The effect of varying encoding conditions on jazz, instrumental, and choral musicians’ memorization accuracy: Implications for music literacy

Abstract

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; (2) to examine potential differences between choral, jazz, and concert band musicians’ accuracy in completing the music memorization task; and (3) to determine whether ensemble affiliation yielded any performance advantages among the three presentation conditions. Three folk melodies were selected for memorization under the three encoding conditions. Participants ( N = 81) had 75 s 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. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures on one factor revealed significant differences based on participants’ ensemble affiliation. A Tukey’s honest significant difference (HSD) post hoc test revealed the jazz group had higher accuracy scores than 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. The experiment is framed by questions related to memory, reading, and differing notions of literacy.