The Effects of Time and Events on the Perception of Nonadjacent Key Relationships

Abstract

A musical key can only be retained in memory for approximately 20 seconds. However, other factors may be influencing the strength of this retention. The current study tests the influence of time and number of events (chords) in an intervening key on the deterioration in memory of a nonadjacent key. Stimuli first established a major key using traditional harmonic rules, then modulated to an intervening key that was either 6 or 9 seconds in duration and formed from either 4 or 6 chords. Stimuli then returned to the original key in a probe cadence. Participants were asked to rate this cadence in terms of its sense of closure. It was revealed that there is a significant negative effect of time on the probe cadence though no effect of number of events was found. This suggests that spending more time in an intervening key, and not the number of intervening chords, diminishes the memory of the original key. However, it is unclear from this study where in memory the nonadjacent key relationship is processed. Relevant literature is examined to form a working hypothesis with the goal of strengthening future studies with a capable foundation in memory research and theories.