It's happened to me a number of times--last night I dreamed I was in my old Music Theory class, and the WHOLE second movement of Beethoven's 9th was going through my head, because the instructor was playing it 'in class' in the dream. I hadn't heard that one in maybe a year, but it's one of my most favorites of his.

There was another instance I remember where I had a Chopin piece going through my head, and another instance where I think I had something completely new going through my head (tried to write it down, but I'm no good at composing). There were a few others, too, I'm sure.

Anything like this happen to you?

I recall one dream similar to yours. However, I did not dream of the music. I dreamt of the performance:


There was a piano in a store somewhere in a mall. No one was using it. So I decided to play a little background noise. I was unsure of what I was going to play, so I just strated to press keys. BUT Lo! and behold! I played Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody #9 in Eb by heart AND without ever seeing the sheet music. People were impressed by my skills and started to throw dollar bills at me. I also received a long ovation for me feat.



I cried when I woke up because I realized it was only a dream.

I often will go to bed and I can't sleep because music is racing through my head - sometimes its stuff i know, sometimes its completely new - I have only come back to playing piano from a long break through my teen years, so once I'm more solid technically, I hope to put pen to paper

The other night I had a dream that I was playing something and my hands were moving so fast they were just a blur..... that was freaky

Ha ha! So glad to hear I'm not the only one to have this happen. I wish that when it happens, it could at least be a soothing Adagio. But instead it is often some kind of crazy Prestissimo or Con fuoco. Do NOT make the mistake of telling a non-musical doctor about this, as I did and have never gone back to that doctor after the look he gave me. I suppose it didn't help that I was demonstrating by singing the music at rapidfire speed so he could really get a good picture of why I needed help, ha ha. I can only imagine what he wrote on the chart, but anyway, figured out on my own that if a fast song is keeping you awake, switch to imagining a very slow one and it may put you to sleep.




Drink about 4 cups of black coffee on an empty stomach and that dream soon becomes a reality.

I sometimes have this problem too and not only when I am about to go to sleep. Also during day time. Sometimes so loud that I have a hard time concentrating at anything else or hear other people.

Sometimes I have more than one thing playing in my head at the same time and it clashes like you can't believe - it's like Charles Ives or something

I've got at least three tracks running in my head 24/7.

The only way to get the music out of my head is to play it. (Or if I don't play for about three weeks, the songs go away.)
It can be quite distracting if I'm trying to converse with someone; I've always found it easier to communicate in a non-verbal mode, too.

Pete

I ALWAYS have music stuck in my head, when I'm not actually listening to music

and I dream about music a lot... especially performing. It's always very strange too:

Last year I had a dream where I was at a piano competition for seniors in high school (I'm a sophomore, so I was a freshman at the time) and I was playing Liszt's La Campanella. I could remember everything so vividly that when I woke up, before I did anything I went to the piano and sat down, expecting to be able to play it... It wasn't until I had the piano out, was on the bench, and put my fingers on the keys that I realized I didn't know what the first note was, that I had never read the music, and that it was all only a dream! Now I've just started working on it actually a week or 2 ago, and I have no idea how I'm going to be able to play it anytime in the relatively near future.......

I had another dream where my sister and I were talking about some technique or another (probably octaves, considering the piece I demonstrated...), and then said "it's sort of like this one part in Liszt's 6th Hungarian Rhapsody", sat down, and proceeded to play the octaves section at the end of that piece... at about 128 or 132 on the metronome Again, it's SO frustrating to remember exactly what it feels like (I can still remember what it feels like!) to play octaves that fast completely relaxed, but not be able to make it feel that way...

I've dreamed that I was playing the Three Movements from Petrouchka, La Valse, Liszt's Mephisto Waltz #1, and Gaspard... sometimes I wish I could just live in a dream and not wake up

I had a dream about Chopin's Etude op10 no1 the night before I played this.

I too occasionally have a dream where I deliver a gorgeous and fearless performance of some insanely difficult work. And am always mildly annoyed upon waking up and facing reality.... This seems to be a quite common thing !

Yeah, I think this must be a common dream for musicians. Don't you hate how real it felt upon awakening and realizing you're no where near that talented??

However, I think the real question is: what music do you hear when you make love?? For me, it's usually Debussey's the blond haired girl prelude There's a story here if it's not TMI. When I first got hold of this piece, I was 14 and my now-wife Jenifer was a super-fine 15 year old sophomore in high school. Ooo, the dreams I had while playing that piece. Needless to say, my teacher couldn't figure out why I played it so ridiculously romantic.

Good question - usually Chopin for me.

It was already clear that you think of sex whenever you think of music - or perhaps you just think about it all the time Now, strangely, the converse appears to be also true... Are somehow these two concepts inseparably linked in your mind ? Just curious... Freud would have loved this.

Personally, I find it funny that someone would think about piano music during love-making. The other way around is probably more common (at least at a certain age).

Why do you think it's called the piano "action"?

...or tickling the ivory