Week 15- Kristine Dang- Music and Memory
When you listen to a song that you haven’t listened to in a long time do you get a sense of nostalgia? I notice that this happens to me quite often and it surprises me when I remember the lyrics to songs that I haven’t listened to in months or even years. However, studies have shown that lyrics are not the only things music can make you remember. An experiment done by Dan Cohen, a social worker, proved that listening to music can help people with dementia in nursing homes, and because the effects were so moving, there is a documentary on this called Alive Inside.
Dan Cohen would “ask a resident's family to list the songs or instrumental pieces the person once enjoyed.” After this, Cohen would put together a playlist for them to listen to and while listening to them, people who were once unable to speak began to sing and dance. From continuous practice with “gradually dropping the melody,” these people would regain their ability to speak. Additionally, it would help patients regain their memories of where and when they heard the song before. These miracles have helped many and have inspired others that things that may seem impossible are indeed possible.
We all have different opinions on how influential music is on our lives, however, we can agree that most music is beneficial. In everyday life, music is present and even when we stop listening to certain songs, they may still have an impact on us in the future because it has been engraved into our memories.
Hi Kristine! The memory stored in music is something that is extremely interesting to think about. I myself find myself associating songs not only with people but also places, events and even time periods in my life. For example I associate Despacito with China oddly because I was in China at the time. On that note, songs bringing memories back seems like a good thing since that would be a low cost way to help people. Songs seem to have nothing but benefits.
ReplyDeleteHi Kristene, sometimes I hear a song, and I unconsciously start singing along, and I realize that I know basically every lyric to the song. Sometimes songs I haven't listened to in years resurface, and I find that I still remember every single word. This is very interesting to me; I think the way lyrics combine with the music makes it easy to remember. I think that's why there are songs for the states and capitals, or for the digits of pi. Putting things you need to memorize into songs is very helpful as your brain is able to naturally remember the words along with the music.
ReplyDeleteHey Kristine! The concept of feelings and certain thoughts being ingrained in us forever is quite interesting. Personally, Muscle memory remains an example of this. Skill in sports or while playing an instrument improves with practice and repeated muscle motion. Our brains become so accustomed to this motion that it just becomes second nature. These motions get stored in our brains and don’t just go away after a certain period of time. They stayed with us for a very long time. Regardless, the medical benefits from understanding this concept are really great! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteKristine, what a heartwarming story to read. I can definitely understand the relationship between music and memory; when certain songs play they transport me to a different event like Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift reminds me of my first middle school dance or Enemy by Imagine Dragons reminds me of the show Arcane. To read about what Dan Cohen did for these elderly people makes me truly happy. Singing, dancing, and speaking is an emotional outlet for many of us and having that taken away feels as if a part of you is gone. For Cohen to bring some of that back with music shows the power of the brain and its memory function.
ReplyDeleteHi Kristine! I have definitely felt nostalgia from listening to a song that I have not heard in a long time. I have many Spotify playlists that I play for different occasions and moods so I tend to associate experiences and feelings with my music. I think it is so cool how music and rhythm can help people remember things that they have forgotten and give people hope that miracles are possible. I wonder if people from Cohen’s experiment started dancing due to muscle memory from dancing to these songs when they were younger. I really enjoyed reading about the intriguing topic of your blog. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHey Kristine, music has definitely played a big role in helping me remember certain events. I think it started after I listened to this Justin Bieber song which reminded me of a road trip to LA so much that it helped me realize how music can act sort of like a mental diary. Now whenever I travel to places, I purposely choose recent songs I like and constantly play them during the trip so that I will start associating the songs with these memories I am making. It is fascinating how songs can not only be a blessing to our ears but also a blessing for our memories. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Kristine! Music is very powerful, and I definitely think that the emotions that can be portrayed often remind people of past memories. People may remember a song from a distinct time in their life, or they may even be reminded of past memories because of the mood and feelings that music conveys. I love that music can help people regain their memories, and I'm really curious as to how this happens within our brains. Music is a great way for us to remember things, as teachers used to help us memorize concepts with songs, so its really cool to think of the significance of music on our memory.
ReplyDeleteHey Kristine, music is definitely an amazing component of memory. Our brain, no matter how ineffective it is at memorizing actual details and events (my brain), seems to be fantastic at memorizing nearly every single tune you have heard. In my Spotify playlist, I have about 400 songs, and by simply listening to one songs' tune for a couple seconds, I can clearly recall the song in my head. But if you were to tell me a French phrase and ask me to repeat it seconds afterwards, I would fail with flying colors. Our memory really is special.
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