The Oldies Music Board

You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?



July 19, 2020 4:26 pm  #1


I Can Hear Music...

When I was still living at home, every Sunday my family would drive to church taking around ten minutes, roughly 60 m.p.h. on a straight, uninterrupted highway.  The carload was quiet.  Still waking up, no one talking.  No radio.  The steady whir of the car would make my mind start working and I could hear a song from beginning to end.  Perfectly as if the radio was on.  No matter if I might not have known all the words to the song, my mind would. I also would hear every beat, instrument and nuance.

I never told anyone this as I didn't think it could be real, even though I knew it happened.  I would relish listening to a different song every week.

Now that you all think I may be nuts, I was reading the Parade magazine this morning with a question/answer feature by a genius, Marilyn vos Savant.  I learned it's a real thing called auditory pareidolia (pare-ih-DOH-lee-uh).I'm so glad it has a name and it's more common than I thought.

Below is a link to the article.

https://parade.com/1063232/marilynvossavant/can-you-hear-music-when-no-music-is-playing/

 

July 20, 2020 8:34 am  #2


Re: I Can Hear Music...

What an amazing story. I’ve heard of synesthesia, where people see colors when music is playing. But this is something I never realized existed before.
 
Can you still do this, or did it fade with time? And did you find it a pleasant experience or sometimes frightening? Sorry, not meaning to pry, but I’m wondering what it’s like to have this ability – if you consider it as such.
 
In the meantime, as Casey Kasem might say, here’s a long distance dedication that seems to be appropriate for your post.

 

July 20, 2020 9:19 am  #3


Re: I Can Hear Music...

Yes, I could certainly relate to this ... I had mentioned on the previous board that I see colours when music is playing, but I had no idea that this was something out of the ordinary until I read about synesthesia when I was in my 30s. That made me want to focus on it more, because I felt that it had faded somewhat over time and I didn't want to lose this ability. I even participated in a study that a university student was doing about this; she didn't have synesthesia herself, but she certainly understood it and I appreciated being able to discuss it at length with her. So Karen, I'm very glad that you've now found out about auditory pareidolia, and I'm also interested in knowing more about your experience with this.

 

July 20, 2020 9:32 am  #4


Re: I Can Hear Music...

aflem wrote:

What an amazing story. I’ve heard of synesthesia, where people see colors when music is playing. But this is something I never realized existed before.
 
Can you still do this, or did it fade with time? And did you find it a pleasant experience or sometimes frightening? Sorry, not meaning to pry, but I’m wondering what it’s like to have this ability – if you consider it as such.
 
In the meantime, as Casey Kasem might say, here’s a long distance dedication that seems to be appropriate for your post.

Posting this made me think about life today.  I haven't done it since and attribute it to perhaps to not being able to concentrate and shutting out life in my adult years.  I have done a lot of flying and wonder why I hadn't tried it then.  Next time I fly, which who knows when that will be in today's world, I may give it a try.

I found it to be really cool and fun.  I loved being able to do it.

     Thread Starter
 

July 20, 2020 9:37 am  #5


Re: I Can Hear Music...

Lorne wrote:

Yes, I could certainly relate to this ... I had mentioned on the previous board that I see colours when music is playing, but I had no idea that this was something out of the ordinary until I read about synesthesia when I was in my 30s. That made me want to focus on it more, because I felt that it had faded somewhat over time and I didn't want to lose this ability. I even participated in a study that a university student was doing about this; she didn't have synesthesia herself, but she certainly understood it and I appreciated being able to discuss it at length with her. So Karen, I'm very glad that you've now found out about auditory pareidolia, and I'm also interested in knowing more about your experience with this.

When I read the article about this, I thought of you immediately.  Here we have you with vision and me with sound.  

I remember it worked best when I had a window seat and would favor facing the outside with eyes closed.  I never picked songs but they would just emerge.  I can't explain how, but man, it was as if a radio was on in my mind and I could hear the entire song the way it was recorded.

     Thread Starter
 

July 20, 2020 9:54 am  #6


Re: I Can Hear Music...

It's me Karen wrote:

I remember it worked best when I had a window seat and would favor facing the outside with eyes closed.

This makes perfect sense to me - you had your antenna closer to a window! Any radio DXer will tell you that always makes it come in better! 

Last edited by aflem (July 20, 2020 9:55 am)

 

July 20, 2020 10:22 am  #7


Re: I Can Hear Music...

It's me Karen wrote:

When I read the article about this, I thought of you immediately.  Here we have you with vision and me with sound.  

Thanks, Karen ... I'm glad (and also not surprised) that this made you think of what I had said in the past about synesthesia. I may have also mentioned before that synesthesia can take other forms that are completely different from what I experience, so I thought of that as well when I read your post yesterday. It makes me wonder if there could be any relationship between how the two phenomena work, with regards to why the brain is doing what it does. But in any event, they're both very positive and enjoyable to experience. 

 

July 20, 2020 11:27 am  #8


Re: I Can Hear Music...

aflem wrote:

It's me Karen wrote:

I remember it worked best when I had a window seat and would favor facing the outside with eyes closed.

This makes perfect sense to me - you had your antenna closer to a window! Any radio DXer will tell you that always makes it come in better! 

This made me laugh!

     Thread Starter
 

July 21, 2020 7:40 am  #9


Re: I Can Hear Music...

Bruce NZ wrote:

I think this relates to the theme Karen has outlined: I am able to imagine a song in its entirity, music, lyrics et al and can sing along somehow knowing all the words as it plays in my head. Ask me to recite the lyrics later and I would only get some right. I also sing the harmonies to the song in my head - out loud if I am on my own.

I have a comrade in song.

     Thread Starter
 

November 20, 2020 11:28 am  #10


Re: I Can Hear Music...

I purposely revisited this post because I have another "oddity" with music that I'll bet many of you (especially Bruce) experiences.

Many times, I'll have a song in my head, and the one part of the song always segues to an entirely different song, but it matches!  The songs blend together perfectly.  

An example of mine is "Santa Baby" and "Please Love Me Forever" by Bobby Vinton.  The part of "Santa Baby":

"And hurry down the chimney tonight..."  segues right into...

"Oh, when I lay me down to sleep
I pray the lord your love I'll keep
If I should die before I wake
I'll come back for you
That's no mistake"

This just happens out of nowhere.  A particular song starts in my head and my subconscious mind takes over.  And once this happens, it is molded in my brain and pops up often thereafter, like that version was actually recorded.
 

     Thread Starter
 

Board footera

 

Powered by Boardhost. Create a Free Forum