THE EFFECT OF WORKING MEMORY TRAINING ON THE ACHIEVEMENT OF MUSICAL DICTATION IN MUSICOLOGY MAJORS IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN SHANXI PROVINCE, CHINA

Chen Si, Huey Yi@ Colleen Wong

Abstract


This study investigated the efficacy of working memory training in enhancing music dictation proficiency among undergraduate musicology and music performance students in Shanxi Province, China. A quasi-experimental design involved 60 students divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental groups received targeted working memory training, while the control groups received conventional instruction. A researcher-designed dictation test was administered at three points: pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test. Statistical analysis revealed significant main effects for group and time across both majors. For musicology students (Research Question 1), the experimental group showed significantly higher performance than the control group across all phases, especially in melodic and pitch dictation, F(1, 28) = 12.765, p = .001, η² = .314. Among music performance students. The results showed a significant overall main effect of time, F(1.20, 50.52) = 1429.02, p < .001, partial η² = .971, reflecting a strong effect of the training across the three assessment points. Working memory training significantly improved music dictation achievement, particularly in total and melodic dictation, with partial retention after a delay. These findings indicate that working memory training positively impacts auditory-musical processing and sequential memory in music students. By incorporating cognitive training into higher music education, curriculum innovation and pedagogical advancement can be achieved. These implications extend to policy design, instructional practice, and interdisciplinary collaboration between music educators and cognitive psychologists, ultimately fostering effective learning outcomes in music education.

Keywords


working memory training, musical dictation, musicology majors, higher education institutions, China

Full Text:

PDF

References


Ahmadian, M. J. (2018). Explicit and implicit instruction of refusal strategies: Does working memory capacity play a role? Language Teaching Research, 24(2), 163–188. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168818783215

Aldugom, M., Fenn, K., & Cook, S. W. (2020). Gesture during math instruction specifically benefits learners with high visuospatial working memory capacity. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-020-00215-

Baldé, A. M., Lima, C. F., & Schellenberg, E. G. (2025). Associations between musical expertise and auditory processing. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance, 51(6), 747–763. https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0001312

Barkus, E. (2020). Effects of working memory training on emotion regulation: Transdiagnostic review. PsyCh Journal, 9(2), 258–279. https://doi.org/10.1002/pchj.353

Bianco, R., Tóth, B., Bigand, F., Nguyen, T., Sziller, I., Háden, G. P., Winkler, I., & Novembre, G. (2025). Human newborns form musical predictions based on rhythmic but not melodic structure. Openrxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.19.639016

Chang, T.-Y., & Gauthier, I. (2021). Domain-specific and domain-general contributions to reading musical notation. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 83(7), 2983–2994. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-021-02349-3

Degé, F., & Kerkovius, K. (2018). The effects of drumming on working memory in older adults. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1423(1), 242–250. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13685

Fennell, A. M., Bugos, J. A., Payne, B. R., & Schotter, E. R. (2020). Music is similar to language in terms of working memory interference. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 28(2), 512–525. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-020-01833-5

Flak, M. M., Hol, H. R., Hernes, S. S., Chang, L., Engvig, A., Bjuland, K. J., Pripp, A., Madsen, B.-O., Knapskog, A.-B., Ulstein, I., Lona, T., Skranes, J., & Løhaugen, G. C. C. (2019). Adaptive Computerized Working Memory Training in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment. A Randomized Double-Blind Active Controlled Trial. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(a018994). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00807

Forsberg, A., Fellman, D., Laine, M., Johnson, W., & Logie, R. H. (2020). Strategy mediation in working memory training in younger and older adults. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 73(8), 1206–1226. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747021820915107

Frischen, U., Schwarzer, G., & Degé, F. (2019). Comparing the Effects of Rhythm-Based Music Training and Pitch-Based Music Training on Executive Functions in Preschoolers. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2019.00041

Grossberg, S. (2022). Toward Understanding the Brain Dynamics of Music: Learning and Conscious Performance of Lyrics and Melodies With Variable Rhythms and Beats. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnsys.2022.766239

