Was musical memory the secret to Brian Wilson's genius?

[8o8o]

Article posted on the website of the Guardian today, thought I'd share the link with you folks:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/jan/21/brian-wilson-beach-boys-musical-mind-mental-condition-beethoven-psychology-love-and-mercy

[Cyncie]

Interesting read. For years, music teachers have had me tested because I seemed to display characteristics of having perfect pitch.  For example, in an a cappella group, we were given our pitches to start, and I commented that the director had changed the key a half step up from the week before. She asked how I knew. I didn't know how I knew, I just did. After more testing, it was decided that I don't have perfect pitch. Instead, I have strong music memory paired with excellent relative pitch. So, while I can't listen to a song and tell you what key it's in, once I know a song, it's always in that key unless I mentally transpose it.

I do hear music in my head all the time. Mostly songs or song fragments that I know. Unfortunately, I don't have Brian's genius for taking that music and making something new from it.

[SteveMC]

That memory ability must've been a big help in teaching vocal parts to the guys. I remember reading somewhere that his Mom said he could hum some song perfectly as a 3 yr old.  Such a memory though won't write good songs for you and he surely put in a lot of hard working analyzing the arrangements of the four freshman.

[Emily]

Interesting read. For years, music teachers have had me tested because I seemed to display characteristics of having perfect pitch.  For example, in an a cappella group, we were given our pitches to start, and I commented that the director had changed the key a half step up from the week before. She asked how I knew. I didn't know how I knew, I just did. After more testing, it was decided that I don't have perfect pitch. Instead, I have strong music memory paired with excellent relative pitch. So, while I can't listen to a song and tell you what key it's in, once I know a song, it's always in that key unless I mentally transpose it.

I do hear music in my head all the time. Mostly songs or song fragments that I know. Unfortunately, I don't have Brian's genius for taking that music and making something new from it.

That seems to me like a real gift, though I suppose it could also seem like a curse. Have you found a way to use it fulfillingly? Does it bring you pleasure? I have no musical talent, skill or gift other than that of profound enjoyment.

[the captain]

It's important to keep in mind the writer is basing his points on lines from a movie. The "like always" that's so key for the writer most likely isn't something Brian ever said, so one ought not put too much weight on it. Brian's and others' own recollections of whether he heard music in his head as finished product seem inconsistent, if I'm not mistaken, with Brian himself poo-pooing it more than those who want to make him a superhero.

My personal guess--yes, obviously, a guess--is that he was born in to a musical family, making his a (musically, if nothing else) nurturing environment ... and then he worked his ass off. I put more stock in his stories of working through Four Freshman songs, bar by bar, than in vaguely supernatural abilities as told by his bandmates and friends. Obviously there is some amazing natural talent there, and musical memory would seem to be a part of that. But to quote the man, let's not forget he was also, maybe even mostly, "a hard workin' guy."

[mikeddonn]

It's important to keep in mind the writer is basing his points on lines from a movie. The "like always" that's so key for the writer most likely isn't something Brian ever said, so one ought not put too much weight on it. Brian's and others' own recollections of whether he heard music in his head as finished product seem inconsistent, if I'm not mistaken, with Brian himself poo-pooing it more than those who want to make him a superhero.

My personal guess--yes, obviously, a guess--is that he was born in to a musical family, making his a (musically, if nothing else) nurturing environment ... and then he worked his ass off. I put more stock in his stories of working through Four Freshman songs, bar by bar, than in vaguely supernatural abilities as told by his bandmates and friends. Obviously there is some amazing natural talent there, and musical memory would seem to be a part of that. But to quote the man, let's not forget he was also, maybe even mostly, "a hard workin' guy."

Yes Brian has said in the past that he didn't have the complete song arrangement in his head before he went into the studio but more an idea of instruments he would use (thus being able to book the session players).  Although I'm sure he may have woke up with a song in his head and the ability to remember it.

I had a dream around the time of Beatles Anthology they got back together and played my local community centre (outside).  They had the full Sgt Pepper's gear on and Lennon was there.  The couple of songs they played were very vivid and very good.  Unfortunately when I woke up I couldn't remember enough to construct a song out of it all!  I have written quite a few over the years but these would have topped the lot!

[The Heartical Don]

Thank you for the interesting link, 8o8o -

I read the Guardian article with pleasure.

