Of Music, Memories and How They Are Connected
It is the time of quarantine after all, and as everyone is advised to remain indoors to avoid the spread of the pandemic that has swept the entire planet, I am shuffling songs played on my YouTube Music app (no I don’t use Spotify, I just use this for some reason). As it shuffles through a very random set of songs the algorithm has specifically prepared for me, it decides to play ‘Kuch Toh Bata Zindagi’ from the 2015 Bollywood hit film- Bajrangi Bhaijaan (sidenote: one of the rare Salman Khan films which I would actually recommend anyone to watch)
Now in the film, this song is played in the background as (spoilers ahead- but really you don’t care because if you did, you would have watched this ages ago), as the character played by Khan tries to find the family of a deaf and mute Pakistani girl who had got stranded in India somehow. The lyrics sound like it is an ode to life, asking it to provide a shining light on the person searching for meaning. Or maybe the singers had some other intention, what I just wrote was my interpretation using my little knowledge of Hindi.
But instead of all of these, what I was hit with, was the memories of high school. With the high-octane pressure I experienced preparing for the boards and the entrance exams that were to follow, my somber mood as I headed to class, the weight of my bag as I made the long and often lonely journey back home in the bus. The frustration of not having been able to fit into the dynamic in high school. All because I listened to this song a lot during that particular time.
Often music has meaning, not just because of what it conveys and how it does, but the context in which one listens to the song. The first two factors are something which the singers, composers and writers can influence. But the latter is something that varies with each individual. Just take this case itself. The song that caused an avalanche of memories to hit me and almost take me back to late 2015, will not do the same for anyone else. Although the music of that song does create the vibe of melancholy, only I would associate it with the memories I had. In saying so, there is some influence by the musicians as I have listened to many songs during that time, yet my brain chose this song to associate with how I was feeling at that time.
I thought I was the only one who did this kind of association of songs with memories, but as it turns out, there is a scientific reason for that:
The hippocampus and the frontal cortex are two large areas in the brain associated with memory and they take in a great deal of information every minute. Retrieving it is not always easy. It doesn’t simply come when you ask it to. Music helps because it provides a rhythm and rhyme and sometimes alliteration which helps to unlock that information with cues. It is the structure of the song that helps us to remember it, as well as the melody and the images the words provoke.
Now, it’s not just sad memories that are associated with music. Some songs can trigger an awakening within me and take me back to some point in time. The best example for me is after my IV (Industrial Visit) where my class went for a tour to various places, when I listen to some of the songs repeated through the course of those days, my mind takes me back to those days and the emotions I had. It seems like there is this part of your memory where the music acts as a pointer to certain key events in your life and the emotions you had associated with that moment or time.
But then is this something that you can force this into your memory? For me, I feel like it is something that happens naturally and often subconsciously. I guess that’s the beauty of it, because in a few years time, some music from today might trigger everything that I feel today, without having to train myself into doing this. Or is that possible? If you feel like it is, do let us know!
As it turns out, there are applications to this concept in the medical industry. It has been shown that people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries will often have problems with memory. This is where music can help bring back some of those special moments of their lives that they have forgotten. Those suffering from dementia can trigger vivid memories by listening to music they heard when they were young. It appears that dementia and Alzheimer’s do not affect the part of our brain where we store musical sounds so this is why music is used as a form of therapy for these patients.
To conclude, music is something which can create impact on us, even in ways we cannot expect. It truly is remarkable to see how the complex interactions within our neural networks act to create this association between music and moments.
P.S. This is just something I felt like writing about. I don’t really know if you could relate to it, nor do I say this with some sort of scientific confidence, yet I just want to see if at least a few feel the way I do. If so, do reach out and share your story!
Further Reading (for those interested):
