# Do you 'play' pieces of music in your mind?



## Igneous01 (Jan 27, 2011)

Something I have recently started doing as a part of relaxation is to play a piece of music that I have fairly memorized from beginning to end in my head. I find that when I do this, my head finally clears and the constant nagging tunes and parts of certain pieces stop repeating over and over again.

For example, I had Shosty 8th String Quartet driving me mad when I was trying to sleep. So I tried to play it from the first movement, all the way to the end of the 5th movement. Parts of the first and fifth I had issues with piecing the order together correctly, but for the most part those twenty or so minutes I was playing the entire quartet back. It thankfully calmed my mind and I was able to fall asleep.

I did something similar with Schnittke's String Trio, but this time with the score to follow (which made it significantly easier).

While I was walking to school I played back the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd movement's of Schnittke's 4th Violin concerto.


I'm sure I'm not the only that does this, so I'm curious to know: do you play back music in your head? what was the longest piece of music you ever 'played' back in your mind? What piece frequently comes back?


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Once I had to fly from New York to Nashville at midnight in the back of a private plane. It was so noisy in there, I couldn't talk or sleep, so I played Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in my head. 

I don't do that kind of thing as much as I used to. Since I've become more involved in Sunday School/Bible study teaching, I mostly run quotations through my mind. But back a few years ago, I'd find times where I'd listened and studied Beethoven's 3rd, 5th, 9th, and the C# minor string quartet so much, I could play them in my head, because I was getting something spiritual from them. 

Of course, shorter pieces like Satie's Gymnopedies, Sarabandes, and Nocturnes are pretty easy to recall, because I first got back into classical music through his music, and back then, I collected every recording I could find.


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

I have an excellent memory(play classical pieces on piano from memory easily) but not good enough to play a whole lengthy piece back in my head that I have not studied to play on the piano. I don't overplay pieces that I'm not learning on piano so I don't usually get the repetitions to have it memorized. For instance, the classical pieces that I have heard the _most_ times at this point are at a play count of about 20 to 25. Most are in the 5-15 range.


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

Somewhat. My problem is that I sometimes only stick to one passage, and it gets stuck in my head playing over and over, making it even harder to fall asleep!

The one piece I can recite in my head perfectly is Chopin's Ballade in g minor. Also some of his short preludes, like the 7th in Ab major


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

Most certainly and quite often! Just about any piece of music I love is ready for me to 'hit play' at any time.


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

I've been doing this since I was a small child, before I even started schooling. I didn't have a CD player or any means of playing back music to myself when I wanted to hear it, so I just memorized music I liked and would listen to it in my head. Back then it was Jethro Tull and Styx records, later it was music by Nobuo Uematsu, and recently its been Wagner, Stephen Sondheim and Death Grips XD Of course now I have all sorts of means of listening whenever I want, but at places like work, or when I'm just out and about I'll still play the music in my mind :3


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

BurningDesire said:


> ...Death Grips...


There's another band I don't get.


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

To avoid panic while in an MRI, I closed my eyes and played Brahms 4th - First Movement in my head


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## GGluek (Dec 11, 2011)

Always have. Whenever I discovered a piece of music I liked, I would play it several times (often more than several) and put it in my rotation of discs I put on for pleasure or while reading, and soon enough I knew them well enough to play mentally -- albeit seldom flawlessly.

I often have something going around in my head -- sometimes particular passages in an endless loop -- and my dreams often have sound tracks. If I find myself mentally playing a work in the morning that wasn't one I was playing the night before, I pretty much know that it accompanied some part of some dream during the night.

I'm at an age when I've been de-accessioning records and CDs -- which I sometimes miss, but I "know" enough music to keep my mind occupied.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

I am so envious of those of you who can play a musical instrument - at whatever level. I was leader of the second violins in the school orchestra (35 years ago) almost certainly because I could bow correctly (but not play the right strings, I am sure!!!)

