Hein Zaw - Week 13 : How your favorite song remember things
How your favorite song remember things
Why can you remember the lyrics to a song from ten years ago but forget why you walked into a room? And why do some songs play on repeat in your mind, even when you don’t want them to? Music and memory have a strange relationship—one that explains why songs stick with us long after we’ve forgotten other details.
Ever had a tune looping in your brain for no reason? That’s an earworm, and it happens because music activates multiple areas of the brain, including those tied to memory and emotions. But why do certain songs take up permanent space in our minds? Maybe it’s their catchy melody, repeated lyrics, or the emotions tied to them.
And what about all those lyrics you know by heart? How do you still remember childhood TV theme songs but forget someone’s name seconds after they introduce themselves? It’s because music has structure—patterns, rhymes, and repetition make words easier to store and recall. So, is music the ultimate memory cheat code?
If you learned the alphabet through a song, you already know the answer. But why does music help so much? Studies show that pairing information with melody strengthens recall. Could that explain why commercial jingles stick with us for years? Or why studying with music-based mnemonics makes memorization effortless? Maybe music isn’t just for fun—it’s a built-in memory hack.
So, does music help you remember? My answer is Yes it can.
Hi, Hein! I found your post this week fascinating, as I have always wondered why I find my brain unconsciously playing specific songs that I have not heard in a while. It makes sense that it is easier to remember them because of their catchy structure; the songs that get stuck in my head are usually ones with a very particular beat or rhythm. I have definitely taken advantage of music as a way to memorize things (I imagine most of us have at least used the alphabet song). Whenever I can, I try to make mnemonics with information I need to remember, and sometimes that takes the shape of singing out certain portions of the information which I am having trouble memorizing. While I am still in the beginning stages of memorizing my opening statement for Mock Trial, I try to create some sort of beat to it or “rap” it to myself as fast as possible, so the words just have to flow out and I cannot stumble on any of them. It has become almost an entire team thing; last year before competitions we would just be rapping our material in the courtroom before anyone else arrived. It was not only a fun thing to do and laugh about, but it helped get rid of some of the nerves because it was a way to get our minds off the nerves while still feeling like we were “preparing” for the trial ahead. Your post immediately stood out to me because I felt the topic was so fascinating to me, and I think you fostered that curiosity with your engaging style filled with many rhetorical questions and relatable anecdotes. I hope to be able to learn more about the connection between music and memory soon! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Hein! I love the introduction of your blog because it is very relatable. There are many instances where a song, even songs I do not like, are playing in my mind constantly. I never really thought about the relationship between memory and music but now that you pointed it out I definitely realize that there is one. I did not know about the term “earworm” which you mentioned and I do think that the science behind that is quite interesting. I also did not know about the fact that when information is stored with a melody, the information becomes easier to remember. I know the lyrics to many songs, regardless of how long ago I had listened to them. I think this is due to the amount of times I had listened to these songs in the past since the lyrics became engraved into my melody. Overall, I think the idea behind this blog is pretty amazing and the way you structured it made it even better. Thank you for sharing the relationship between memory and music with me.
ReplyDeleteHi Hein! This was a great read, as it taught me a lot of interesting information while still being engaging throughout! I had no idea that having a song stuck in your head was known as having an "earworm," but that does make a lot of sense and is something I plan to call it as from now on. It's true, the interesting relationship that we all seem to have with music and memory, especially because I am known to have a very faulty one. If you ask any of my friends, they will all tell you this, stating that I will have the same reactions to stories they had already told me just a week prior or the fact that they always have to remind me of some piece of drama or gossip. However, they would also tell you about my peculiar ability to remember so many different song melodies and lyrics, seeming to already know a variety of different songs. It was fun to learn more about the scientific reasoning that might cause this, and the important role that music seems to play with memory!
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