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Different genres and styles of music can elicit distinct emotional responses, which influences how our brains retrieve memories. This is especially true if people tend to listen to different styles for different occasions.
Music has a strong impact on our memory due to its ability to affect emotions and create strong mental associations. When we listen to music, multiple parts of our brain are triggered to react emotionally and cognitively. This is bound to have an effect on how we remember things.
There are fundamentally two types of memory, namely “procedural” and “episodic.” Procedural memory is also known as "muscle memory," and involves habits or routines that can be done without thought. Episodic memory, however, requires conscious recollection and is what our brains use to remember something.
It goes without saying that collaborative musical experiences, such as singing with friends, can foster social bonds and create collective memories. There is something magical about having shared memories with your friends and community.
Some people involuntarily perceive color while listening to music or other sounds, a condition known as chromesthesia (or “sound-to-color synesthesia”). Color pairings are different for every person, but it seems that high pitched sounds are usually associated with lighter or brighter colors, while darker colors are reserved for low pitched sounds.
Aside from simply listening to music or participating in musical training, studies have shown that active songwriting and music creation also has a profound impact on a person’s ability to overcome traumatic memories.
Music therapy utilizes the power of music to enhance memory, cognition, and emotional well-being in people with neurological conditions like dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Indeed, some patients with these conditions are able to sing along effortlessly to songs, despite being unable to recall personal memories.
The connection between music and memory is rooted in the brain's limbic system, which processes our emotions and memory formation. Music can consolidate our memories and code our emotions by engaging this part of the brain.
Musical experiences during childhood, such as learning to play an instrument or singing in a choir, can have long-lasting effects on memory development. After all, the memory networks in the mind are strengthened through continued musical exercise.
Background music in schools has the potential to influence learning and memory performance, with some types of music helping students concentrate. Studies have shown that music with moderate tempos can help support attention for longer periods of time.
The "Mozart effect" suggests that listening to classical music may temporarily enhance cognitive functions, including memory, although some scientists are still debating the long-term effects. Some parents even play classical music to their children in the crib in the hopes that it might bolster their IQ.
When the brain comes into contact with music, it releases doses of dopamine into the body, which is basically the mind’s reward/pleasure system. Not only does music help your memory, but it also makes you feel good about it!
Recalling favorite music from the past is known as “musical nostalgia,” and is seen as a rich tapestry of autobiographical memories. When you experience difficulty in life, you may find yourself listening to music from the past in order to feel calmer, since doing this offers a sense of security.
Musical training has been linked to enhanced memory skills, as musicians often demonstrate superior memory abilities related to sound. Learning to play an instrument is usually a fundamental part of training memory.
The process of learning and rehearsing musical pieces involves repetitive practice, which strengthens the way that our minds make memories. As a result, every other part of a person’s life can benefit from the brain’s increased neural capability.
The association between music and memory extends beyond individual experiences to cultural and collective memories shared by societies. Music serves as a repository of cultural heritage, preserving collective memories and transmitting cultural identity across generations.
Music even has the ability to enhance your memory, since it provides a foundation for organizing and remembering information. This is because predictable beats and tempos help the cognitive processes in our brains synchronize.
While playing music, improvisation encourages spontaneous creativity and can enhance memory performance by stimulating divergent thinking and problem-solving skills.
Watching musical narratives, like films or plays that use songs or instrumental motifs, can create powerful emotional responses and help build memories and empathy.
Patients suffering from dementia are shown to have a marked improvement in mood and brain function when personalized playlists are used. Familiar music from the past brings up preserved memories and elicits positive emotional responses. All of this most assuredly enhances quality of life.
Software developers are trying to create music players that use artificial intelligence to curate individualized playlists designed to guide people from a state of anxiety to one of calm.
Mnemonics are also used in advertising and marketing, since brands want their customers to experience strong emotions when they think about a product or service. Jingles are a prime example.
Certain songs or pieces of music have the potential to become intertwined with personal memories, and so they serve as auditory bookmarks for significant events. If you listen to the music again years later, you may find yourself involuntarily remembering those moments from the past.
In the absence of a musical instrument, trying to imagine it can also stimulate brain networks involved in memory and perception. This is why many musicians can be seen practicing even when they aren’t physically holding their instruments, or why most people randomly remember lyrics to songs that aren’t playing.
Catchy tunes or rhymes–known as mnemonics–are effective for learning and retaining information. Mnemonic devices capitalize on rhythmic and melodic patterns to help build a stronger brain.
Overall, music serves as a powerful device to shape our memories and identities. It stimulates sensory experiences and fosters social connections that make it a potent tool for memory enhancement and emotional expression.
Sources: (Music & Memory) (Levine Music) (Harvard Health) (The Washington Post) (TakeLessons) (Twelve Tone Music School)
Music is rightfully considered to be a universal human language, as it is profoundly able to cut across time and borders. But while music has the ability to bring forward deep emotions that would usually lie dormant, it has the same effect on our memories. Without any effort, music can not only help us recall stored memories, but can also help us create new ones.
How does it do this? And why do we have no control over it? Click through this gallery to see why our minds become so pliant under music’s sweet tune.
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MUSIC Brain
Music is rightfully considered to be a universal human language, as it is profoundly able to cut across time and borders. But while music has the ability to bring forward deep emotions that would usually lie dormant, it has the same effect on our memories. Without any effort, music can not only help us recall stored memories, but can also help us create new ones.
How does it do this? And why do we have no control over it? Click through this gallery to see why our minds become so pliant under music’s sweet tune.