Overview

• Energetic, louder tracks were more likely to cue joyful and exciting recollections, while quieter, acoustic pieces were linked to calm, romantic or sad memories.
• Energetic music tended to trigger recall more quickly, whereas quieter songs yielded memories rated as more vivid, unique and personally important, and were often less social in nature.
• Participants aged 18 to 76 heard ten songs that were popular when they were 9 to 19 years old and then shared and categorized the memories each song evoked.
• Examples cited included Prince’s When Doves Cry and Fetty Wap’s Trap Queen for excitement versus Bon Iver’s re: stacks and Debussy’s Clair de Lune for calmer or sadder recall.
• The authors suggest the patterns may help guide therapies for memory disorders such as Alzheimer’s, while noting the results are correlational and need further testing.