Memory

[pianoamit]

SO...?

[infectedmushroom]

1+3


That's how I memorise, but when I play I'm mostly focused on harmonics/dynamics, to express my feeling when I play a piece.

[rc]

All three:

For a piece I've never heard before, begin visually, becomes auditory then kinesthetic when I really know the piece (where it seems I can just shake my arms and the piece plays itself)... I forget them in the same order, visual, then auditory, and kinesthetic doesn't ever seem to go away.

...I 'spose I consider a piece to be in my head when I have a clear visual image of it

[pianorama]

What do you mean by 1+2, 1+3, 1+4, etc.?

[pianorama]

Oh, I think I just got it. Would 1+2 be a combonation of 1 and 2?

[pianistimo]

all four, but i kind of choose the memorization method according to the piece.  for instance, with bach's english suite #3 - there's a lot of fugal stuff in several of the dances - and one of the dances is kind of 'boring' sounding - if i can use that word.  it doesn't have a hearable melody and just sounds like a bunch of notes at first.  so i use aural and finger memory A LOT for that type of music.  with very melodic pieces - i use the visual, aural, and finger work - because it is easily understood.  and, for chordal type (chorale music esp) i would use the most theory related work.  i don't tend to use theoretical ideas as much for modern music - maybe rely on aural (repetitive) and also pattern recognition (whether specific patterns on the keyboard, or repetitive phrases or ideas).  figuring out what is different in repeated phrases seems important, too - in remembering and memorizing.

[dinosaurtales]

I use a bit of each, but I agree with the above post.  The balance of method depends on the piece I am playing.  On some pieces, the fingering is a huge key to memorization.  Some passages, knowledge of the intervals gets me through it.  Others, it's a visualizaiton of the printed page.  it just depends.

[invictus]

I am synaesthesic, so photographic mainly, then finger movements, then aural then harmonic. I can memorize almost any piece i play first time

[gorbee natcase]

Its realy a combination of all of the choices as if you don't have visual aids you have to use your backup systems (muscle memory etc) where as all your sences should work as one

[freakofnature]

It's a combination: I think most of it is memorizing the finger movements, then visualising the keyboard and pre-hearing what comes next is another part of it. In some pieces I analyse the harmonic structure - but not in all.

[whynot]

What a good question.  In order, I guess I mainly remember the sound of the music, and I just play back (or play along with) what I hear.  I think my teacher does this, too.  Ten times better, of course.  Then, for reinforcement, I remember how certain things look on the landscape of the keyboard:  the shapes of chords and sections of passages and how they fit in the hills and valleys.  Then, at the beginning of treacherous passages that really need to start on a certain finger to avoid calamity, I whisper "two" or whatever, but not very often.  I'm a bit cavalier about fingerings, and I only think about it when there's real danger ahead.  I think this has caused my teacher to lose a little sleep, but actually, I believe he's the same way.  He can play anything, and I believe could do it completely differently every time if he wanted to--but he doesn't tell his students he does this, or encourage them to do it.  I've just noticed it.  The visual score memory, I can call that up if I want to, but for me it's an extra step.  It's not like I would remember what it looks like but not what it sounds like.  I mean, if I know how it looks on paper, then I automatically know what it sounds like, so I'm still remembering the sound first, if that makes sense.  It's pretty interesting that people do all this in such different ways.

   

[Tash]

my first way of memorising is just getting my fingers used to moving in the random pattern (it's all about patterns i tell you), and then now i've realised i should know what fingering i'm using more thoroughly cos that's partly where i get stuck sometimes. and also recently i've found that it's easier if i know what chord i'm playing, particularly if i know what the bass note is, if i know the bass note then everything else just sort of falls into place.
i don't do photographic memory stuff, doesn't work for me cos i think i see things as a whole rather than individually so i can see the notes but don't know exactly where they are!
aurally is like my last resort when all else has failed, and it's a bit of a mess doing that cos then i'm just experimenting with notes half the time (and that's mainly because i've stuffed up my fingering agh!)

[pianorama]

I am synaesthesic, so photographic mainly, then finger movements, then aural then harmonic. I can memorize almost any piece i play first time

Since you're synaesthesic, do you see letters, like on this forum in different colours? (red, green, blue, orange, etc.?)

[lagin]

I memorize by what it sounds like in my head, harmonically, what it feels like under my fingers, and what it looks like on the keyboard.  Primarily, I memorize by what it feels like.  I know this, because if I slow it right down, I don't know where I'm going!!  I try to memorize more thoroughly before performing though.

[ted]

Actually that's a bit tricky to answer. I was going to answer 2+3+4 because I do not memorise scores visually. But then, I do have a strong visual memory of the keyboard and its patterns, and this plays a part in memorising. So 1+2+3+4 in varying proportions and as required. The only thing I can definitely exclude is photographic memory of pages - that I definitely do not possess.

[gruffalo]

by the time ive got all the notes under my hands and the piece is playable its in my head. i dont "memorise" a piece, it just eventually sticks in my head.