A tracking study of mental imagery for popular classical music

Little is known about the relationship between structural features of a piece of music and the structure of a conscious auditory image for that piece. This study addresses two related questions. First, what are the structural 'holes' in the memory image of large-scale pieces of music? Second, is there evidence to suggest the temporal manipulation of this mental imagery? Six extracts of popular classical music were selected on the basis of their familiarity and their structural interest. Nineteen 'classical music lovers' were instructed to mentally track as much music as possible. After hearing the beginning of an extract, participants were instructed to lower the volume controller to silence and imagine the musical continuation. When unable to mentally continue the music, they were encouraged to raise the volume until they were again able to imagine the continuation. Each movement of the volume controller was recorded, producing a graphic representation of listening and imagining throughout each piece. Time spent imaging did not vary significantly between pieces. However, clear differences in the imaging distribution within each piece emerged, relating to distinct zones within the musical structure of each extract. Pieces characterised by repeated short sections produced image profiles with frequent movements of the volume controller, while extracts characterised by long thematic material are matched by more constant imaging profiles. The image-tracking paradigm revealed a relationship between 'mental holes' in the musical image and structural properties of the musical work.