My Yearly Dose of Nostalgia

What does nostalgia sound like? The use of reverberation in music and a poem I wrote while I walked to the post office.

Sep 07, 2023

My yearly dose of nostalgia comes wrapped in a £35-ish return ticket to Barcelona. Always around the same time of the year, because let’s be honest, I’m not setting foot in southern Europe during summer.

In the last nine years, I’ve been back six times — I would have happily made that eight or nine times if it wasn’t for you-know-what-you-know-when. This has only been possible thanks to some very lovely friends who have accommodated me in their homes, otherwise, not financially viable in the slightest!

I can’t help but really tune into my feelings the moment I buy my plane ticket. There’s a ceremonial aspect to it and every time without fail, I’m overcome with this mind-numbing nostalgia that I cannot shake off for days on end. My head fills with expectations, to-do and to-visit lists, “Where shall I eat this time around? I must make the most of it.”

I lived in Spain between the ages of 11 and 17 and so, I have come to associate Barcelona (and its surroundings) with ‘home’, even though it hasn’t been for a very long time. In the past, I would confuse this nostalgia with wanting to live there again, but after my last trip, it became clear that was not the case.

What does nostalgia sound like?

Emily Hopkins is a professional electroacoustic harpist, composer, & content creator based in Long Island, NY1. Her take on what nostalgia sounds and looks like is quite mesmerising. Below we see a video of her playing the harp as an eight-year-old combined with footage of her playing it in the present day. She really manages to capture the feeling through the piece she plays. Don’t you think? Does nostalgia sound the same for everyone?

What really drew me to share this video with you is one of the comments under it:

“I think it's ok to feel nostalgic for the past but sometimes it's a little too much, I turned 26 a few months ago and I realized most of the stuff I see it's trying to represent "the good ol' days" in a way that doesn't quite look like the memories I have from them and that really makes me think we tend to romantizise the past so much that we make it look way different than it really was, the real good ol' days is now.”

— @srfrodoxd on Youtube

The last few times I experienced this feeling of longing I made a point to really sit with it. It’s not an emotion I experience too often, so I was determined to examine it as much as possible. It’s funny how these things feel different when we’re dissecting them instead of running away from them.

What nostalgia sounds like to me »

I leave you with some of my favourite nostalgia-inducing songs. Interestingly, I noticed a pattern while putting together this list, most of these songs include the use of reverberation at some point. I found that quite amusing and it turns out ‘reverb’ might have something to do with inducing nostalgia. Nothing proven as far as what I’ve been able to find on the topic, but most studies agree humans like the sound of ‘reverb’.

“Evidence suggests that the size of a room, sensed through audio cues such as reverberation, affects our emotional response to neutral and nice sounds. We tend to perceive small rooms as being calmer, safer, and more pleasant than large spaces. Moderate reverberation added to music gives us a sense of listening indoors. Is one of the reasons for liking reverberation is that it makes us feel enclosed and safe from the outside world?”2

— Trevor Cox, Professor of Acoustic Engineering at the University of Salford

I also recommend you watch this video by Ryan Leach, a professional composer for film, TV and video games, where he explains Relative Multipolar Tonality and how it directly affects the way certain chord combinations make us feel.

Can you fulfil nostalgia?

I quickly google “Can you fulfil nostalgia?”, like crossing something off a to-do list. I came across this thread on Reddit.

“Every now and then I get the nostalgic urge to play some old computer games from my childhood […]. I go ahead and start playing. I do enjoy playing the games, but it's sort of like, you're hungry and the only way to stop that feeling is to eat. I get the nostalgic hunger for old games, but when I eventually get around to playing said games, it's just eh.”3
— KehoAseena on Reddit

That deep yearning for what once was never gets old and it doesn’t always come at the best time. So I tend to ask myself, “If I had a time machine, would I exclusively go back to that point in time?”

This is where the etymology of the word brings some more clarity. “From Greek nostos ‘return home’ + algos ‘pain’”4. The pain of returning ‘home’, perhaps, because nothing is as it once was.

This ‘pain of returning home’ will never come to an end. No matter how many times I go back to Barcelona and show my brain that it’s not where I’m supposed to be. So I guess I’ll just have to keep visiting? That works for me. Maybe while listening to my nostalgia-inducing playlist? I’ll let you know when I’m back from my yearly trip in November.

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

I look around 
there's nothing for me here. 
Only the shadows 
of what once was. 

My wounds know no borders 
my heart follows. 
It's never too late to turn around. 
Does it matter now? 

Best not to spend time 
thinking what could have been. 
It never gives it only takes 
away.

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High ☁ Hopes

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