How can one memorize musical pieces more quickly and retain more details from the sheet music? What is the best approach to learning in order to prevent memory slips? What role do emotions play in the learning process? The two seahorses in our brain play a central role (not only) in musical memory.
During my psychology studies, I worked in an outpatient rehabilitation clinic for individuals with neurological disorders, such as those resulting from a stroke or a traumatic brain injury due to surgery or a traffic accident. In the neuropsychology department, I spent over three years conducting cognitive tests on such patients and leading training groups. In these groups, patients were categorized based on their individual weaknesses, whether it be attention training, problem-solving or perception training, or specifically, memory groups.
I also provided individual training for some patients. In general, there are two fundamental difficulties with memory: encoding information and retrieval. It is through working with patients with brain damage that neuropsychological research has uncovered how memory functions in the brain. Both aspects can be impaired independently. This is why some individuals with dementia, for example, can remember previously learned information but struggle to encode new information. In other conditions, the reverse may be true.
Library and Librarian - How Does Memory Work?
Everything we learn throughout our lives - and this begins very early on - is stored in the brain as schemas. This means that new information is compared to what is already known and stored relative to it. For example, a child learns, having already encountered a banana, that an apple is also edible and falls under the category of 'fruit,' but it has a different color and taste. Perhaps it is stored differently in the kitchen, or Mom likes apples while Dad prefers bananas.
All this information is stored in the cerebrum, the cortex. This is the youngest part of the brain, which is relatively the largest in humans compared to other older and more primitive parts of the brain. Conscious thinking takes place here.
The Library of Memory
However, in the cortex, there is no specific 'memory center' where the information about an apple is stored, nor is there a single nerve cell responsible for it. Information about an 'apple' is stored in widely distributed networks in the brain - depending on the available information, such as in the color center, auditory center, tactile center, emotional center, and so on. In this sense, the cortex is like a library with floors, aisles, registers, and sorting. For instance, adjacent tones are located next to each other in the auditory center ('tonotopy'), and adjacent body parts are neighboring in the tactile center. A system or aid is needed to gather and retrieve the information.
Illustration of brain regions ( by NIH Image Gallery): amygdala, hippocampus,
prefrontal cortex (frontal part of the Cerebrum/Cortex) *
The Seahorse as Librarian
One such system is the hippocampus. The name comes from the Latin word for 'seahorse' as the structure in the brain resembles a seahorse. We have a seahorse in each hemisphere of the brain. They belong to the older part of the brain, specifically the limbic system, where emotions and parts of movement programs are processed (in other structures). Unlike the cortex, these brain regions work unconsciously. We can only indirectly influence them through the cortex (the schemas) and long-term through our evaluations.
Sensory stimuli, for example, go directly from our eyes and ears to the limbic system without taking the detour through the cortex. There, the seahorse registers the information, compares it with the files, and then determines whether there is a schema that matches these features (e.g., 'apple'). It then activates the individual pieces of information in the cortex that belong to the 'apple.'
Prof. Laszlo Seress' preparation of a human hippocampus alongside a sea horse. (1980) **
Storing New Information
If there is no matching schema, the seahorse might find a file card with similar features, perhaps belonging to 'banana,' and retrieves that. We can consciously register the deviation in the cortex. The brain loves deviations because they help identify new and potentially dangerous things. The banana has a different color and taste. If there are enough diverse pieces of information and they are recognized as important (e.g., through repetition), the seahorse creates a new category or subcategory.
Musical Memory - neuropsychological Tipps
While making music, it's certainly not about apples and pears, but the way information is stored and retrieved doesn't differ significantly. However, there are additional aspects that can serve as aids or that musicians should consider. Here is a selection of the most important strategies:
Processing Units ("Chunks"):
The average human working memory can hold 7 units of information simultaneously (see also: Attention - the underestimated cognitive skill in music performance). These could be, for example, 7 notes or fewer notes plus additional information (dynamics, timbre, rhythm, attention to motor details etc.) that is not yet in long-term memory. By consciously memorizing (using strategies) and repeating such "chunks," this information can be anchored in long-term memory. If certain information is already known, for example, 3 notes forming a typical chord, it can facilitate absorption, as the 3 notes can be processed as a single unit ("chunk"). Even with a longer learning process on a piece, larger sections with learned new "chunks" can be grasped and stored as more comprehensive phrases.
Utilize as many sensory channels as possible:
For the seahorse to correctly retrieve information about a musical phrase or a chunk, it needs to store the aspects in the cortex. This is particularly effective when the information is taken in and stored through different channels, such as hearing, bodily sensations (hand, arm, etc.), understanding (fingering, note names), conveyed emotion, or story. This involves more brain regions. Simply remembering one piece of information is then sufficient for the seahorse to find the other information associated with it.
