Context matters.
In a study of expert chess players, they were able to quickly memorize and recall chess boards in mid-game. Much more quickly and accurately than chess novices. What’s interesting is that when the pieces were placed in random order (not in a position that could be played to), the masters were no better at recall than the novices.
Context matters. They were able to demonstrate remarkable recall only in the context of actual chess games.
In the same way, students wishing to develop their melodic recall and transcription skills should pay attention to developing their context clues! When we begin to hear melodies as recognizable patterns of notes and rhythms, it’s easier to comprehend the entire melodic phrase when we don’t see every note as and individual, instead seeing them in the context of the ones around them. Like expert chess players, we can take in whole chunks rather than having to independently confirm every piece.
(Your mileage may vary in serial and aleatoric music…)