Hearing music in your head

[DavidW]

I was reading Musicophilia last night and the section I was on was about people who all of a sudden hear music played in their head that they had not heard since they were children.  And it's involuntary.  I was thinking those poor people, that would be terrible.  And then I heard a bit of music in my head, that keeps coming back every few days, and I'll like oh yeah that happens to me too.

So this music that I hear, plays in my head every few days and has done so for about oh past three years or so.  Last night, I actually recalled what I was listening too!  It was a fragment from Bax' 6th symphony.  I have not heard that in oh it must be six years, but somehow my brain keeps digging it back up. 

So what stories do you have of forgotten music popping back in your mind unbidden?

[Renfield]

I have this happen to me quite often. Most of the time, I'm conscious of what I'm listening to, but I recall being stuck with a snippet of orchestral music for days, recently, until I finally figured out what it was: part of the final movement of Brahms' 2nd Piano Concerto.

(Note how my brain has an odd sense of humour, because if any segment of the piano parts were included, I'd have remembered it much easier. In fact, I'm not even sure if it was the finale, just now, or one of the first two movements... 

[Brian]

Sometimes a little snippet will pop in and settle, but usually it's something I'd listened to very recently and I can identify it just by going over the "Recently Played" on my computer. Occasionally something will blast in from the past, generally when I'm listening to one thing and another similar-sounding thing barges into my mind.

Almost all of the time the music being heard in my head is consciously chosen by me. For instance one day at the beach last month, to pass the time, I cycled through 8 of the nine Beethoven symphonies in my head (skipped the Second because I can't remember the third movement).

[Elgarian]

For instance one day at the beach last month, to pass the time, I cycled through 8 of the nine Beethoven symphonies in my head (skipped the Second because I can't remember the third movement).

Brian, may I stop for a moment and gaze in awe? I have no conception of what it must be like to possess that degree of musical retentiveness, but oh how I'd love to be able to do that.

[Brian]

Brian, may I stop for a moment and gaze in awe? I have no conception of what it must be like to possess that degree of musical retentiveness, but oh how I'd love to be able to do that.

I always thought that just about everybody's brain worked in the same way and am still surprised it ain't so (much like a friend of mine who was shocked that the rest of her friends didn't all have perfect pitch, too). It's off-topic in this thread, I suppose (or not?), but I can link to an older post cataloging my "symptoms" and the various dials on my mental radio.

[secondwind]

I was reading Musicophilia last night and the section I was on was about people who all of a sudden hear music played in their head that they had not heard since they were children.  And it's involuntary.  I was thinking those poor people, that would be terrible.  And then I heard a bit of music in my head, that keeps coming back every few days, and I'll like oh yeah that happens to me too.

So this music that I hear, plays in my head every few days and has done so for about oh past three years or so.  Last night, I actually recalled what I was listening too!  It was a fragment from Bax' 6th symphony.  I have not heard that in oh it must be six years, but somehow my brain keeps digging it back up. 

So what stories do you have of forgotten music popping back in your mind unbidden?

There's a German phrase, "ohr wurm" if I remember correctly, that translates to "ear worm" and is used for a little snippet of music that gets in your head and just won't go away.  That happens to me sometimes, especially with music that I am learning to play.  But it sounds like the phenomenon described in the book is a little different--like an ear worm that has been dormant for decades?  I can't say I've ever experienced that.  I expect it could be disconcerting, especially if the music brings with it an evocation of the entire situation in which it was originally heard.

[Renfield]

Brian, may I stop for a moment and gaze in awe? I have no conception of what it must be like to possess that degree of musical retentiveness, but oh how I'd love to be able to do that.

It seems to be natural, when someone has it. I've often gotten strange looks whistling whole movements of symphonies, complete with attempts at re-orchestration, so that some of the polyphony comes out in the whistle.

