Expert Musical Improvisations Contain Sequencing Biases Seen in Language Production

Roger E. Beaty, Klaus Frieler, Martin Norgaard, Hannah M. Merseal, Maryellen C. MacDonald, Daniel J. Weiss

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Language production involves action sequencing to produce fluent speech in real time, placing a computational burden on working memory that leads to sequencing biases in production. Here we examine whether these biases extend beyond language to constrain one of the most complex human behaviors: music improvisation. Using a large corpus of improvised solos from eminent jazz musicians, we test for a production bias observed in language termed easy first—a tendency for more accessible sequences to occur at the beginning of a phrase, allowing incremental planning later in the same phrase. Our analysis shows consistent evidence of easy first in improvised music, with the beginning of musical phrases containing both more frequent and less complex sequences. The findings indicate that expert jazz musicians, known for spontaneous creative performance, reliably retrieve easily accessed melodic sequences before creating more complex sequences, suggesting that a domain-general sequencing system may support multiple forms of complex human behavior, from language production to music improvisation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)912-920
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Experimental Psychology: General
Volume151
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 29 2021

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • General Psychology
  • Developmental Neuroscience

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