Why Bother with New Music? *plus a road trip game*

Take a moment to think of your favorite songs. I have my comfort music that I can always come back to, like Daft Punk’s 2013 album “Random Access Memories.”

If you ask the experts, they would guess you listened to your favorite music when you were a teen or young adult. Let us know if that’s the case for you!

Music therapists incorporate client-preferred music into their sessions. Familiar music listening can improve mood, motivation, focus, and memory recall; strengthen relationships; and even regulate the immune system.

New Music Listening

If our favorite music is so good for us, why listen to new music?

Dr. Victoria Williamson, an expert in music psychology, discussed the importance of unfamiliar music in an interview with the Huffington Post. Here are three reasons she recommends listening to new music:

1. New music challenges your brain.

Listening to new music engages your whole brain, especially the frontal lobe, to take in all the sounds you hear and make sense of them. Even with songs you‘ve heard hundreds of times, if you take a close listen, you might hear an instrument or a lyric you’ve never noticed before. It’s a great mental exercise!

2. New music forms new memories.

I recently uncovered a playlist from my middle and high school years that I had long forgotten about. Listening to each song took me back to a specific moment: one I remember listening to while making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich; another I remember hearing while riding the bus home from school - and I am reminded of the big, angsty feelings I was experiencing at the time! Nothing forms memories quite like music. Finding a new song during a major life experience can help you recall the experience later.

3. New music helps you relate to others.

This has two meanings. First, if you listen to a genre you don’t know well, it can help you understand where the musical artist is coming from. In my case, I recently developed an appreciation for PJ Morton and his music, even though I don’t listen to soul music regularly. Second, listening to music that someone else in your life likes can give you empathy or a sense of closeness with that person. Try it yourself: ask a coworker or a friend what music they like; if you aren’t familiar with it, give it a listen!

Where to Find New Music

You might be thinking, “okay, that’s all well and good, but where do I even start? I don’t have time for that!” I usually listen to new music while doing something mindless, like driving a familiar route or washing dishes.

Finding Here are some places to look:

• Collaborators. Check out the music your favorite artists’ collaborators have put out. I’ve personally found some of my favorite bands this way!

• Videos. Look for music videos, live performances, covers, or even remixes of songs you already know.

• Albums. See if your favorite musical artists have any albums or singles you may have overlooked. If you only know a couple songs of theirs, immerse yourself in a whole album! Hearing the songs you know in the context of an album can change how you hear them.

• Playlists. Listen to a playlist for a genre that you like. You might find some new songs or artists that sound similar to what you already like.

• Ask others. As I suggested before, ask someone else what they like to listen to!

Road Trip Game!

Speaking of which, here’s a road trip game to play with loved ones or friends that I call Song Association. If you’re expecting any long rides in the car this summer, give this a shot!

• Start with listening to any song that you know.

• Next, have the next person seated clockwise choose a song that your song reminds them of, whether it’s a word or phrase in the song, a theme, something in the title, another song by the same musician, or even a vague connection that only you understand!

• Then, continue with the next person, choosing a song based upon the previous one and so on.

• Consider compiling the songs in a shared playlist so that you can remember the fun you had later.

• For a fun challenge, try to add the next song to the playlist before the current one finishes playing.

Credit goes to Caroline for introducing this game to me. Let us know if you fall in love with any new songs; we may like to check them out, too!

Happy listening!

- Caleb and the Wildwood team