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Memory PDF
Memory PDF
Memory PDF
<img
src="http://yourmusiclessons.com/blog/wp-
content/uploads/2014/10/c-major-arpeggio.jpg" alt="c-major-
arpeggio" width="244" height="69" class="size-full wp-image-295"
/>
To the uneducated musician the picture above may look like a bunch
of individual notes. If we count, there are 12 notes in that section. If
you had to memorize each note individually, the best way to
memorize this is breaking it up into two small sections of 6 notes and
repeating each section multiple times. If you involve your brain a little
though, you’ll find there is a much easier way to do this.
<img src="http://yourmusiclessons.com/blog/wp-
content/uploads/2014/10/c-major-arpeggio-marked.jpg" alt="c-major-
arpeggio-marked" width="244" height="69" class="alignright size-
full wp-image-296" />
As you can see in the picture to the right the two red boxes have the
same notes in them. So if you memorize the first six notes you have
already memorized the last six. If we took it one step further, this
group of notes is called an “arpeggio”, if you recognize it as an
arpeggio then there is only one thing to memorize. Just by looking at it
you could repeat it today, tomorrow, and next year, because you
already committed what an arpeggio is to memory long ago.
That was a pretty simplistic example, but hopefully you understand
the point. Patterns are everywhere in music. It’s your job to find them,
and then your teacher can help you label them. Once you have labels
for these different patterns, you have built a new association. Next
time you see something resembling that pattern in different music you
will recognize it for what it is, and it will represent just one item in
your short term memory. This is how Gieseking was able to perform
super human feats. He had made so many associations within music
already that he could probably fit half a page in his short term
memory. This significantly shortens the time it takes to memorize a
piece of music.
If you learn music without this method, you will succeed in just
learning the piece you’re working on. You may grow musically and
technically, but it will not give you the ability to memorize other
pieces faster. If you memorize music by making associations, you will
find these associations in all future music that you play. Every
association you make will increase the speed you learn music and
your ability to recognize patterns.
Notice I haven’t spoken much about “Music Theory”. Music theory is
just the study of music. People put labels on certain patterns of notes
and how they work together, and we call it music theory. I personally
don’t believe in spending a lot of time learning music theory
independently. I believe it should all be learned within the context of
music. Once a pattern is recognized a good teacher should point it out
and explain what it means in the context of the music. This is when
the teacher should explain what a chord is, or an arpeggio, or a key.
When music theory is taught out of context and in a book, it is easily
forgotten and almost never understood.
Memorize Small Sections or SMALL Sections
You have probably been told to memorize small sections at a time.
That’s good advice. Some teachers might say to start with a phrase or
a couple measures. That’s incomplete advice. The goal shouldn’t be to
work on some predefined section. You should only work on repeating
music that can fit in your short term memory. If you can only fit two
beats of music, or even just one beat, then that’s what you repeat.
The way to figure out what can fit in your short term memory is
simple. Read it once then close the book or look away, and try to
repeat it from memory. If you can’t, then it’s too much. You’ll need to
take out a couple notes and then try again.
Remember that your first step shouldn’t be to pick some random
section. It is first to look for patterns and associations, once you find
them, find out how much you can keep in your short term memory and
repeat.
Never Forget About Sleep!
If you are getting bored repeating a section over and over again, move
on. Sleep is the best thing you can do for your memory. Repeat a
section maybe 10 times then move on, and don’t go back to it. Do the
same thing the next day with the same section. After two or three days
it will be memorized. Too many students waste hours practicing
sections that will never get any better in one sitting. In this way you
can work on a lot more music without wasting your precious practice
time.
Spaced Repetitions
Always remember just because a piece is memorized, doesn’t mean it
will be forever. Spaced repetitions often come naturally for musicians
because we often play the same memorized piece for quite a while, in
auditions, recitals and competitions.
Don’t forget though that repetition is still important months after a
piece is initially committed to memory. After a long period of time
has passed with you actively recalling the music (not just playing by
muscle memory) the piece will be even more entrenched. Try writing
the piece of music out, or playing it away from the piano. This (and
reviewing associations you have made) will aid in memorizing and
active recall.
The Lie – Muscle Memory
Most young pianists memorize pieces with just what some people call
“muscle memory” meaning you turn your brain off and your fingers
just find the right notes. This kind of memory will happen regardless
of your effort when you play something enough times.
“Muscle memory” is not even memory, it’s purely habit. Habits are
formed in the most primitive parts of our brains. Studies have shown
that people with no ability to form new memories, because of
accidents or disease, are still able to form new habits. This shows that
habits are not technically memories. When musicians depend on
“muscle memory” what they really are doing is repeating patterns
mindlessly.
This type of “memory” is also very prone to memory slips because the
music is actually not in the musicians memory at all, and any small
break from the habit (like a mistake or someone in the audience
coughing) can cause the habit to break down.
Real music comes from our actively engaged minds. If the musician
cannot sit down and write out an entire piece of music from memory,
the piece is not memorized. Never try to acquire “finger memory”. It
will come naturally because of constant repetitions. You should
always seek an intellectual understanding and memory of the music
first.
Quality and Speed
The greatest part about this way of learning is the quality that the
music is learned. Because you are focusing on such a ridiculously
small section of music you can be cognizant on how it should actually
sound. Yes you can care about the articulation, the dynamics, your
touch, fingerings and everything else that your teacher constantly tells
you to pay attention to. The problem is most students have such
problems with just learning the notes that all of the important specifics
that actually make music sound good are forgotten. Always memorize
everything the first time. By the time you get to the end of the piece, it
will be completely memorized and performance ready. There will
never be any need to go back and memorize it, or go back and add
dynamics, or anything else. It was learned right the first time. Because
of this you’ll find yourself learning music literally 5 times faster than
you ever did before. The biggest difference though will be that it will
actually sound good.
Conclusion
The results from making these changes in your practice routine are
significant. Test it out for yourself. Try using it with your students.
These aren’t just a few tips you should maybe use. This is science, and
it works. What do you think? I would love to hear your experience
with applying these techniques in your practice.