MUSICALLY MOTIVATED AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORIES AND
THE LIFETIME SOUNDTRACK
Lauren Istvandity
Bachelor of Music Studies
Bachelor of Popular Music with Honours
School of Humanities
Arts, Education & Law
Griffith University
Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
April 2014
Musically Motivated Autobiographical Memories and the Lifetime Soundtrack
ii
Abstract
Creating and reflecting upon autobiographical memory is an everyday practice that is typical within
the human experience. When music becomes integrated into personal memories, an invitation to
remember is provided through both purposeful listening activities and incidental engagement with
music in the everyday. Connections between memory and music are reinforced over time, such that
salient music becomes a part of who we are: a component of self-identity.
This thesis investigates musically motivated autobiographical memories in order to provide
further understanding of their occurrence, content, and function. The thesis also examines the role
that emotion may play in the processes of memory creation and reminiscence. In a qualitative
approach to a topic that has been neglected in both psychological and sociological studies of
memory, this research prioritises the subjective experience of the individual as the key to
understanding the interaction between music and memory in everyday life. This study brings
together psychological insights and sociological theory for an interdisciplinary discussion of music,
emotion and autobiographical memory, producing an innovative and original discourse.
The research presented in this thesis is based on 28 one-on-one interviews conducted with
Australians aged between 18 and 82 years. The interviews were carried out in South East
Queensland, between March and May, 2012. Through an informal, yet in-depth approach, the
interview process allowed research participants to provide personal and emotionally nuanced
accounts of memories that involved music in some way. Interview participants were invited to
describe their experiences with music in the context of their life story, enabling a chronology of
musical memories to emerge. Thematic coding and analysis of participants’ narratives revealed that
musically triggered memories play a significant role in creating meaning for an individual through
self-reflection and identity consolidation. To facilitate the discussion of musical memories, I have
devised the concept of the “lifetime soundtrack” to describe the metaphorical canon of music that
accompanies life experiences. As a central tenet of this thesis, this concept acts as a comprehensive
iii
Musically Motivated Autobiographical Memories and the Lifetime Soundtrack
term for the result of the interaction between memory and music, and additionally functions as a
framework for the discussion of research findings.
The analysis of memory narratives demonstrates that the lifetime soundtrack is established
through mediated listening experiences in childhood, where transmission of cultural values from
parent to child acts as a partial determinant for an adults’ engagement with music over a lifetime.
Participants’ narratives are shown to possess nuanced emotionality, expanding upon the
representations of this concept within previous literature. This thesis suggests that the effectiveness
of music as an archive for memory is due to elements inherent to and impacting upon musical
experience acting as reservoirs for the details of memory. The analysis also considers the ways in
which a deeper understanding of music can influence the interface between music and memory for
individuals who identify as musicians.
As a whole, this thesis offers a renewed sociocultural perspective on musically motivated
autobiographical memory. The significance of the research findings suggests that the concept of
memory offers much to the expansion of music sociology, where it has been prominently neglected.
Not only do the insights into musically motivated memory presented here provide a major
contribution to memory studies and music sociology, but the development of new concepts,
terminology, and methodological approaches can be seen as influential to many fields that involve
memory in implicit and explicit ways.
iv
Statement of Originality and Ethical Clearance
This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. To the best of
my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another
person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself.
The research for this thesis was authorized by the Griffith University Ethics Committee under the
protocol number HUM/16/11/HREC.
(Signed) __________________________
Lauren Istvandity
v
Musically Motivated Autobiographical Memories and the Lifetime Soundtrack
vi
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii
Statement of Originality and Ethical Clearance .............................................................................. v
Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... vii
Table of Figures .................................................................................................................... xi
Table of Tables .................................................................................................................... xii
Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... xiii
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 1
Studying Autobiographical Memory: Renewed Perspectives ......................................................... 2
Music and Memory: Absent in the Literature? ............................................................................... 4
Research Framework and Central Questions .................................................................................. 5
The use of the term “music” in this study ............................................................................ 8
Methods .......................................................................................................................................... 8
Chapter Outlines ............................................................................................................................. 9
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 11
2. Autobiographical Memory: An Overview ......................................................................................... 13
What is Autobiographical Memory? ............................................................................................. 13
Lifetime periods and the development of autobiographical memory ............................... 15
Manifestations of Autobiographical Memory ............................................................................... 21
Recollection of Memories ............................................................................................................. 28
Defining Collective Memory .......................................................................................................... 29
Functions of Autobiographical Memory ....................................................................................... 31
Narrating Memory......................................................................................................................... 32
Recall issues in autobiographical memory.......................................................................... 33
Collective remembering and memory reconstruction ....................................................... 34
Perspectives on Autobiographical Memory .................................................................................. 36
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 37
vii
Musically Motivated Autobiographical Memories and the Lifetime Soundtrack
3. Between Music, Memory and Emotion ............................................................................................ 39
Music as a Trigger for Memory: Quantitative Studies .................................................................. 40
How Important is the Individual? Qualitative and Theoretical Studies ........................................ 49
Outside Memory Studies............................................................................................................... 54
The lifetime soundtrack in the literature ............................................................................ 57
Nostalgia and memory ........................................................................................................ 59
Music and everyday experiences ........................................................................................ 60
Emotion in Memory and Music Studies ........................................................................................ 62
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 67
4. Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 71
Pilot Study ..................................................................................................................................... 72
Participants and Recruitment ....................................................................................................... 76
Interviews ...................................................................................................................................... 79
Interview procedure ........................................................................................................... 82
Analysis.......................................................................................................................................... 83
Limitations and Difficulties ............................................................................................................ 84
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 86
5. Foundations of the Lifetime Soundtrack .......................................................................................... 87
The Family and Music in Domestic Spaces .................................................................................... 90
The Home as a Centre of Musical Interaction ............................................................................... 99
