Effects of structure and serial position on memory errors in musical performance

Abstract

The purpose of the experiments reported in this article was to determine whether there is a predictable pattern to errors during a musical memorisation task. Based on previous literature, it was hypothesized that errors would not be evenly distributed throughout the piece, but recall would be preserved at structural boundaries. Twenty musicians in Experiment 1 memorised a 36-bar exercise, with nine phrases, then recalled the music on an instrument after a 25-minute retention interval. There was a significant main effect of phrase (1—9) on the number of errors made. The first and last phrases were performed more accurately, as were the two phrases beginning the second major section of the piece. Both serial position and structure influenced accuracy. In Experiment 2, 23 musicians performed a piece they had learned but not deliberately memorised on the piano (incidental memory task). The numbers of errors made in bars marked by the individual performers as structural, difficult, and musically important were calculated. More errors occurred on difficult bars and bars not considered structural. However, fewer errors occurred in difficult bars that occurred at structural boundaries and in bars that were not marked difficult whether or not they included structural boundaries.