A case for classical conditioning of a different kind
It had been days since the town was beset with gloom. A glimmer of hope had arrived. The Sun was out in its full glory and was, in its own way, lifting the sagging spirits of everyone in school after a tough week, one which brought ephemeral despair.
Transpose to today. Entrenched in my comfy bean bag with earphones plugged-in, I experienced a sudden rush of images, in a sequence, from yesteryears. They crooned about a time which was fast fading. It was a strange feeling. Memories often come back to you in bits and pieces but this was different, a whole phase was being played out in my mind without a photo album serving as a mnemonic. After much thought I came to a faint conclusion, perhaps, it was the song playing on my CD-man that regenerated scenes from the past. The song Yaaron dosti badhee hee haseen hai was much battered in college days. It knew no occasion and was a favorite of all guitarists.
A friend once told me, long after college got over, that every time he heard someone whistle the ‘Main hoon naa’ tune he felt it was me passing through the corridors of the boys hostel. All of this sounds to me like classical (read: musical) conditioning, though, of a different kind.
A song regenerating memories? In effect it means that the process of classical conditioning takes place when one is glued to the same music for a long time.
Music assumes many roles in our lives, for some it’s just a means of entertainment while for many it’s a soother, a motivator, an inspiration, an old wine that drowns with it sorrows of the listener. We constantly seek our kind of music. A passionate listener will plunder a song that he likes by listening to it over and over again till the marginal utility of the song threatens to enter negative territory or CD the cracks. It would be not be an unfair assessment that majority music listeners are passionate listeners in their own right. And passion and music are intertwined.
As a kid, I got a free cassette, by virtue of filling up a no-brainer-quiz, it had songs by Madonna and Phil Collins. One track that I took to was ‘Another day in paradise’. For many months that was the only song that played on my stereo. Today the same song revives the zeitgeist of those times.
My guess is while we live out our daily lives, the central repository where all things get recorded takes in our feelings, thoughts, experiences of the times and records them to serve as memories of times gone by, along with them in the background goes the music of those days. Especially, music that one is really hooked on to. And when you put ears to the music of yesteryears you, almost, feel transported back in time.
It’s a strange yet magical phenomenon, one that comes to mind every now and then, but is mysteriously indescribable. Next time I pick up an old CD I know what lies in store for me.
posted by Rahil Arora @ 8:50 PM
5 Comments
5 Comments:
I am sure Pavlov would be very content with your use of classical conditioning. I guess we all hold on to our memories; it could be as reminders of our glorious days with friends or a carefree phase of our life when we did not
think life would get complicated. Come to think of it for many of us music is a sole key to transitioning into another world where music served as the thread to hold differnet parts of our life together. WE have songs for our all moods- happy, sad, drunk mast, breakup, crush, etc. For me, for instance, every time I hear a song from the past which has some kind of attachements, i get transported into that scenario and even its for those three to four minutes life takes a whole new meaning.
so well said ..yes we do connect to the past memories and songs are at times way to them.one of the techonology's gift to me was polytonic ringtones on my cell and i would assign diffrent songs to diffrent friends based on how i felt about them...and now those songs have become synomous to these friend..the min i hear the tune of song i remember the friend whom the tune was assigned to
very well said...well for me music and the fasination towards it has moved for being transient and ephemeral exp to one without which life is incomplete..
well the term i use to describe my so called musical days wld be nostalgic esp when it comes to old music. I all hapnd whn i was growing up and instead of the alarm clock techniques, my parents experimented the old music therapy. They in their own world used to play songs of lata and mohd rafi at the brink of daylight. Intially it was a kind of a different exp and i felt wld fade away soon bt then i was wrng...and it went on and on and on..and the result was that it left a neverdying muscial impression of those songs that whenver i listen to them..i go back to my soo kald wonder years...bt for now..its all radio mirchi..which acts like a catalyst to ensuring me to reach office on time..(albeit i hanvt reached on time is a different story)..anywaz thanks for that wonderful ariticle..cheers...
Music - my soul curry..thats how I live and carry forward. Offlate I have realised that my music tastes are changing. I no longer associate things with music that I heard in my childhood (college days).
I am worried though!! Is it a different me!! or its another passing phase and I'll be pulled back to my old self enjoying all forms of music (including cacaphony)
well surely soem sounds do remind of certain times, people etc. There is a stream of science that explains this phenomenon and thats called the neuro linguistic programming. We have the five senses and this would be the kinesthatic sense that is the sense of associating certain emtions and images with a musical tune. Not only this if all of us reflect we would find that not only do we associate some sounds with certain emotions and people but we come to associate some colours and smells too with them. I am sure all of you would associate the smell that rises from the soil after it has rained for the first time with something or the other. It reminds me of my childhood days and I used to take deep breaths so that the smell remains with me. Or the way a typical shade of green always reminds me of my ex girlfriend's dress which she had worn when we had gone out for the first time. In fact this is what makes us human and adds that zing to life. The more we identify such triggers the more we will be able to channelise our emotions for our betterment. Till then keep rocking !!!
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