I don't have much time now, but will return to the matter shortly. For now, I do think indeed that an extraordinary ability to memorize and recall music makes Brian what he is. I was just reading some scientific material about a phenomenon we all possess: inhibition. It's in our brain, and it is necessary to suppress memories, thoughts, that may be useless or even harmful to ourselves. The most commonly known example of 'disinhibition', i.e. an affliction where inhibition itself doesn't function well enough, would be Tourette's Disorder. Patients can utter quite vulgar language in the midst of a well-constructed sentence, without wanting to do so. I think all of us do have impulses to utter inappropriate words and expressions every now and then, but we can unconsciously or consciously suppress this from happening.

What does this have to do with Brian, you ask?

Now, there are people who do have something vaguely similar. With music. Suppose the 'Brians' of this world (I am thinking of Beethoven) memorize all kinds of fragments of music - those heard in the outside world, as a baby and as a grown-up, those that they constructed themselves in reality, those that they thought of but not put to paper, and those that they 'heard' in dreams. A fantastic mix, huge, and unique to the person. They have an uncommon ability to keep all of it in their mental containers, where 'normals' tend to forget a lot of this over time (i.e. somehow most of it becomes irretrievable). And perhaps there is this disinhibition: on a frequent basis, new combinations, odd reconfigurations, pieces of genius make their way into the composer's consciousness, he or she can perhaps 'feel something coming up', especially under favourable circumstances, or to make circumstances favourable (we all know that Brian's dad could get into a much better mood when Brian and the guys came up with good new music). Ultimately, it is up to the more conscious parts of the genius' brain to select the best parts that come up, because in my little theory also lesser stuff will rear its head from time to time.

Please folks, take these few thoughts as they are meant to be taken: a couple of meandering first ideas that came up in my own gray cells.

[Cyncie]

Interesting read. For years, music teachers have had me tested because I seemed to display characteristics of having perfect pitch.  For example, in an a cappella group, we were given our pitches to start, and I commented that the director had changed the key a half step up from the week before. She asked how I knew. I didn't know how I knew, I just did. After more testing, it was decided that I don't have perfect pitch. Instead, I have strong music memory paired with excellent relative pitch. So, while I can't listen to a song and tell you what key it's in, once I know a song, it's always in that key unless I mentally transpose it.

I do hear music in my head all the time. Mostly songs or song fragments that I know. Unfortunately, I don't have Brian's genius for taking that music and making something new from it.

That seems to me like a real gift, though I suppose it could also seem like a curse. Have you found a way to use it fulfillingly? Does it bring you pleasure? I have no musical talent, skill or gift other than that of profound enjoyment.

Hi, Emily!

I've always enjoyed music, so it's all good. I  took a lot of years of piano, self taught other instruments in a very amateur way, and sang in a whole lot of vocal groups growing up. I originally wanted to become a professional musician, but allowed people to talk me into a more "practical" area of work. I let life get in the way of some of my instrumental skills, but I've always involved myself in music in some way. I sing in a trio that does local performance work, and am really getting into playing the ukulele in the last few years.

The up side of the music memory/pitch thing is that I rarely sing out of tune. The downside is, when others do, it's almost painful; and if the key gets changed on a piece that I'm singing, I have to do some mental gymnastics to make sure my brain doesn't try to "correct" it to the original key.

[mike moseley]

I can remember the chorus lyrics and melody of a song I saw on TV just once as a kid in about 1975

I know this because last year I found it on youtube so I could verify it - only the chorus
though, not the verse

[SteveMC]

I have a friend just like you in some ways. He can sing harmonies on one take but change the key on him and he get's frustrated.
I have relative pitch, changing keys is no an issue but I will sing flat notes here & there. Trade-off I guess.

Interesting read. For years, music teachers have had me tested because I seemed to display characteristics of having perfect pitch.  For example, in an a cappella group, we were given our pitches to start, and I commented that the director had changed the key a half step up from the week before. She asked how I knew. I didn't know how I knew, I just did. After more testing, it was decided that I don't have perfect pitch. Instead, I have strong music memory paired with excellent relative pitch. So, while I can't listen to a song and tell you what key it's in, once I know a song, it's always in that key unless I mentally transpose it.

I do hear music in my head all the time. Mostly songs or song fragments that I know. Unfortunately, I don't have Brian's genius for taking that music and making something new from it.

