My Memory For Music

“One must be drenched in words, literally soaked in them, to have the right ones form themselves into the proper patterns at the right moment.”

--- Hart Crane, poet

Ever since I had open heart surgery in April of 2013, my memory for the right words has gone downhill. I still have a real passion for writing these columns, however, and, though it takes me longer to write them, I feel that the task is certainly helpful for me. I am therefore extremely grateful to the Enquirer for letting me keep writing them.

Through this whole experience I've certainly learned that memory is a complex, strange part of the brain. According to doctors and professors, people involved in music can better remember things in general. When children’s memories are tested, for example, the musically trained children remember words better than those without musical experience.

 

In my case, I've been playing music all of my life, so maybe it is helping my memory from being even worse. Whether that’s true or not, it’s interesting that though words can give me trouble these days, melodies and harmonies still work just fine. I can remember hundreds of tunes and am still able to play them by ear on violin and piano. Apparently musical memory is in a different, and in my case unaffected, part of the brain.

Even though musical people may be able to remember things better than non-musical folks, music can be positive for everyone. For example, even if people can’t remember a scene from a movie, if they hear the background music, they can often then recall that particular scene. In addition, advertisements that use musical jingles are better remembered by everyone than ones that are simply spoken or written.

I have actual proof of the power of music for I regularly play my violin at various residences for old folks, and I’m always impressed by how much those people love and remember music. There is a jewel named Margaret, at The Oaks, for example, who, though she is 99½, not only remembers the melodies and the words to hundreds of old songs, but even sings along with a smile. Even in extreme cases of Alzheimer’s, when people can no longer even talk, they can still sometimes hum melodies and even sing some of the words of old favorite songs.

I can’t tell you how excited I was when I could finally pick up my violin again, two months after my open heart surgery last April. It was almost as exciting as seeing an old friend after hearing that he or she had died.

Another really positive experience happened when I wrote an email to Charles Carlson, my editor at the paper, saying I especially enjoyed his column about the new year and how nobody can even guess what all will happen during 2014. I told him that I agreed about the uncertainty of the future but hoped that even though my memory was not what it used to be, he would still take and print my columns each week.

He responded immediately, saying, “Your spot in the paper is reserved forever.” Of course we both know that cannot really be true, but nonetheless, he surely warmed my heart with that comment.