Performing Music on Stage: The Role of the Hippocampus in Expert Memory and Culture

Abstract

This overview chapter discusses memory functions from the viewpoint of the performing arts. ‘Playing music by heart’ is taken as an example to illustrate the role of the hippocampus in acquiring and expressing expert memory. Many more aspects depend on hippocampal mechanisms beyond declarative memory, for example, motor sequence learning, phrase boundary processing, and time precise sequence recall. In consequence, changes in size and/or functional activity also occur in the hippocampus, known as hippocampal plasticity. Whenever the to-be-remembered items have to be stabilized even further, certain mnemonic strategies are effective, of which the oldest is the (hippocampal-based) method of loci, using visuospatial imagery. Mnemonic techniques also play a role in ethnomusicology. For example, North Indian tabla players combine drum patterns with certain onomatopoeic syllables to keep on track when performances last over hours. The value of memory processes is also discussed from a sociocultural perspective. Since priests, teachers, heads of tribes, and many others are explicit carriers of internalized knowledge, they help preserve oral traditions and culture. A special emphasis is on the accurate memorization of the Quran in Arabic, revealing that internalized sacred knowledge acquired through learning by rote can serve as a moral compass for the individual.