I have to make do with allowing music to circulate in my imagination, but it is rarely a complete work ----- more often just parts of a movement (or even a phrase for hours!) Performing in my mind has great advantages - I can play violin like Milstein or Heifetz, piano like Yudina or Hewitt, cello like Coin or Rostropovich, sing like Callas or Vickers, even conduct like Carlos Kleiber


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## Winterreisender (Jul 13, 2013)

Could probably "play through" the entirety of a few really well known pieces that I have heard a million times, e.g. _Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. _ Also pieces I have played on the piano, e.g. several Mozart piano sonatas. Otherwise my mental playback is probably limited to mere highlights.

Reminds me of the _Shawshank Redemption_... the prisoner is given solitary confinement but passes the time by playing through Mozart in his head. "That's the one thing they can't confiscate. That's the beauty of it."


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I can only even begin to do this when I know the structure of a work really well, but even then there are gaps. Probably the only works I could actually do are the first movements of Beethoven's 5th and Mozart's 40th symphonies, because those are the ones I learned sonata form with.


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## Guest (Jun 25, 2014)

The title reminds me of this:


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I always have a tune running through my head: Sibelius, Beethoven, Yes, Miles Davis. Anything and everything. 

My problem is that I can't really run something through from start to finish, I can't remember any piece well enough to do this. 

I'm currently trying to memorize Mozart's Third Violin Concerto that I'm learning to play. I've never tried to memorize an entire piece before, I've always assumed I couldn't learn it by heart. 

But if I could run the entire thing through in my head without my instrument that would help a lot.


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## Igneous01 (Jan 27, 2011)

Dustin said:


> I have an excellent memory(play classical pieces on piano from memory easily) but not good enough to play a whole lengthy piece back in my head that I have not studied to play on the piano. I don't overplay pieces that I'm not learning on piano so I don't usually get the repetitions to have it memorized. For instance, the classical pieces that I have heard the _most_ times at this point are at a play count of about 20 to 25. Most are in the 5-15 range.


only 20-25 range? Because of my phone and work (where I can freely listen most of the time) my play count of certain works is well over 200 I might imagine. However at this point the work is probably so good I couldn't stop listening to it even if I wanted to!


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

My mind will need a major tune up first.


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

Igneous01 said:


> only 20-25 range? Because of my phone and work (where I can freely listen most of the time) my play count of certain works is well over 200 I might imagine. However at this point the work is probably so good I couldn't stop listening to it even if I wanted to!


Well I've only been listening to classical for 3 and a half years so that is part of it. I really try to make a point not to overplay pieces that I really love. And having Spotify and all the music in the world makes it easy to constantly be exploring new stuff.


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## MozartsGhost (May 9, 2014)

Lately I've been hearing music in my head, sometimes for up to an hour. Its way off in the distance at first but I soon begin to anticipate where the piece is going and I am soon directing the made up orchestra in my head. 

I don't know who the composer is or the piece, but I listen all the time and catch little pieces here and there. I don't know anything about how to express myself in music. I don't write and I don't play. 

I'm an engineer. Classical music, with its structure and timing, dovetails so well into the mathematics and physical sciences that I use to make a living. Also, its really cool how classical music unites all three parts of a person - spirit, mind and body.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Don't worry. I always hear music in my head. For me it's simply a survival mechanism.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

> hpowders: Don't worry. I always hear music in my head. For me it's simply a survival mechanism.


Talking to yourself too. . . just don't answer yourself.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Marschallin Blair said:


> Talking to yourself too. . . just don't answer yourself.


I've heard music in my head since I was a little kid. I'd be lost without it.


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

I'm jealous of those unique people that have _original_ music playing in their head. I often have improvisational ideas on other pieces of music I hear but rarely have totally unique musical ideas just floating through my head.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

Marschallin Blair said:


> Talking to yourself too. . . just don't answer yourself.


Oh dear - I have long conversations with myself.

