The Comfort of Familiar Melodies: What Holiday Music Offers to Music Therapy
As the days grow shorter and the weather begins to cool, many of us find ourselves reaching for familiar songs, seeking that feeling of warmth and comfort. Maybe it’s a childhood Christmas tune, the theme to a favorite movie, or a family tradition. So why do we find ourselves listening to the same holiday playlists every year? In music therapy, we know this behavior is deeply tied to emotional memory and nostalgia.
Familiar music offers predictability and emotional safety; it is grounding when the external world is changing out of our control. When the clocks change and the lack of sunlight, financial stress, and the travel schedule of the holidays starts winding us up, we find stability and comfort in the melodies we have known since we were infants.
When we listen to music that has deep personal meaning or history, our brains light up. Our limbic system has tied these melodies to emotions we may have had long ago. Familiar songs have the power to transform us back to who and where we once were. Personally, the holiday classic “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” puts me in the backseat of my mom’s car during winter break from elementary school, walking inside our house to the smell of candles burning and the taste of ham and corn pudding. “Silent Night” stirs up the fear of my hair catching the flame of the candle I’m holding at church service on Christmas Eve.
These strong sensory connections to music that is so specific to one season of the year are a fantastic avenue for music therapists to reach their clients. You can utilize memory association games with an older adult with Alzheimer’s, calming nostalgia for a young adult that suffers from anxiety and depression, or the excitable melodies to create these neural pathways for young children.
So, whenever you throw on your Spotify playlist of winter classics, take some time to return to what the melodies mean to you. This is exactly what music therapists attempt to capture in their sessions. Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season!
