’ve heard before.

Think of the times a particular song is used for a scene in a show – what would that scene have been like without the music? Christa Miller has demonstrated an unerring choice of songs for, in particular, “Shrinking,” as the characters experience different life events.

In the movies, imagine what some of the greatest sequences in cinematic history would have been like without the musical soundtrack.

I found Christa Miller’s comments fascinating, but even more so, I have come to appreciate her ear for great music on “Shrinking” and “Ted Lasso.” Both shows are great, but thanks to hyperhydonia, they are a cut above all the rest.

Michael Bird is an assistant professor of music at Faulkner University.

.