That seems to me like a real gift, though I suppose it could also seem like a curse. Have you found a way to use it fulfillingly? Does it bring you pleasure? I have no musical talent, skill or gift other than that of profound enjoyment.
[/quote]

Hi, Emily!

I've always enjoyed music, so it's all good. I  took a lot of years of piano, self taught other instruments in a very amateur way, and sang in a whole lot of vocal groups growing up. I originally wanted to become a professional musician, but allowed people to talk me into a more "practical" area of work. I let life get in the way of some of my instrumental skills, but I've always involved myself in music in some way. I sing in a trio that does local performance work, and am really getting into playing the ukulele in the last few years.

The up side of the music memory/pitch thing is that I rarely sing out of tune. The downside is, when others do, it's almost painful; and if the key gets changed on a piece that I'm singing, I have to do some mental gymnastics to make sure my brain doesn't try to "correct" it to the original key.
[/quote]

[Cyncie]

I have a friend just like you in some ways. He can sing harmonies on one take but change the key on him and he get's frustrated.
I have relative pitch, changing keys is no an issue but I will sing flat notes here & there. Trade-off I guess.

I don't have problems when I'm aware of the key change, like in the middle of a piece or when I purposefully change to a different key. For me, the problem comes in when it's done unexpectedly. For instance, I sang in an a cappella quartet for a show. The girl giving the pitches decided to start the song in a different key than rehearsed and I struggled the whole song to keep from singing out of tune.  I don't sing off pitch, usually. But, when the key is changed unexpectedly,  my brain starts to "correct" the key.  If, as in this case,  the key is raised a half step without me being aware of it, my brain will try to "correct" to the original key, making me sing flat. So, to fix it, I have to be aware that the key has changed, then mentally transpose the song. Once it's transposed, that's the new key, so my brain leaves it alone.

[Lonely Summer]

Interesting read. For years, music teachers have had me tested because I seemed to display characteristics of having perfect pitch.  For example, in an a cappella group, we were given our pitches to start, and I commented that the director had changed the key a half step up from the week before. She asked how I knew. I didn't know how I knew, I just did. After more testing, it was decided that I don't have perfect pitch. Instead, I have strong music memory paired with excellent relative pitch. So, while I can't listen to a song and tell you what key it's in, once I know a song, it's always in that key unless I mentally transpose it.

I do hear music in my head all the time. Mostly songs or song fragments that I know. Unfortunately, I don't have Brian's genius for taking that music and making something new from it.

I hear music in my head 24/7. Sometimes it drives me crazy - like at work, where I can't go to the computer or cd player and put some music on. I really get the urge to go to a guitar or piano and play the songs I am hearing, sing the songs....not appropriate behavior for a public library.

And once I have heard the song, that is the way the song stays in my head - the key, the tempo, etc. I really do not like changing the key - it's like making it a different song. Well, if I wanted to do a different song, I'd do a different song! If I'm going to change the key, might as well work up a different arrangement, too. All of my attempts at playing and singing music are my attempts at putting into tape or disc what I hear in my head.

[Emily]

Interesting read. For years, music teachers have had me tested because I seemed to display characteristics of having perfect pitch.  For example, in an a cappella group, we were given our pitches to start, and I commented that the director had changed the key a half step up from the week before. She asked how I knew. I didn't know how I knew, I just did. After more testing, it was decided that I don't have perfect pitch. Instead, I have strong music memory paired with excellent relative pitch. So, while I can't listen to a song and tell you what key it's in, once I know a song, it's always in that key unless I mentally transpose it.

I do hear music in my head all the time. Mostly songs or song fragments that I know. Unfortunately, I don't have Brian's genius for taking that music and making something new from it.

That seems to me like a real gift, though I suppose it could also seem like a curse. Have you found a way to use it fulfillingly? Does it bring you pleasure? I have no musical talent, skill or gift other than that of profound enjoyment.

Hi, Emily!

I've always enjoyed music, so it's all good. I  took a lot of years of piano, self taught other instruments in a very amateur way, and sang in a whole lot of vocal groups growing up. I originally wanted to become a professional musician, but allowed people to talk me into a more "practical" area of work. I let life get in the way of some of my instrumental skills, but I've always involved myself in music in some way. I sing in a trio that does local performance work, and am really getting into playing the ukulele in the last few years.

