As a young man I enjoyed listening to a particular series of French instructional programs. I didn’t understand a word, but was nevertheless enthralled. Was it because the sounds of human speech are thrilling? Not really. Speech sounds alone, stripped of their meaning, don’t inspire. We don’t wake up to alarm clocks blaring German speech. We don’t drive to work listening to native spoken Eskimo, and then switch it to the Bushmen Click station during the commercials. Speech sounds don’t give us the chills, and they don’t make us cry – not even French.
Oct 18, 2022·edited Oct 18, 2022Liked by Mark Changizi
Music touches memory centers. Evolutionary. Imprints and then evokes memories when heard again. Even years, decades later for the very first time. The concept behind "hooked on phonics" type language instruction.
Before the written word man communicated verbally, grunts, sounds. And early man found that ideas and memories of places, events and emotions could be more easily understood and retained when put to rhythmic and harmonic sound. The memory of great floods, fires, alternative sources of food and clean water, predatory animals, rival tribes, seasonal changes, abundance and scarcity, etc. would be strung together in rhythmic harmonious sounds that others in the tribe would more easily remember and be able to convey, passed on from generation to generation when there wasn't written language. Cave drawings the closest relative.
But the patterns of music that are capable of being easily recognized and repeated evoking strong emotional connection to the memories its associated with are evolutionary in nature. Even new music without association to generational wisdom touches the same parts of the brain that is stimulated and will be remembered when heard again, transferring the emotion and memories of the first time the pattern was heard, or similar musical patterns drawn from memory are evoked.
Thought provoking. As ever.
Music touches memory centers. Evolutionary. Imprints and then evokes memories when heard again. Even years, decades later for the very first time. The concept behind "hooked on phonics" type language instruction.
Before the written word man communicated verbally, grunts, sounds. And early man found that ideas and memories of places, events and emotions could be more easily understood and retained when put to rhythmic and harmonic sound. The memory of great floods, fires, alternative sources of food and clean water, predatory animals, rival tribes, seasonal changes, abundance and scarcity, etc. would be strung together in rhythmic harmonious sounds that others in the tribe would more easily remember and be able to convey, passed on from generation to generation when there wasn't written language. Cave drawings the closest relative.
But the patterns of music that are capable of being easily recognized and repeated evoking strong emotional connection to the memories its associated with are evolutionary in nature. Even new music without association to generational wisdom touches the same parts of the brain that is stimulated and will be remembered when heard again, transferring the emotion and memories of the first time the pattern was heard, or similar musical patterns drawn from memory are evoked.
My theory of the case, anyways, Fwiw.
I got this, as I listen to music :)