Memorizing pieces while away from the keyboard

[ksm_13]

Hi - first post on the forum.

I'm an undergraduate music student spending the year studying abroad & with somewhat limited access to a piano; however, I have a small concert coming up in late January and I need to memorize four pieces.

I can already play all of these pieces fluently from the sheet music. But because I'm not able to practice every day, I was hoping to learn some techniques to memorize them while away from the piano.

Are there any tips for memorizing music while not at the keyboard?

[hmpiano]

If you have the fingering down then visualize playing them through.  See both hands in your mind's eye and don't hesitate or get distracted.   

[danhuyle]

Memorize the pieces in the order you're going to present them in. What hmpiano said

[andreslr6]

You can start by grabbing the sheet and analyzing the pieces, write down every obvious harmonies you see, any tonal regions, they're all tonal music. Harmony will give you structure too, learn the structure, the sonata is easy because it's like a "standard" (though not rigid) form. Now analyze the themes, the subjects, the counter-subjects, what are they doing there? what is X note doing here? where did it came from? what does it do? what would it be if instead of X the composer would have written Y? etc,. Make yourself all of those questions and you'll start not just learning the piece, you'll know it like you know a person, like knowing what disease are the symptoms expressing, not that music is a disease .

Compare, take for example the sonata, first movement, the first theme or group of themes will be on the tonic Fminor, the second theme or second thematic group will either be on the relative Ab Major, or Dominant C major, or in some key related to F minor. You'll know when the exposition ends because the harmony is left open on the dominant key, or because the piece goes to some other more distant tonal region, or more obviously because you'll see a repetition bar. The recapitulation is where the problems presented on the exposition and developed on the development are solved, also, you'll notice that everything presented on the exposition that was on some other key, like for example the second theme or second thematic group, will be now on F minor, or major, depending. Etc.

Most probably you'll know this already as well as many here, but my point is to make this conscious, they teach you this on harmony, musical analysis, counterpoint, etc, not just so you get a degree and finish school, but for you to apply it on the music you're learning and know them. Apply.

At least write down each harmony you see .

PS Glenn Gould used to memorize new pieces by just reading the sheet music away from the piano, so that when he first played them on the keyboard they were already memorized, this of course after years of practicing and experience and spending his youth practicing 10 hours at the piano every day.

[gethsemane]

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Hope this helps!!

[j_menz]

Hope this helps!!

The quote from Horowitz is in fact a misquote and used in the wrong context. What he actually said was "You have to will it", and the context was in relation to sound production.

Otherwise, no comment as this really isn't my area.