Annotation for Berz, William
Working Memory in Music: A Theoretical Model
Annotation (by Bill Tilghman):
- A widely held belief concerning the structure of memory involves
its division into two components: short-term memory (STM) and
long-term memory (LTM). Additionally, many psychologists suggest
that STM may be more accurately described as working
memory, in that it may involve processing or manipulation of
information in addition to simple storage. In the present essay
Berz proposes a model for working memory in music that extends an
earlier general model of working memory. The earlier model
(Baddeley, A., 1990. "Human Memory: Theory and Practice." Boston,
Allyn and Bacon) posits a central executive controller and two
susbsytems: a visiospatial sketch pad (responsible for visual
information) and a phonological loop (responsible for sound
information, including speech). Each subsystem in turn consists
of both storage and processing components. Berz proposes a third
subsystem, separate from Baddeley's phonological loop,
responsible for short-term storage and processing of musical
information. To support his proposal, Berz surveys the relevant
literature, drawing particular attention to three issues: the
nature of STM in music, the influence of LTM on STM, and the
effects of unattended or background speech and music on
performance of various cognitive tasks. Berz concludes that STM
in music, like STM in speech, does involve processing as well as
storage (and should therefore be considered working memory), but
that both the processing and storage of musical information are
by nature different from those of verbal language, indicating the
presence of a separate working memory subsystem for musical
information.
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