scarlatti k9

[pianistimo]

a little scarlatti this morning.

[rachfan]

Pianistimo,

You have a natural flair for the Baroque period and all its ornamentation.  Wonderful fluency and fluidity.  Very nice!

[pianistimo]

dear rachfan,

thank you for such nice comments.  you know what i think is really sad.  by the time i've taken to get my technique - now  my memory is failing.  i'm really hoping it will come back.  i used to sort of laugh in my head at people (now my age) that would attend master classes and play from memory - stopping for long pauses.  looking up. 

i think the answer for me is exercise.  surprisingly, iplay better in the summer.  i come back from a cycling trip and i can actually remember things.  i mean - an entire piece.  that is - when i'm singing it to myself in my head while riding.  also, i've found taping myself somewhat helpful. 

[rachfan]

Hi pianistimo,

Memory, regrettably, does fail everyone with age.  At my age, I can't remember anything unless I write it down.  And I do go on these searches for my car keys or my glasses.  In my youth, memorizing music was nothing.  In my case I rely mostly on aural, visual, and tactile memory, which is a good combination.  I had just about given up on it.  But lately I've been practicing Debussy's "Reflets dans l'eau", and am surprising myself that I can play nearly the whole piece from memory now, with just an occasional slip on the last page.   It has restored my confidence in memorizing.

Exercise might help.  In cold weather (I live in central Maine, so winters don't get much colder than here) I work out with free weights twice a week and in warm weather I walk 4 miles three times a week for aerobics.  And I watch my diet and maintain my weight extremely well.  But I have no way of knowing whether it helps my memory or not.  Anyway you can ask me about trivia from years ago, but don't ask me what I had for lunch today!   I've come to the conclusion that memory is just like RAM in a PC.  My problem is that my brain cells are maxed out now, and there's no way to increase the RAM, so I can't cram much more in there.  Oh well....   

[pianistimo]

maybe that's my problem, too.  i just got finished  playing barbies and this gear game  - and finally a puzzle.  then, i ask 'can i please go on pianoforum now?'  i'm asking her, mind you.  i know i've lost my mind.