I frequently give myself 'pep talks', offer reassurance, challenge behaviours, contest ideas, formulate propositions .... without me to talk to and listen to, I would be truly 'lost'

I suspect that when the music switches off in my head, it will be time to put the lid on the box and the stake through the heart


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

Dustin said:


> I'm jealous of those unique people that have _original_ music playing in their head. I often have improvisational ideas on other pieces of music I hear but rarely have totally unique musical ideas just floating through my head.


From post #17 - Did you have many original stories in your head after three years of listening to verbal language? Give it time .... maybe it will come. If not, there's no need to worry - many performers are very creative, even though they never create original pieces of music


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

The music will stop in my head someday, but not too soon I hope.. 

I usually don't play through entire pieces, or when I do I expect it's an abridged or sped up version. The subjective time in my head may not run at the same rate as physical time.

At the moment I have Journey's "Separate Ways" (I think that's the name of the song) running through my head for no particular reason. I was not a fan of Journey or stadium rock. There must have been a machine or something I heard that reminded me of that opening rhythm, which promises to be something epic but then we just get a typical 80s pop song -- not horrible by any means, just not normally my thing. 

The mind is a vast unexplored cosmos.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

When I'm at some social occasion and the conversation turns dull, I will listen to some music my brain provides. As long as I smile and nod in the affirmative, they'd swear I was listening to them.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

hpowders said:


> When I'm at some social occasion and the conversation turns dull, I will listen to some music my brain provides. As long as I smile and nod in the affirmative, they'd swear I was listening to them.


It reminds me of Septimus Harding in Anthony Trollope's novel _The Warden_ who plays an imaginery cello at times of stress, anxiety or when in an unpleasant situation ... a very worthy strategy :tiphat:


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

When I see posts of multi-paragraphs on TC, after the first 4 lines or so, there comes the music in my head.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

So, to sum it up, if any of you ever meet me in person and you are talking to me comprehensively about your wonderful life and you see me smiling and nodding my head affirmatively, I am actually listening to some wonderful music my brain is providing me. Why? The assumption is yours to make.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

hpowders said:


> When I see posts of multi-paragraphs on TC, after the first 4 lines or so, there comes the music in my head.


Oh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. . . you're the 'pithy' guy. . . or is it the 'ADD' guy?_ ;p_


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

hpowders said:


> So, to sum it up, if any of you ever meet me in person and you are talking to me comprehensively about your wonderful life and you see me smiling and nodding my head affirmatively, I am actually listening to some wonderful music my brain is providing me. Why? The assumption is yours to make.


I tend to have that effect on people; or so I imagine.


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

Igneous01 said:


> . . . I'm sure I'm not the only that does this, so I'm curious to know: do you play back music in your head? what was the longest piece of music you ever 'played' back in your mind?


Absolutely ... Symphonie Concertante, Joseph Jongen (for organ and orchestra).



> What piece frequently comes back?


Frequently returning pieces are those I've created as improvisations in conjunction with my church position ...

Kh ♫


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Marschallin Blair said:


> Oh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. . . you're the 'pithy' guy. . . or is it the 'ADD' guy?_ ;p_


Both. Yet I survived the wonderful world of work to be able to sit here all day and post as pithily as possible.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Marschallin Blair said:


> I tend to have that effect on people; or so I imagine.


Certain folks talk and talk and talk, seemingly without breathing (my brother, are you listening?). I've learned to tune them out my way. :lol:


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Marschallin Blair said:


> I tend to have that effect on people; or so I imagine.


Nah! You'd be interesting. :tiphat:


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Dustin said:


> Well I've only been listening to classical for 3 and a half years so that is part of it. I really try to make a point not to overplay pieces that I really love. And having Spotify and all the music in the world makes it easy to constantly be exploring new stuff.


That's the trick. Do not overplay pieces. Guilty as charged. I've taken a Beethoven hiatus for just that reason.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Incidentally, the music going through my head this morning was an excerpt from the third movement of Sibelius's Fourth, but it took me a bit to recognize it.

