Musical Memory - What's Going On?

A-Ha.....Thanks!  G

I think the men who post here need some sort of therapy.

It is only music and what you ascribe to it and the people who produce it (particularly some bizarre comments on women) merely reveals your own prejudice and angst.

I am not sure there is anything here which advances anyone's knowledge of the human condition.

Mentioning the conscious and unconscious, referencing books which at the end of the day are one person's opinion, does not inform me of my condition. Music is very simple, has been for centuries and needs no latter day psycho-babble. YMMV.

Indeed!

Who would have thought this thread would have unfolded this way?

Judging by the comments on this and other threads it is them that needs therapy.

Hi Derry,

The music is the therapy.

Have you read Daniel Levitins's book? It's quite accessible.

Jan

Me

I think there's so much in this thread that reflects my own personal music experience. Music triggers many memories and these can stay with you for your lifetime. What year was such and such a hit? Oh, that was the year I started my first job or a relationship finished.... and so on. We relate songs we like to our experiences at the time and carry these memories through life. The passage of time can increase the importance of these memories, and perhaps the importance of the music we associate with those memories.

Equally, the comments about the way music triggers the emotions is just as true. Music is very much an emotional experience at many levels, with some music triggering the conscious, some getting much deeper to the subconscious. I think earlier comments from others are spot on when comparing music with books or films for example.

I'm also fascinated by the fact that I still listen to most of the first albums I ever bought, some 40 years ago. These remain the backbone of my playlist. The Yes Album, Fog on the Tyne and Led Zep 2 are classic cases of this. I just never tire of playing them and they hit the tt at least weekly. I must have heard the Yes Album 52 x 40 times........that's er...... um.......quite a lot. Still love it though. I continue to add to my collection, and some of these additions will connect with new memories; over time they become triggers for more recent events etc.

Fascinating thread.

Pete

Some clues here (Interview with Daniel Levitin, PT 1)

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/musici...levitin/part-one/18/

It is only music

A strange post and in my opinion quite a revealing statement. Every culture we know of involves music at its core from the rhythmic chants accompanying everyday tasks to folk songs round a camp fire to glorious songs of worship.

Only music? I hardly think so. It's a fundamental part of us.

Interesting article.

You would learn more about musical memory in trying to memorize a song, than by considering the problem in the abstract, or reading articles that reflect another person's experience.

Besides, it's something you can do yourself.

I'm out.  Hope to see you all in a more constructive post. 

That should be easy enough.    

Any thread on a potentially interesting subject will attract differing views.

Discussion was invoked and ideas shared - no harm.

DB.

In music, and especially in classical music, a great deal of information and insight is conveyed directly to the conscious mind, depending on the listener's knowledge of music, which is a language like any other language, having vocabulary, grammar and syntax.

This is easily verified, as generations of musicians still perform the works of Bach, a feat made possible by printed scores.

Listening this way puts the composer, performer and listener in direct communication, and gives the listener insight into the intentions of the composer and performer.

It's certainly not the only way to listen, but can be quite illuminating for the motivated listener.

I agree that such knowledge and insight gives you another vista on a musical performance - I'm not having a downer on the intellect - a very useful power it is too!

I have some musical friends who claim greater insight than I could possibly have, due to my non-musical choice of career in Science and Engineering; they may be right, but I do know what I like and do have an appreciation for what is being invoked, if not a full understanding of exactly what is happening.

In most ways musical appreciation is one of the Mysteries for me - which makes it a blessed change from the stress-filled world of modern business.

There are different modes of listening - there is no 'right' or 'wrong' way; just like musical taste, it is what works for you.

DB.

Well said.