The research
Does the structure of a rhythm do the work, or would any beat?
In progress · results are not in yet
Can rhythm stretch digit-span memory, and does it last?
Designed with Professor Arnold Glass and modeled on the classic Ericsson and Chase memory-span study. Ajay tests CLAP on himself: digits arrive one per beat on a 3-beat Thisra cycle at 60 beats per minute. A no-rhythm baseline was recorded on November 7 (11 trials).
What we measure: how many days it takes to reach 3 times the baseline span; how much is kept after 1 week and 1 month off; and whether mistakes happen between rhythm groups or inside them. Mistakes mostly between groups would suggest the rhythm is doing the work.
Limits we state up front: Ajay has 9 years of percussion training, and he is both the inventor of the method and its first subject.
From digits to school material, and from one student to many
If Experiment 1 works, the next test moves to real school content, starting with the first 20 elements of the periodic table, and then to other students through the MCTS Neuroscience Society. Nobody other than Ajay is tested until a teacher serves as Adult Sponsor and a review board approves the study, with parental permission and student assent.
Write-up, graphs and the science fair
A write-up with the growth curve, memory kept after each break, and where mistakes happened, posted here. Goal: the Mercer Science and Engineering Fair in March 2027.
Our promise: every result gets shared
If rhythm helps, we'll show how much. If it doesn't, we'll say so just as clearly. A null result is still an answer.
Advisors and what changed because of them
Professor Arnold Glass
Rutgers University · cognitive psychologist, memory research
Design review on August 14, 2026. Three changes followed:
- Materials balanced across conditions.
- Recall sheets scored by the facilitator, not by students.
- Later memory checks that ask students to use what they learned, not just repeat it.
Professor Tyler Dorrity
TCNJ Biology
Reviewed the workshop design from a teaching perspective in August 2026. Two changes followed:
- Application-level questions added to the research plan.
- An honest limit stated: CLAP is built for ordered sequences, with words and paragraphs as open questions.