The longest piece I know for sure I can go through in my mind in its entirety is the first movement of Mahler's Sixth (minus the repeat, about 18~20 minutes).


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

hpowders said:


> Certain folks talk and talk and talk, seemingly without breathing (my brother, are you listening?). I've learned to tune them out my way. :lol:


I'm sorry. I was putting my hair up. . . Were you saying something?


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

> Originally Posted by Marschallin Blair
> 
> I tend to have that effect on people; or so I imagine.
> 
> hpowders: Nah! You'd be interesting.


You British are so polite; and sweet. I know I'm obnoxious. But I try not to be. . . But ever if I become a crashing bore?-- just slap me; or shoot me-- gentleman's rules.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Marschallin Blair said:


> You British are so polite; and sweet. I know I'm obnoxious. But I try not to be. . . But ever if I become a crashing bore?-- just slap me; or shoot me-- gentleman's rules.


I'm not British. I was born in Brooklyn, NY! :lol::lol:

Now I'm really curious. What made you assume I'm British?


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

hpowders said:


> I'm not British. I was born in Brooklyn, NY! :lol::lol:
> 
> Now I'm really curious. What made you assume I'm British?


Your manners and my blonde-ness. . . and the fact that your icon has Leonard Bernstein on it; wasn't he British too?


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Marschallin Blair said:


> Your manners and my blonde-ness. . . and the fact that your icon has Leonard Bernstein on it; wasn't he British too?


Say what? Bernstein was from Lawrence, Massachusetts and lived at the Dakota overlooking Central Park, where John Lennon lived. I'm proud to say Bernstein is buried in Brooklyn, New York; my beloved hometown.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

hpowders said:


> Say what? Bernstein was from Brookline Massachusetts and I'm proud to say he is buried in Brooklyn, New York; my beloved hometown.





> Originally Posted by Marschallin Blair
> 
> Your manners and my blonde-ness. . . and the fact that your icon has Leonard Bernstein on it; wasn't he British too?
> 
> hpowders: Say what? Bernstein was from Brookline Massachusetts and I'm proud to say he is buried in Brooklyn, New York; my beloved hometown.


That's the spirit-- _now_ you're sounding like a New Yorker. _;D_


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Marschallin Blair said:


> That's the spirit-- _now_ you're sounding like a New Yorker. _;D_


Yeah, but where I live the pizza and bagels are sub-par. Nothing like New York.

Thanks for the compliment! :tiphat:


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

hpowders said:


> Yeah, but where I live the pizza and bagels are sub-par. Nothing like New York.
> 
> Thanks for the compliment! :tiphat:


I love New York. My sister used to live in Midtown Manhattan. The only thing the Blair can't abide is the cold. I really love fall and spring there-- absolutely gorgeous.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Marschallin Blair said:


> I love New York. My sister used to live in Midtown Manhattan. The only thing the Blair can't abide is the cold. I really love fall and spring there-- absolutely gorgeous.


Yes, especially when the weeping willow trees are in bloom. Love it. In Florida, boring palm trees that all look the same.
New York grass and trees are special-Prospect and Central Parks plus the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens in the spring or early fall; wonderful!


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

hpowders said:


> Yes, especially when the weeping willow trees are in bloom. Love it. In Florida, boring palm trees that all look the same.
> 
> New York grass and trees are special-Prospect and Central Parks plus the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens in the spring or early fall; wonderful!


Central Park in fall when it just ever-so-slightly starts to snow?-- I was just _done in_. Such breathtaking beauty. Where I live you don't see a change of seasons like that. It really sank its hook into me. . . but that was October. I wouldn't want to be there in January. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Marschallin Blair said:


> Central Park in fall when it just ever-so-slightly starts to snow?-- I was just _done in_. Such breathtaking beauty. Where I live you don't see a change of seasons like that. It really sank its hook into me. . . but that was October. I wouldn't want to be there in January. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.


It's the price one pays for a moderate climate year round. Here Santa wears bermuda shorts. Just not the same.

