Memorizing the whole piece. Then the left hand. Then the right hand. Separately.

[biscuitroxy12]

Hello,
My teacher tells me now that after I've memorized the whole Beethoven Sonata, I have to memorize the left hand. THen the right hand. Separately.

I understand how this would help you. You could perhaps play the piece inside and out, backwards and forwards, one side or the other. I'm just wondering if anybody has a good way to do this. For me, I just remember the left hand off of the right hand.

Anybody have tips/advice ?

[keyboardclass]

You need to understand the harmony.  Look out especially for V-I relationships.  LH memorizing should be easy then.

[stelle]

hi!

i would also memorize a peice from the right hand (leading by melody my teacher calls it) but i found that if he asked me to play from the middle of a song, id go blank and id have to read the score again, this was after i had 'memorized' it...or so i thought....

SO now..like keyboardclass said above, i study the harmony, the progressions etc and then i play the right hand in my HEAD and the left hand on the piano...for me its just a simple to task of memorizing it because if u understand the relationship between what ur playing with the right hand and left, and not just reading and memorizing off the score, it makes life a lot easier!

AND  ive found that i can play the piece with a better interpretation such as....
'oh, its changing from the key of C to G here, i need to emphesize that change...' and of course, things that are more subtle than that

Knowing the left hand independantly from the left also gives you the advantage of being able to fully focus on one hand to perfect it. and thst way you have TWO leading hands instead of one which minimizes the dreaded 'memory black outs' when performing!

practice the left hand slow, so ur NOT memorizing from muscle memory but take note of what keys you are actually pressing, i find playing slow also helps me to think WHAT AM I REALLY playing rather than 'it sounds right so i must be hitting the right notes!'

Oops, didnt mean to write so much...
hope it helps a little neway!

all the best!

Estelle.

[stelle]

OH, one more thing...

it might sound crazy but i play the piano away from the piano too..like on a table or on my knees

and i see in my head what notes im playing, left and right, start to finish...

its THEN i give myself the satisfaction of knowing i have FULLY memorized a piece

[birba]

"play" the r.h. without pressing down the keys as you play the left, until your "ear" learns it.

[lostinidlewonder]

Personally I think it is a waste of time once you have learned a piece to go back over it and learn the hands separate. When you play the hands often act as one system, they rely on each other, tell each other what to do, create the music together.

When you break it apart and do hand separate the muscular memory you are using is disjoint and not complete and the sound as well is incomplete and can encourage you to listen to parts which should be in the background and not in direct sound observation. Of course doing separate hands has its function and should be used, but to use it with an entire piece that you have already learnt two hands? It seems to me a waste of time and you could be crafting the music with two hands and solving issues much faster.

[birba]

You are right, of course.  But one is always looking to avoid those memory lapses, and goes to extremes to do it.
You sound like my teacher, who, when she went to audition at St. Petersburg conservatory, (with Arensky among others on the jury) said "I was not nervous.  I knew my pieces."
Right.  Easier said then done.