Adults’ earliest memories of songs and melodies based on a large stratified sample

Peter Krøjgaard; Osman Skjold Kingo; Dorthe Berntsen

doi:10.1177/1750698015622057

Adults’ earliest memories of songs and melodies based on a large stratified sample

Peter Krøjgaard, Osman Skjold Kingo, Dorthe Berntsen

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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Abstract

Most parents sing to their children. Yet, little is known regarding how early musical experiences are retained later in life. This study is a first attempt to fill this gap in the literature. Based on the stratified sample, we asked 973 adults about their first memories of a song or melody. The results revealed that adults’ earliest memories of a song or melody generally were predated by memories for other events; thus, the music memories were not the very earliest memories. The earliest memories for musical experiences were rated as typical, fragmented, and positive. Women reported earlier music memories than men. Current age had no impact on the age of the earliest music memories, but older respondents rated their memories as more vivid. The reported parental communication quality during childhood was reliably related to the age and characteristics of the earliest music memories.

Original language	English
Journal	Memory Studies
Volume	10
Issue	2
Pages (from-to)	210-226
Number of pages	17
ISSN	1750-6980
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/1750698015622057
Publication status	Published - 25 Apr 2017

Keywords

childhood amnesia
earliest memories
melody
music
recurrent events

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abstract = "Most parents sing to their children. Yet, little is known regarding how early musical experiences are retained later in life. This study is a first attempt to fill this gap in the literature. Based on the stratified sample, we asked 973 adults about their first memories of a song or melody. The results revealed that adults{\textquoteright} earliest memories of a song or melody generally were predated by memories for other events; thus, the music memories were not the very earliest memories. The earliest memories for musical experiences were rated as typical, fragmented, and positive. Women reported earlier music memories than men. Current age had no impact on the age of the earliest music memories, but older respondents rated their memories as more vivid. The reported parental communication quality during childhood was reliably related to the age and characteristics of the earliest music memories.",

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Adults’ earliest memories of songs and melodies based on a large stratified sample

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