Effects of music on memory for text

Previous research has suggested that the use of song can facilitate recall of text. This study examined the effect of repetition, of a melody across verses, familiarity with the melody, rhythm, and other structural-processing-hypotheses to explain this phenomenon. Two experiments were conducted; each with 100 participants recruited from undergraduate Psychology programs (44 men, 156 women, M age = 28.5 yr., SD = 9.4). In Exp. 1, participants learned a-four-verse ballad in one of five encoding conditions (familiar melody, unfamiliar melody, unknown rhythm, known rhythm, and-spoken). Exp. 2 assessed the effect of familiarity in rhythm-only conditions-and of pre-exposure with a previously unfamiliar melody. Measures taken were number of verbatim words recalled and number of lines produced with correct syllabic structure. Analysis indicated that rhythm, with-or without musical accompaniment, can facilitate recall of text, suggesting that rhythm may provide a schematic frame to which text can be attached. Similarly, familiarity with the rhythm or melody facilitated recall. Findings are discussed in terms of integration and dual-processing theories.