MUSIC AS A MEMORY TRIGGER

I was at my granddaughter’s end of term kindergarten party last week when they started playing a song.

I turned to my daughter and asked “ What does this song remind you of?”

She immediately replied “Safed – but why?”

I knew why;  because this song had been played on the radio and on our tape-deck ( no CDs in those days)  non-stop as we drove up the long 3 hour road to Safed, in northern Israel, over 22 years ago.

As I listened to it I could see all the details of the journey , the apartment we rented,  all our little children ( who are mostly parents now) the long walks we took,  the visit to the ancient shuls, the artists’ quarter and  the cemetery with graves of  some of our most famous kabbalists.

I could have written an article about that trip as though I’d been there yesterday . the memories were so vivid just listening to that music.

So if you’re trying to recall an event that happened a long time ago try checking out  which of your favorite songs were popular that year. And if you can’t find a recording of it , try humming it to yourself.

The music memory  trigger is very powerful.