Why music brings back the best memories

The power of music to take us back to specific moments in time, in a positive way, is unparalleled. Many of you will hear a particular tune and connect it with a good memory without consciously thinking about it. This is known as autobiographical memory.

There’s a distinct quality within music that has been studied and analysed by scientists. It’s employed in music therapy and used to help people with dementia reclaim their memory. But why does music bring back the best memories?

EMOTIONAL CUES
A 2021 study at the University of Durham found that music stimulated more positive emotional responses in participants than words or basic sounds. Even “sad music” was demonstrated to evoke positive emotions and memories in those who took part in the study.

FAMILIARITY
The more you get to know a piece of music, the more fondness it will evoke. Another study by the same team found that music has such positive potency because people reengage with the same pieces of music many times over their whole lifetime, which is less common with TV shows, films or pieces of writing.

SOUNDTRACK TO EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
Music can be listened to and experienced in a variety of contexts, which helps to anchor it in our memory more than other forms of media. Whether it’s a life event like a birthday or wedding, a run around the park or simply a huge night out, music provides the soundtrack and evokes memories of those experiences.

CONNECTION TO THE BRAIN
Listening to music activates multiple areas of the brain, including those responsible for processing sound, emotion and memory. In fact, music can activate the same regions of the brain that are involved in processing autobiographical memories and emotional memories. So there’s a direct connection between tunes and the most fundamental parts of the mind’s memory banks.