Efficient ways to learn sonatas

[estellesb]

Does anyone have any strategies to learn help learn sonatas more efficiently? What are the best ways to go about learning/memorizing longer works?

[bronnestam]

I am not sure what you mean by saying "more efficiently".

From a real expert (professional) on Beethoven sonatas I have got the following:

- it is better to learn more than one sonata at the same time, as they tend to "help each other out"
- identify the different themes and expositions and then you play all versions of the same theme/exposition in a row, so that you easily can recognize their similarities and differences
- memorizing: start by reading the sheet music. Do it a lot, before you even try to sit down at the piano. Then you make a first try: play, as slowly as you need, the first part - for example half of the first page, or any other section you like to start with. You will make a lot of mistakes and you will have to make a lot of checks. But you work for a while until you have it reasonaly well. The next day you will probably have to start it all over, it is like you have forgotten everything. But you have not. After a few days with these frustrating "re-starts" you will begin to notice improvement, and that is how you eventually learn ...


So, these tips are not from me but from someone who is waaaay better than me. As for memorizing, I suck at it myself. Maybe I just don't see the whole point with it, I don't know. But I have tested the advice and it works for me, at least to the extent I really try.

[briansaddleback]

Here is one thing I learned, is to learn the context of the sonata ... history of the composer, intent, meaning, if and what are the different types of sounds to be emanating from it and what phrases are that (e.g. violin sound, flute, etc), the music theory behind it and so forth.
The sonata is the meatiest piece of composition and it would be to one's advantage to know all the context of your sonata while you learn it.

If you don't it is to your disadvantage. Most pieces are not just a 'learning of the notes and see how fast you can play it' sort of thing, but more so the sonata.

[keypeg]

One thing about sonatas is that they are in a particular form.  Your movements can be in one of several musical forms - I think you'll always have sonata allegro form in at least one movement.  The point is that when you have predictable sections that repeat or almost repeat and you can recognize them, it makes learning a whole lot easier.

Teoria has some good tutorials on things like musical form.
https://www.teoria.com/en/tutorials/forms/