Gabriel's Long-Term Memory In The Music Never Stopped

Music has a way of getting in people’s heads. It can make people think, cry, laugh, sing, dance, or remind them of their past. Memories can be brought up again just by listening to certain words of a song. Remembering a hard time or a good time can stem from reminiscing about music. In the movie The Music Never Stopped, which took place in 1986, 35-year old Gabriel Sawyer finds out he has a benign brain tumor that will damage the cognitive functions of his brain when operated on. The doctor told his parents, whom Gabriel hadn’t spoken to in nearly 20 years, that Gabriel’s “long-term memory stopped at a certain point”, and that he would no longer be able to form new memories. Henry, his father, who left his son on bad terms, found an article

Daly, a music therapist, helps Gabriel regain some of his memory through playing songs by his favorite bands during the 1960s. This sparks a light in Gabriel, causing him to make sense of the lyrics, and remember part of his past. The memories he shared were not always positive; some were highlighting the dispute between him and his father during his teen years. Henry saw this and realized that he needed to figure out how to form a bond with his son. He took Gabriel to a Grateful Dead concert, Gabriel’s favorite band and the band whose song is the movie’s namesake. Shortly after the concert, Henry had heart complications and passed away. Although Gabriel was not able to be with his father anymore, the memory of him will never fade because of the musical bond they shared. The Music Never Stopped portrays a young man’s life that, without music, would be lost and

At the end of the movie, he looks around for his dad, who usually comes every day around 10 to spend time bonding over music with him. This shows that Gabriel remembers the memory of his dad and proved the doctor wrong. "’It's already well documented that music elicits measurable responses in the brain's activities,’ said Dr. Daly ‘we may be able to use music as a tool.’ (The Music Never Stopped)” She used music to improve Gabriel’s memory because she knew that Gabriel could make progress with this tool. The part of the brain that was affected could be changed through music, particularly music that the patient enjoys listening