The up side of the music memory/pitch thing is that I rarely sing out of tune. The downside is, when others do, it's almost painful; and if the key gets changed on a piece that I'm singing, I have to do some mental gymnastics to make sure my brain doesn't try to "correct" it to the original key.

I have a close friend who loves theater, loves acting and is good at it. When we were young he considered pursuing it professionally, and did have a few small parts on Broadway, but he realized that it would make for a really insecure living, which he didn't feel comfortable with (and knowing him, that was the right choice), but also that it would take some of the pleasure out of it. So he's spent his life with a not-very-demanding day job that's pays reasonably well and focuses most of his energy on local amateur theater and loves it. I think for some people that's the best path and local choruses (chorii??) and orchestras and other music bodies can bring a lot of fulfillment to their members and A LOT of pleasure to those who can't make it to 'the big city' on a regular basis (or afford the tickets).
Hooray for local artists!

[Cyncie]

Interesting read. For years, music teachers have had me tested because I seemed to display characteristics of having perfect pitch.  For example, in an a cappella group, we were given our pitches to start, and I commented that the director had changed the key a half step up from the week before. She asked how I knew. I didn't know how I knew, I just did. After more testing, it was decided that I don't have perfect pitch. Instead, I have strong music memory paired with excellent relative pitch. So, while I can't listen to a song and tell you what key it's in, once I know a song, it's always in that key unless I mentally transpose it.

I do hear music in my head all the time. Mostly songs or song fragments that I know. Unfortunately, I don't have Brian's genius for taking that music and making something new from it.

That seems to me like a real gift, though I suppose it could also seem like a curse. Have you found a way to use it fulfillingly? Does it bring you pleasure? I have no musical talent, skill or gift other than that of profound enjoyment.

Hi, Emily!

I've always enjoyed music, so it's all good. I  took a lot of years of piano, self taught other instruments in a very amateur way, and sang in a whole lot of vocal groups growing up. I originally wanted to become a professional musician, but allowed people to talk me into a more "practical" area of work. I let life get in the way of some of my instrumental skills, but I've always involved myself in music in some way. I sing in a trio that does local performance work, and am really getting into playing the ukulele in the last few years.

The up side of the music memory/pitch thing is that I rarely sing out of tune. The downside is, when others do, it's almost painful; and if the key gets changed on a piece that I'm singing, I have to do some mental gymnastics to make sure my brain doesn't try to "correct" it to the original key.

I have a close friend who loves theater, loves acting and is good at it. When we were young he considered pursuing it professionally, and did have a few small parts on Broadway, but he realized that it would make for a really insecure living, which he didn't feel comfortable with (and knowing him, that was the right choice), but also that it would take some of the pleasure out of it. So he's spent his life with a not-very-demanding day job that's pays reasonably well and focuses most of his energy on local amateur theater and loves it. I think for some people that's the best path and local choruses (chorii??) and orchestras and other music bodies can bring a lot of fulfillment to their members and A LOT of pleasure to those who can't make it to 'the big city' on a regular basis (or afford the tickets).
Hooray for local artists!

I think it's worked out for the best. I'm probably not emotionally tough enough for "the biz" anyway. I've sort of carved out my own creative niche in my small town with music and theater. When I retire in a few years, I can explore performing without the pressure of making a living at it.

[mojoman3061]

[snip]I do think indeed that an extraordinary ability to memorize and recall music makes Brian what he is. [snip]

Suppose the 'Brians' of this world (I am thinking of Beethoven) memorize all kinds of fragments of music - those heard in the outside world, as a baby and as a grown-up, those that they constructed themselves in reality, those that they thought of but not put to paper, and those that they 'heard' in dreams. A fantastic mix, huge, and unique to the person. They have an uncommon ability to keep all of it in their mental containers, where 'normals' tend to forget a lot of this over time (i.e. somehow most of it becomes irretrievable). [snip]

I think you're on to something, The Heartical Don.  So is the author of the Guardian article.  I can think of a couple of examples to support this.

In 1958, Brian sang all four parts of "The Day Isn't Long Enough" for Bill Wagner, the Four Freshmen's manager.  Wagner played the record four times, and 16-year-old Brian sang a different part each time.

In Domenic Priore's Smile: The Story of Brian Wilson's Lost Masterpiece, Van Dyke Parks says, "He can remember exactly what he played, for a whole song, and then remember the song overnight."