How Do Psychedelics Affect Musical Ability

Listening to certain music while on psychedelics can be a highly memorable and therapeutic experience. Since the 1950s until the present day, the presence of a carefully curated playlist has been treated as an essential a part of psychedelic-assisted therapy; so much so that psychedelic researchers have referred to music as ‘the hidden therapist’. (However, more recently, researchers have also emphasised the potential therapeutic value of periods of silence while tripping.) But as well as listening to music on psychedelics, many psychonauts also like to play music while in their altered states. And there are also some legendary recordings and tales of famous musicians who performed live after having dosed.

Psychedelics can enhance creativity, music appreciation, and states of collective effervescence (a feeling of group euphoria, energy, and unity that occurs when engaged in a collective synchronised activity). All of this means that playing music while tripping – particularly in a group of people – can lead to potentially quite intense ecstatic states. Whether one plays music solo or in a group, one can find oneself in a state of ‘flow’. This involves getting swept away by the music, losing the everyday ego and sense of time. Mental chatter ceases, and one may experience new musical creations pouring out of oneself effortlessly. In a psychedelic state, this state of flow may become magnified.

However, even if psychedelics help to magnify the enjoyment of playing music, how do they affect musical ability? How do they affect one’s ability to keep time and maintain rhythm? When musicians experience their effects, do they help or hinder their performances? Based on well-known concert footage, accounts from famous musicians, and many anecdotal reports, there appears to be no simple answer. (As far as I’m aware, this question hasn’t been properly researched.)

Some people – whether they be professional or hobbyist musicians – find psychedelics have, on occasion, helped them play better. Others have found it hindered their musical ability, so they avoid playing while under the influence. Then there are others still who find it doesn’t affect their ability to perform. Differences in experiences often depend on factors like dosage, the instrument played, the type of music, and if one is singing rather than playing an instrument.

It is doubtful that psychedelics would, for most people, improve technique, regardless of what the instrument may be. It is possible, however, for psychedelics to enhance focus and creativity if they allow one to enter a state of flow. They can also lead to more creative playing simply by altering the mind so that one chooses patterns one may not have discovered otherwise. In response to a Reddit post on r/Guitar on the topic of psychedelics and musical creativity, u/PunkPino said:

Psychedelics will not improve your technique. They can however, have an effect on your creativity, as well as the process of listening to music. They have the ability to heighten your senses and you will be able to pick up on things you would have otherwise ignored. They can also make music more pleasureful to listen to.

I can also imagine that hand percussive instruments are well-suited to psychedelic states. This is because, while technique makes an important difference to the sound, once you’ve learned the technique, it can become second nature. Of course, it can take many years of practice to become, for example, a highly skilled djembe player (you won’t be able to play like Mamady Keita or Bolokada Conde simply by having good technique and then taking a psychedelic). But by being relatively skilled at, say, djembe or the handpan, it’s possible to end up playing new and interesting rhythms while in an altered state.

Many people agree that Santana’s best ever live show (or at least one of their best) was at Woodstock 1969. Their performance of ‘Soul Sacrifice’ stands out in particular. Guitarist Carlos Santana was also (very) high on acid during it. Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia gave Santana the LSD prior to the live set. Santana thought he had enough time to come down, but his band were called to play earlier than expected. He was at the peak of the acid experience; before going on stage, he prayed to stay in tune and in time.

Everything became another dimension,” he recalls. The neck of his early ‘60s Gibson SG Special “felt like a snake”, which he was trying to tame. He also avoided looking at his guitar because of this hallucinatory effect, so we often see him with eyes closed, trusting his hand and fingers will move as they should. While the experience was an ordeal for him to get through, he helped create a masterful performance – one of the most iconic moments of Woodstock 1969. In an article for Grunge, Elizabeth Hlavinka opines, “Santana performed even better than usual on psychedelics.

When Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters did the Acid Test parties in 1965-66 throughout California, most attendees said yes and took the psychedelic Kool-Aid provided by the Pranksters. The Grateful Dead played at most of the concerts, oftentimes tripping themselves as a band. It took them some time to learn how to do it, but the band soon found their groove and the extended jam was born.

