The Ones We Missed: Using Music, Memory, and Rhythm to Train the Brain

Everything I’m sharing is still in progress. The music, the message, the process, I’m treating it all as a living draft.

The Ones We Missed is a song I created using AI-based music tools. It’s based on real children I’ve worked with, though their names and details are blended. Some found their way forward. Some didn’t. I still carry them with me. The hallway silences, the brave resistance, the quiet that came through a screen. This song holds those moments, and for me, it’s a kind of listening back.

I want to be transparent. I’m using AI music generation as a temporary measure, a stopgap. My long-term vision is to collaborate with traditional musicians, to re-record these songs in a way that honors artistic integrity and creates a sustainable model that supports both children and the artists themselves.

I recognize the concerns surrounding AI-generated content and the questions of intellectual property. I take those seriously. But I also see the urgent need in our community. Children struggling to process speech in noise or follow unclear speech often have no access to meaningful, affordable auditory training. To me, the potential benefit to these children, and the immediacy of that need, is at least as pressing as the ethical concerns. This is a proof of concept, meant to show what’s possible and why it’s worth investing in.

Dr. Nina Kraus’s research has shown that rhythm and emotionally engaging music can help train the auditory brain, especially in noisy environments or when listening is effortful. Music isn’t just expressive. It’s rehabilitative. It can literally retrain the brain to hear more clearly.

My goal is to share these early songs as no-cost resources. But I also want to spark partnerships, with musicians, educators, and clinicians, so that we can build something lasting. Something real. Something beautiful and useful.

I’m also very open to feedback. Like Malcolm Gladwell writes in The Wisdom of Crowds:

“The best decisions are a product of disagreement and contest, not consensus or compromise.”

So I welcome your thoughts, your concerns, and your ideas.

This is just the beginning. What would make this more helpful or meaningful to you, or to the kids you serve?

Dr. Rae Stout, Au.D.

Audiologist, Writer, and Advocate for Auditory Access

———

Verse 1

I remember the hallway

the light buzzing low

The boy with the stare

and no place to go

He flinched at the voices

curled into the wall

And I couldn’t reach him

though I heard it all

Verse 2

I remember the girl

with her arms open wide

She flew into safety

and stayed by my side

But her mother grew shadows

and lies took their toll

So I carried her memory

like a mark on my soul

Chorus

Sometimes they come back

with a scar and a smile

After years in the dark

after walking a mile

And I wish I had caught them

when the world looked away

But I wasn’t enough

or I wasn’t that day

Verse 3

I remember the boy

who flushed what I gave

Not because he was cruel

but because he was brave

He couldn’t explain

what his body had learned

That even soft things

can still sometimes burn

Verse 4

There was one far away

with no one around

Just wires and hope

through a screen and a sound

I sat in the distance

while they held the phone

And I whispered a stillness

through wire and tone

Chorus

Sometimes they come back

with a scar and a smile

After years in the dark

after walking a mile

And I wish I had caught them

when the world looked away

But I wasn’t enough

or I wasn’t that day

Bridge

I count all the names

that I never forget

The faces I carry

the ones with regret

The voices I hear

when I can’t fall asleep

Still calling me softly

from canyons too deep

Final Chorus

Sometimes they come back

with a scar and a smile

After years in the dark

after walking a mile

And I wish I had caught them

when the world looked away

But I wasn’t enough

or I wasn’t that day…

…anymore… It’s a vow.

New auditory practice song, click here: https://suno.com/song/0e7fd83f-47e4-4d70-b523-8537c965982e

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