Modeling musical working memory capacity using the Expected Development Fraction Model and Krumhansl's key-finding models

• Grant number: 15/13223-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: September 01, 2015
• End date: August 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Cognitive Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Jose Lino Oliveira Bueno
• Grantee: Erico Artioli Firmino
• Supervisor: Carol Lynne Krumhansl
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Cornell University, United States

Abstract

The present project aims at investigating the temporal capacity of musical working memory both empirically and computationally. The experiments will investigate the effect of change of key on time reproductions while manipulating two variables: (1) when in the sequence the key-change occur (primacy/recency); and (2) when in the sequence the key with the longest duration occur (primacy/middle/recency). The results will be modeled by the Expected Development Fraction (EDF) Model (Firmino & Bueno, 2008), which presents a top-down cognition-based framework, combined with two different key-finding models of Krumhansl (Krumahanl, 1990; Toiviainen & Krumhansl, 2003). These models offer an opportunity to complement the EDF Model with bottom-up sensory-based dynamism. The two versions of the complemented EDF Model will be systematically compared with several relevant models in the literature. The expected results of the experiments and simulations are: if key-changes occur later, time reproductions will be shorter because recent events have more influence than remote ones. However, temporally remote events might still have a residual influence indicating that the capacity of musical working memory is greater than suggested by some prior results in the literature.