Memorizing Music

 

Every now and then one of my older students asks me whether memorizing music is important. Younger students often ask this question because they’re afraid I’ll make them memorize their pieces, and some of them aren’t very good at it. However, when the question is from an adult, they’re asking more than a simple “Do I have to memorize this?” The question is about the value of memorization.

Do I think it’s worthwhile to memorize music? Absolutely. First, it’s a good exercise for your brain. We don’t need to memorize many things these days. So much of what we need to know can be looked up easily – we can even ask our phones or smart speakers – that the art of memorization is no longer valued as it used to be. But the ability is valuable. Thinking in a different way and challenging your brain keeps it alert and engaged, which makes it more efficient at other mental tasks. Plus, recent studies show that keeping the brain active in different ways can help our mental faculties as we age.

More important, though, from a musical perspective, is the fact that we can never be fully engaged in the music if we are looking at dots on a page. Just as an actor cannot get fully into character if he’s still reading the lines from the script, we cannot fully get into the character of the music if we are reading from the page. When reading music, there is more of a tendency to keep a stricter rhythm, because the measures and the beats are right in front of us, confining us to a steady one, two, three, etc. Getting away from the page helps us to let the music breathe naturally, just as an actor might pause in the dialogue for emphasis or emotional effect, even if it’s not indicated in the script. We do the same thing in music, but not as often if the page is in front of us. Playing all the correct notes in the right rhythm is only the beginning of playing a piece well. Playing from memory allows us to freely interpret the emotional content of the music. That’s why soloists for a concerto play without the music. Unfortunately, memorization is difficult for some people. I have some suggestions that I hope will help:

§  HEARING

What the piece sounds like is the first thing you notice. The more times you hear a piece, the more you reinforce your memory of what it should sound like, or what you want it to sound like. Hearing engages the memory in a different way than the other types of learning I have listed below, as remembering what something sounds like is not a conscious process; it’s automatic. However, we can improve our listening skills with practice.

§  SEEING

We also remember music by sight. As we read the music, we see the contour of the melody on the page, and the relationship of the notes to each other. Not only does it help us to remember how the music unfolds; it gives us a picture of it that can stick in our minds. This includes having a sense of “where you are on the page.” If you have a spatial sense of where you are on the page, it helps you to know where you are in the piece of music – how much further you have to go. Additionally, there is the visual element of what our hands look like when we play the piece. Many teachers tell their students not to look at their hands when they play, but I maintain that it’s part of the memorization process. You don’t want to be playing something from memory and look down and your hands and think, “What are they doing? I’ve never seen them do that before!” Seeing the patterns and movements your hands make helps you to remember what you’re supposed to play. (As an aside, there are many good reasons for students to not look at their hands, and times when it is important to be able to play without looking at your hands, but I will address those in the next blog.)

§  ANALYSIS

Analyzing the music also helps with memorization. Most of us remember what key a piece is in, and how many beats in a measure; those things are obvious. But analyzing other things about the music will help you to remember it better. For example, most music has phrases of equal length. If you have just played a 4-bar phrase, chances are you’re going to do the same thing again. Knowing where you are in your phrases can serve as a place-marker, and help keep you from getting lost. In addition, many pieces of music have different sections. Know how long the sections are and whether they repeat. Also, if you analyze the chord progressions, you can see how the piece unfolds within the key. An added bonus to this is that even if you can’t remember exactly what notes you’re supposed to play, if you know that you’re supposed to be playing a D chord, for example, you’ll know which notes will make the harmony sound correct, even if you don’t play them in the right place.

§  REPETITION

Repetition is valuable because it reinforces the elements of hearing, seeing, and analyzing. Plus, the more times you play something, the more you will develop your muscle memory of the piece. Muscle memory alone is not sufficient for complete memorization, but it’s certainly part of the equation. I have found sometimes that even if I am distracted briefly while performing a piece, my fingers are on “autopilot” and keep playing accurately.

• CHANGING SPEED

This may not seem like it would make much difference, but playing a piece more slowly and more quickly that you would perform it forces you to feel, hear and see it in different ways. Playing more slowly allows you to think more about each note, and the techniques listed above. Playing faster forces you to remember what you’re supposed to do next more quickly. Then when you slow down, it seems easier.

 

            While each of these techniques alone generally isn’t sufficient, the combination of them can help most people feel fairly confident in memorizing a piece. The beauty of memorizing a piece is that once you have done it, the music can fully become part of you, and will always be there for you to get lost in. Perhaps that is why we call it “playing by heart.”

 

The Taboo against Listening to the Music You are Practicing

There is a taboo among some classical piano teachers about letting their students listen to a recording of a piece they’re working on. Some forbid their students to listen. There are some good reasons for this:

– If students hear the music before reading it on the page, they will may on their ears instead of reading the notation carefully. This can result in missed instructions marked on the printed page; dynamics, fingering, etc., and the rendition may not be accurate.

