Interval Patterns Facilitate Short-Term Memory Encoding of Auditory Pitch Sequences

This study investigated short-term memory recognition for melodies and the effect of patterns (repeated subsequences) within a melody. Participants (n = 54) completed a same/different task in which they listened to two consecutive melodies on each trial that could be identical or could differ by one pitch. Melodies could contain patterns based on pitch intervals or melodic contour or could have no pattern structure (i.e., no repeated subsequences). Recognition was most accurate for melodies with interval-based patterns, intermediate for melodies with contour-based patterns, and worst for the no-pattern condition. However, participants with no music training only exhibited a recognition advantage over unpatterned melodies for melodies with interval-based patterns. Across participants, music training was associated with improved recognition for patterned melodies (interval or contour), but not for unpatterned melodies. These findings imply that pattern structure facilitates encoding of melodies in short-term musical memory in a graded fashion, with music training leading to enhanced encoding of pattern structure.