COSMOS MAGAZINE
A new study from Goldsmiths University found that lower-energy, acoustic songs tend to evoke calm or sad memories, while high-energy songs trigger amusing and exciting recollections.
Credit: Getty
We all know of the experience of hearing a song and being transported back in time to a vivid memory associated with that song.
As it turns out, the properties of the music itself – characteristics like acousticness, loudness and energy – relate to the emotional and phenomenological qualities of the same musical memories.
Safiyyah Nawaz, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University, London.
Credit: Getty
Credit: Getty
While music triggering flashbacks may not be a new phenomenon, a greater understanding of the emotional qualities music can trigger and how this links to a person’s perception could prove helpful in clinical settings where people are suffering from memory loss and damage.
Currently, music therapies and interventions are being used to help people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and have been shown to decrease patient’s agitation and improve caregiver relationships.
Credit: Getty
Credit: Getty
For the study, researchers asked 233 people about the songs they loved as kids and analysed how the music itself linked to the memories.
Credit: Getty
They found that both the type of song and how much someone likes or knows it affect the memories it brings back — and they’re even creating an online archive where people can share their own musical memories.