I was sitting on the couch just now, not really thinking about anything, and a song I learned in middle school chorus popped into my head. I even remember the sign language that we learned to accompany our song! It was a unexpected pleasant memory.

Music is a medium for the brain to process and store information. Songs are like tastes and smells that instantly transport you to a place or time from the past. Songs are also a conduit for emotional regulation. Songs are a way of learning and memorizing information. Music is definitely powerful.

If you’ve ever seen the movie “The Holiday” there is a funny scene in which Jack Black and Kate Winslet go to Blockbuster and he talks about the power of a musical score—complete with his own renditions. It’s intelligent humor while also making a serious point.

We all write a musical score to our life. Ofcourse, I am a musical theater person so I randomly break out in song just about anywhere. I have a somg or melody attached to almost every memory I can think of!

As I said earlier, music is used to teach life lessons, not just process feelings. For example, learning to give thanks develops with the daily singing of the blessing before lunch in preschool. Johnnie Appleseed, the Superman Song, and God is Great all conjure up visuals of tiny little hands folded over little lunchboxes on little tables with little chairs.

Lessons about good behavior in kindergarten came in the form of “oh be careful little ears what you hear/eyes what you see/hands what you do/mouth what you say/feet where you go.” I don’t care who you are or how old you are, that song will remind you of your behavior, stat.

We use music (I would include rhymes and chants here) to help children learn and remember important information. Whether it’s being “hallway ready”, learning the days of the week, refocusing attention, or memorizing multiplication tables, teachers everywhere use rhymes and chants to reinforce a desired outcome.

Sidenote: In my 40’s, I retooled “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” to Keys, Wallet, cell phone, purse. Alas, somebody else had the same idea and made their Instagram meme first. But it works!

I sang in church, alot. My church friends will never let me live down “Morning Has Broken” or “Let us Break Bread Together” both of which I sang with great frequency for offertories and anthems on Communion and Fifth Sundays. And my terrible attempt at “O Holy Night” during every Christmas service from 1988-1994 still makes me cringe.

Then there are the middle/high school dance memories where you tried not to cry when the boy you wanted to dance with to “that” song danced with your best friend—or your worst enemy. Movies like “Footloose”, “Back to the Future”, “Grease”, “Sixteen Candles”, and She’s all That” all have high school dance scenes for a reason.

And let’s not forget the Top Ten at Ten on the radio, VH1, and MTV! How many nights did I stay up listening, or watching (if I could sneak past my parents) for my favorite song/love song/song that made me cry over a boy? Taylor Swift’s 2006 “Teardrops on my Guitar” is basically everyone’s teenage crush story.

And sometimes, you just need to hit the open road. A good drive needs a good soundtrack…

Let’s take a moment to honor the importance of the mix tape. Sadly, kids today will never understand the beauty of the perfect mixtape. Sure we transitioned to burning our favorites onto CDs, creating a playlist on our Ipods, or these days just choosing a “channel” on IHeart Radio or Spotify, but the significance and satisfaction of creating the perfect mix of songs that explain your life has been lost. I still have the mix tapes my husband made me in college. I cannot play them anymore as I do not have a cassette player any longer, but I cherish them all the same.

Human beings have music at weddings and funerals, birthdays and ballgames. Happy Birthday is arguably the most universal song on the planet. In the United States, the national anthem is played before every school, college, and professional sporting event. Picking the perfect wedding song has become a defacto art form. Funeral songs are also important! “Taps” is played at every US military funeral I have ever been to, or watched on television. If I don’t hear “It is well with my soul” at a funeral, I begin to wonder about the afterlife for the dearly departed whose life we are celebrating.

I challenge you to think about the significant events in your life. If you were making a soundtrack of your life, what songs or musical pieces would you attach to those memories? If you were writing for the theater, would your life be a straight play, a musical, or an opera? It’s an interesting exercise.

Love Y’all like an early 90s hard rock love song. Go make a mixtape!

Marla