We all have a tune or two that takes us back to a special moment and, it turns out, there’s a reason why those songs strike a certain chord.

Researchers from a London University surveyed have 233 people to find out what types of memories were triggered by different pieces of music.

The songs included the participants’ favourite tunes as well as popular hits from their childhood and early adulthood. In all, more than 1400 musical memories were collected and analysed.

Researchers found more acoustic, lower energy songs usually sparked more vivid, unique memories involving complex emotions, such as romance or sadness. On the other hand, less acoustic, higher energy songs, tended to evoke memories of amusement and excitement and those memories were recalled faster.