– It slows their progress in learning how to read music well, as they are not reading, but simply trying to repeat what they heard.

– Students tend to play the piece up to tempo from the start because they know “how it goes,” even though their fingers haven’t learned to play it accurately. This results in stumbling, and it is often difficult for them to slow down and correct mistakes.

– For the more intermediate and advanced students, the goal is to have them develop their own interpretation of the music and their own style, rather than copying what they hear.

All of these reasons are perfectly valid. However, many teachers take it to extremes, refusing to play the pieces for their students, or forbidding them to listen to any recordings at all. I question that this is the right approach, because it fails to take other factors into consideration. Music is an aural art. No one looks at musical scores and decides they want to learn how to play. We are drawn to play music because we hear and enjoy it, and want to emulate the performers we admire.

I believe there are times when the student must hear the music, because sometimes there are things that cannot be conveyed by notation alone: subtleties of style, choices of phrasing, certain types of attack and release, nuances of mood.

Of course, there is plenty of simple music that is always learned by ear. No one learns “Happy Birthday” from sheet music. The many folk songs passed down through the ages are usually learned by ear, as well as lots of popular music. I am focusing instead on music that is more technically complicated, and relies more heavily on the printed music for direction. This is very true of classical music, but also other styles as well.

Whether or not a piece needs to be heard can vary from one to the next, as well as from student to student, depending on each one’s skill and experience. To make a blanket statement and apply it to all pieces and all students is simply not appropriate, and in my experience does not yield the best results.

A perfect example of this is a solo piano piece by Sergei Rachmaninoff called “Etude Tableau in E Flat Minor.” (Op. 39 #5) It is a rhythmically and technically challenging piece, which is typical of Rachmaninoff. When I originally read the sheet music and tried to play it, I couldn’t figure out, as we say, “how it goes.” I was following the instructions and playing all the notes and timing correctly, but the music wasn’t making sense. And I am a very good reader. Then I listened to a recording of it by Evgeny Kissin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0uEiNJ17iE, a world-class pianist. Listening revealed to me how the piece was supposed to unfold. However, I was also fully conscious of the fact that if I had heard the recording without seeing the printed music, I still wouldn’t have known how to play it. It was so complicated I needed both the written music and the listening experience.

The last reason I listed for piano teachers’ “don’t listen” rule is that one of the hallmarks of becoming a good classical pianist, or instrumentalist or vocalist, is to develop your own style. Your teacher doesn’t want you to precisely re-create someone else’s way of playing something; she wants you to make it your own. Of course, recreating a stunning performance is in itself a feat of some talent, and I think we should acknowledge that accomplishment. What I’m speaking of, though, are very high-end ideals for the serious classical performer. These ideals are not always appropriate for the average piano student, but many piano teachers try to make all of their students learn this way.

I believe I have created a well-balanced approach: If I am learning a printed piece I have not ever heard before, I spend some time with the sheet music without listening to anyone else’s rendition. This way I’ll pay careful attention to all the notational marks: duration of notes, when to get loud and soft, when to pedal, when to connect notes to make a smooth melodic line, etc. All of these things are in the notation, and are easily overlooked when my ear is guiding me.

Once I feel I have technically mastered the piece, it is then time to make it come alive, to add the feeling and interpretation. Sometimes that comes easily and naturally, but if I feel I have somehow been unable to find the full meaning of a piece, then I listen to not just one, but perhaps four or five different versions played by different people. I usually listen on YouTube or other video channels. (Although I do still have some vinyl and CDs!) I mostly listen to recordings by professional players, as their playing is more consistently accurate, but also some non-professionals, who often provide fresh insights. The professional versions are often wildly different, as each player brings his or her own unique vision to the performance. I can then pick and choose what aspects of each rendition I like and dislike. One performer brings out a nuance of melody I didn’t notice on my own; another may pedal too much. It helps to illuminate things I might have missed, and clarify choices I have already made. Another advantage to listening is that I am not distracted by my own process of playing the notes, and am free to follow the way the piece unfolds, develops and concludes.

As a teacher, this is also the process I use for my students. I have them play a piece without listening initially, so they will pay attention to the details on the printed page. (Hopefully!) Once they have done that, if they want or need to hear it, I send them links to videos for clarification and comparison.

To me, this is the full process of learning a piece of music. It addresses both sides of the coin: reading and hearing – visual and aural – which are equally important. This is true for both the professional and the casual student. It is important to take the time to read and execute all the instructions, as well as play all the notes accurately; it’s also vital to understand how the piece should unfold, and convey the emotion behind the music. Because after all, isn’t that why we listen to music – because of the way it makes us feel?