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Music & Memory

Music & Memory 

It was a typical Florida winter. The temperature stayed in the low 70’s throughout the day, and as we approached evening it dropped down to 62. We were cruising through town in my friend’s brand new grand-am. Windows down and hoodies up, on the radio was a new album. The year was 1993 and we were listening to an iconic hip-hop album by Snoop Dog called “Doggystyle.” To this day I can remember the exact route we took. 

Music & Memory

 

Music & Memory
Mozart’s music and baroque music with 60 beats per minute beat pattern activate the left and right brain.
 
Do you recall the time and place when you first heard your favorite album? Memorable music will always transcend our emotions. These feelings run so high that we often share them with our friends and family. But does the song ever stop, or does it stay with you for the duration?  Is the song a compilation of pitches and harmonized vocals? Or is it something different like a memory adviser when the majority of your brain has seized to operate? My mother passed away in May of 2014. Before she left us, her brain had become mixed up like a puzzle. Imagine taking two or three different puzzles… and placing all the pieces into a zip-lock bag, then trying to create a picture with those pieces. That’s how scattered her grey matter was.
 
Let’s rewind the tape back to November of 2016. It’s late at night and I sat down to watch a Netflix movie. I am exhausted and not too concerned about what gets played. The movie will serve as white noise as I try and fall asleep. The movie “Alive Inside A Story of Music & Memory.” Five minutes into the movie my life has changed. My sleepiness has disappeared and my soul has found a new meaning.
 
The stress of the music business I own has soon faded away. I wish I knew about music and memory during the last three years of my mother’s life. I may have been able to help her recall some good times. To bring back that feeling that makes everyone forget life for three to four minutes. Enjoying nothing but the sound of a song. The warmth of its cords, the way the rhythm energizes your pulse. And the way the lyrics capture your attention.
 
“Alive Inside” is the story of how one man brought the iPod into an assisted living facility. This simple gesture has changed the landscape of the once forgotten. His name, Dan. His mission was to be able to hear his 60’s music when he was older. He realized that out of the 16,000 care facilities across the country, none of them was utilizing music.
 
With music, one can enhance daily lives by pushing play.
 
Music benefits Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. Unique sounds also carry on to patients with cognitive and physical disabilities. In the movie. Dan speaks with a care professional, asking questions about a couple of residents. The nurse describes one patient as secluded and not involved in anything. For those of you who have visited a care facility, you have seen this same situation by walking down the hall. Dan does his research. Finds out that one of the patients loved gospel music. From here, Dan then decides to pull up music from the resident’s era and places the headphones on the patient. Within seconds the subject has reawakened and has felt the joy of life. To live again!   
 
Music, centered in the prefrontal cortex. It is this area of the brain that is among the last region to decline. The music won’t reverse the disease, but it will make the quality of life better! This is what music can and will do for our brain. 
 
“Music is so naturally united with us that we cannot be free from it, even if we so desired.”
 
That quote came from a 6th-century philosopher named Boethius. Even back in the day, we knew that music was forever instilled in us. Almost all cultures on Earth have music. The Ancient Greeks harmonized their dramas so they could memorize the content better. Classical music from the baroque period. Enabled the heartbeat and pulse rate to relax with music. Which in return let the mind recline. Let us take a look at the benefits of music

 

  • Music affects the amplitude and frequency of brain waves. Which can be measured by an electro-encephalogram.
  • Music also affects the breathing rate and electrical resistance of the skin. It has been observed to cause the pupils to dilate. Increase blood pressure and increase the heart rate. 
  • Mozart’s music and baroque music with 60 beats per minute beat pattern activate the left and right brain.
  • The simultaneous left and right brain action maximize learning and retention of information.
  • Activities that engage both sides of the brain. At the same time, such as playing an instrument or singing. This causes the brain to be more capable of processing information. 
  • The order of the music from barque and classical periods causes the brain to respond in special ways.
  • King George of England had problems with memory loss and stress management. He read from the bible the story of King Saul. Recognizing that Saul had experienced the same type of problems. George overcame his problems with special music 

 

Music leaves a lasting impression on our memory. Can you recall your elders talking about the new music you are listening to? If you can, they did it for a good reason. Rhythmic repetition is used by people who are trying to push certain ethics in their music. The human mind shuts down after three or four repetitions of a rhythm, a melody, or a harmonic progression. Furthermore, excessive repetition causes people to release control of their thoughts.
 
This is the main reason we can recall a catchy tune easier than we can recall Mozart’s Piano Sonata No.1. The reason we study and read with classical music is that the songs are able to enhance our grey matter. Propelling us forward.
 
Where a rock ballad may sound better and be a lot more fun to jam out to, it will not help us memorize our homework. My goal with this essay is to help you realize that even the loss of memory can be brought back to life through music.
 
Your mission is to pay attention to your friend or family member’s favorite song. You may need that information in forty years. Your homework. Start accelerating your brain with classical (60 beats per minute beat pattern) music. Feel free to drop us a comment about music and memory.

Check out our latest Artist Spotlight:  see how one local artist is raising awareness? The River Is Cinema.  
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About the Author

About the Author: John Sammel is Co-owner of CJS Live Music & Events. His passions and hobbies include: open water swimming, paddle boarding, fly fishing, creating and writing. He is a proud father and husband.

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