Musical Memory

You know how sometimes you can do things through muscle memory?  Maybe something that you've done so many times you no longer even have to think about how to do it, your muscles just do it automatically?  I've been thinking a lot lately that this is how my brain works with music.  When I listen to certain songs (ones I'm familiar with of course), I can immediately think of either the first time I heard it or other specific memories associated with that song.  It's kind of cool really.

When I hear anything by Stacie Orrico I’m immediately transported back to my freshmen year of college, and when I listen to early Shawn McDonald I think back to my days of driving from Oxford to Dayton to go to Apex Community Church.  Hearing Tenth Avenue North reminds me of Patrick’s first deployment when we lived in Okinawa, and I remember spending hours at the gym running off the frustration of that time when I hear Rihanna.  When I listen to Paramore or Reliant K I think about marathon training with Elizabeth in Oki, and “Starstruck” by Lady Gaga reminds me of being on that Emriates flight to South Africa.  I hear “Assassin” by John Mayer and think about spending a rainy afternoon in the LPC making nametags for storytime, and anytime “If You’re Happy and You Know It” is played anywhere I think about storytime itself.  When I hear “You Still Have Me” by Gungor I feel like I’m on that 18 hour train ride across India, and JJ Heller makes me think of working jigsaw puzzles in our house in Beaufort.  And even though we have only lived in Louisville for a few weeks, already when Ellie Goulding comes on my iPod I think of running and riding my bike around the neighborhood.

As we were riding the bus that 17 hours to Mpulungu I listened to my iPod most of the way and realized that nearly every song on there contains a memory.  Pretty cool!  I think it’s fascinating how our brains are able to story memories like that.  Recently I saw a short video clip of some research being done with music and dementia patients.  There was a guy on there who never spoke and couldn’t take care of himself in any way.  He didn’t respond at all to family who visited him, yet when they put on some music from his youth he perked right up and sang along with the lyrics! 

It's so incredible how music can play such an important role in our lives.  The fact that memories and music are so closely related has always fascinated me.  And maybe some day we'll discover that music is the key to unlocking the minds of those who have long since forgotten who they are.  So maybe when I’m 85 and can’t remember my own name anymore, someone will find my old iPod and play some of the music from earlier years and all those memories will come flooding back!