Think about a song that takes you somewhere right away.
Maybe you are suddenly back in your first apartment.
In the car with one of your parents.
At a school dance.
Holding your baby.
Going through a breakup.
Recovering from something difficult.
Sometimes it only takes a few notes and the whole memory comes back.
That is one of the reasons Personal Soundtrack was so important for us to build into Wellplayed.
Because the songs that stay with us are rarely just songs.
There is usually a story beside the song
As music therapists, we learn a lot about people through their music.
Not because someone’s favourite genre tells us who they are. It doesn’t – well not entirely, anyway.
It is usually the story attached to the music that tells us more.
Why this song?
Who were you with?
How did it make you feel?
What was happening in your life?
Why did you need it then?
Why does it still matter now?
Research helps us understand some of this. Music can bring back autobiographical memories with remarkable vividness.[1] And when researchers looked at personally meaningful songs chosen by people over many years, those songs were very often connected to a particular person, place or time in life.[2]
The Wellplayed platform was built with this in mind.
Music therapists see and hear it all the time.
A song comes on and someone says, “Oh my goodness, I haven’t thought about that in years.”
And suddenly we aren’t really talking about the song anymore.
We are talking about their life.
Music can help us find the thread again
Life changes us.
We become partners, parents, caregivers, workers, patients, grandparents, people starting over.
Sometimes we choose the change.
Sometimes we absolutely do not.
And every once in a while, we can get so busy managing what life requires that we lose touch with parts of ourselves.
Music can help us find the thread again.
A song might remind you:
I used to love doing that.
That friendship really mattered to me.
I have been through something hard before.
I miss that part of myself.
Or maybe simply:
I remember this.
That doesn’t mean we need to go backward.
Sometimes remembering helps us decide what we want to bring forward.
This isn’t only about nostalgia
Nostalgia means a lot to a lot of people. It means something was special.
But that isn’t really the point of Personal Soundtrack.
The point is reflection.
As you build your soundtrack, you might remember a difficult period and realize how much you learned.
You might hear a joyful song and think about someone you haven’t called in a long time.
You might remember something you once loved doing and wonder whether there is room for a little of it in your life again.
Or a song connected to someone you have lost might simply give you a way to spend a few minutes with that relationship again.
Research in neuroscience has also found connections between personally meaningful music, autobiographical memory and areas of the brain involved in thinking about ourselves.[3]
The science is fascinating.
But what matters most is still very simple:
What does this song mean to you?
Your soundtrack can help other people know you, too
This is another reason these stories are worth keeping.
You can share them.
Maybe you tell your children why a certain song always makes you think of their grandfather.
Maybe you send a friend the song that reminds you of a ridiculous summer you spent together.
Maybe your partner finally learns why you always get quiet when one particular song comes on.
And if you are going through illness, rehabilitation or another major health experience, you may even decide to share some of your important music and stories with someone on your healthcare team.
A song title tells them one thing.
The story beside the song can tell them much more.
It can reveal relationships, strengths, losses, values and pieces of who you are that might never appear on a form.
Sometimes music gives us another way to say:
This matters to me.
This is part of who I am.
Your soundtrack isn’t finished
This may be one of our favourite things about Personal Soundtrack.
Your Personal Soundtrack isn’t only about songs from your past.
There are songs you haven’t heard yet.
People you haven’t met.
Things that haven’t happened.
Versions of yourself you haven’t become.
And once you start paying attention to the stories connected with music, you may notice new songs differently.
Maybe something catches your attention today.
Six months from now, you realize it became the song you listened to through a huge change in your life.
So you add it.
And you write down why.
That means your soundtrack keeps growing with you.
You aren’t only remembering your life through music.
You are noticing it as it happens.
What would be on your Personal Soundtrack?
You don’t have to figure out every important song you’ve ever heard.
Just start with one.
What song takes you somewhere immediately?
Who or what comes back?
Why does that memory matter?
Is there anything in that story you want to remember, reconnect with or share?
Your connection to music is intensely personal.
That is what makes it so interesting.
Create your Personal Soundtrack in Wellplayed
Personal Soundtrack is one of the guided experiences inside Wellplayed.
It gives you a place to collect meaningful music over time and, just as importantly, record the stories and reflections connected with it.
You can keep adding to it as your life changes.
Because your soundtrack isn’t only about where you’ve been.
It can help you remember who you are, notice who you are becoming and keep some of what matters along the way.
→ Start Your Free Trial and Create Your Personal Soundtrack
References
- Belfi, A. M., Karlan, B., & Tranel, D. (2016). Music evokes vivid autobiographical memories. Memory, 24(7), 979–989.
- Loveday, C., Woy, A., & Conway, M. A. (2020). The self-defining period in autobiographical memory: Evidence from a long-running radio show. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 73(11), 1969–1976.
- Janata, P. (2009). The neural architecture of music-evoked autobiographical memories. Cerebral Cortex, 19(11), 2579–2594.