How easily do you remember songs?

[indigo 389]

I'm often listening to a song and I'm thinking "I like this song" and when the song ends and a new one starts I forget the earlier song. This doesn't happen always but still sometimes.

 

So what I'm trying to ask is that how many times do you usually have to listen to a song to be able to remember it? Do you forget it instatly after it ends; you remember that the guitar riff was great or it had a catchy melody or something but just can't recall how the guitar riff or the melody went. Can you even say that it had a catchy melody if you forget it almost right after the song ends? Do you remember anything about the song except that it was good until you listen to it again? Does it depend on the song?

 

I hope that wasn't too confusing. Let me know what you think.

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

Surprisingly well, actually. I may not remember everything about it, but I am very good at recognizing if I've heard something before. I suppose it has a negative impact when it helps me find how unoriginal vkei is lmao

 

I am, however, awful at remembering lyrics.

[Shmilly 519]

This is a weird question because in my mind there are loads of different ways to 'remember' a song. One is the way it makes me feel when listening to it - for example, some songs seem to inexplicably alter my mood (OOR's The Beginning has always been a really powerful song for me, whereas something like the opening riff to Signal's Undertake just gets the blood rushing). Obviously I tend to instantly forget songs that haven't made much of an impression, but as long as something catches my interest like interesting vocals, solos, riffs, lyrics, etc then it will probably warrant at least a second listen.

 

Music that I listen to a lot I can remember pretty much entirely. I could run the song through in my head without listening to it. And others where I took the effort to find out the lyrics (or translate them myself) I could also literally sing along to as I do it. On a related note, if a song I've been listening to recently or one I have listened to a ton of times pops into my head and I can't recall exactly which one it is, I can usually follow it through until I recognize a part of it that reminds me who the artist is or the name of the track.

 

Actually, my 'thing' is being able to name tracks just by listening to them. I know it's not a particularly unusual skill, but friends have told me even when listening to artists they really like that they need to look up what the track is called. If I listen to an album a lot, I could probably tell you its tracklist, or at least every song on it but not necessarily in order.

 

Basically in a rough answer to your question, if I'm not interested in a song the first time through, I probably won't bother with it again unless it's from an artist I really like. If I hear something I've listened to before, odds are if I liked it I'll be able to tell you exactly what and who it is.

[CAT5 9075]

I listen to a fairly high volume of new music on a regular basis, so it's pretty easy for a lot of songs to "go in one ear and out the other" for me. I'm usually better at recalling the overall moods of songs or how they made me feel. For instance, even if a song has a great, positive effect on me and I instantly end up enjoying it, I'll still need multiple listens to really wrap my head around it and get the specifics down.

Given my listenining habits, I take advantage of last.fm's "love" system and use that to mark songs that I'd like to revisit...and essentially "remember".

[Mr Bacon 106]

Depends on the kind of songs. Annoying pop songs I will be able to remember after one good listen, sadly.

 

I tend to like music that I have to listen to ten times before remembering them, because that's the kind of music you can infinitely listen to and still discover new things in. If I can remember a song in one go it usually means it's bland and there's nothing interesting about it.

[Lestat 2167]

With all the varities of musical genres I've been through, it became hard to remember a lot. Of course I do recognize songs, but I am not always able to give it a title, especially with Japanese tracks as the title is usually in kanji or another form of Japanese writing (as I do not like to keep my files disorganized by romaji) — of course from my favourite bands, over time I've learned all the songs by name but with bands I just enjoy on a regular basis but aren't that much of a fan of, things easily are forgotten.

[JukaForever 758]

It takes a while but a few listens and an emotional attachment helps. Depends on the genre aswell, hook or rhythm heavy types and I get it stuck on my head the next day.

With the titles, no chance of me remembering what is about if it isn't in english. But it gets me excited to hear the track, that I don't know the title, when it plays.

[beni 2149]

With all the varities of musical genres I've been through, it became hard to remember a lot. Of course I do recognize songs, but I am not always able to give it a title, especially with Japanese tracks as the title is usually in kanji or another form of Japanese writing (as I do not like to keep my files disorganized by romaji) — of course from my favourite bands, over time I've learned all the songs by name but with bands I just enjoy on a regular basis but aren't that much of a fan of, things easily are forgotten.

 

^ Pretty much this with me too. I'd just like to add, I usually always try to find translations of all the song I'll listen to, and if I like the meaning of the song and feel connected to it, I'll listen to it a lot more than other tracks, therefor, making it more memorable to me. For me, if I try to remember a translation of a song, then I'm really hooked to it ehe, and that's how I can easily identify a song, since I'm repeatedly listening to it while reading the English along with it. : 3 (if that made no sense.. don't worry, I don't think it does either)

[ghost 2687]

Remembering songs comes very easy for me. I can usually listen to an album once and remember most of the titles. Japanese titles I'm not so good with.

If I get into a band I can easily remember the names of all their releases, track lists on releases, different editions and differences between editions, regional releases and differences, catalog number.......I swear I have a life.

[kyoselflove 2680]

I remember songs that I enjoyed very easily but to remember the song name is another thing lol.  Not because of the Japanese or anything.  I just have the worst brain ever,  I can never remember song names of English bands either (Or the band names for that matter ^^.  I can remember the name eventually if I listen to it a million times or if they are one of my favorite bands.

 

But I can remember how it sounds, guitar riffs and chorus, but putting it into words...not so good at. xD

[doombox 4421]

I remember different songs differently. There are some songs that are so catchy that I can sing along by the second chorus. 

And then, there are some songs that I will play 2 and 3 times (even in a row) but it seems like as soon as they finish I have absolutely no memory of them at all.

 

But most of the time, by the second time through an album/CD I can name the songs I liked the most. Maybe 3 or 4 times I can name all of the songs on the album. However, if I stop listening to those songs for months, I can forget them simply because I have a bad memory. lol.

[togz 2004]

This is an interesting topic and really got me thinking....

I think I'm able to remember songs quicker if it's an artist I am already familiar with, possibly after one listen I will know what song it is.
If it's an artist I have never heard before, probably a few listens if I like it. If it doesn't reach out to me, I probably won't even remember why I didn't like the song. 

I guess i just tend to remember things quicker based on the level of interest I actually have in it.... Thus if I can't remember it... it probably wasn't THAT much worth remembering.