Some folks might wonder, What do all these posts have to do with playing music in one's mind. My answer is for every one of these posts, there's been music accompanying me in my head. At this time it's been Haydn's Mass In Time Of War.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

hpowders said:


> So, to sum it up, if any of you ever meet me in person and ................


Sorry, HP, I must've drifted off into _il dolce suono_ ... did you say something? :lol:


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

Marschallin Blair said:


> I tend to have that effect on people; or so I imagine.


sorry :lol:... were YOU saying something too?


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

Posts 38-48 inclusive are sufficient for many of us to hum the whole of the Ring cycle :devil:


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I just heard this in my head from the Ring: "Das ist kein Mann!"

Can't make this stuff up. It's from Siegfried. Right there in my head.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

> Originally Posted by Marschallin Blair
> 
> I tend to have that effect on people; or so I imagine.
> 
> Headphone Hermit: sorry ... were YOU saying something too?


Mister Robinson is suffering from delusions of adequacy. . . and where_ is _that charming wife of yours? _;D_


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

Marschallin Blair said:


> Mister Robinson is suffering from delusions of adequacy. . . and where_ is _that charming wife of yours? _;D_


She just came into the room, said something (I know not what!) and went to make me a cup of tea. An angel, a real angel she is - her reward may come in heaven (it isn't evident here on earth, I believe)


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Headphone Hermit said:


> Sorry, HP, I must've drifted off into _il dolce suono_ ... did you say something? :lol:


I'm surprised that you have even_ that much _awareness of others hearing that-- my narcissism would never allow such an outrage while immersing to Divina. . . I salute you.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Headphone Hermit said:


> She just came into the room, said something (I know not what!) and went to make me a cup of tea. An angel, a real angel she is - her reward may come in heaven (it isn't evident here on earth, I believe)


_Je l'aime_. I'm sure she'll hold full sway in the court of the King of Kings for amibaly tolerating all of those years you played lesser breeds of singers; and not vintage Callas 24-7.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

hpowders said:


> When I see posts of multi-paragraphs on TC, after the first 4 lines or so, there comes the music in my head.


_Now_ you tell me, after I sang your praises to the utmost height of my ability in the very last paragraph of one of my posts - I forget which.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Weston said:


> _Now_ you tell me, after I sang your praises to the utmost height of my ability in the very last paragraph of one of my posts - I forget which.


Ha! Ha! You truly flatter me, Weston. It couldn't have been that long a post.

I tried writing my memoirs and for the life of me, couldn't get past line three!

A happy, but uneventful life.


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## Borodin (Apr 8, 2013)

Cosmos said:


> Somewhat. My problem is that I sometimes only stick to one passage, and it gets stuck in my head playing over and over, making it even harder to fall asleep!
> 
> The one piece I can recite in my head perfectly is Chopin's Ballade in g minor. Also some of his short preludes, like the 7th in Ab major


Really, because that sounds just like what _does_ get stuck in my head over and over again. 
2:00-2:18


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Currently, in my mind, I'm playing the finale of Mozart's keyboard concerto #21 on fortepiano with period orchestra.


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## revdrdave (Jan 8, 2014)

I play music over and over in my head quite a bit. For some reason, the last movements of the Shostakovich 6 and Honegger 4 frequently get stuck in said brain. My problem is that I keep running ahead of the natural progression of the music, leaving out some bits to focus on others. Then I'll repeat entire sections, over and over again, creating a sort of classical _Groundhog Day_.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Me too, and just like that! In fact, I get weird earworms. For instance, in the last movement of Shostakovich's 6th heard in my head there's a theme, quite prominent at the very end, accompanied by Buffalo Springfield's words: "There's a man with a gun over there..."

Can't avoid the vocal accompaniment!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

There I go again!

I was out for dinner with a couple of friends and the conversation turned a bit dull. So in my mind, the lovely slow movement to Mozart's piano concerto K503 was being featured, even though I was pretending to listen to whatever was being said.

