How Music Can Transport Us Back to the Future
How Musical Memories Can Help Us Heal
Music
Music is amazing. Music permeates our world. Music can be inspirational and uplifting. Music can be provocative and sassy. Music can be solemn and poignant.
How Music Can Trigger Memories
Music can trigger different memories and evoke a myriad of emotions. Sometimes I smile and tap my foot because the song playing evokes a happy memory for me. Other times my eyes fill with tears as a memory of sadness washes over me. Sometimes a song will make me sob as I listen and remember the painful feeling.
Sometimes I cannot understand the connection but the emotional feeling is very strong. For example, after one breakup, the song I heard was “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” by the Righteous Brothers.
For months afterward, every time I heard that song, I could feel the sadness envelop me. As time progressed, that feeling began to fade and the song no longer felt as overwhelming each time I heard it. Gradually the triggers would fade when the sadness would lessen.
Many remarkable songs played during my teen breakups. One song that stayed in my memory was “Roses are Red” by Bobby Vinton. Teenagers do tend to have an abundant imagination and often, there is…