Anchors:
The seahorse needs a cue to retrieve the information for the desired musical phrase at the right time. Typically, we automatically practice part of this since in a musical piece, one note follows another sooner or later. The preceding note serves as the retrieval signal for the next one. Therefore, it can be helpful to consciously practice transitions between chunks that have been practiced individually. Otherwise, the connections within the chunks are more secure than those in between. Also, larger phrases that lead differently upon repetition require additional, distinct anchors from various sensory channels (e.g., emotions, story, cognition, other musical parameters, etc.). Otherwise, the seahorse may navigate to the wrong shelf in the cortex's library or struggle to decide which one to go to.
Primacy & Recency Effect:
If I read you a list of 20 words once, you probably won't be able to recall all the words correctly the first time. This is a standard test that I often conducted with neurological patients. After several learning cycles, one becomes proficient in recalling more content, similar to vocabulary learning. A well-known effect in research is that people can remember the first and last contents of a series much more easily than those in the middle. This also often happens in music; the beginning and end of a piece or a phrase are usually more memorable. Therefore, practicing in chunks of different sizes is particularly important for secure learning.
Breaks, Sleep & Time:
During the learning process, initially, a large number of nerve cells and groups of nerve cells in the brain become active. As the process unfolds and learning takes place successfully, the task is solved more efficiently in the brain, and overall, fewer cells are involved. Naturally, new connections are also formed. Completely new nerve cells can only be generated in two regions of the brain: the olfactory bulb in the nose and the hippocampi – the seahorses! This is both good and bad news because under the stress hormone cortisol, nerve cells, particularly in the hippocampi, die off, and the formation of new cells is slowed down.
For this reason, and also because optimizing activity in the cortex requires energy and time, breaks and sleep are essential for a successful learning process. Research has shown that during sleep, especially, knowledge content (declarative memory) is stored (see also: Sleep - or why it's essential for musical success). Additionally, breaks and good nutrition are crucial for learning success (see also: Break your Brain - the inspiring power of breaks and Superfood for Musicians).
Emotions & Memory: Blessing and Curse
Enhanced Learning Effect with Emotions:
Everyone is familiar with this effect. A piece of music we love, we can memorize after a short time. The words of a good friend who is important to us stay literally in our memory forever, while we forget those of another person after just 5 minutes. Those interested in music can literally store a library of information about works, composers, and performers but may have difficulty remembering more than the color of a car. While motor learning is primarily acquired through repetition (try and error), declarative information ("knowledge") is strongly influenced by will and emotions. Emotions enhance the so-called "salience" of information: they make it more memorable. This is quite understandable when considering that the hippocampus is located right next to the amygdala, the emotion center, and it is evolutionarily helpful for us to encode dangers after the first experience.
Even humorous, unusual, literally "memorable" stories can aid in memorization. Knowing that the amygdala in german is also called the "almond kernel" we can create a story about how happy the seahorse is while eating almonds because it always chokes on the almond kernel (amygdala) and then bursts out laughing. Through this story, which we can easily visualize, it becomes easier for us to remember that memory (seahorse) is connected to emotions (amygdala). Children, therefore, learn much better and outperform many adults in memory games because they enjoy creative play and naturally come up with creative, funny stories or amuse themselves with the contents.
Negative Experiences & Moods
Unfortunately, the connection between memory and emotions has an unfavorable side effect: under certain circumstances, negative emotions - triggered by negative thoughts (e.g., during practice), inappropriate language from teachers or colleagues, or incidents (e.g., on stage) - may be stored and can adversely affect performance. They can bring back memories on stage if they are not psychologically overwritten with an alternative (more on that soon! Stay tuned!). This type of connection with moods also occurs very unconsciously. Because motor centers are located right next to the seahorse and amygdala, negative memories and current thoughts can directly impact movements - whether they are already stored or not (see also: Choking under Pressure). Therefore, it is important to take a break in the face of frustration and negative emotions rather than reinforcing the negative mood through practice.
Similarly, conditioning in animals leads to salivary reflexes or fear responses. For example, my cat quickly learned that unknown people come when the doorbell rings and reacts with fear. She has also learned that there is usually something to eat when I go into the kitchen, so she often comes along when I'm there. Smilla can successfully use the begging look paired with cat whining at the balcony door. :-)
Sources & further reading
Kaufmann, L., Nuerk, H. C., Konrad, K., & Willmes, K. (2007). Kognitive Entwicklungsneuropsychologie. Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Herrmann, M., & Münte, T. F. (2009). Lehrbuch der klinischen Neuropsychologie: Grundlagen, Methoden, Diagnostik, Therapie. W. Sturm (Ed.). Heidelberg: Spektrum Akademischer Verlag.
Müsseler, J., & Rieger, M. (Eds.). (2002). Allgemeine Psychologie (p. 404). Berlin: Spektrum Akademischer Verlag.
Images:
*National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Common license, https://www.flickr.com/photos/nihgov/24024310606
**Professor Laszlo Seress, CC BY-SA 1.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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