Depending on the instrument being played, psychedelics (assuming the dosage isn’t too high) may have no noticeable effect on musical ability. One may end up playing just as one normally would (although one may enjoy the activity a whole lot more). This can be true of a vocalist’s ability, too. I have in mind here Tool’s 1992 show at JC Dobbs in Philadelphia (which you can watch in full here.)

While vocalist Maynard James Keenan hasn’t confirmed he was tripping during the show, it would appear he was. He doesn’t blink, and his pupils are dilated. Despite being under the influence (likely LSD), it’s undeniably an incredible performance by Maynard. One may want to place this performance under the category of ‘psychedelics enhancing musical ability’. However, Maynard has often performed at this level – and even more impressively – when sober. So I don’t think tripping made him perform any better in terms of, say, breath control or range. However, this doesn’t mean his stage presence and the raw emotion that went into his performance isn’t powerful. Perhaps some will insist, nevertheless, that his altered state was what helped him get ‘in the zone’ and sound just like he does in the studio versions of the tracks.

Another vocalist who performed while on LSD was Jim Morrison of The Doors. And this was for their iconic Live at the Hollywood Bowl 1968 show. It is widely considered one of the best musical performances recorded from the 60s. But would Morrison have performed just as well if he hadn’t taken LSD? Probably. Nonetheless, others may feel the LSD enhanced his ability as a singer and performer, adding some ‘magic’ or ‘energy’ that would otherwise be missing. Others still may feel the LSD got in the way of his performance. Benjamin Myers highlights these differing views in an article for the New Statesman:

There’s a moment in the Doors’ performance at the Hollywood Bowl in 1968 where you can discern precisely when the acid that the singer Jim Morrison secretly took beforehand takes effect. Self-conscious and static in the earlier songs, he loosens and comes alive, and, during the show’s closer “The End”, he becomes fascinated by a moth that has alighted on the stage. With the band arranged as if they’re still playing in a minuscule club, and shorn of any showbiz visuals, they rely on the dark drama of their music and the captivating power of their frontman. “I think either he took too much,” the guitarist Robby Krieger remarked 40 years later, “or not enough."

For some people, being under the full effects of a recreational dose of a psychedelic – for instance, 2–4 g of psilocybin mushrooms or 100–200 micrograms of LSD – negatively affects musical ability. In other words, it makes it more difficult to focus, keep time, and ignore distractions. Technique becomes hindered. While playing loosely – jamming solo or in a group, for example – may be possible, playing songs in full that one can normally play may be difficult, if not downright impossible. On a high dose of a psychedelic, being able to play music is likely to be the last thing on one’s mind, and even if one tried to, the somatic and visual effects would certainly get in the way of being able to play as normal.

Some well-known musicians have also described how psychedelics can impair musical ability. In the case of Syd Barrett – the original guitarist and vocalist for Pink Floyd – his relationship with LSD and how he felt under its effects led him to be unable to play music. As Tom Curtis-Horsfall writes in a piece for Why Now:

Ironically, it was LSD that both created and dismantled Syd’s career in music, and was the root of the severe decline in his mental health and ultimate self-destruction.

One of the first significant “acid casualties” of the era, Syd began experimenting with LSD heavily during the recording of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. By December of that same year, his behaviour became so erratic that the band brought in old friend David Gilmour for live performances for some much needed reliability.

Gilmour noticed a difference in Syd much earlier however, as he recalled in the 1991 biography, Crazy Diamond: Syd Barrett and the Dawn of Pink Floyd: “Syd didn’t seem to recognize me and just stared back,” he remembered after dropping in to the recording sessions for ‘See Emily Play’ in May. “I got to know that look pretty well and I’ll go on record as saying that was when he changed. It was a shock. He was a different person.

Reaching crisis point, the band even suggested keeping Syd on as a non-performing member, in an attempt to continue harnessing his creativity. The result of which was ‘Have You Got It Yet?’, a song he intentionally fractured and disjointed throughout rehearsals to frustrate his perceived mutineers. For a gig in Southampton shortly after, the band didn’t bother picking him up.”

It’s not that surprising that psychedelics would impair musical ability in some individuals, particularly when it comes to playing music live. Being in that public space with many eyes on you – and the pressure of needing to perform well – can be a massive hindrance when tripping. Alongside dosage, type of psychedelic, type of instrument, and type of music being played, the way that psychedelics affect you on an individual level will play a role in whether they have a positive, negative, or neutral effect on your musical ability.