Begin the unnecessarily slow moving dipping mechanism

I hired a trumpet player to record horn tracks for the score of my gothic western movie.

Our process for collaborating on the album centered around following the funny.

First, I sent him the audio file of the song, along with lyrical context and creative direction.

Next, he would record a collection of possible trumpet voices for each part of the song.

Finally, I would listen to this mixes and choose the track that made me laugh.

That was my filter. My ever reliable biofeedback barometer. If the trumpet didn’t provoke at least some kind of smirk, snort, chuckle, cackle, giggle, snicker or howl, then I cut it out.

You have four minutes to make me laugh. Go for it.

Because I know my own body and mind. I know horn parts have that effect on me. Trumpets simply make me laugh. I can’t explain why, and I don’t have to.

During our collaboration for the film score, this filter was deeply joyful, but also highly useful. For example, the trumpeter’s parts on the first five songs of the album made me laugh, out loud, multiple times a piece. That’s how good his instrumentation was. His tone and timing and creativity were incredible.

But then on the sixth song, for some reason, the trumpet line didn’t make me laugh. Even after multiple listens. No response. And the melodies weren’t wrong or bad, per se. They just didn’t trigger my normal biological expression of emotional and cognitive appreciation and interest.

Which told me, okay, noted, let’s try this one again. Take two.

Sure enough, when he sent me the new mix with his revised trumpet voices, I laughed immediately. I felt joy, awe and excitement where before, there was only silence and stillness.

Mission accomplished.

How do you use laughter to inform your decision making? What are some of the other personal expressions of your emotional and cognitive appreciation for things?

This practice has broad application beyond the musical realm. The larger principle here is about cognitive awareness and emotional intelligence. The closer we pay attention to our own physiological reactions in different situations, the more accurate and authentic our decisions will become, and the happier we will ultimately be.

I understand we don’t want to over rely on feelings and completely ignore logic. But there are certain things in this life worth trusting, and laughter is one of them.

Opinions are not as reliable. Too subjective. Too many cognitive biases. But funny is funny.

Even if the experience is not inherently humors, the benign violation still tells us something truthful.

Carlin famously wrote in his posthumous memoir that people are never more themselves when they are laughing.

To ignore the funny is to ignore our very humanity.

How are you filtering experiences through physiological responses, rather than subjective feelings?