Memorization

[cadenza14224]

I've been thinking lately about memorizing all the pieces that I've thus far been able to sight read, but it has been hell trying to do so. I personally have struggled to keep more than 4+ pieces memorized at one time.

The pieces I DO have memorized are typically very fast, and highly dependent on muscle memory, rather than visually knowing what keys to press for every measure. I know a few great pieces that are slow in tempo and harmonically complex (ex. Rachmaninoff preludes Op 23. no 4 & no.6) that I am having a great amount of difficulty storing in my head. It's like the music doesn't exist if the sheets aren't in front of me lol.

For those of you who achieve memorization rather efficiently, how do you go about doing so? Especially when a piece is very contemplative and and slow in nature, and pure muscle memory doesn't just kick in? Any advice will do

[quantum]

My advice is to never rely completely on muscle memory.  Although muscle memory very palpable and direct to a pianist, one needs to reinforce it with other forms of memory: aural memory, visual memory, tactile memory, and cognitive memory. 

Think about this statement: you cannot memorize something you do not know.  To elaborate, in order to access these types of memory you need to make a conscious effort to observe and collect information relative to that form of memory.  If you haven't done that data collection in the first place, there is nothing to store in memory. 

For harmonically complex slow music, observe the shapes of the chords on the keyboard.  Do this with the score in front of you.  Look down at the keys every so often and observe what is happening.  You need to make these observations in order to store data on visual details.  Run through the piece numerous times with the goal that with every repetition you will direct your visual attention more to the keys than to the score.  Eventually you should be able to get through 100% of the piece only looking at your hands. 

For tactile memory, make note of how a chord feels in the hand, especially complex chord structures.  Try to replicate chords in other octaves of the keyboard. 

For harmonically rich music, it is also helpful to somewhat understand what the harmony is doing.  Think of the basic V - I cadences and sequences you learned in harmony.  These things still exist in more complex tonal structures, but think more in terms of relatively dissonant chord resolves to relatively consonant chord.  Also observe instances of counterpoint and thematic development. 

[49410enrique]

My advice is to never rely completely on muscle memory.  Although muscle memory very palpable and direct to a pianist, one needs to reinforce it with other forms of memory: aural memory, visual memory, tactile memory, and cognitive memory. 

Think about this statement: you cannot memorize something you do not know.  To elaborate, in order to access these types of memory you need to make a conscious effort to observe and collect information relative to that form of memory.  If you haven't done that data collection in the first place, there is nothing to store in memory. 

For harmonically complex slow music, observe the shapes of the chords on the keyboard.  Do this with the score in front of you.  Look down at the keys every so often and observe what is happening.  You need to make these observations in order to store data on visual details.  Run through the piece numerous times with the goal that with every repetition you will direct your visual attention more to the keys than to the score.  Eventually you should be able to get through 100% of the piece only looking at your hands. 

For tactile memory, make note of how a chord feels in the hand, especially complex chord structures.  Try to replicate chords in other octaves of the keyboard. 

For harmonically rich music, it is also helpful to somewhat understand what the harmony is doing.  Think of the basic V - I cadences and sequences you learned in harmony.  These things still exist in more complex tonal structures, but think more in terms of relatively dissonant chord resolves to relatively consonant chord.  Also observe instances of counterpoint and thematic development. 

+1

muscle memory will almost always fail you in high pressure performance situations. you should have aural sense of the piece and not juse the 'put together' work, you should be able to  hear in your head individual lines 'isolated' away from the rest of whatever is going on. also hands separate memorization is key too. you should be able to work to play the piece from start to end with only a single hand and all the while 'hearing' the other hand in your head. my teacher recently assinged to me (and it has been adifficult assignment) to be able to sing a long the line that I'm not playing not just 'hear' it.   after than you should try to play with both and in spots throughout, drop one hand, keep going with the other, add the other hand back in, then drop the other, etc etc.  you basically need to have such a detailed understanding of the score, form, harmony, counterpoint, etc. that you 'can't' play it incorrectly. this involves everything mentioned above.

also, letting your brain 'dwell' on your pieces when you are not practicing etiher is very important, at least for me it helps a bunch, i make sure daily, sometiimes multiple times per day, i listen to recordings of my pieces when i'm away from the piano both as 'background' while i do something else and actively, where i carefully listen to what is going on and trying to visualize the score and my hands as if i were playing.  also sitting and listenign wtih score in hand is good too. again i do this daily for months. by the time i need to play a piece by memory it is so secure (usually, if i have skipped some of this or just needed more time  maybe not so much) that even if i have a small bauble, it doesn't phase me, and even if a critical but unlikely concentration disaster occured, i can pick up and simply move /skip forward or back (rarely is this a good idea, usually try to start where you dropped it or just after it). and finish it out.

[the_technicalman]

Don't memorize pieces by playing them. You must play the works of course, to solidify details and certain uncertainties like hand positions, and to distinguish the sound variation that you wish to hear between pitches and hands. But once you have the work firmly under your fingertips in terms of general perfection, you should make no effort to 'memorize it' by playing it through. Instead take the score away and work at it mentally, reading and understanding the details of the score.

Memory should be natural, and when you finally do play by memory, you shouldn't make a single mistake. Unless you want to play pieces poorly, to play pieces well means to practice them so hard that memory does not become an issue anymore.

However once you have the work solidified, I find I never need to revisit that piece much again - it's always there whenever you want to play it. (Aside from a little polishing and rereading) This is the way to build a large, strong repertoire.

[rmbarbosa]

I use this method:
1 - First, I read carefully the sheet music, trying to understand it structure and memorise it until I can write the music.
2 - I listen the piece many times, played by a lot of good pianists, until I can sing it in my mind
3 - I play the most dificult bar or phrase X times (when on can play the most dificult bar or phrase, all the others become quite easy)
4 - After all this, I begin playing the first bar X times, then the 2º bar X times, then the 1º and 2º bars X times... This is the adictive method of learn. And each time I play a bar (or phrase), I sing it using the name of the keys.
With this method, we never forgett, even many months later. And, during a recital, we do know, at each instant, what we are going to play many bars after.
5 - Very important: to sleep well, after our daily practice.

[dora96]

I want to know how to write the entire score down like Beethoven sonata, complicated Chopin Nocturne. It will take forever and such a time consuming.  How to maintenance the memory. Once I went to holiday for a month without practicing the music, when I came home, memory got very shaky. I feel very frustrating how can all the great pianist remember such an amazing and complicated scores, concerto etc. How do they get their brain and store them eternally.

[clavile]

This thread is perfect! I have a hard time memorizing pieces. It takes me a LONG time to memorize them.

Yay! All this information at my fingertips!

[brassbpiano]

You should never rely on just finger memory, think about what dynamics and feeling you want to canvey to your audience. I had to memeorize the Grande Sonate Pathetique, but its just a mess if there are no dynamics.

as for memory, start slowly, working a line, maybe even a measure at a time, and once you have worked this line / measure into your hands, (this could take anywhere from 2 minutes to 2 hours) work on the next one, then put them together, start in different places, etc... when you have a section you are satysfied with slowly speed it up. thats how I go about it at least.

[richard black]

I find it useful to memorise first, before bothering to perfect accuracy and articulation and stuff. But YMMV.