Scriabin etude d minor (8-12) memorizing

[3kitty333]

Hi! Iťs now three weeks Im learning this etude and I play it at half tempo, but my problem is memorizing this piece! I donīt force it, I always let it come naturally and it doesnīt take too long time for me to get something memorized. But now I can play just just one page without sheet music, the rest I play staring at the notes   I didnīt have problems with memorizing, but this Scriabin is killing me :-D

How do you memorize pieces and how long does it take to you? Or do you have experience with this piece?

Thanks and sorry for my poor english

[pianisten1989]

Your english is ok, so don't worry about it

I have the same problem atm. I play this piece with a singer, and it's really not that difficult, but I can't memorize it!
Some pieces are more difficult that other, I guess..

But hmm... Try to analyse it, what harmony etc. Good luck
..
And oh, it's d-SHARP minor, isn't it?

[3kitty333]

Yes, I wrote it incorrectly, sorry :-D d-sharp minor !
I play it over and over again, but I think I donīt remember more than last week :-D and canīt speed it up, because I have to stare at the sheets =/
I afraid Iīm gonna lose my patience with it, although its not so difficult to play.
So keep going and donīt give up ! :-D

[pianisten1989]

Play only a bit at the time then, only a few bars. That'll probably do it.

[3kitty333]

Iīm trying, but... the end is not so hard, repeating chords, but the beginning...
Its funny to play by memory! I have never learned so bad memorizing piece =/

[eminemvsrach]

what I do is divide a piece into small chunks, and practice the heck out of each chunk individually until I memorize them one by one. Really helps!

Good luck!

Em

[pk]

I second what eminemvsrach said, that is the best way to learn a piece by memory.
A good memory helps too btw 

[quantum]

Try analyzing the chord structure.  Practice the piece in block chords so you know how the harmony works, then practice with chords in LH and Melody in RH. 

Also look for sequences and suspension chains.

[slow_concert_pianist]

This is horribly hard to play well "at speed". The ammount of botched performances I have listened to isn't funny. I can give no tips on memorization as I rarely do it. For me memorization determines an insular approach to the music and this is not progressive. The musicality of Scriabin is often the hardest to fathom. Many well respected circuit performers struggle with the late sonatas, for instance. The D# minor etude is no different.

[tland]

I played this Etude in College and it became my favorite piece ever. Even though the melody is right hand it is all about left hand technique. It has to be flexible, agile, and quick. Now about the memory. This one can be analyzed all you want, but in the end it is simply about playing the left hand almost on automatic pilot. It just moves as you simply sit back and watch the whole thing. Strange, isn't it? The thing that keeps the memory helpful is really that right hand. That is the easiest to see going. The left hand almost seems that it has to go on its own. Practice hands separate very slowly. Make sure that you memorize the left hand by itself and in very slow motion. That can give you some kind of security. But when it goes fast, you simply have to trust your mechanics that it will play. So play slowly together as you read the score. Do this many, many, many times. Then begin to memorize a few measures at a time. After you have it memorized, play slowly and with both hands. Then start to play each hand separately by memory, of course. Do this hand separate slowly, then at tempo.
That will do it. But this is going to take a lot of work and time. Of course to learn this piece, you do have to be advanced level. This piece can be figured harmonically, but still, when you are moving that left hand all over the place so swiftly, you can't capture all that analysis mentally. The analytical knowledge may stay in the subconscious mind and perhaps that can boost performing it at some level. But it is very difficult to memorize this piece. What a great piece.

[invictious]

Try analyzing the chord structure.  Practice the piece in block chords so you know how the harmony works, then practice with chords in LH and Melody in RH. 

Also look for sequences and suspension chains.

The RH melody should be straightforward, except for the middle voices which require a great amount of finesse.
For the LH, do what quantum said, i.e. to analyse and learn the chord structure.

I am currently on my final leg of learning this piece, i.e. to polish and to render it performance-worthy. I reckon another month of work or so and it should be good to go.