Approach to learning new repertoire

[tomp86]

Hi All.

Does anyone have a methodology to share as to how they learn repertoire to memory.  Do you first sightread the piece and work out the correct fingers and they later memorize the sequence of notes using the already calculated fingering. Then repeat it over and over until muscle memory learns it? Can you please let me know strategies that work for you. Thank you. Tom P

[ranjit]

If the piece or sections of it are easy enough to the point where I can sight read them with good fingering and phrasing, I do that a few times.

If not, I read small sections and get most of what I want correct from the get go. This doesn't just include fingering but also several aspects of sound production such as dynamics, voicing and the overall feel of the piece.

If I've learned a considerable amount via sight reading, I then shift gears and take a close look at everything using the second approach. Work on 2-4 bar sections, and eventually connect everything.

I make sure my sound memory for the piece is decently good. I usually can't play the whole thing front to back in my mind on demand, but at least being able to replay sections, or being able to mostly hear what's going on while looking at the score.

Then, there is the theoretical aspect. I'm looking for patterns, and if a piece falls into straightforward patterns, it is memorized very readily. Chords, scales, chord progressions, voicing, and miscellaneous structures all come into play.

If everything goes well, I can probably play the piece from memory already. The next thing is to reinforce this memory. Attempting to play hands separate or learning sections of the piece hands separate; playing sections of the piece with certain transformations such as piano instead of forte, different rhythms, legato instead of staccato, etc. all help reinforce memory.

After all of this, the ultimate test is to play the entire piece in your mind, imagining both of your hands playing it on a keyboard in your head as well as the sound to whatever extent possible. I find that if I can do this, my chances of messing up memory-wise are very slim.

[tomp86]

If the piece or sections of it are easy enough to the point where I can sight read them with good fingering and phrasing, I do that a few times.

If not, I read small sections and get most of what I want correct from the get go. This doesn't just include fingering but also several aspects of sound production such as dynamics, voicing and the overall feel of the piece.

If I've learned a considerable amount via sight reading, I then shift gears and take a close look at everything using the second approach. Work on 2-4 bar sections, and eventually connect everything.

I make sure my sound memory for the piece is decently good. I usually can't play the whole thing front to back in my mind on demand, but at least being able to replay sections, or being able to mostly hear what's going on while looking at the score.

Then, there is the theoretical aspect. I'm looking for patterns, and if a piece falls into straightforward patterns, it is memorized very readily. Chords, scales, chord progressions, voicing, and miscellaneous structures all come into play.

If everything goes well, I can probably play the piece from memory already. The next thing is to reinforce this memory. Attempting to play hands separate or learning sections of the piece hands separate; playing sections of the piece with certain transformations such as piano instead of forte, different rhythms, legato instead of staccato, etc. all help reinforce memory.

After all of this, the ultimate test is to play the entire piece in your mind, imagining both of your hands playing it on a keyboard in your head as well as the sound to whatever extent possible. I find that if I can do this, my chances of messing up memory-wise are very slim.

Wow thanks ranjit. This is much more involved than what I had in mind

After all of this, the ultimate test is to play the entire piece in your mind, imagining both of your hands playing it on a keyboard in your head as well as the sound to whatever extent possible. I find that if I can do this, my chances of messing up memory-wise are very slim.

This is very interesting. I never did that in the past I only tried to rely only on the feeling my hands to remember what I should play next

[roncesvalles]

I generally approach a piece in three steps:

1.  Examination of the score.  This gives me a general idea of the challenges, the harmonic language, the structure, the dynamic peaks and valleys, etc.  After I do this, if a recording is available, I might give it a listen, because only then can I really find details in the music like "oh, she's bringing out the tenor line here, or a little rubato here adds a hint of anticipation to what's about to happen, or a nonlegato touch really lightens things up here" and things like that.  I do these things not to mimic them but to sort of get a deeper sense of the choices I can make, things to aspire to, things to disagree with, but mostly to refine my vision of the piece further.

2. Slow sight reading.  This is really crucial for me to get a sense of how my fingers respond to the piece, to see what spots are tricky, and to try out some initial fingering. 

