Blog # 13 人生音樂時間線 Musical Timeline
最近我突然間想去清理我收藏了很久的音樂珍藏CD & MD, 當我逐一拿上手去欣賞的時候, 有趣的事情就發生了. 突然間好像哈利波特的故事情節, 裏面有一間Dumbledor的房子裏邊儲存了很多玻璃管的東西, 每一支玻璃管裏面是一個回憶中的情節, 只需將玻璃管裏面的東西倒進一個魔法盤子裏面就能進入那一段的回憶.
我的音樂原來就是這些玻璃管, 我的CD機就是那個魔法盤子. 當音樂響起的時候, 我突然間走進了一個遺忘了的空間, 當時的人, 地點, 氣味, 感覺, 空氣, 聲音全部都呈現在這一刻當中.
我決定坐下來慢慢地將所有在我人生出現過的音樂全都寫下來, 將它變成一個「人生音樂時間線」. 其實這個功課一點也不容易, 我首先將我整個人生以不同的過渡期分為八個階段, 然後將所有的樂隊或歌手或作曲家加上歌名分類放到每一個階段裏面. 有趣的是我可能根本不記得了所有的陳年記憶記憶, 但是我能夠記得所有在我生命裏我曾喜歡過或被感動過或是影響過我的音樂.
幾個小時的埋頭苦幹下, 當我將不同的音樂去歸納到不同的時期, 突然間發現原來所有我曾經學過的樂器也含有特定的感覺和記憶. 最後那個時間線裏面有這些元素:
年齡 0-6
年齡7-12….如此類推
樂隊或歌手或作曲家加上歌名
有關的記憶
有關的樂器
有關的音樂
驚訝的是看到我每一個人生時期裏面的掙扎, 痛苦, 艱辛, 喜樂, 自由自在, 奮鬥, 願望, 興奮, 哀愁也能夠「結晶」在一或幾首的音樂裏. 真的是需要一整天或是一星期將所有的音樂逐一拿出來去重新回顧, 細味和沉澱.
這個功課其實是一個音樂治療的其中一個介入手法. 協助client去回顧一個特定的人生時刻 (例如童年或是青少年時期) 而增強自我認識和了解; 幫助釋放一些抑制了的情緒又或是幫一人可以去重建和重整自我身分 (self identity). 但是這個活動也有機會觸發一些不良的反應, 音樂能夠直接避開一個人的意識控制制下而直接切入潛意識裏面, 所以一定要確定client 是否已經準備去作出對一件特別事件或是某一人生時期的回憶, 否則可能在不適當的時間去觸法了一些反面的情緒和創傷的記憶.
大家可以嘗試製作自己的人生音樂時間線, 試一試將最近的五年人生看看有沒有特定的音樂可以用來代表這一段時間. 你可能會有一些驚訝的發現!
這就是音樂的力量- 觸動回憶.
Blog # 13 Musical Timeline
Recently I’ve been doing a clear out of my old CDs and MDs at home, an interesting phenomenon started happening to me. It’s almost like that room in Harry Potter, a library of memory extracts in tubes, one can pour out the tube’s content out into the pensieve (a magical sink) to relive that memory.
My music collection is like the shelf of memory extracts and my CD player is the pensieve….as the music starts, forgotten memories from long ago started rushing into me, as if I was transported back to that period of my life, seeing those faces, places, smell, feeling, the air, the voices all came back to me.
I’ve decided to sit down properly and write them all down, creating my own musical timeline of my life. Little did I know that this is actually not an easy feat. I’ve started breaking down the timeline into 8 periods based on major transitioning, putting all the specific artist or band name as well as specific track’s name onto the list. Now the funny thing is, initially I might not be able to remember specific memories and events but I can certainly remember all the music that I used to love and treasure since childhood.
During the few hours of hard work, while I sorted out the specific tracks into a period, I began to realize that the instruments I’ve learned and played in each period also were charged with emotions and memories. At the end the list goes something like this: Age 0-6
Age 7-12….and so on Artist/Band+Track Name Associated Memories Associated Instruments Associated Music Composition
It was a great surprise to see how each period of my life or specific events can be encapsulated or crystallized in one music track. These tracks represent the struggle, the pain, the hardship, the joy, the sense of freedom, the strive for something better, the longing, the desire, the excitement, the sadness. I would seriously need a whole day…or even a whole week to gradually take a stroll down the memory lane.
This process of creating a musical timeline is in fact an excellent music therapy intervention, for an individual to gain better self-awareness and understanding by reviewing specific period of his or her life, and to release those supressed emotions from long ago as well as helping someone to build up their identity. However there are also potential danger in this activity as music cut through one’s conscious and straight into the unconscious, it might trigger some negative emotions and traumatic memories prematurely when the client is not ready to revisit some memories.
I encourage everyone to at least try creating your own musical timeline with a short period of your life (e.g. the recent 5 years) and see how it goes, the result might surprises you!
This is the power of music---memory trigger.