Information Processing Blog 2

Using the model, we can see how someone might learn how to read music and identify music notes.

A music teacher could begin by drawing the staff and a whole note. The information is entering sensory memory as the teacher does this. The student can watch how the whole note is being drawn, what it is being drawn on, and where on the staff it is being placed. Loss can occur if the teacher doesn’t explain what it is before drawing the note or if the student is unaware that anything is being drawn.

Attention and pattern can occur when the teacher plays a whole note on the piano. This will begin processing in the student’s brain through sound.

Working memory occurs when the sound is paired with the drawing. The student will be able to count how long the note was played for on the piano and connect it to the picture on the board. The note was held for four counts on the piano; therefore, the circle whole note equals four counts. Rehearsal would mean playing the note multiple times on the piano and counting how many whole notes were played. If there was a string of notes, then chunking could occur in order to remember how many beats were in one measure of music. But this would occur later on in the learning process when the student feels comfortable with more than one type of note.

Once the student realizes that a whole note equals four counts, it will be encoded, or filed, in his brain. Next time the teacher asks the question, “How long do you hold a whole note?” the student will be able to retrieve what he has filed and say, “Four counts.” This knowledge stays in long-term memory, and if the student continues to learn music, he will know the significance of a whole note without even thinking about it.