Many things get encoded when we store a memory. In the case of a memory for a musical performance, the encoding might include voice quality of the singer(s), tonal aspects of instruments (consider jazz and pop standards that are recorded by many individuals with many different arrangements and classical works that are transcribed for various voices and instruments), and odd glitches in the recording. Classical fans who may have more than one recording of a work (e.g., the Bach cello suites) can recognize which cellist is playing a given recording based on small stylistic differences. Just as we can associate and encode a sequence of actions (or words in a poem or play), we can encode associations between songs and the sequence in which they are typically heard. We can also create associations with the context in which we typically listened to these songs, including a variety of emotions. Think of the "songs of summer" or the "songs of our senior year in high school. I have "Hey Jude" permanently linked with a delicious ham on pumpernickel sandwich and the Snug restaurant near the Wayne State campus where I first heard this song. I hear "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and I am back in Cobo Arena, where I first heard this song in concert before the album was released.
Expectation is merely a product of learned associations. :-) Memory is indeed a wonderful and fascinating phenomenon! Claudia On Thu, Dec 1, 2011 at 6:20 AM, Michael Britt <[email protected]>wrote: > I enjoyed the back-and-forth regarding memories for record skipping (and > for the sense that a particular song ought to follow another, but doesn't > because of shuffling), but did we ever get to the root of the phenomenon? > It sounds like these kinds of memories are explained by: > > Association > Expectation > Encoding > > The only issue I have with encoding is that I assume that the song was > encoded with a skip in it. I suppose that after listening to a song many, > many times with the skip the song-with-skip replaces the song-without-skip > memory. > > Anyway, interesting conversation. > > Michael (Britt - nothing really multicultural about me, just a > middle-aged, slightly balding white guy) > > > > > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13144.1572ed60024e708cf21c4c6f19e7d550&n=T&l=tips&o=14542 > or send a blank email to > leave-14542-13144.1572ed60024e708cf21c4c6f19e7d...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=14546 or send a blank email to leave-14546-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
