My Most Memorable forms of Memorizing

Memory

Memorization is a skill musicians use all the time in concert and for fun. Memorizing a piece gives you the option to play anywhere without bringing your music! It can also be a great way to get down to the roots and structure of a piece and to gain the composer's perspective. While there are many ways people learn to memorize, I am going to highlight three common ones. Head Memory, Muscle Memory, and Ear Memory (something new to me). 

Muscle Memory

This form of memory is the most basic and the foundation for how musicians build technique.

How to do it: Players practice a piece over and over again. The brain records this pattern and the memory grows stronger the more one practices.

Pros

• You strengthen memory by practicing your piece (something you do regardless of trying to memorize)

• Player can let their mind wander

Cons

• Can leave player stranded if they mess up

• Difficult to fix technical issues later on

Head Memory

This term that my piano teacher coined refers to memorizing cognitively (as opposed to kinetically). 

How to do it: Players memorize aspects of the structure of their piece through theory (chord progressions, scales, interval patterns used, etc.)

Pros

• More reliable than muscle memory if you mess up

• Allows player to think like the composer

Cons

• Requires a lot of focus and sometimes one will revert to muscle memory

• Time consuming

Ear Memory

This concept is very new to me but I am already starting to apply it in my jazz studies. When I went to the University of Montana Jazz Camp, my professors stressed the value of learning a piece by ear. They explained how this practice is the strongest way of memorizing a piece and how professional jazz musicians grow their musical repertoire. It is also how musicians transcribe music.

How to do it: Players listen to a passage then play it back without using written notes. Repeat this process until your sound is a replica of the recording.

The Skylar Mendell Rule of Fives:

Skylar Mendell, a professor at the University of Northern Colorado shared his technique for transcribing (ear memory) with me at the University of Montana Jazz Camp. I am using it right now and find it to be a fantastic way to structure transcribing (which can be a daunting feat).

1. Listen to the passage five times

2. Sing the passage with the recording five times

3. Play the passage five times (if you struggle repeat step 2)

4. Move on to next section

Pros

• Strong memory of piece

• Great for learning pieces without published notes

Cons

• Requires much stamina

To sum it up, memorizing a piece is the last step in mastering it and a tool performers use all the time. Memorizing something provides the musician with an extra level of security and competency. There are many different ways to memorize and each comes with its own benefits and drawbacks. I hope you found this helpful and can now be a little more thoughtful in what way you choose to memorize your next piece!

If you have any ideas on memorization please share below to continue the conversation!