Effect of Varying Encoding Conditions on Jazz, Instrumental, and Choral Musicians' Memorization Accuracy

The primary purposes of this study were (1) to determine the effect of three encoding conditions (singing, playing, studying silently) on participants’ music memorization accuracy, and (2) to examine potential differences between choral, jazz, and concert band musicians’ accuracy in completing the music memorization task. Secondary purposes were (1) to determine the strategies participants used to accomplish the music memorization task, and (2) to assess possible relationships between participants’ ensemble affiliation and stated memorization strategies, and relationships between these strategies and participants’ memorization accuracy. Three folk melodies were selected for memorization under the three encoding conditions. Participants (N=81) had 1:15 seconds to commit each melody to memory while studying silently, singing, or playing on a keyboard. Participants then notated the three melodies using conventional staff notation. Finally, participants provided a ranking of cognitive strategies used to complete the memory tasks. A two-way ANOVA revealed significant differences based on participants’ ensemble affiliation. A Tukey HSD post hoc test revealed the jazz group made significantly higher accuracy scores on the music memory task than the choral group and the band group. No significant differences were found based on encoding conditions and no significant interactions were found between the encoding conditions and ensemble groups. A sum of ranks and a Kruskal-Wallis H test revealed participants in the three ensemble groups approached the memorization task using significantly different cognitive strategies: the choral and band groups used ‘solfège labeling’ significantly more than the jazz group, while the jazz group used ‘harmonic analysis’ significantly more than the band and choral groups. A Spearman Rank Correlation revealed significant relationships between stated strategies and memorization accuracy. A significant positive relationship was found between identification of patterns and accuracy on the memorization task. A significant negative relationship was found between ‘labeling with solfège or numbers’ and accuracy on the memorization task. Results of additional Spearman Rank Correlation tests indicated that specific strategies functioned differently for the three groups of musicians. For example, there was a significant positive relationship between ‘hearing the whole melody’ and the band group’s memorization accuracy, though no relationships were found between this strategy and the memorization accuracy of choral or jazz groups. The present study is situated amongst a large body of research on music memory and the role it plays in music literacy. As a reading and writing memory task, the experiment is framed by questions of how musicians identify meaning in written music. While some findings support previous research, other findings raise more questions and suggest further exploration is needed. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are discussed.