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The Effects of Melodic Contagions in the Oral Transmission of Melodies
Conference proceeding   Open access

The Effects of Melodic Contagions in the Oral Transmission of Melodies

Elizabeth Monzingo, Daniel Shanahan, Anthony Marasco, Emily M Elliott, David John Baker, Connor Davis and Joshua Albrecht
Proceedings of the ICMPC-ESCOM 2018 Joint Conference, pp.323-327
2018
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Abstract

Previous research into the transmission and altering of musical signals has primarily examined recognition tasks, emphasizing the role of memory (e.g. Halpern & Bartlett, 2010). Recent studies suggest that the physical act of melodic production might also play a role. Shanahan and Albrecht (forthcoming) found that ascending stepwise motion at cadences tended to be replaced by descending stepwise motion over the course of oral transmission of melodies in a linear transmission train. The current study hypothesizes that this effect will be amplified over the course of oral transmission in a diffusion-based model, in which we examine the influence of a " contagion " cadence. We also examine the ability of measures of working memory capacity and musical sophistication to predict participant choice of cadence. Findings show that the contagion cadence serves to influence the type of cadence participants sing, and the descending contagion cadence exerts more influence than the ascending contagion cadence. Further, measures of working memory capacity and musical sophistication have no significant effect on the cadence chosen. We argue that chosen cadences align with physiological affordances, such that descending cadences are more likely to be sung than ascending cadences.

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