I dunno about you guys but I tend to use my brain! It's even possible to use more unorthadox things like 'phantom/shadow' fingering to give yourself clues when playing passages, but in my expreience: eyes are for studying the piece in the first place and ears are for listening to the sound you're making as you do it. When I was younger I would learn pieces by ear, but soon found that this was detremental to my reading. Disciplined, detailed study of a work is the only way to learn music and end up with a 100% sense of confidence in the result.
as we know, brain itself has little-to-no purpose in music, without our sensory systems. (inner) ear, (inner) eyes and kinesthatic ability are essential in general music making, AND they deserve many chapters onto themselves.
Are you/were you a student of the Kodaly method? I thought the original question was only directed at the methods of memorising works. I am in my second year at music college, studying the Kodaly method as a supplement to my studies, so am hardly proficient in the concept of inner hearing, but it has made an enormous difference in the way that I am playing now. However, I think there is a distinct difference in the purely academic study of notes for memory, and the musical interpretation and techniques of inner hearing/eyes that this leads to, that at my stage in development are aids to studying. The concept of inner hearing/seeing, unfortunately was never taught to me from the beginning, and so it is not an integral part of my psyche, and so it can never possibly be the sole way in which I can study - thus I have to use my brain more. But I dont believe that this is in any way detramental to my playing - it simply means that I have to do things in a slightly different way.
Sorry, I misunderstood...I did not realise your question was geared at playing as well as at lremembering. In which case, I would say that looking at the detail within a score is the best way to learn it, but I always see playing as more a psychological experience than a physical one. It is the way in which we think about our playing that governs the way that we actually play. Afterall, an audience does not simply come to a performance to see what we physically do - they come to to hear what it sounds like. Thus I would perhaps say that I use my eyes and ears equally - I have to because they both govern very different parts of my playing. If this sounds waffly, please understand that I am finding this conversation very interesting because I have never had to think about my playing from this viewpoint. I am interestd to hear where you got the concept of inner hearing/eyes from, as I have only heard it referred to with respect to Kodaly.
I do have a method for Bach, but it's slow and tiresome (works though!): -1. Take the piece and divide it into about 10, roughly even sections that can be your designated starting points (depending on the size of the piece you may have more, but the important thing is that the sections should feel managable in size).2. Practice each section out of context and try to memorise it. It's best to work backwards from the last section, putting the sections together as you go.3. Finally, when you think you have the whole lot learned and put back together, choose starting points at random (Draw cards from a hat or something...be inventive ) and try to run from that point to the end from memory, saving the starting point at the beginning till last. When you can go from every starting point to the ened from memory, you can truly say that you know it, and will most likely never forget it again!!!Enjoy!