Memorising.

[starstruck5]

I love to play without the score - but It is not easy for me to memorise.  I do my analysis wrt Harmony -where the cadences are etc -I try and understand the form and the way the melodies are constructed -I went through a period where I tried to find a shorthand for different kinds of turns or rotations -the way melody changes direction can be a motif in its own right -obviously the linear scales and arpeggios/broken chords are straightforward -

Talking of shorthand -is there any system out there already invented which can bridge the gap between relying on the score and having some kind of memory reference -before the holy day arrives when the piece is reliably in the memory banks.  ?

Any help on this subject appreciated.

[ajspiano]

Do you actively practice playing from memory? for example do you play from the score then attempt to play it by memory, then look at the score again to check then attempt from memory again..

You can work on visual and auditory cues as well.. if you havent read this maybe there'll be something in it for you.

https://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/chapter_1 - section III.6

[faa2010]

During my life playing piano, I've experienced many times about memorizing a piece. These are the factors that help me to do it:

1. Listen the piece.
3. Get the piece by sight-reading and practice.
2. Be VERY, VERY, VERY motivated to learn it.

Motivation has formed an important part when I play piano.  When I listen a piece which I can't get out of my mind and get feelings which are strong and impossible to define, I stubbornly look for the piano sheet, then start to try playing it like I listened it, and with constance and constant motivation, I get it first by sight-reading, then by memory.

I know it's difficult to start with separated hands when one wants to learn a piece faster, but in order to get the right bases, one must start with HS.

[johnmar78]

ok Star, here is my 2 cents.

All my work is done from memeory.
Below is what I used to memeorize my music. I understand, it varies from individual to individual.

1) Pick something that is wthin in your techical ability/level
2) listen several professional players at differnt tempo.slow , fast, medium.
3) study only few bars for 30 minutes by playing it slowly(at your speed). repeat next day...
4) when the right time comes, your brian will tell you that you are almost locked in without using the scores.
5) check the score (few bars that you have studied), and correct the memory lap by practing it on piano. mark the score with pencil(or photo copied ones) where your mistake is.
6) take the score away....

7)next moring, shadow playing in your head and see if you can picture the score note by note.If not ..

Repeat the cycle 1) to untill you are secured. and all done.

 Unfortunately,
harmonic/vertical /structure study on the score is not my way.
I hope this helps...
John