Why are some tunes so memorable ??

Kingfisher · Post by **Kingfisher** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 1:48 pm

I have a question that I have been puzzling over for some time and thought I'd throw it out to you good folks , for some opinions.

What makes certain tunes so easily memorized , while others seem almost impossible to get down ? You know what I mean! The tune that you hear just once at a session , on a CD , in concert , etc. and come away whistling or humming (as opposed to another song , that you would love to learn , but can't seem to get rolling around in your head.)
I've had some that , even after listening to the tune repeatedly and picking it out on the whistle , I still couldn't recall at a later time.

So , what do you think ? What's the difference ? Is it a certain element in music itself that's repeatable , like rhythm ? Or , is it totally individual ? What's the answer ?

Sure look forward to some informed opinions on the subject. Even uninformed ones will probably come closer than mine !!

Have a Great Day and Fun Whistling !!

BillChin · Post by **BillChin** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 6:28 pm

There is a science to it. Some company came out with a computer program that analyzed sound samples to predict which songs/tunes would be popular.

Here is their site:
http://www.hitsongscience.com/

I believe they analyzed thousands of hit songs and came up with mathematical patterns that separated them from also rans. It is not an exact science by any means, but it does show that there are patterns in what is popular.

Kingfisher · Post by **Kingfisher** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 11:53 pm

Thanks for the link , Bill ! That's an interesting site. They seem to focus in on the statistical aspects of the shared elements that make a tune a hit or popular. I'm not sure how much emphasis they would place on the type of "instant recognition" that seems to earmark certain tunes and not others. For their purposes , it would seem that the staying power or popularity of certain rhythms or schemes would be most important. Of course , if everyone goes away humming one of their computerized picks , the first time it's heard , I'm sure they wouldn't fuss !!

Thanks , again , for the imput !

Have a Great Day and Fun Whistling !!

Theo · Post by **Theo** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 2:12 am

I think, and this is particularly true for ITM, that songs just 'evolve' over time. Because it is usual for ITM to learn by ear and play without sheet music, you remember the tune in a way that makes the most sense to you personally. And when enough people do this, a song just evolves to the way it sounds the most 'natural' to most people, making it easy to remember. And some songs are just more successful in this evolving process than others.

Anyway, it's just a theory.

Tony McGinley · Post by **Tony McGinley** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 2:34 am

IMHO there are at least two factors at work.
One is undoubtedly the pattern recognition
effect, which can have a stupid advertising jingle
go round and round in the head.

Another factor, I believe, is one that works on
what I would call the spiritual level. Something
that speaks to the soul or spirit.

A very ancient Irish tune called "Marbhna Luimni"
is IMHO such a tune, and has been used
in a large number of films and is universally
popular. It never ceases to stir emotions and
always is well received. I think it has the two
above mentioned factors.

Another such tune is "Danny Boy" or the
"Derry Air". Interestingly, it was recently cloned
with a lot of success by Secret Garden as
"You raise me up".

Key_of_D · Post by **Key_of_D** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 5:34 am

Well in my experience, I just learn the songs that I can from all my favorite musicians. Like the Chieftains, flogging molly, (easy) etc etc. I can only learn music by ear, was never taught how to read sheet music. I understand a majority of it, but I only use it occaisionally for that song I just can't get. So, I pull out some good Irish/Celtic music cd's, and listen to what I could maybe play. The thing that I've found is with the whole selective memorization of songs, is that the songs that are easy to play/easy to finger, are the ones that I remember. The songs that have a little more complex and really fast movements, are usually the songs I fumble on when having not played them in a while. Where as the easy to play songs, I could go for months w/o playing them, and almost 100% of the time, get it right when I go back to them. That's how it seems to go for me. When I first got the whistle, I learned some whistling from the Dropkick Murphy's and Flogging Molly for starting off. Simple stuff. Then as I got better and learned more advanced and intricate tunes, the more I found myself forgetting those trickier tunes after not playing them for a while. I go through patterns of what I like to play, so maybe that's where I mess up.

Anyways, that's my take on it. It seems to me, that if a song is easy to play, be it a reel or an air, you're more likely to memorize it than something that's hard or more complex to play. Makes sense to me.

colomon · Post by **colomon** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 6:16 am

For me, a lot of the time the tunes that seem easy to learn are the ones I've listened to a lot -- even though sometimes I don't know that I've been listening to them!

For instance, I learned the jig "Kitty's Wedding" while stopped at stoplights on the way to go cross-country skiing one day last winter -- that's less than ten minutes to learn a three part jig. The recording I learned it off of I'd only heard a few times, and didn't have the name of the tune at all. It wasn't until I got home that I worked out what tune it was, and that I had two other recordings of it that I'd listened to quite a bit.

dwinterfield · Post by **dwinterfield** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 7:53 am

Classic chicken and egg question.

Do we know it because we like to or do we like it because we know it?

I think it's the former for me.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 10:45 am

As much as I love IRTRAD, I find a LOT of the tunes very similar, especially reels. The ones that stand out in my mind are ones that do something different: a C nat in a place where you wouldn't expect it (eg Staten Island Hornpipe), make large jumps (eg Gravel Walk), have nice flowing figures (Kid On The Mountain) etc. Those are the ones I want to take time to learn.

michael_coleman · Post by **michael_coleman** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 1:19 pm

Repetitive phrases in the song help with memorization, as well as the obvious one: length of the tune.

Wormdiet · Post by **Wormdiet** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 5:41 pm

Hrrm.. . . I picked up "Spike Island Lasses" fairly quickly even though it's a non-repeating 4-parter. But that tune does seem to have elements of every good D-mix reel ever written, . . .

I find if I have a tune from two different sources, it will make more of an impression. Dunno why.