Experimental examination of recall of J-pop songs

This study investigated the effect of song structure on recalling J-pop songs that we daily listen to and sing. J-pop consists of multiple sections, such as A-melody or key melody lines. In Experiment 1, subjects were asked to sing songs with the titles as cues. Errors that occurred at the ends of song sections were analyzed. There were errors whereby sequences of sections were incorrect. In this error type, the beginning of the section was more frequently recalled than the middle of the section following the end of the prior section. This result implicated that the beginnings of sections are more easily recalled and that they work as an access point for memory of a song. In Experiment 2, this hypothesis was assessed. Subjects were asked to recall the beginning-of-section lyrics or the beginning-of-phrase lyrics with the end-of-prior section melody or the end-of-prior phrase melody as cues. Subjections resulted in more accurate recall about the beginning-of-section lyrics than the beginning-of-phrases lyrics. These results indicate that memory of songs is reflected on the structure and that the beginnings of sections work as an access point for memory of songs.