Consider this – we use more than one type of memory in music. Check out the following video Memorizing Music: The Four Memories to learn more.
Memory Type | Definition | Example |
Intellectual | You remember by understanding the structure and theory of the composition. | You think to yourself, “this piece is composed of 2 A sections, then a contrasting B section in relative minor. Then it restates the A section.“ |
Aural | You recall the sound of the music in your head | You imagine the sound of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in your head. |
Motor | Your body remembers how to play the music. | Your hands know where to move – you can almost relax and listen as your body plays the music. |
Visual | You can picture the notes in your head (and see your body & instrument playing the music) | You see the notes of the music as it was written on the page. And/or you can actually see the music being played on your instrument. |
What type(s) of memory do you most utilize?
You can learn about you learning style by considering how you tend to remember music. And you can learn how to better learn music by emphasizing your strengths and improving weaker areas.
# | Idea for Memorization | Why? |
1 | Sing the Melody | Connects the voice to the guitar |
2 | Imagine the Melody | Helps improve the mental, imagined sound of the piece (aka aural memory) |
3 | Listen to Favorite Recordings | Learn from the Greats! |
4 | Learn to Improvise | A potential backup plan (if you forget a section) |
5 | Start from the End (of the piece) | Helps the musician to learn the whole piece |
6 | Play the Song Slowly | Helps learn without relying on muscle memory |
7 | Play Along with a Great Recording | Learn from the greats while practicing! |
8 | Transcribe the Song by Ear | Learning by ear usually helps the memory |
9 | Perform for Anyone that will Listen | Gain Practice Performing to any audience |
10 | Do Practice Performances | Do test runs to see if you know the piece as well as you think |
11 | Record Yourself (Playing by Memory) | Listen to the recording helps you learn what you can improve and what you like |
12 | Sing the Bass Notes | Hear the counterpoint |
13 | Sing All the Lines | The ultimate in solfeggio and recall |
14 | Understand the Harmony & Chords | Gain a higher level picture of the piece |
15 | Connect with the Piece Emotionally | Creates more moving music and anchors the music |
16 | Practice Before Going to Sleep | Improves recall |
17 | Create a Story for the Piece | Associate the music to a story |
18 | Create and Maintain a Positive Approach to Performing | Creates a good atmosphere for learning and creating music |
19 | Use Sheet Music | Having the sheet music can help musicians feel more relaxed |
20 | Compose Your Own Variations | Helps to hear and understanding the music more deeply |
21 | Create Your Own Arrangement | Comparing editions can improve understanding and performance of a piece |
22 | Practice More (in advance) | Learning usually happens best over a longer period of time |
23 | Maintain Good Health | Stay in good health improves memory and performance |
24 | (Daily) Practice Makes Progress! | Daily practice improves progress |
25 | Be Kind to Yourself! | Treat yourself like you would a best friend. Focus on the positive and providing kind, constructive ways for improvements. Enjoy the musical journey! |
26 | Have a Great Day! | Being in a good mood general helps create good music! |
Certain songs will be easier to sing than others. But singing the song will help you with phrasing and breath.
Start with a simpler melody like Romanza or Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. You can sing (in your imagination) it in the original key, down an octave or in another key.
Here’s Glenn Gould singing some melodies …
Aural/Auditory Imagination is a great ways to practice/learn a song or composition.
Listen to to great performances and recording of the composition.
I recently started learning the Adagio cantabile movement of the Ab major Beethoven Piano Sonata (No. 8, Op. 13).
One of the ways that helped me to learn the piece was playing along with Daniel Barenboim. Besides helping me to memorize the piece, I also learn so much about how phrased and interpreted this beautiful piece!
2021 Update – I did this again for Chopin’s Nocturne in Eb major
Truthfully I’ve forgotten the Tarrega arrangement of Beethoven, but I am in the (slow) process of re-remembering it haha.
Learning to improvise in the style will help you musicality and playing.
Cultivating improvisational chops can give the classical guitarist an added sense of security.
Improvisational abilities can help a performer wiggle out of some potential memory-related challenges during a performance
Though good doing this with Bach!
But it can also allow you to get out of tricky potential memory lapse – just improvise your way to the end or to the next section!
Of course, improvisation in other classical musics in much more common in the 21st century. But European classical music has a long tradition of improvisation.
Have you ever noticed how someone can only remember the song by starting from the beginning? I know some songs like that for me. It’s usually because the song is only remember via muscle memory and isn’t internalized in other regards.
Test/practice your memory by playing the last 4 bars, the last 8, etc until you’e played all the way through the song. This will help you develop a deeper understanding of the song.
You can also start from the various logical points within the song/composition, too.
Combining this with the ability to improvise will give the confidence to get your through most memory mishaps! For example, say a section is forgotten – you can just improvise your way to the next section!
Another muscle memory style of playing will become obvious when you play the song very slowly. Besides being great for fluidity and technique, playing the song (from memory) very slowly will help you hear/perceive it in other ways.
Playing along with great versions of a song will undoubtedly help you to refine your own version and interpretation. Many great artists are aware of how other great artists went about doing things – they just choose to do things their own way.
Playing along to the recording will help your memory.
You’ll be forced to play in real time along with someone who is an acknowledged master playing an amazing version of the composition.
Also, you can slow down the recording (on YouTube or Transcribe!, for example) and practice at a slower pace.