But it's through no conscious attempt to 'learn' how to do this. Same with internal 'playback', though I have trouble trying to 'output' a particular recording, unless it's very obviously distinct - like the final tutti of Mahler's 7th, where I can get, say, Bernstein's or Tennstedt's.

[DavidW]

Yeah that's right secondwind, I'm talking about dormant music just popping out.

So I was talking to my mother about that on the phone and she said that recently she has been hearing Andy Williams songs that she has not listened to in decades just play in her head frequently in the past couple of weeks.  And like me it's just isolated fragments and nothing entire.

[Brian]

It seems to be natural, when someone has it. I've often gotten strange looks whistling whole movements of symphonies, complete with attempts at re-orchestration, so that some of the polyphony comes out in the whistle.

But it's through no conscious attempt to 'learn' how to do this. Same with internal 'playback', though I have trouble trying to 'output' a particular recording, unless it's very obviously distinct - like the final tutti of Mahler's 7th, where I can get, say, Bernstein's or Tennstedt's.

That sounds about right for me, though I have been training myself in certain aspects (harmonic lines, rewrites, putting things in mono/vinyl hiss that I've never heard in mono).

It may have a hereditary component. Once my dad was tapping the table with his index finger and I asked, "Bach's Little Fugue in G minor?" He said "Yup" as if nothing unusual had just happened.

[Mozart]

The most insignificant part of some music gets in my head...a little section...and can drive me mad. Things I didnt hear in long time too just suddenly ohh its a horn...playing 3 notes...from some piece written between 1378 and 1954...great...lets go find it.

[Elgarian]

I always thought that just about everybody's brain worked in the same way and am still surprised it ain't so (much like a friend of mine who was shocked that the rest of her friends didn't all have perfect pitch, too). It's off-topic in this thread, I suppose (or not?), but I can link to an older post cataloging my "symptoms" and the various dials on my mental radio.

Extraordinary. Thanks for pointing me towards the greater detail. I'm reminded of a friend who can listen to a work and then write down a sketch of the score. This is clearly something that can't be learned; it's something one's born with - or (in my case) not.

[Elgarian]

It seems to be natural, when someone has it. I've often gotten strange looks whistling whole movements of symphonies, complete with attempts at re-orchestration, so that some of the polyphony comes out in the whistle.

This may have a bearing on our discussion over in the 'myths about composers' thread'
http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,12361.100.html

[Bunny]

There's a German phrase, "ohr wurm" if I remember correctly, that translates to "ear worm" and is used for a little snippet of music that gets in your head and just won't go away.  That happens to me sometimes, especially with music that I am learning to play.  But it sounds like the phenomenon described in the book is a little different--like an ear worm that has been dormant for decades?  I can't say I've ever experienced that.  I expect it could be disconcerting, especially if the music brings with it an evocation of the entire situation in which it was originally heard.

I've heard this described as "brain spam."  Usually I find the Mr. Softee jingle going through my head for hours after hearing it on the street.  Most of the time, the jingles from certain commercials get it going.  I still shudder when I think of the MacDonald's jingle, "You deserve a break tonight..."   (oops... )

My husband was plagued by the theme from the Errol Flynn movie about Gen. Custer ("They Died with their Boots On").  He could never remember the name of the tune (Garry Owens) that Errol and the troops galloped off to Little Big Horn by, although the tune kept recycling in his head for years.

[Taxes-]

I always thought that just about everybody's brain worked in the same way and am still surprised it ain't so (much like a friend of mine who was shocked that the rest of her friends didn't all have perfect pitch, too). It's off-topic in this thread, I suppose (or not?), but I can link to an older post cataloging my "symptoms" and the various dials on my mental radio.

It seems to be natural, when someone has it. I've often gotten strange looks whistling whole movements of symphonies, complete with attempts at re-orchestration, so that some of the polyphony comes out in the whistle.

But it's through no conscious attempt to 'learn' how to do this. Same with internal 'playback', though I have trouble trying to 'output' a particular recording, unless it's very obviously distinct - like the final tutti of Mahler's 7th, where I can get, say, Bernstein's or Tennstedt's.

