Do it With a Song

Aside from making the world go around (okay, that and gravity), music is one of the best ways to learn and remember things. Granted, you'll store away some really useful things like the alphabet and how to spell "encyclopedia" or like my husband, the United States in alphabetical order.

And then there are the things you wish you could forget, like the local pizza joint's phone number, because we moms only have a few random brain cells to spare and I need to remember my own phone number, not the one of some bad pizza joint.

I will not bore you with all the oodles of scientific research that actually show the effectiveness of using music to memorize random things, but it is a bit uncanny to see what ridiculous song lyrics people remember, or random information that they can store in their heads when it is put to either a familiar tune, or just something that's plain old catchy.

We've certainly done our fair share of using such techniques to our advantage around my house. The University of Tennessee (don't ask, we are not Volunteer fans by any means) fight song somehow became the diaper changing song my husband sang to my daughter. Change "Rockytop" to "Grumpypants" and it's actually quite catchy.

And just today, I taught my daughter about flatulence via Laurie Berkner's "We are the Dinosaurs," although instead of marching, they are "farting, farting... what do you stink of that?"

Yes, a near doctorate in Music and all I can come up with is that. Sorry mom.

But truly, my claim to fame came during my summer stint in Anatomy class where I created the ultimate mnemonic for the 12 Cranial Nerves -- simply sung to the tune of "My Favorite Things." Go ahead, my fair nursing student readers, give it a try.

Not only was it odd listening to a bunch of nursing students and me (the lone music therapy major) humming a Julie Andrews song during an exam, but what's even worse is that I can still rattle them off.

Look. It's the closest I have to a stupid bar trick. Don't burst my bubble, okay?

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Share your ridiculous (or not so ridiculous) songs this weekend for our blog blast and be entered to win one of two $500 Best Buy gift certificates courtesy of Bush's Beans where they are actually holding a super duper contest for people to re-write the "beans" song. Yes, that one. For more info on how to enter the blog blast, visit Parent Bloggers Network.

Comments

[Ev]

My husband makes fun of me all the time for "editing" songs on the radio. Noah, my 18-mo-old son, loves music as much as I do, & breaks out in spastic hip-shaking moves whenever he hears that Kid Rock song, All Summer Long. A few of my edits: "He can make love down by the lake but he better wear a condom.." & "Don't drink whiskey from the bottle, cuz he's thinking 'bout tomorrow, he's gonna go to college & be responsible..."

[sara]

i have way too many brain cells devoted to bad song lyrics. the worst? the countries of the world song from animaniacs....united states, canada, mexico, panama, haiti, jamaica, peru. republic dominican, cuba, carribean, greenland, el salvador, too!....

[caramama]

I'm best at remember things when I make them into a song. This is part of why I live in a musical. ;-)

[Christina]

You know I've now spent the last day trying to figure out how the cranial nerves fit into that song, right?

[Jennie]

LOL! I learned a song in elementary school to recite the fifty states in alpha order! It was called "Fifty, Nifty United States". I wonder if that's the same song your husband knows!

I also make up silly lyrics with my daughter all the time. A few of them sung to well-known tunes, some completely made up.

[apricoco]

I still remember (over 11 years later) the quadratic equation that I learned in Algebra. Sing the thing to Row, Row, Row Your Boat. Was sort of embarrassing many years later when I was in college and they asked if anyone remember the formula, I raised my hand and sang it. The professor looked at like I had just hit the bong before I went to class.

[K]

Yeah, I learned the cranial nerves too.

Oh, Oh, Oh, to touch and feel a girl's vagina, sheer heaven.

(no sheer heaven if you are a frog - they don't have the last two).

Sadly, that's one mnemonic that i can't share with my students.

[Kate]

Speaking of anatomy mnemomics, I thought ya'll might enjoy this one:

Five branches of the facial nerve = TEN ZEBRAS BIT MY COCK

(temporal mandibular buccal mandibular cervical)

[Amy]

I didn't know you are or were a music therapist! I've been reading for a while but haven't gone back in the archives yet so I guess maybe I missed that somewhere. I majored in music therapy for a year and a half, loved it but couldn't see myself doing it, and so I have a BA in music.

Anyway, that's all. I just like to hear about other people who understand music therapy -- it's not as widespread as it should be yet!

[the new girl]

Oh lord. There are SO, SO many here, I just don't know where to begin.

[Laura]

My son, Nate, has a song that I've crafted for him to the Davy Crocket tune. And way back in the day, my friends and I would study our constitutional law by singing the info we had to remember - I think we used Karma Chameleon and some Duran Duran tune.

[MegsMum]

I use the Twinkle Twinkle tune for sleepy songs for my kids. First one is Sleepy, sleepy little May, you have had a busy day. Time to rest your tired head, time to go off to your bed. Sleepy sleepy etc. Next is Sam/busy man; but baby three suffers! "Sleepy sleepy Elizabeth, Mummy doesn't know what to rhyme that with..."

[Luann]

They ate their rice (clap clap)
They ate their beans (clap clap)
They ate their kholorabi and they ate their jelly beans.

[jess]

Egads, I make up songs all the time about random and stupid things. The kicker? I don't have kids. I've done it since I was a kid, though, and my mom even caught me on cassette tape once. (I have since confiscated the tape and am now sole owner to that particular song.) I made one up when my husband and I were dating about brushing and flossing your teefies. (Yes, teefies. Not just teeth.) We had a long distance relationship and we'd talk until we fell asleep almost every night. His nightly ritual included putting down the phone to brush his teeth and get ready for bed, so I made up this song (with two whole verses!) to sing to him. (Yes, I know I'm odd. It works for us, though.)

The last time we visited my parents, my mom said, "Jess used to always make up songs about things when she was a kid."

My husband replied, "And what's changed?" *laughs* My life is a musical, and I'm happy to have someone who not only puts up with it but also joins in on occasion.

[valmg]

Every time I see Laurie Berkner performing the dinosaur song on tv now I'll hear farting, farting in my head. That's too funny!

[mom101]

Also? I need to go back to bed.

[mom101]

HAHA

That's FECAL

not fetal.

I have your baby on the brain, K

[mom101]

Forever stuck in my head are the Ricky Martin lyrics recrafted by my ex-boyfriend to describe his intestinal state 6 weeks into a
Spanish immersion program in Mexico.

It was called "Squirting the fecal Mocha"

Hope you didn't just eat.

[susieshomemade]

I made up songs for both of my girls when they were newborns. To this day, it is their special song. And, as a SAHM, I use music all the time to get through the day. God Bless Laurie Berkner's "Clean it Up".

Oh, when learning about the trinity in grade school, we used David Bowe's Modern Love..."God and Man...an old religion...God and Man..." Hee, hee, hee.

[Amy]

There's a song in Sandra Boynton's collection called "Bad Babies" that I'm fond of re-making to suit the occasion.

"Bad Babies, they cry and they fuss.
Bad, bad babies, they make Mommy cuss.
They never ever do the things that I say,
OH! Bad babies, please have a good day..."

etc. Last summer my oldest would sing it along with me. People gave us really interesting looks in the grocery store.

Amy @ http://prettybabies.blogspot.com

[Bill]

Well, shoot. I thought I was pretty clever when I sang the Laurie Berkner song "farting, farting", but I guess I'm not as clever as I thought I was. *laugh*

Did you at least change the part of the song after the "Whaddya think of that?" to a fart noise? Ah ha, maybe I AM a genius!