Lyrical Memory Quiz

Lyrical memory refers to your ability to recall song lyrics with ease. Performers tend to have a sharp lyrical memory—it's imperative that when they prepare for a recital or a concert, they remember all the words to the songs they're going to sing!

But even if you're not a musician, you might have noticed the lyrics to an old pop song are easier to remember than, say, the name of an acquaintance you met an hour ago. This isn't surprising when we consider that music often functions as a mnemonic device —that is, a tool to help you retain information. It's why so many teachers employ music to help young students remember important lessons, like their ABCs (and we don't know about you, but even we need to mentally sing the alphabet song to recall the order of certain letters!).

How Music Aids Memory

So, why is music so helpful in memorizing and recalling information? There are a few reasons:

• Many songs follow a recognizable rhythm and beat. Music can function as a sort of "scaffold" in helping us recall lyrics: we know—if not consciously, then unconsciously—that a song's lyrics will more or less conform to its rhythm and beat. For instance, even if you're hearing Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso" for the very first time, you may assume that the lines, "Now he's thinkin' 'bout me every night, oh / Is it that sweet? I guess so," will likely be followed by lyrics that adhere to a similar rhythm and beat—and they do: "Say you can't sleep, baby, I know / That's that me espresso." This innate understanding that songs—especially pop songs—tend to follow a certain pattern makes it easier to recall their lyrics.
• Most songs can be broken into memorizable "chunks." A song's melody is typically divided into different verses, which you can memorize through a process called "chunking"—that is, organizing information into discrete groups to help you remember it in bits and pieces, as opposed to all at once, which is usually more overwhelming.
• Many songs employ repetition. Many songs—Carpenter's bop included—employ a rhyme scheme (as in "oh," "so," "know," "espresso") and alliteration —that is, a series of words that begin with the same sound (as with the S-initial words in the lyrics, "Is it that sweet? I guess so / Say you can't sleep, baby, I know"). As a general rule, repetition—including rhyme and alliteration—strengthens memory.
• We're more likely to remember songs if we hear and sing them often. Listening to (and singing along with) your favorite song on repeat is another way to guarantee you'll remember it. Singing along to a song is an example of procedural memory , or memory involving an automatic process—something you don't have to think too much about, like riding a bike or driving your car. It's much easier to remember the lyrics to a song than, say, words from your favorite book, since you're much more likely to listen to a song multiple times than you are to read the same book more than once or twice, even if you loved it.
• Music is often accompanied by emotional stimuli, which makes the lyrics easier to recall. Research indicates it's much easier to recall something that instigated an emotional reaction than something that didn't. Listening to affecting music or song lyrics can flood you with emotions in a way you're unlikely to experience when, say, doing a math problem, even if you practice the same equation over and over again (not that you can't have an emotional response to math, but it's less likely!).
  
  
  

How to Improve Lyrical Memory

While some people may just seem naturally gifted at memorizing lyrics, it's possible to get better at it through practice. We asked professional singing coach Amy Chapman for her advice regarding memorizing lyrics. Her answer? There's no single proven method for memorizing lyrics more quickly—everyone has their own trick, and it may take some trial and error to discover what works for you. "For most people, listening to [a song] a lot, and singing through it many times" can work, she says.

But she stresses the usefulness of "being active" while trying to memorize lyrics. "Say you're walking at a park…and listening to the music. Something about using both sides of your brain helps you remember lyrics better…. So if you're doing something else while memorizing, while learning, it can help with retention."

If walking and trying to memorize a song is too difficult, research suggests it may be easier to memorize lyrics if you read them without listening to the song. Though music can serve as a mnemonic device, some studies show that trying to remember both lyrics and melody at the same time can be difficult (even without adding in a walk through a public park), especially if the lyrics and/or melody are particularly complex. Instead, try reading through a song's lyrics a few times and try to memorize them on their own, and then try singing them along to the melody.