Fascinating, I've always wished to be able to do this kind of memory feat. I rarely ever get more than a single theme playing back in my head, and more often than not it's from something that I've been listening in the last few days. Just for curiosity's sake, do you both exhibit the same 'symptoms' () while reciting texts, playing back scenes that you've seen in movies or anything of the kind?

[DavidW]

Brian's story reminds me of Oliver Sacks discussion of his parents.  His father could hold in his head the sound of an entire symphony orchestra in his head and he would carry around scores so he could mentally conduct the performances.  His mother on the other hand can't recall the melodies of her favorite works!

I fall much closer to his mother on that spectrum, but I can recall some of my favorite tunes at will, just nothing entire or complex.  I imagine most are like me, and only a few like Brian that store the entire work in his brain.

[Brian]

Dr Sacks' dad does sound a bit like me!

Fascinating, I've always wished to be able to do this kind of memory feat. I rarely ever get more than a single theme playing back in my head, and more often than not it's from something that I've been listening in the last few days. Just for curiosity's sake, do you both exhibit the same 'symptoms' () while reciting texts, playing back scenes that you've seen in movies or anything of the kind?

Interesting question. My memory for words is actually pretty sloppy - I sometimes write a paragraph or two in my head for a newspaper column or something, and then forget them immediately. And as far as being able to remember things I read, today at lunch I was trying to remember the opening line of Pride and Prejudice. I got "It is," and vaguely recalled something about needing a wife, stopped, and went to get the darn book.   I have a pretty good memory for the visuals in movies, but not the dialogue; when writing reviews for my school's paper, I have to bring a notebook to jot down any good lines. Maybe the worst thing is jokes. I can only ever remember one single joke (the first one on this page). It's the only joke I've ever been able to remember.

So obviously this is something which is pretty exclusively reserved for music. And especially music without words. You ask me to karaoke sing a Simon and Garfunkel song I've heard 40 times, eventually you'll be hearing "nah nah nah something-something".  

[matti]

I fall much closer to his mother on that spectrum, but I can recall some of my favorite tunes at will, just nothing entire or complex.  I imagine most are like me, and only a few like Brian that store the entire work in his brain.

I am also much closer to Sacks' mother than his father in that respect, but I do have one odd experience of the opposite kind which happened more than 20 years ago.

I had listened to Mendelssohn 4th (Klemperer/Philharmonia Orchestra) the previous night. Next morning I went to the kitchen for breakfast. The slow movement of the symphony started playing while I was drinking my coffee and chewing my toast. I went back to living room to see who had put the lp on - nobody was supposed to be around. And nobody was - it all went on in my head.

An eerie experience, I could hear the whole orchestra, until it suddenly stopped right at the moment I saw nobody else was around. Later on I've figured I must have been in that extremely creative state of mind of "not asleep, but not quite awake yet."

Anyhow, this remains to me as a proof of the capabilities of ANY old brain. The problem is not being able to focus those little grey cells the way we'd want to.

[karlhenning]

. . . You ask me to karaoke sing a Simon and Garfunkel song I've heard 40 times, eventually you'll be hearing "nah nah nah something-something".  

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?

[Brian]

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?

Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you
Woo woo woo

and then I don't know what comes next. 

EDIT: What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson?
Joltin' Joe has left and gone away
Hey hey hey

Is the next verse the one with the cupcakes?

[owlice]

I occasionally have aural hallucinations. They occur when I am very tired and are always very short (a chord or two, someone calling my name, sometimes a distant radio, etc.). This strikes me as a dream state that is trying to impose itself on my waking self. I always know what they are (as in, not real), and take them as a sign to go to bed!

I also have tinnitus, and if I could choose one or the other, would definitely pick the aural hallucinations, even though I've never had the Yale Glee Club singing outside my door among 'em.