Violin Technique: Tips for Memorizing Music
Memorizing music can seem like a formidable task, but there are some concrete steps you can take to help it happen. Sure, if performing without music causes panic, then use the the music when you perform. However, memorizing music is still worth doing, even if you aren't doing it for the sake of performing. And for many people, performing actually becomes easier when the music is memorized. Here are some things you can do to help yourself (or your students) in memorizing music.
Listen to the Music
Listen to the music you are trying to memorize, whether you are listening to a professional recording, a recording that you made on your phone of your teacher playing it, or even a recording of yourself playing it with the sheet music. Listen to the point where you start to "audiate" the music - which is a fancy way of saying "give yourself an earworm." Get the music banging around in your brain. Once this happens, your brain will start to do wonderful things, like start connecting all those sounds with the fingerings, bowings and physicality of playing.
Learn to Play the Piece You Are Memorizing
This might seem very obvious, but I will say it anyway: if you have not thoroughly learned the piece, you are not ready to memorize it. Using the music can sometimes mask the fact that certain parts aren't going as well as you think they are. That said, the act of memorizing music sometimes can help you in the learning process by making you aware of which sections feel the least familiar. Memorizing something requires that everything is worked out: every bowing, rhythm, fingering, etc. You can't remember something you don't know in the first place.
Memorize in Small Chunks
If you find that you can't play, say, a whole page by memory by simply taking away the music, you are probably biting off too much at a time. Cut it way back. Try memorizing just one phrase, or one passage. Repeat it 10 times correctly with the music - this will help with "muscle memory." In between repetitions, take micro-breaks to allow your brain to process what you have just done. Then try that phrase or passage without the music. Note what you missed, and go over it. Record yourself so you can catch what you are doing. The next day, back up and go over what you have already done, then do just a bit more.
Do Mental Run-Throughs
Try to "play" the music in your mind. You can mentally play as little as a phrase, or as much as the entire piece in your mind. You can do this completely away from the instrument: while taking a walk, while sitting as a passenger on a train or in a car, while on the exercise bike, while waiting in line at the store, etc. You won't want to try this when you are doing something else that demands attention, but in the average day there are usually times when it is possible to do a bit of mental practice. This will go far!
Visualize the Music
It can help to visualize the notes on the page, to remember what is coming next. This works better for some people than others. For example, if you have a photographic memory or if you are visually oriented, you may be able to keep a pretty clear picture in your mind. Personally, I am not particularly visually-oriented, but this still can help me in remembering general sections or keeping the right order.
Occasionally Use the Sheet Music When Playing Memorized Music
Once you have something memorized, it's good to check yourself by occasionally using the sheet music when you play it. Why? Because mistakes can sneak in, if you play something many times by memory. You might start skipping a section, inventing some notes, or changing some rhythms. Using the music now and then can help you stay on the right track - and won't cause you to "un-memorize" the music you already know!
I hope you find these ideas helpful for memorizing music. If you have any further ideas, please feel free to share them in the comments. Happy practicing!
You might also like:
- How to Help Your Brain Memorize Music, with Molly Gebrian
- Memorization Strategies for Any Musician
- The Secret to Learning Music Faster: Take More Breaks
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Replies
Your final step is such a good one! I recently took this step, combined with your step 1, on a piece I'd memorized years ago. I found a note I had memorized completely wrong way back when and had never corrected! Thank you, Laurie!
Great tips here.
For a long time I was very ordinary at memorising, but a few of these kinds of tips made all the difference.
I also found that with the “memorise in chunks” advice, it’s super important to make sure you devote as much time to the later sections as the earlier ones (the opening in particular, which we tend to practise more just by happenstance).
Also, I found that starting to memorise sections as I was learning the piece helped a lot - if I went for too long without committing it to memory, the sheet music became a crutch / security blanket that I was very unwilling to let go of. And it meant that I committed all the details - like bowing, fingering etc. to longer term memory as part of the piece.
All very good advice!
I also encourage the student to play through the chunk being memorized while pausing and “announcing” shifts, problematic bowings, or anything else that may not be sticking in their memory. This encourages the formation of memory in three ways instead of one: playing, of course, but also the cognition behind speaking words and hearing them.
Despite being studied for more than 100 years, memorizing music is still not well understood. This being said, some things are known. One study has indicated that memorizing an entire 16 bar passage is more effective than breaking it up.
Influence of strategy on memorization efficiency
Jennifer Mishra
Music Performance Research 4, 60-71, 2011
I am not aware of studies that indicate that breaking the music into sections aids in memorization.
There is the concept of chunking, conceptualizing the work in terms of small groups of things. However, I have not seen work relating to how such things relate to practice or the activity of memorizing music. Music is highly structured and thr chunks are frequently quite obvious.
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January 20, 2024 at 11:39 AM · Very practical: thanks!