[microsound] memory and melody

> 
> hi all.
> 
> i was thinking about music and memory. more specifically, why its 
> easier for most of us to remember melody rather than other elements 
> like timbre, tone, rhythm (although this one is debatable), etc. 
> 
> the first thing that comes to mind of course is how we encode 
> information. for instance, the average number of things (numbers, 
> words, etc) one can memorize in one string is about seven. anything 
> more than that, and we're in trouble. my musical language is pretty 
> weak, but i suspect its something to do with the arrangement of a 
> melodic part. thats why most of the 'memorable' music has been pop 
> or classically oriented.
> 
> but it seems like there should be more to it than that though. not 
> just how the melody is arranged but the characteristics of the 
> melody as well. that brings another question 
to mind: are we 
> predisposed to process melody over those other elements? kind of 
> like being born with the capacity for language that is eventually 
> nurtured into complex speech through interactions with parents (and 
> exposure to language in general). or is this a totally learned 
> mechanism? for instance, if you were able to raise a child with no 
> exposure to melody but instead played it abstract compositions 
> (such as some of the music we discuss here), would it be able to 
> remember elements of abstraction better than melody?
> 
> take a piece of music like vladislav delay's "anima" for instance. 
> beautiful work, but i have a hard time retaining it's specific 
> structures in my head. i can remember certain sounds, tones, etc 
> but i wouldnt be able to reproduce it for anyone unless i actually 
> played it. however, take his luomo project, and its a different 
> story. i can hum certain parts because ive managed to retain 
> certain melodic elements.
> 
>
 maybe someone into psychoacoustics can shed some light on this.
> 
> v'
> 
> 
> 
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