Memorization on the Piano

Thursday, May 24, 2018 by Bonnie Jack | Piano Teaching

Some lucky students seem to memorize pieces very quickly and naturally, while others struggle to memorize. And yet, both types of students often undertake the memorizing process haphazardly, usually by playing the piece a bunch of times and hoping it will stick. Because this method does reinforce both muscle memory and aural memory, it is sometimes deceitfully successful. However, it often fails under pressure. The best way to help students create solid, reliable memory is to make them aware of the different types of memory, and teach them how to consciously create good memory patterns.

“Strong memory skills do not result from magic, wishful thinking, great intellect, or good luck. They can be developed like any other aspect of playing.”

~Dr. Virginia Houser, KSU

Muscle Memory

This is the kind of memory we develop by drilling a passage over and over, until our fingers know the "feel" of it. It is created by pure repetition, until the action becomes automatic. It is governed by the cerebellum and once acquired, requires very little conscious attention to reproduce the action.

To create solid muscle memory, students must play the same notes with the same fingerings each time they repeat the passage being practiced. If the notes or fingerings are different each time, the muscle memory will be compromised. If the notes or fingerings are wrong, but still the same each time, they will be memorized just as effectively as if they were correct. Then it may take up to ten times as many correct repetitions as there were wrong repetitions in order to overwrite the wrong muscle memory. It is important to remember that we begin developing muscle memory as soon as we begin practicing the piece, long before we take the music away; therefore, correct patterning of notes, rhythms, and articulations must be in place from the beginning.

When developing muscle memory, it is very helpful to play the notes with a solid tone, pressing deep into the key with strong, curved fingers. The metronome can also be a very useful tool, when set at a tempo that allows the student to play perfectly every single time, eliminating stumbles that hinder muscle memory.

Muscle memory is an essential part of being able to play a piece fluently. Without it, we would never be able to play a Chopin Etude up to tempo, or add artistic details to a Brahms Intermezzo, because our fingers would not be accustomed to the feel of the notes. However, some students will try to rely almost entirely on muscle memory, which by itself may fail them in a performance. This is partly because the movement feels different through nervous/shaky fingers, but also because if they haven’t properly trained their performance mindset, they may give too much conscious attention to their movements, which can actually disrupt the flow of muscle memory, unless sufficient cognitive memory is also in place.

Aural Memory

This is the memory of how a piece sounds. Like muscle memory, it is developed through repetition. Often we are unaware of how heavily we rely on aural memory, but it becomes obvious when trying to play a piece on an electric keyboard that is turned off. Without the sound of the music to guide us, it is easy to lose track of where we are in the piece.

To create solid aural memory, students must consistently repeat accurate notes and rhythms as they drill. Again, like muscle memory, aural memory starts developing from the beginning of learning, and repeated wrong notes and rhythms will be memorized just as solidly as right ones. Another way to develop aural memory is by listening to a recording of the piece. This does not necessarily have to be attentive listening; aural memory will be developed to an extent simply by letting the recording play multiple times in the background while doing other activities. Students can listen while they get ready for school or do homework. When they come to the piano to practice the piece, they will recall the sound of the piece as they are learning it. A third way to develop aural memory is to sing or hum the piece, initially while looking at the score, and eventually away from the score.

Aural memory is particularly useful when memorizing rhythms and dynamics, and it is important to incorporate these details into the piece as early in the learning as possible, so that the aural memory will be correct. As students gain competency in their ear training, they will be able to take more conscious advantage of their aural memory by also using it to intuitively remember melodic intervals and chords.

Visual/Photographic Memory

This type of memory involves both remembering the look of the notes on the page of music (photographic memory), and memorizing the look of the keys and positioning of the hands on the piano. Some visually oriented students will use this quite naturally, while others can be encouraged to develop the skill of visualizing each passage on the page as they are memorizing it.

Cognitive/Analytical Memory

This refers to memory that is part of the conscious thought processes, meaning we can recall things about the music without putting our hands on the keyboard, as if we were going to take a written test about the piece. This type of memory is the hardest to develop, but the best way to be sure of secure memory during a performance.

Cognitive memory is developed by analyzing the music, by observing harmonic and melodic patterns, and by using words to describe what is happening in the music. It involves making connections and finding ways to file away musical details in our brains for later recall. It is almost as if the student is tying a string to each memorized detail, or hanging it on a hook that will allow them to grab it when they need it. Many students resist this kind of memory "work," but after memorizing a passage together with you in the lesson, they will often admit how good it feels to really know the passage, instead of just hoping they will make it through based on their muscle memory.