If they only knew!! :lol:


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

hpowders said:


> There I go again!
> 
> I was out for dinner with a couple of friends and the conversation turned a bit dull. So in my mind, the lovely slow movement to Mozart's piano concerto K503 was being featured, even though I was pretending to listen to whatever was being said.
> 
> If they only knew!! :lol:


<Stream-of-consciousness narrative at dinner table>: _"Sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome Mozart is."_

Mother at Christmas party: "Blair! Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaair! Aunt Shirley is talking to you!"

Blair: "What?. . . Sorry. . . Were you saying something?"

Mother at Christmas party smacks Blair on the back of the head.

-- I relate completely. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Marschallin Blair said:


> <Stream-of-consciousness narrative at dinner table>: _"Sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome Mozart is."_
> 
> Mother at Christmas party: "Blair! Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaair! Aunt Shirley is talking to you!"
> 
> ...


When I was a kid, after dinner when the eating stopped and the boring conversations began, I would always leave the table and sit by myself somewhere, usually outside. I learned to appreciate the sounds of silence, which relaxed me and served as a platform for a lot of music entering and leaving my brain.

As an adult, I am the same way. When idle chitchat commences, I leave and sit alone, as far away as I can. Usually, some Mozart in my mind carries me away.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

When I was a kid, after dinner when the eating stopped and the kids ran off to play, I would always stay at the table and join in the adult conversations


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

brotagonist said:


> When I was a kid, after dinner when the eating stopped and the kids ran off to play, I would always stay at the table and join in the adult conversations


Which is why you are not being invited to my chateau for Argentinian sirloin any time soon. 

By the way, I never "ran off to play".


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

> hpowders: Which is why you are not being invited to my chateau for Argentinian sirloin any time soon.
> 
> By the way, I never "ran off to play".


I did.

I just_ ran off_. . . or came late and_ then _ran off. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. -- my mother's telling glances and insinuating silences to the contrary notwithstanding.


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

I "play" sections of the pieces I like the most and listen to often. They're old friends: Daphnis et Chloe, La Valse, Ma Mere L'Oye, Firebird, Rite of Spring, Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, Billy The Kid. There's lots of Broadway and pop stuff too, but I won't mention them.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

revdrdave said:


> I play music over and over in my head quite a bit. For some reason, the last movements of the Shostakovich 6 and Honegger 4 frequently get stuck in said brain. My problem is that I keep running ahead of the natural progression of the music, leaving out some bits to focus on others. Then I'll repeat entire sections, over and over again, creating a sort of classical _Groundhog Day_.


I've had that Honegger 4th, 3rd movement in my head for the past two days. Not the whole thing, of course. Just that grand theme that is so memorable.


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## Fugue Meister (Jul 5, 2014)

I must be cut from the same cloth as hpowders... Whenever conversations drag I it's like my brain automatically turns on my minds phonograph, although usually it's a Beethoven quartet. Really though hpowders, even down to the brother who won't shut up. 

Anyway I am not trying to brag though it may seem that way but I seem to be the first person here who can play whole symphonies in my head without deviating and repeating sections over and over, and I'm not strictly speaking a musician(I played saxophone in band in middle & high school band, I doubt that counts especially considering it's been nearly a decade since I even picked it up) . 

If I were to offer a theory as to why it would be: I got started early... My parent's played classical while I was in the womb and while a child all I had around was classical recordings... I didn't even know bands existed til I was around 11 years old and by then it was too late I have been forever hooked on absolute music. Anyway to tie back into the theory of mine, I believe the very act of listening to whole symphonies, concerti, and chamber music has been a constant memory exercise. To lend credence to this idea is that I have a tremendous memory now as an adult, and not just for music.. I often find myself wondering how sad it is that some of my friends have no memory of two day's ago let alone last week. 

One last thought before I cut it off, I too play "original music" always orchestral music but I find it trite and banal, nowhere near good enough compared to even the most mediocre of composers. My memory may be outstanding but I have zilch capacity for composition... More's the pity..


