Learning, Memorizing, and Mental Play

There is no faster way of memorizing than to memorize when you are first
learning a piece and, for a difficult piece, there is no faster way of learning
than memorizing it. Start memorizing by learning how the music should
sound: melody, rhythm, etc. Then use the sheet music to find and memorize
each key on the piano for each note on the sheet music; this is called
keyboard memory you memorize how you play this piece on the piano,
complete with the fingering, hand motions, etc. Some pianists use
photographic memory, in which they photographically memorize the sheet
music. If one were to take a sheet of music and just try to memorize it note
for note, this task would be impossibly difficult for practically every pianist.
However, once you know the music (melody, etc.), it becomes quite easy for
almost everyone! This is explained in section III.6, where you will find more
detailed discussions on how to memorize. I prefer keyboard memory to
photographic memory because it helps you to find the notes on the piano
without having to "read" the music in your head. Memorize each section that
you are practicing for technique while you are repeating them so many times,
in small segments, HS. The procedures for memorizing are basically the same
as those for technique acquisition. For example, memorization should be
started HS, difficult sections first, etc. If you memorize later, you will have to
repeat the same procedure again. It might appear that going through the
same procedure a second time would be simpler. It is not. Memorizing is a
complex task (even after you can play the piece well); therefore, students
who try to memorize after learning a piece will either give up or never
memorize it completely. This is understandable; the effort required to
memorize can quickly reach the point of diminishing returns if you can
already play the piece.

Two important items to memorize are the time signature (see section III.1.2)
and key signature (see section III.5.4). The time signature is simple to
understand and will help you to play with the correct rhythm. The key
signature (how many sharps or flats) is more complex because it does not tell
you the precise key (scale) it is in (C-major, etc.). If you know that the
composition is in a major or minor scale, the key signature tells you the key;
for example if the key signature has no sharps or flats (as in Fur Elise), it is in
either C major or A minor (see section III.5.4). Most students know the major
scales; you will need to know more theory to figure out the minor keys;
therefore, only those with enough theory knowledge should memorize the
key. If you are not sure, just memorize the key signature. This key designation
is the basic tonality of the music around which the composer uses chord

progressions to change keys. Most compositions start and end with the base
tonality and the chords generally progress along the circle of fifths (see Ch.
Two, 2.2). So far, we know that Fur Elise is either in C major or A minor. Since
it is somewhat melancholy, we suspect a minor. The first 2 bars are like a
fanfare that introduces the first theme, so the main body of the theme starts
on bar 3, which is A, the tonic of A minor! Moreover, the final chord is also on
the tonic of A minor. So we are almost certain that it is in A minor. The only
accidental in A minor is G# (see section 1.III.5.4), which we find in bar 4;
therefore we conclude that it is in A minor. When you understand these
details, you can really memorize well.

Let's revisit the time signature, which is 3/8; three beats per measure (bar),
an eighth per beat. Thus it is in the format of a waltz but musically, it should
not be played like a dance but much more smoothly because it is melancholy
and hauntingly romantic. The time signature tells us that bars like bar 3 must
not be played as two triplets because there are 3 beats. However, there is no
need to overly accent the first beat of every bar like a Viennese Waltz. The
time signature is clearly useful for playing musically and correctly. Without
the time signature, you can easily form incorrect rhythmic habits that will
make your playing sound amateurish to the experts.

Once students develop memorizing-learning routines that are comfortable for

them, most of them will find that learning and memorizing together takes less
time than learning alone, for difficult passages. This happens because you
eliminate the process of looking at the music, interpreting it, and passing the
instructions from the eyes to the brain and then to the hands. Some might
worry that memorizing too many compositions will create an unsustainable
maintenance problem (see section III.6.3 for a discussion of memory
maintenance). The best approach to this problem is not to worry if you forget
some pieces that are seldom played. This is because recalling a forgotten
piece is very fast as long as it was memorized well the first time. Material
memorized when young (before about age 20) is almost never forgotten. This
is why it is so critical to learn fast methods of technique acquisition and to
memorize as many pieces as possible before reaching the later teen years. It
is easier to memorize something if you can play it fast; therefore, if you have
difficulty memorizing it initially at slow speed, don't worry; it will become
easier as you speed it up.

The only way to memorize well is to learn Mental Play (MP). In fact, MP is the
logical and ultimate goal of all these practice methods that we are discussing

because technique alone will not enable you to perform flawlessly, musically,
and without getting nervous. Read section III.6.10 for more details on MP. In
this method, you learn to play the piano in your mind, away from the piano,
complete with accurate fingering and your concept of how you want the
music to sound. You can use keyboard memory or photographic memory for
MP, but I recommend keyboard memory for beginners because it is more
efficient; for advanced players, keyboard memory and photographic memory
are the same, since if you can do one, the other follows naturally. Whenever
you memorize a small section, close your eyes and see if you can play it in
your mind. Once you have memorized an entire piece (HS), you should also
be able to play that in your head. This is the time to analyze the structure of
the music, how it is organized and how the themes develop as the music
progresses. With practice, you will find that it requires only a small
investment of time to acquire MP. Best of all, you will also discover that once
solid MP is established, your memory is as good as it can get; you will have
confidence that you will be able to play without mistakes, blackouts, etc., and
will be able to concentrate on music. MP also helps technique; for example, it
is much easier to play at a fast speed after you can mentally play it at that
speed; very often, the inability to play fast originates in the brain. One benefit
of MP is that you can practice it at any time, anywhere, and can greatly
increase your effective practice time.

Memory is an associative process. Super memorizers (including some

savants) and all concert pianists who can memorize hours of music depend
on algorithms with which to associate their memory (whether they know it or
not). Musicians are especially fortunate in this regard because music is just
such an algorithm. Nonetheless, this "memory trick" of using music as an
algorithm to memorize is seldom formally taught to music students; instead,
they are often advised to keep repeating "until the music is in the hands",
which is one of the worst methods of memory because, as we shall see in
section III.6.4, repetition results in "hand memory" which is a false type of
memory that can lead to many problems, such as blackouts. With MP, you
associate the music in your mind with how you produce it at the piano. It is
important to practice MP without playing the piano because you can acquire
"sound memory" (just as you can acquire "hand memory") and use the sound
of the piano as a crutch for recall, and sound memory can cause the same
problems associated with hand memory.

Why are memory and MP so important? They not only solve the practical
problems of technique and performance but also advance your musicianship
and increase intelligence. Just as you can speed up a computer by adding

memory, you can increase your effective intelligence by improving your

memory. In fact, one of the first signs of mental deterioration, such as
Alzheimer's, is loss of memory. It is now clear that many of those feats of
great musicians such as Mozart were simple byproducts of strong MP, and
that such skills can be learned.

http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.II.12