Learning a Song by Ear will most certainly improve your musicality and memory. Of course, it may take more time at first but will in the end be big win.
If you’ve forgotten passages of the song, re-learn them by ear instead of from the sheet music.
Getting in the habit of playing music for people will probably be a good way to improve general performance skills.
In other words, do a dress rehearsal.
Besides performing whenever you get the chance, you can set up practice performances. You could perform to an imaginary audience, a cat or dog, or a plant.
Do everything you would in a regular performance, in your home or maybe on the street or in a park.
Record your performance. Don’t worry about sound quality too much.
Another great way to test how well you have internalized the music. You can listen back, too (if you can do so in a positive fashion).
Besides singing the melody, sing the bass notes. Also, you can sing the root movements of the song.
In compositions with multiple voices, try to be able to sing all the parts by memory. This will help you to interpret the song at a higher level.
For example, try singing both lines in
Connecting with the piece on an emotional level will probably help to “remember” the song, too.
One of the best times to retain what you’ve learn may be just before going to sleep (nap or nighttime).
Even just playing the piece once before going to sleep may help!
For example, I remember reading that Yo-Yo Ma’s father (maybe) suggested he always play Bach before going to sleep.
Another great time (for me), is warming up and practicing a little bit right when I wake up.
Besides Aural Imagination, you could create a whole story line for the song. For example, with Romanza, there’s tons of story ideas that would go along with the song.
You can also do all sorts of other imaginations/visualizations:
It’s worth noting that some compositions already have visual components. And of course opera and musicals and music videos do, too.
A great example is the Four Seasons by Vivaldi. Each concerto is meant to evoke the feeling and images of a certain season. And there’s actually a poem that goes with each movement. For example, the sonnet for the 1st movement of Spring (translated from Italian):
Springtime is upon us.
The birds celebrate her return with festive song,
and murmuring streams are
softly caressed by the breezes.Thunderstorms, those heralds of Spring roar,
casting their dark mantle over heaven,Then they die away to silence,
Vivaldi
and the birds take up their charming songs once more.
Here’s a great pop tune with an amazing visual storyline.
Maintaining a positive attitude to one’s performance before, during and after the music may help the music and the enjoyment of the music.
If you’re experience a bit of nervousness, that’s probably fine. But if it’s hampering one’s musical expression, it might be worth learning way to maintain and create a positive vibe around one’s playing.
You may want to try some positive affirmations.
Check out 6 Golden Rule to Overcome Performance Anxiety
While playing from memory is great, it’s not the end of the world to have sheet music (in an inconspicuous location) to aid you in playing the song.
Christopher Parkening, for example, used to do this at certain points in his career.
And, in fact, throughout many periods of classical music, the performers tended to use sheet music.
This is a fun way to learn a song better. You’ll better learn the melody and harmony. Many great composers created compositions. It’s another way to learn to improvise in a certain as well.
For example, take Romanza and/or Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and create your own variations. You can alter the key, major/minor, chords, etc.
My variations on the C major Etude #2 by Kreutzer, though I haven’t really memorized the piece 🙂
Much music on classical guitar finds its home from another instrument.
Tárrega, for example, arranged many beautiful works of music. Like I mentioned before, I love his arrangement of Beethoven’s Adagio cantabile from the 8th Piano Sonata.
I’ve found that creating my own arrangement (or a slight revision of an existing arrangement) – and comparing it to an existing arrangement – helps me to understand the piece at a deeper level.
For example, at one point in the Adagio cantabile, Tárrega skips part of the melody because of the additional challenge added by playing the harmonics.
Comparing the piano score to Tárrega‘s version really created a strong impression in my mind. (Also, playing along with Barenboim helped a lot, too)
I learned that I could add those extra notes of the melody (missing from Tárrega‘s arrangement). Ever since then, that passage is much more strongly present in my mind when playing.
A similar pattern of improved memorization occurred when I created an arrangement for violin and guitar of the Largo movement from Vivaldi’s Winter. I was better able to recall the movement of certain notes, and could understand the voicings better after comparing the original score to different recorded versions.
Good practice can help with memorization. Perhaps it may be a question of dedicating more time and energy to a specific song.
Remember – it’s better to practice a little bit everyday (than to practice a lot only at the least minute)
I’ve found that sometimes memory and playing issues relate more to feeling good and well rested.
I’ll maybe just practice for 5 minutes the day before, but I’ll eat well, be outside, have fun with friends, and have a great day and sleep well – and the music will sound a lot better!
Be kind to yourself – it’s not a race, its a journey!
Just focusing on your music a little bit each day will have great compounding growth over time!
I think a lot of musicians can get caught up negative self-talk.
Please consider treating your music and musical practice with great kindness!
Imagine what you’d say to a dear friend if they confided in you about their musical challenges and dreams – and be as kind to yourself as you would be to them! All the best!
I’ve read about a lot of famous musicians and what they do the day of a concert. They usually just practice a bit in the morning/early afternoon. Then they’ll rest and have fun and come into the concert feeling good.
Of course, they’ve probably put a lot of dedication into preparing for the performance in advance – cramming at the last minute may help but it may not.
Scott Tenant mentions this in his book Pumping Nylon.
I also remember that Oscar Peterson and Herb Ellis (I think), would practice in the morning and then go play golf in the afternoon. Then they’d come back for the show after dinner.
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