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Sometimes I row my boat to the mouth of the stream and across the ocean to Bonnie. Occasionally I pick on some old dude who has lost the ability to cut the mustard. That's about it.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

"Do you 'play' pieces of music in your mind?"

No, that's what sheet music and recordings are for. This sounds like something an instrumentalist would do. Do you include orchestral works in this? I do that.

I heard of a guy who got struck by lightning, and he began to hear music playing very clearly in his head, over which he had no control or way to stop it. This sounds similar to auditory hallucinations that so-called schizophrenics experience. Roky Erikson (of the Thirteenth Floor Elevators pop group) would have several radios going at once, with all static, in order to drown out the voices and clutter. He's much better, now.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

OP: All the time. This helps me get through boring small talk at social gatherings. I simply smile and nod my head, but am really listening to music in my head.


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## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

Igneous01 said:


> Something I have recently started doing as a part of relaxation is to play a piece of music that I have fairly memorized from beginning to end in my head. I find that when I do this, my head finally clears and the constant nagging tunes and parts of certain pieces stop repeating over and over again.
> 
> For example, I had Shosty 8th String Quartet driving me mad when I was trying to sleep. So I tried to play it from the first movement, all the way to the end of the 5th movement. Parts of the first and fifth I had issues with piecing the order together correctly, but for the most part those twenty or so minutes I was playing the entire quartet back. It thankfully calmed my mind and I was able to fall asleep.
> 
> ...


I only do it when I happen to not be listening to music.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

I often find it happening on vacations where I have intentionally cut myself off from ready access to music listening technology. I just about went mad in Barcelona with themes of Nielsen symphonies repeating in my head, and like the Op, resorted to trying to recall whole movements with mixed success. I think I did pretty well with mvts 1 of 1-4 and movement 2 and 4 of #4, at that point. 

And now I am finding out just how well I know Taras Bulba mvts 1 and 2 by Janacek and Nielsen 6 mvts 1 and 4. And numerous Sonatas of the set of 30 by Sebastian De Albero.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

When I'm being tortured in the dentist's chair, I tend to play in my head Bach's Goldberg Variations from start to finish. I always include all repeats and my instrument of choice is the harpsichord.


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## Guest (Feb 8, 2016)

Bulldog said:


> When I'm being tortured in the dentist's chair, I tend to play in my head Bach's Goldberg Variations from start to finish. I always include all repeats and my instrument of choice is the harpsichord.


You need a better dentist!


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

@Bulldog: does it take much effort for you to tune out the ambient Kenny G while you do this?


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## Stirling (Nov 18, 2015)

Doesn't everyone?


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

clavichorder said:


> @Bulldog: does it take much effort for you to tune out the ambient Kenny G while you do this?


My dentist goes with pop hits from the 60's; easy to turn off in my head.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Wow! My dentist doesn't even play music. Damn ObamaCare!! :lol:


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## musicrom (Dec 29, 2013)

Usually I'm unable to. Of course, sometimes a theme gets stuck in my head or something, but when I try to "play" a piece in my head, even one I know really well or just listened to, I generally find myself getting stuck after maybe 30-60 seconds and then looping over and over again.


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## Ilarion (May 22, 2015)

Man oh man,

What a question...! Sigh, Iterating feedback loops are a constant presence in my minds ear - Rachmaninov during one day, then JSBach on the next, and so on...The same goes for my insatiable appetite for Jazz...Gershwin one day then McCoy Tyner the next day, and so on...I guess if I start composing I'll be so busy that I'll never die:lol:

Maybe its a blessing in disguise...


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## manyene (Feb 7, 2015)

A lot, especially when I am not near my laptop/hi fi, and usually those works I have known longest, or have heard many times recently.


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## gHeadphone (Mar 30, 2015)

I have music playing almost constantly in my head. 

If im listening to a new piece and i wake up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night ill often have a part of the new piece wandering around my head.

Its spotify for the brain!


