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Memorization by a jazz musician: a case study

ELMHURST COLLEGE, USA, helgan{at}elmhurst.edu

John Jeffrey

ELMHURST COLLEGE, USA, johnj{at}elmhurst.edu

Tony Noice

ELMHURST COLLEGE, USA, noicea{at}elmhurst.edu

Roger Chaffin

UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT, USA, Roger.Chaffin{at}uconn.edu

To investigate the memory strategies of jazz musicians, we videotaped an experienced jazz pianist as he learned a new bebop piece. He had not previously heard a recording of the selection, nor had he seen the written music. The pianist provided detailed reports of the musical structure and the types of cues he used as landmarks to guide his memorization. Analysis of the videotapes, verbal reports, and multiple annotated copies of the music revealed that this jazz pianist's learning process was similar to that reported for classical musicians. That is, he used the musical structure as a retrieval scheme and practiced using performance cues to elicit knowledge of upcoming passages from long-term memory. However, this study looked only at the learning strategy for the note-by-note renditions that typically comprise the first choruses of jazz performances. The relationship between this original memorization process and the ability to improvise subsequent choruses will have to be addressed in future investigations.

Key Words: cognition • expertise • learning • music

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