PROBE KIT
Exploring how playing music triggers memory and identity
Probe Kit is a cultural probe study exploring how playing a musical instrument acts as a trigger for autobiographical memory and identity preservation. It builds on earlier interview research into how musical activity supports memory and cognition, moving from structured interviews into a more personal, creative method to capture emotional depth that interviews alone couldn't reach.
Timeline
Two weeks of probe activities, plus intro and exit interviews, as part of a semester-long research methods course.
Background
Earlier interview research had shown that musical activity often triggers autobiographical memories through gestures, posture, and routine practice. This probe study was designed to go deeper, using creative reflection to capture how playing or listening to music connects people to specific memories, relationships, and stages of life.
The project moved from interview findings into probe design, then into fieldwork and thematic analysis.
Research Foundation
Earlier interview research (18 semi-structured interviews) found that musical activity triggers autobiographical memory through gestures, posture, and daily practice routines. These findings shaped the focus of this probe study: understanding how musical engagement evokes memory and preserves identity through personal reflection and embodied experience.
Probe Kit Design
I designed a five-part probe kit to capture reflection through multiple formats, an Instrument Diary for daily written reflection, Memory Mapping to connect music with people, places, and emotions, a "Soundtrack of Me" playlist booklet linking songs to memories, a Body Map to capture embodied, physical memory, and a Then & Now reflection on how music's meaning has shifted over time.
Participant & Fieldwork
I worked with one participant, an experienced musician in their early fifties who had played since their teens but now plays less often. They completed the probe activities over a two-week period, supported by an intro and exit interview to frame and reflect on the experience.
Thematic Analysis
I coded the intro interview, exit interview, and probe materials separately, then mapped codes into themes and sub-themes across all three sources, surfacing patterns around emotional memory, embodied experience, cultural identity, and reconnection with music.
The probe kit gave the participant a structured but flexible way to reflect on music, memory, and identity over two weeks, surfacing insights a single interview couldn't.
Instrument Diary
Daily reflection on what was played, how it felt, and whether any memory surfaced, building a running record of emotional response over time.
Memory Mapping
A visual format connecting a piece of music to when it happened, who was there, where, how it felt, and why it stays with the participant.
Soundtrack of Me
A playlist booklet linking specific songs to specific memories or feelings, capturing music as a personal archive.
Body Map
A physical, sticker-based activity identifying where music was felt in the body, surfacing embodied and sensory memory.
Then & Now Reflection
A closing prompt asking what music meant in the past, what it means now, and how that relationship has changed.
Here, the outcomes of the probe study are highlighted, including key findings on memory, identity, and the participant's renewed connection to music.
Music as a Memory Trigger
Playing instruments reconnected the participant with significant life periods and emotions, confirming the central hypothesis from earlier interview research.
Playing vs Listening
The two were experienced differently: listening was described as calming and inspiring, while playing felt active, expressive, and personal, complementing rather than replacing each other.
Cultural & Relational Identity
The participant's engagement with South American, African, and Spanish-inspired music reflected cross-cultural appreciation and memory tied to specific relationships and life periods.
Embodied Memory
The Body Map activity revealed how physical sensation, hands, breath, vibration, reinforces musical memory, not just mental recall.
Renewed Engagement
The probe process itself prompted the participant to reconnect with instruments they'd set aside, suggesting reflection tools can re-activate, not just document, a relationship with music.