The Power of Music

I was on my way home from work today when it happened. I twisted the radio dial in frustration and boredom when the familiar notes hit my ears. You feel the power of music when a song that you have loved for years can transport you instantly, just like a time capsule, to the moment in your life to which the music is intimately tied. We all have them…these songs are like the soundtrack of our lives.

My personal soundtrack has songs that make me feel strong, songs that make me run faster, songs that make me cry even when I’m happy and songs that I need when I am in a funk. There is the song to which I first danced with a handsome guy that now is my husband. If I’m on a road trip, it’s a whole different shuffle list. There is the song that makes me think about my brother who had some very funny attempts at the lyrics and never did get it right. There is the song that my mother sang to me as she played the piano. Some songs just sound like the blue sky of summer and the beauty of others make me close my eyes so I see only their notes float before me.

It often makes me wonder which songs will be on my son’s personal soundtrack when he gets older. I know he already is forming those musical memories. I know which songs on the iPod will make him smile before I actually see it in the rear view mirror. My husband and I were astonished when, at the age of two, we took him to a classical music concert and he not only recognized a piece from his favorite bedtime CD but called it by name. It makes me want to guard those little ears even more carefully! What tunes do I want playing in the background of his childhood memories, after all? Some day he just might remember rocking out with Mommy on the way to preschool. Hope it makes him smile then too.

Scientists have proven that memories and music are intertwined in the brain. They have done studies that showed our brains react to music that are part of our personal soundtracks more strongly than to other songs that we only recognize. There are plenty of arguments that music is important for other parts of our intelligence and cognition. We certainly remember what we memorize much better if we can set it to a little ditty, right? And I bet I’m not the only one who knows what song was playing during the first kiss.

Given the power of music, perhaps we should pay a little more attention to it. Instead of it being the background noise, stop the multitasking and really hear it. Expose yourself to a different genre, change up the speed or the mood. Have a little bit of life, make some music or some memories and see what happens.

I’ll bet the song that I like to crank up while I clean the house isn’t the same as yours and that’s okay. I also have one that is perfect for driving through the car wash. I imagine that no two people have the same soundtrack although I bet my old college roommate would have also sung along to the song I heard in the car on my way home today. What’s playing on your memory?