Books, Music and Memories
Some of my most vivid and pleasant childhood memories are from the books I read. I can easily remember characters, plot details and even the setting of a lot of books.
I think this has a lot do with the brain being actively engaged in the reading, therefore being “burned” into your memory bank forever. Television, on the other hand, is a passive activity where the use of your own imagination is severely limited.
Music is also a lot like reading. I associate different phases of my life with the music I listened to at the time. For example, my college years are painted with the gritty music of the Grateful Dead.
With music, I can bring up vivid memories just by thinking of a particular song. Depending on the memory, this can be either good or bad.
My guess is that music also actively engages the brain in the same way reading does. However, this doesn’t account for “passive listening” during which music is just playing in the background. But when we actively listen to a song, our brain becomes instantly tuned in and the imagination clicks into high gear.
Can we engage in music and reading at the same time? Personally, I cannot. I need a quiet atmosphere to read. But even when used as separate activities, music and reading can create new memories that will last a lifetime.
