Everything Piano

The Three W’s of Memorizing Music

Who Can Memorize?

Anyone can memorize music if they are taught the proper ways of memorization. If you combine memorization with the initial learning activities of a composition, you can greatly reduce the time needed to learn the entire thing. It just so happens that almost all required factors for memorizing are also required for learning. If you decided to separate memorizing from learning, you would have to go through these two processes twice. This explains why people don’t try to memorize while learning a piece actually struggle with memorization later on.

What Should You Memorize?

Since memorization is the quickest way to learn, your goal should be to memorize every single piece that you play. Memorizing is like a “freebie” in the process of learning a new piece. So, when you sit down to learn a new piece, for example, looking to learn a left-handed accompaniment (bar-by-bar), you need to memorize those bars as well. And since a bar is about 6 to 12 notes usually, memorizing that should be a breeze. Then, you just need to repeat playing that 10, 100, or 1,000 times, depending on the difficulty and your skills. In general, when you are practicing this so many times… it’s hard NOT to memorize it at the same time.

When Should You Memorize?

You should incorporate memorization every time you practice. As I’ve explained, memorizing can save huge amounts of practice time. You won’t need to search for the music each time, so you can jump around between segments as much as you want. You can also concentrate on learning the technique without getting distracted from having to look back at the music each and every time. And of course because you are using repetitious practice methods, this is the best way to commit the piece to memory in a way that no other memorizing method can achieve.

Elise’s Musical Tip For The Day:

Memorizing leads to something called “mental playing.” This is actually they key to absolute pitch, a higher effective IQ, reduced stress and nervousness, composing, and an ability to perform flawlessly. When you incorporate mental playing, you are able to play the entire piece in your mind, away from the piano. Mental playing is essential to become a concert level pianist. This is where all great pianists and composers begin. Almost every accomplished pianist ends up composing something. Memory, absolute pitch, and mental playing are critically important aspects for successful piano composing.