Some useful tools for developing strong cognitive memory:

1. Analyze the music. Identify chords and scales. Find patterns. Analyze the form. Obviously, the better a student understands music theory, the more useful this analysis will be in developing cognitive memory. However, even beginning students can find patterns in sequences of black and white keys, intervals, and directions (whether notes move up or down). As they begin to use words to describe the music, they will be able to file away these details in their memory.
2. Memorize in sections. Start with small sections and then combine sections as you constantly review. Overlap sections so that memory flows from one section to the next. Try playing each section once with the music and then two times without the music.
3. Don’t let the student be too quick to glance up at the music when he can’t remember. Obviously it is important to check that the memory is correct, but if a student always allows himself to look at the music whenever he feels insecure, he will never exercise his memory muscle and will never be secure in his cognitive memory.
4. Memorize hands separately. Playing each hand alone deprives the student of part of his muscle memory, and requires him to think more consciously about the chords and patterns in the music. How many times have you had a student stumble on memory and say, "I just can't remember the left hand here." Cognitive memory work on the left hand alone will often completely solve many memory problems. Continue to have students review the memory of each hand alone as they approach a performance.
5. Put hands together carefully. Once the music is memorized hands alone, putting it together requires very careful, slow, deliberate thinking. The brain literally has to take the two lines and weave them together, through a process of thinking of one hand and then the other, and then the one, and then the other, etc. until it is clear how they fit together. If the student tries to skip this careful thinking and just hope the two hands will each “do their thing,” then the hands-separate memory was a waste of time.
6. Memorize from back to front. If the last section of a piece is the first to be memorized, the student will find that as they play through the piece, the upcoming section will always feel even more secure than the current section. Contrast that with the student who memorizes the beginning of the piece first, and then feels less and less secure as they play to the end.
7. Begin cognitive memorizing earlier in the learning process. Especially as students become more advanced, it may be appropriate to have them memorize from the very early stages of learning a piece. This avoids wasting time by learning a piece and then basically having to learn it again while memorizing. It also means that muscle memory develops alongside cognitive memory, so the student is less likely to “cheat” their cognitive memory by relying too heavily on their muscle memory.
8. Do plenty of review. After memorizing a small section, have the student take a break to work on something else, but come back to the newly memorized section after a few minutes to review it. They should do this a few times during the practice session. If possible, have them review it one more time before going to bed that night. And they should always come back to it the next day, at which point they may need to review each hand alone to remind themselves of their memory “hooks.” It may take a few days of good review before a section becomes completely secure.
9. Allow enough time. Strong memory results from memorizing small amounts over an extended period of time. Even if good memory techniques are used, cramming a large amount of material into memory in a short amount of time will result in poor retention.
10. Drill similar sections back to back. When one section resembles another, but is in a different key, or ends in a different way, or just has a few different notes or rhythms, these can become memory traps. The best way to solve these traps is to analyze exactly what the differences are, and then drill each section while watching for those specific differences. Drill one section until it is completely secure, then move to the similar section and drill it until it is secure. Go back to the first section and drill it again, understanding that there will need to be some review. Continue to go back and forth between the sections until you can alternate between them with ease and play each perfectly, with a clear understanding of which details are different.
11. Use pickup points. These are places in the piece where a student can just "pickup" and play from memory. Having several of these in a piece requires the student to think a little bit harder about the form of the piece, the chords that begin each section, and other patterns that will help their memory. It also gives them a safety net to fall back on in case their muscle memory fails them during a performance. Test your students' ability to start at any of their pickup points (not necessarily in order) during the week or two before a recital. The interesting paradox is that when a student has prepared sufficient pickup points, they will rarely need them. Having the assurance that they can make it all the way through the piece in case of a memory slip usually gives them the confidence they need to not over-think their performance, so their muscle memory can work unhindered by too much attention. Two obvious pickup points need to be the first notes and the final notes of the piece. Have the student memorize these two places so thoroughly that they can tell you the notes without touching the piano.
12. Do mental practice. Have the student try playing on a tabletop, on an electric keyboard with the sound turned off, or with their eyes closed. Also have the student play through the piece mentally—away from the keyboard—remembering notes and chords by name, and visualizing the page of music as they audiate (mentally “hear” the music). This kind of mental or “shadow” practicing can also be done just before falling asleep at night.
13. Play from memory slowly. Use the metronome to slow the piece down to half tempo. This will disrupt muscle memory to some extent, will not allow stops, and will be extremely useful in finding memory problems. If the student can play perfectly from memory at half tempo, you can be certain their memory is quite secure.

Long-term Memory Encoding

The process of memorizing is just that—a process. It is not going to happen in an instant, or even overnight. Muscle memory, aural memory, and visual memory happen over time and through thousands of repetitions. Cognitive memory develops over a period of days and weeks as the brain begins with short-term encoding and then moves the information to long-term storage through constant review. After an early-stage memory practice session, the student will likely find that the memory fades by the next day. Having the student review each day’s memory work just before going to bed can minimize this problem. But even so, the student will need to cognitively review/re-memorize material each day for a few days before it sticks. Warn your students of this, and assure them that this is just part of the process, so that they don’t get frustrated and give up. Also reassure them that, just like any skill, they will get better at memorizing as they do it more.

Conclusion

Most students will have a natural strength in one or two areas of memory. By all means, you should allow students to use their strengths to their advantage, but don’t neglect to work on all types of memory in order to give each student the best possible chance at a strong performance.

And here is a fantastic Tedx Talk that covers this same topic!