3. Phrasal or sectional memorization.  This really depends on the difficulty of the piece for me.  If something is not so difficult, like a Mozart andante or one of Scriabin's easier preludes, I might learn by the page, by the section (if it's in something like ABA form), or until the repeat.  If it's more difficult, I usually try to learn by the phrase, which is often about four measures.  I like to do this because it's more musically complete, so it sticks in my memory better because I'm not stopping at some arbitrary point.  For certain pieces this might not work as well (like if the piece is a moto perpetuo style stream of sixteenths).  But even in these I like to learn in chunks of some sort.  Sometimes these chunks are musical, like learning up to a crescendo or decrescendo, or learning up to a point where the figuration changes (up to where the figuration descends rather than ascends or something like that).  But it can also be purely physical, a complete rotation, a moving in or out, a moment in something like an octave or double thirds passage where I can lift my hand a little and release tension, etc.   My main goals when learning a piece are to learn it logically, whether it's in terms of the music and structure, whether it's about the figuration of the music, or whether it's something about my physical playing mechanism, because I feel if you're learning bar to bar or two bars at a time, it often imposes artificial divisions in the piece that aren't really there and can be counterproductive to playing the piece fluently (this said, there are situations in some music where a single bar or two might have a musical or physical significance).

[tomp86]

I generally approach a piece in three steps:

1.  Examination of the score.  This gives me a general idea of the challenges, the harmonic language, the structure, the dynamic peaks and valleys, etc.  After I do this, if a recording is available, I might give it a listen, because only then can I really find details in the music like "oh, she's bringing out the tenor line here, or a little rubato here adds a hint of anticipation to what's about to happen, or a nonlegato touch really lightens things up here" and things like that.  I do these things not to mimic them but to sort of get a deeper sense of the choices I can make, things to aspire to, things to disagree with, but mostly to refine my vision of the piece further.

2. Slow sight reading.  This is really crucial for me to get a sense of how my fingers respond to the piece, to see what spots are tricky, and to try out some initial fingering. 

3. Phrasal or sectional memorization.  This really depends on the difficulty of the piece for me.  If something is not so difficult, like a Mozart andante or one of Scriabin's easier preludes, I might learn by the page, by the section (if it's in something like ABA form), or until the repeat.  If it's more difficult, I usually try to learn by the phrase, which is often about four measures.  I like to do this because it's more musically complete, so it sticks in my memory better because I'm not stopping at some arbitrary point.  For certain pieces this might not work as well (like if the piece is a moto perpetuo style stream of sixteenths).  But even in these I like to learn in chunks of some sort.  Sometimes these chunks are musical, like learning up to a crescendo or decrescendo, or learning up to a point where the figuration changes (up to where the figuration descends rather than ascends or something like that).  But it can also be purely physical, a complete rotation, a moving in or out, a moment in something like an octave or double thirds passage where I can lift my hand a little and release tension, etc.   My main goals when learning a piece are to learn it logically, whether it's in terms of the music and structure, whether it's about the figuration of the music, or whether it's something about my physical playing mechanism, because I feel if you're learning bar to bar or two bars at a time, it often imposes artificial divisions in the piece that aren't really there and can be counterproductive to playing the piece fluently (this said, there are situations in some music where a single bar or two might have a musical or physical significance).

Thank you very much this is helpful.  Im starting to get an understanding of how musicians memorize their works 

[droprenstein]

I like to sightread through the entire piece at full speed, taking note of the passages I have the most trouble with by quickly marking them. After that, I practice those points until they're perfect. This gets the hardest part of the work done in one go. I go through the piece again, finding the new points where I struggle the most. I repeat this process until I'm down to the passages I could sightread. At this point, most of the piece is already memorized due to the repetition, and all I have to do is memorize those passages I didn't touch by playing through it a few times. This method has allowed me to get pretty long pieces done with musical finish in a matter of 2 or 3 weeks. It also keeps me motivated to practice, as the practice starts off at it's most difficult and gets progressively easier as I knock down the more difficult sections. This is the best method for me, but everyone's methods are a bit different.

[tomp86]

I like to sightread through the entire piece at full speed, taking note of the passages I have the most trouble with by quickly marking them. After that, I practice those points until they're perfect. This gets the hardest part of the work done in one go. I go through the piece again, finding the new points where I struggle the most. I repeat this process until I'm down to the passages I could sightread. At this point, most of the piece is already memorized due to the repetition, and all I have to do is memorize those passages I didn't touch by playing through it a few times. This method has allowed me to get pretty long pieces done with musical finish in a matter of 2 or 3 weeks. It also keeps me motivated to practice, as the practice starts off at it's most difficult and gets progressively easier as I knock down the more difficult sections. This is the best method for me, but everyone's methods are a bit different.

Thank you for sharing your approach droprenstein. In order to keep your pieces memorized long term do you need to keep playing them regularly?

[droprenstein]

Thank you for sharing your approach droprenstein. In order to keep your pieces memorized long term do you need to keep playing them regularly?