Jakubowski, K., Finkel, S., Stewart, L., & Müllensiefen, D. (2017). Dissecting an earworm: Melodic features and song popularity predict involuntary musical imagery. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 11(2), 122–135. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000090

Li, S. (2024). Intelligent Construction of University Music Education Teaching System Based on Artificial Intelligence Technology. Journal of Electrical Systems, 20(3s), 530–539. https://doi.org/10.52783/jes.1326

Lukács, B., & Honbolygó, F. (2019). Task-Dependent Mechanisms in the Perception of Music and Speech: Domain-Specific Transfer Effects of Elementary School Music Education. Journal of Research in Music Education, 67(2), 153–170. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429419836422

Malleret, G., Salin, P., Mazza, S., & Plancher, G. (2024). Working memory forgetting: Bridging gaps between human and animal studies. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 163, 105742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105742

Mankel, K., & Bidelman, G. M. (2018). Inherent auditory skills rather than formal music training shape the neural encoding of speech. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(51), 13129–13134. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1811793115

Marie, D., Müller, C. A. H., Altenmüller, E., Van De Ville, D., Jünemann, K., Scholz, D. S., Krüger, T. H. C., Worschech, F., Kliegel, M., Sinke, C., & James, C. E. (2023). Music interventions in 132 healthy older adults enhance cerebellar grey matter and auditory working memory, despite general brain atrophy. Neuroimage: Reports, 3(2), 100166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynirp.2023.100166

Marié, R.-M., & Defer, G.-L. (2003). Working memory and dopamine: clinical and experimental clues. Current Opinion in Neurology, Suppl 16 2, S29–S35. https://doi.org/10.1097/00019052-200312002-00006

Marion, G., Di Liberto, G. M., & Shamma, S. A. (2021). The Music of Silence: Part I: Responses to Musical Imagery Encode Melodic Expectations and Acoustics. The Journal of Neuroscience : The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 41(35), JN-21. https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.0183-21.2021

Nitin, R., Gustavson, D. E., Aaron, A. S., Boorom, O. A., Bush, C. T., Wiens, N., Vaughan, C., Persici, V., Blain, S. D., Soman, U., Hambrick, D. Z., Camarata, S. M., Mcauley, J. D., & Gordon, R. L. (2023). Exploring individual differences in musical rhythm and grammar skills in school-aged children with typically developing language. Scientific Reports, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-21902-0

Sala, G., & Gobet, F. (2020). Working memory training in typically developing children: A multilevel meta-analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 27(3), 423–434. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-019-01681-y

Schneider, P., Groß, C., Bernhofs, V., Christiner, M., Benner, J., Turker, S., Zeidler, B. M., & Seither‐Preisler, A. (2022). Short‐term plasticity of neuro‐auditory processing induced by musical active listening training. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1517(1), 176–190. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14899

Talamini, F., Vigl, J., Doerr, E., Grassi, M., & Carretti, B. (2022). Auditory and visual mental imagery in musicians and non-musicians. Musicae Scientiae, 27(2), 428–441. https://doi.org/10.1177/10298649211062724

Trutti, A. C., Verschooren, S., Forstmann, B. U., & Boag, R. J. (2020). Understanding subprocesses of working memory through the lens of model-based cognitive neuroscience. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 38, 57–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.10.002

Villanueva, J., Ilari, B., & Habibi, A. (2024). Long-term music instruction is partially associated with the development of socioemotional skills. PloS One, 19(7), e0307373. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307373

Weng, W., Liang, J., Xue, J., Zhu, T., Jiang, Y., Wang, J., & Chen, S. (2019). The Transfer Effects of Cognitive Training on Working Memory Among Chinese Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2019.00212

Zhang, L., Xie, S., Li, Y., Shu, H., & Zhang, Y. (2020). Perception of musical melody and rhythm as influenced by native language experience. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 147(5), EL385–EL390. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0001179




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejae.v11i1.6614

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright © 2015 - 2026. European Journal of Alternative Education Studies (ISSN 2501-5915) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms.

All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).