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Music as a mnemonic aid

Perception and memory of music

Research has found a number of interesting things about our perception of and memory for music. Here are some of them:

Memory for music surprisingly detailed

§ our memory for a piece of music includes nuances such as how long and loud particular tones are: thus we can, for example, easily distinguish between different singers of the same song (compare this to our memory for words — we remember the gist, the meaning, rather than specifics; although we do remember odd contextual details, such as whether the words were spoken by a male or female voice)

§ this appears to be innate: even 10 month old babies can distinguish between different performances

§ having said this, it is also extremely important that we recognize the invariants in sound — thus enabling us to recognize the same words or song or piece of music despite differences (spoken by different voices; being played at a different tempo; etc); thus, we appear to remember both the “gist” and the specifics

Many regions of the brain are involved in processing music

§ studies of brain damaged patients reveal that memory for text and music is independent, although closely associated

§ consistent with this, there is evidence from imaging studies that the words and the melody of a song are processed by different, independent, systems

§ a case-study of a brain-damaged musician suggests that melodic and rhythmic processing are also independent of each other

§ the superior temporal gyrus appears to be critically involved in melody processing; however, neuroimaging studies suggest that the neural systems underlying music are distributed throughout the brain, with different aspects of music processed by distinct neural circuits

§ attentive listening to music appears to recruit neural circuits underlying multiple forms of working memory, attention, semantic processing, target detection, and motor imagery — i.e., general processes rather than music-specific ones

Developmental and gender differences in music processing

§ gender differences in music processing are apparent in childhood, perhaps mirroring gender differences in language processing

§ children process music in the same hemisphere as language; adults do not

Critical attributes of music

§ critical features in identifying songs are meter, phrasing, rhythmic contour (ordinal scaling of note durations), and the ratio of successive durations

§ melody (pitch and duration) appears to be a significantly better recall cue than rhythm

§ good pitch memory is widespread among adults with no musical training; adults' reportedly poor memory for pitch is likely to be a by-product of their inability to name isolated pitches.

§ people show awareness of musical principles from an early age, leading them to expect certain regularities in melodies

§ pitch memory appears to be unrelated to nonmusical cognitive abilities

Using melody to cue memory for text

§ studies support the view that sung lyrics are better remembered than spoken lyrics*

§ however, for melody to be a good recall cue, it needs to be either well-learned, or easily learned

§ analysis suggests also, that, to be a good recall cue, the text needs to be sufficiently tied to the melody that the melody provides information about the text, such as line and syllable length — e.g., the number of notes in the melody should match the number of syllables in the text

§ there is evidence that melody not only provides effective recall cues, but also can facilitate initial learning

§ to do so, the melody needs to be sufficiently simple not to distract from the text it’s supporting

§ a simple background beat can also facilitate recall and learning, but rhythmical intonation (without the background beat) does not

[* One study found that when the durations of these lyrics are equalized, the advantage disappears. However, I note that in these experiments, the songs were unfamiliar and reasonably complex, musically, to the participants.]

Music and motor memory

In its incredible durability, our memory for music is reminiscent of our memory for skills. Not surprising in a way - both might be considered examples of action sequences. Think about how you recall music - in phrases, often quite lengthy, which you are almost compelled to follow to their end.

Note too that timing is very important for both the learning of action sequences and music. Interestingly, current theories about the cause of dyslexia suggest that timing deficits may be a key factor. Dyslexic children have been found to exhibit timing difficulties in the domains of language, music, perception and cognition, as well as motor control. One study found classroom music lessons had a positive effect on both phonologic and spelling skills in dyslexic children, but not reading skills. Results also indicated that dyslexic children showed difficulties with musical timing skills while showing no difficulties with pitch skills.

Music has also been found to be helpful in triggering motor reflexes in people suffering from Parkinson’s or a stroke.

It is worth noting however, that one study found that preschool children learned to match pitch much better after receiving instruction that involved singing with the music, compared to moving with the music (or seeing visual aids). Additionally, a study involving young adult students of physical education (without prior experience in music or dance) found that they performed a dance routine in synchronization with a musical phrase much better if the rhythm was played on a tambourine rather than on an harmonium.

In other words, while music and movement may well depend on some of the same processes, and while music may well be a useful trigger and accompaniment for movement, care must be taken not to overload the system. In the same way as melody needs to be sufficiently simple not to distract from the text ("sufficiently simple" being a variable dependent on how familiar it is, and the abilities of the individual), so too, movement accompanying music should be sufficiently simple not to distract from your learning of the music. (I am speaking here, of course, simply in the context of using music as a mnemonic aid).

Music training beneficial

Research has demonstrated fairly clearly that those with musical training have an advantage in using music as a mnemonic aid over those without such training. Indeed, there is some evidence that those with music training tend to do better in tests of verbal memory (see my article on the Mozart effect). Do remember though that one of the beauties of using music is that our sensitivity to it is innate, and most people will be able to benefit from this strategy.

Practical applications

What may we conclude from all this?

Well, first of all, simplicity and repetition are the key notes in choosing a tune for its “stickability”. This is no doubt, in part, why children’s songs are so effective (the other reason is probably the sheer repetition experienced in childhood!). If you want to use music as a mnemonic aid, choose a tune you know very well. It is important not to be too cute with your lyrics; remember the importance of tying them closely to the tune — the more the words seem “inevitable”, the better (think about singing along with songs and how so often the last words of a line will just pop out of your mouth, even if the song is unfamiliar, because it’s demanded by the context).

I would also speculate that changes in tempo and pitch might be used to modify a familiar melody so that it can be effectively used more than once to companion different words (e.g., you could create 4 sets of lyrics for the tune for “Twinkle twinkle little star”, sung fast, sung slow, sung high, sung low).

There have been inconsistent results with spoken rhythm. I would speculate that spoken rhythm is usually effective as a mnemonic aid only when a musical beat is evoked — that is, the beat may be entirely internal (generated because the beat is sufficiently strong, or, most likely, because you have, perhaps in childhood, frequently experienced the rhythm in connection with a physical beat). Whether or not that is true, if you employ spoken rhythm as a mnemonic aid, you will probably enhance memorability if you provide a back beat, most easily by clapping along with your words. I would also speculate, following on from reports of the health benefits of reciting Homeric verse, that some rhythms are more effective aids than others. Dactylic hexameter, the rhythm of classical epics, is however not one of the more common rhythms in English verse (but its musical counterpart — 6/8 time — is quite common). (Dactylic hexameter may be described as dum-diddy, dum-diddy, dum-diddy, dum-diddy, dum-diddy, dum-dum).

A practical example of a teaching song points to some other interesting issues. The study₁ involved a multimedia instructional module, using a computer animated sequence in conjunction with a song about cellular physiology. The program was presented to 5th and 6th grade students, by two different teachers. One of these teachers was happy to sing along; the other refused. There was a clear difference in the effectiveness of this program, depending on whether the teacher modeled the singing behavior or not. There was also a clear gender difference, with girls being much happier with, and benefiting more from, the use of song. Partly this may be due to the gender differences in music processing already alluded to, but I suspect the main reason for this difference is cultural - the boys thought singing was "uncool" (a belief not helped, of course, by the, male, teacher refusing to sing himself).

Web Resources

1. A good resource for teachers of young children (elementary and younger) can be found at http://www.songsforteaching.com/lazar/interactivestrategies.htm
2. 1. This study is available online at http://tinyurl.com/4qzxc

To cite this article: McPherson, F. 2006. Music as a mnemonic aid. http://www.memory-key.com/strategies/music.htm

Copyright © 2006 Capital Research Limited.

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