They usually stick to me for several months. Assuming that I want to keep them memorized, I play through them every few months to keep them in my memory.

[tomp86]

They usually stick to me for several months. Assuming that I want to keep them memorized, I play through them every few months to keep them in my memory.

Wow very impressive.

In the first page of a piece I am trying to memorize, it consists of many bars that are repeated throughout the page. The form of the repeated bars looks like this (note the letters are not chord names)
A B C A B D
A B C A B D
A B E A B F
What method do you use to memorize the order of these motif like patterns? Do you just rely on sound memory or do you commit something like the ABCABD etc type pattern grid/list into cognitive memory?

[droprenstein]

What method do you use to memorize the order of these motif like patterns? Do you just rely on sound memory or do you commit something like the ABCABD etc type pattern grid/list into cognitive memory?

If there's a specific passage that is particularly difficult that also repeats a lot(eg. the augmented version of the CGCDEb motif in the 10/12 revolutionary etude that goes up 2 octaves), I'll focus on that specific motif to make my life easier moving forward.

[tomp86]

If there's a specific passage that is particularly difficult that also repeats a lot(eg. the augmented version of the CGCDEb motif in the 10/12 revolutionary etude that goes up 2 octaves), I'll focus on that specific motif to make my life easier moving forward.

I just listened to that etude and it is insane. I think I did not articulate my question very well. Imagine:
A = Short phrase A
B = Short phrase B
C = Short phrase C
D = Short phrase D
E = Short phrase E
F = Short phrase F

I learned to play all these phrases from memory. The actual composition of the song uses these phrases in the following sequence

A B C A B D
A B C A B D (repeated line)
A B E A B F

I now need to tell my mind to play each memorized phrase in the sequence above.  My question was, what is the most efficient way for my mind to learn the sequence? 

Option 1. Just memorize A = Phrase A, B = Phrase B, C = Phrase C and on, and then memorize the sequence I wrote above A B C A B D, and so on

Option 2. Think of A B C A B D as 1 whole phrase and practice it so it feels like whole phrase. Then I just need to repeat the 1 phrase and I finish the next line of the sequence. Then think of A B E A B F as another whole phrase and practice it and think of it as the 3rd phrase of the piece.

I have no other option ideas in my head.  Any advice?

[ranjit]

I would largely think of it in the first way: have A, B, ... F memorized separately, and then combine as needed. The less things you need to remember, the better, generally.

[tomp86]

I would largely think of it in the first way: have A, B, ... F memorized separately, and then combine as needed. The less things you need to remember, the better, generally.

Thanks ranjit. That definitely feels more efficent

[lelle]

I posted a comment in another thread a while ago giving a brief overview of some of the memorization approaches available, reposting it here:

I'm a pretty good memorizer. In my experience, good memorization is based on a wide variety of subskills that you rely on, so that if one aspect of memorization fails, you can fall back on the other ones.

Here are some of the different "memories" you can learn to develop:

* Muscle memory - the most basic and unreliable one IMO. Comes with repeating your piece over and over until playing the notes is automatic.

* Aural memory - remembering how the piece goes, helping you know or at least make an educated guess on what key to press based on what sounds are supposed to come next. Improves as your ear training improves. Easier if you have perfect pitch.

* Visual memory - a big one for me. Involves remembering how it looks when my hands are playing the right chords or passages. You kind of look at the keyboard and know where and how to place your hands next.

* Sheet music memory - remembering how the score looks so that you can recall the score, read and play it from your mind, so to speak.

* Music theory memory - this one is huge and can get quite advanced. Even if you just start getting into the basics it can help you a lot. Involves a number of subskills such as
** Basic chords and scales - remembering everything you plays in terms of what basic chords and scales are used, and any deviations therefrom. Helps you remember big chunks of music because a bar suddenly becomes "A c major scale in sixteenths for three beats" rather than 12 individual keys presses to remember, or "an A flat major arpeggio with a B natural thrown in along the way".
** Harmonic functions and common chord progressions - helps you remember longer sequences or make educated guesses on what to play next because you know all the common patterns and have identified which one is being used at a given moment. So even if you have forgotten the exact notes, if you know that "here comes the dominant followed by the tonic in A flat major" you can play something that's reasonable and at least continue playing without interruption if you forget the exact notes. And knowing that "this is this common chord progression realized in this particular way" helps a lot with remembering a passage because you have a logical structure to connect what you are doing to. Everything that helps me understand something as a part of a larger pattern helps me remember it.
** Voice leading - again helps you understand and make educated guesses on why particular notes were chosen by the composer to come next in many cases.