Do you remember a time when the lyrics of our favorite songs were inscribed in our minds? It was effortless to reminisce about them and sing along each time you heard it play anywhere. The wordings were a permanent fixture. If you were to sing it, say, twenty or thirty years in the future, you’ll successfully pull it off. Fast forward, today, what you hear is so abundant that you really can’t sing along to any of them! They are like a passing fad. So, what happened? Did we get stupid?
We have access to all kinds of media players today. At the push of a button you can listen to any song wherever you are. You don’t need recorded sets in the form of cassettes or CDs like we did in the past, nor do you have to wait for the song to be played on radio or on tv, where you would wait in anticipation not knowing if you even had a chance of hearing it again. Sounds challenging, yet we found ways to get our music dose. What’s more, we were able to memorize the songs within the limited time we could hear it.
Today, we are exposed to many types of music with a plethora of songs for each type; however, we seem to have less time on our hands to appreciate them all. It’s not that you wouldn’t listen to it today, it’s just that you would have lots to do, and lots to distract you from doing something. Back then, we were subjected to a particular song or a set of songs that we would hear frequently. Subconsciously, that got tuned in our minds after multiple listenings. That resulted in a permanent recall. Today, when we hear those old songs, we are able to remember the lyrics, and at times recall an incident or scenario associated with that song from our past. A fresh perspective to look at is the quality of music produced. There are distinctly two categories of music lovers today. One who believes that today’s music is nothing compared to yesteryears and another who believes there is great music being produced everyday. For the former, there are no new songs worth remembering, and for the latter, there are too many songs to appreciate that holding onto one is not likely. Hence, in both cases, you have music that fades.
The only way that you can try to remember song lyrics is by listening to a track that you like, on repeat, for a minimum of five times followed by random listenings at random intervals for the next couple of weeks. It works, I’ve tried it, my friend. This isn’t a tidbit on how to memorize today’s songs but a bizarre realization that this is what it takes to learn one. But, I guess there is nothing to fret about. If you like a song, you’ll hear it on repeat. Just make sure you don’t overdo it until you despise it. That too happens, my friend.