Performance and music-making ......................................................................................... 99
Radio ................................................................................................................................. 101
Recorded music................................................................................................................. 105
Domestic Attitudes...................................................................................................................... 110
Music in the Family Car ............................................................................................................... 114
Sharing Soundtracks: Foundations of Identity ............................................................................ 120
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 122
6. Emotion, Music and Memory.......................................................................................................... 125
viii
A Note on Emotion and Affect .................................................................................................... 126
Music and affect in memory ............................................................................................. 128
Processes of affect, music and memory ........................................................................... 131
Physical Reactions to Emotion in Musical Memories ................................................................. 134
Associations with Romantic Relationships .................................................................................. 140
Bereavement and Grief ............................................................................................................... 146
Experiences at funeral ceremonies................................................................................... 149
Projected Memory: Commemorating the Self ............................................................................ 154
Funerals ............................................................................................................................. 154
Marriage ceremonies ........................................................................................................ 158
Negative Emotional Associations ................................................................................................ 161
Purposeful Emotional Use of Music ............................................................................................ 166
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 169
7. Music as a Memory Archive ............................................................................................................ 171
Memory and Music: Fallibility versus Fidelity ............................................................................. 172
Lyrics and Language .................................................................................................................... 174
Between Sound and Lyrics .......................................................................................................... 177
Aesthetic Connection: Timbre and Sound .................................................................................. 178
Listening Technology ................................................................................................................... 183
Technology development and effects on memory ........................................................... 187
Physicality and Entrainment........................................................................................................ 189
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 193
8. Musicians and Musically-Motivated Memory ................................................................................ 195
Music-making as “Work”............................................................................................................. 198
Emotionality and Music Performance ......................................................................................... 201
Embodiment and Physicality of Music ........................................................................................ 208
Musicians as Music Consumers................................................................................................... 213
Negative Emotional Associations for Musicians ......................................................................... 215
ix
Musically Motivated Autobiographical Memories and the Lifetime Soundtrack
Ageing Musicians......................................................................................................................... 216
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 219
9. Discussion and Implications ............................................................................................................ 221
Understandings of Autobiographical Memory............................................................................ 222
Development of the Self ............................................................................................................. 223
Emotion ....................................................................................................................................... 224
The Lifetime Soundtrack: A New Concept for Music and Memory Studies ............................... 226
Memory: The Missing Link .......................................................................................................... 227
Music as a Memory Archive ........................................................................................................ 228
Musical Engagement and Memory ............................................................................................. 230
Temporal engagement with memory ............................................................................... 232
Implications ................................................................................................................................. 233
Appendix ............................................................................................................................................. 239
Appendix 1 – Research Participant Information ......................................................................... 239
Appendix 2 – Sample Interview Schedule ................................................................................... 241
References .......................................................................................................................................... 243
x
Table of Figures
Figure 2.1 – Participants References to Lifetime Periods Charted by Coding References ................... 18
Figure 2.2 - Percentage of Participants Referring to Lifetime Periods as Function of Age at Interview
.............................................................................................................................................................. 19
Figure 2.3 – Number of Coding References to Lifetime Periods: Oldest Participants' (aged 72-82)
Narratives.............................................................................................................................................. 19
Figure 2.4 - Number of Coding References to Lifetime Periods: Middle-aged Participants' (aged 4059) Narratives........................................................................................................................................ 20
Figure 4.1 - Age of Participants ............................................................................................................. 77
Figure 4.2 – Age of Participants By Generation .................................................................................... 78
Figure 6.1 - Process 1 of Memory, Affect and Music .......................................................................... 132
Figure 6.2 - Process 2 of Memory, Affect and Music .......................................................................... 133
Figure 6.3 – Process 3 of Memory, Affect and Music ......................................................................... 166
xi
Musically Motivated Autobiographical Memories and the Lifetime Soundtrack
Table of Tables
Table 1: The Seven Sins of Memory (Schacter, 2001)........................................................................... 34
xii
Acknowledgements
It is often said that the quest for a PhD is a solitary one, and despite the countless hours
spent toiling in isolation towards this goal, I could never say that I was alone. The individuals
below, who provided me their aid and companionship during this process, are each in their
own way incredibly important contributors to the work that follows.
I wish to thank my principal supervisors, Dr. Donna Weston, Associate Professor
Sarah Baker, and Professor Andy Bennett, for their enthusiasm towards my research, their
encouragement, and their honest feedback. For their expertise and knowledgeable opinions
that have been crucial to the completion of this thesis, I am incredibly grateful.
I thank the School of Humanities, Griffith University, and the Griffith Centre for
Cultural Research for their support during my candidature.
I extend a warm thanks to the individuals who participated in the research, who
shared their experiences openly and allowed me to delve deeper into my research than I
initially thought possible.
To those with whom I shared the postgraduate experience: Jadey, Seb, Niels, Jill,
Sarah, Sally, and Narelle: your understanding, motivation and encouragement at every stage
is so greatly appreciated.
I thank my family for providing continued support and for withholding judgement on
my decision to pursue this goal. Most special thanks go to my grandmother, Lola, whose
unconditional love, loyalty, stoicism and faith in my abilities has contributed in innumerable
ways to my progress, not only through university, but through life itself.
Finally, a most earnest note of gratitude to my partner, Lachlan: your unrelenting
optimism, constant reassurance, and most of all, your patience, are profoundly valued:
thank you.
xiii
Musically Motivated Autobiographical Memories and the Lifetime Soundtrack
xiv