A model of variation in the music of a Hungarian ethnic group

The interdependence between memory at long term and variability of folk mus ic was investigated, using numerical analysis of a mathematical model. The model describes the effect of the random forgetting as well as reviving of melodies, and determines the probability of recalling for each tune individ ually as a function of its musical distance from other active melodies. The simulations were performed on a set of 704 tunes representing the living m usical tradition of a Hungarian ethnic group. Results show that variation i s able to assure the structural stability and long survival of folk music w ithout any kind of notation. Comparison of the above tradition as a musical system to a system of random melodies generated by the computer demonstrat es that the clustered structure and the traditional rules of variation of f olk music result in a large number of tunes with a long-life expectancy.