ARR's ability to poignantly create heightened and intense mood states through his music is I believe an under-discussed yet salient characteristic of his music, and why his music has such a powerful impact on so many. His ability to understand complex human emotions and to use the right sonic mediums to communicate those emotions and combine them in ways to create a gestalt mood state within the listener is highly impressive. This is one of the reasons why ARR has some of the most intense and wide ranging (age and culture) fans of any single composer worldwide. And also one of the main reasons why ARR recently won two Academy Awards (SDM music deserves most merit in being able to intensely amplify the emotional impact of a visual experience, not on the basis of a stand alone song).
Good musicians and those musicians that are popular have to create enhanced and pleasurable mood states for their music to be liked and popular. But, ARR's music goes further than just mere momentary endorphin based pleasure responses. The moods profiles his music elicits will vary from one person to the next, but they are all multi-faceted and dimensional I believe leading to a longer lasting effect on the mind. I don't think ARR composes music with these concepts in mind on a conscious level, but I do believe he understands human emotions very well and how certain sounds and combination of sounds can elevate the listening experience to intense levels (a concept brought to my attention by a good friend). Of course, listeners will need to have the right cognitive and emotional sensitivity to appreciate this deeper and finer impact of his music, which most intense ARR fans do. What draws us to ARR's music are a combination of elements (rhtyhm, harmony, melody, sound, structure), with each variable deserving its own merit, but in combination, creates an astounding overall gestaltic listening experience that underscores the powerful impact his music has on our moods and emotions. In that sense, ARR not only is a genius in terms of musical intelligence, he is a genius of emotional intelligence too.