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## Gordontrek (Jun 22, 2012)

Never stops. Always something swimming around up there.
I have a good enough memory where I have a nice "library" of complete pieces in my head I can draw upon to get me through boring stretches of time, ESPECIALLY on car trips with friends who insist on monopolizing the radio or CD player with their dog-awful country music (different if they turn it up really loud, but I can usually tune it out). Tchaikovsky's 4th never fails to kill 45 minutes in what seems like 10.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Anything I've recently listened to multiple times will go through my mind a lot, which is understandable. But what fascinates me is that sometimes there is also music that I haven't heard in a long time randomly popping up in my head.


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## Tristan (Jan 5, 2013)

Sometimes I do this; or I at least run through a significant passage of a piece in my mind. I also like to see if I can whistle large passages of pieces, since I do seem to have a knack for whistling on key (but I have to do that when alone lest I annoy the crap out of everyone around me).


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

There's this waltz-like theme from the last movement of Shostakovich's Fourth Symphony, very lilting and Mahler-like, which I keep hearing over and over. It's like a mania!!


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## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

Gordontrek said:


> Never stops. Always something swimming around up there.
> I have a good enough memory where I have a nice "library" of complete pieces in my head I can draw upon to get me through boring stretches of time, ESPECIALLY on car trips with friends who insist on monopolizing the radio or CD player with their dog-awful country music (different if they turn it up really loud, but I can usually tune it out). Tchaikovsky's 4th never fails to kill 45 minutes in what seems like 10.


I seem to have the exact same kind of relationship with the second movement of Tchaikovsky's Pathetique.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

OP: All the time! Keeps me sane.

At this time, Bach's Unaccompanied Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor. Movement two. Fuga.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

hpowders said:


> OP: All the time! Keeps me sane.
> 
> At this time, Bach's Unaccompanied Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor. Movement two. Fuga.


As a matter of fact, this one's been playing over a week now. Addictive for me!


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

I totally do! Sometimes I even "play" them in the air or in my lap, as if I'm playing an imaginary piano. Yep, I've given up on trying to pass as a normal, well-adjusted human being....Been there, done that - and it never really worked anyway!! :lol:


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I used to go out on boring dates and also during family gatherings involving the usual "small talk", I would simply turn up my mind's volume control and drown them all out with my beloved music.

I would simply smile and nod my head. They were usually self-centered compulsive talkers, so I didn't really have to listen, as I wouldn't actually get a word in edgewise anyway.


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## ibrahim (Apr 29, 2017)

There have been a few instances that I distinctly recall where it felt like I had an orchestra playing in my head of certain works! Alas I can't create these instances by will alone! I would think that with enough familiarity with a work anyone can play it in their head with hard enough concentration. 

But I take it the point is NOT to have to think that hard about it, right?


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## JeffD (May 8, 2017)

I have not gone about it deliberately but is often "just happens". Kind of like an earworm, before you are tired of it.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Nice topic, shame O.P has left the building years ago.


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## Jacred (Jan 14, 2017)

To OP: yes. When something exciting happens in my life, I inadvertently start matching a soundtrack to it. One of my favourite times was when the airplane I was on for a trans-Pacific flight hit a huge, turbulent storm and the ominous opening bars of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 started playing in my head.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Yeah, "Do you Ever Wash That Thing" Frank Zappa


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Jacred said:


> To OP: yes. When something exciting happens in my life, I inadvertently start matching a soundtrack to it. One of my favourite times was when the airplane I was on for a trans-Pacific flight hit a huge, turbulent storm and the ominous opening bars of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 started playing in my head.


That happens to me too, SO MUCH. Not just with exciting events, but basically with everything. If I walk past a pond and I see reflections in the water, I start hearing Debussy's "Reflets dans l'eau" in my head. I can't even see a lark ascending without thinking of the Vaughan Williams piece, and I don't even especially _like _that piece! :lol:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

I am humming the Rondo à la krakowiak for days mow, drives me nuts and I want to learn/ preform it so bad.


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