New Thoughts On Memorizing Music (The Etude: Vol. 37, No. 10)

Over the years, I have accumulated articles from magazines like The Etude. I believe we have much to learn, and unlearn, from the past. It provokes thought when looking at our view of specific topics versus the view of the masters and master teachers of the past. Clifford Marshall wrote this particular article on memorizing music. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists (an extremely high level of achievement).

New Thoughts On Memorizing Music

The following suggestions help the keyboard player, be he amateur or professional, in acquiring the somewhat difficult art of memorizing music.

How often one has seen attempts to play without copy by pianists of really good technic and then the fatal stop somewhere about the middle of the piece with the lame excuse, “I have forgotten. But when closely inquired into, remembering six good pieces is not such an extraordinary feat after all; and if one can memorize six, why not sixty? It only requires a little extra thought and work, for by an intelligent use of the faculties the proper methods applied and much time saved, instead of the usual round-about mere repetition, which, while being greatly fatiguing to the player, is neither reliable nor interesting.

Method (For Memorizing Music)

To succeed really, it is necessary first of all to develop independently each of the following five faculties, namely, Touch, Hearing, Analysis, Sight, and Emotion, and, as the initial letters of each of these words make the keyword “Thase,” we shall deal with them in that order. First of all, grasp the importance of the individual training of the faculties, then when properly developed they will help one another; instead of relying solely upon touch, four other faculties carry you safely through the various complexities of your piece without copy. Of course, the working of each faculty may not always be continuous; but the linking up of the five will cause the necessary overlapping and so make your interpretation safe. We would say then “train the faculties independently; use collectively.”

Touch (Muscle Memory)

This purely mechanical memory cannot in itself be controlled by the will. Therefore, touch exists as a means to an end and not the end itself. In this faculty, which in most layers is the strongest, two things are necessary,amely, good fingering and good technic.

Ex. 1. Mark out the fingering of all difficult passages to ensure correct repeated actions of the fingers, as repetition begets habit and habit in time becomes subconscious.

Ex. 2. Are you making [good] tone? Decide upon the correct positions and movements of the hands and arms, and always play the same way, thus recording “touch sensations” to draw upon in your future
interpretations.

Touch is a good servant but a bad master; so we do not, as already indicated, place too much reliance upon it. By all means, develop it, but only as part of the scheme.

Hearing (Aurally Memorizing Music)

Of late years, the importance of ear tests and musical dictation has become duly recognized as a necessity for every musician’s equipment. You may not possess that rare gift of “absolute pitch,” but you can nevertheless train your ear to a high degree of perception. Like everything else it only requires a little trouble and will amply repay the amount of work spent upon it. Here are some advanced ear tests:

Ex. 1. Get a friend to play two or three tunes on the pianoforte, short phrases of single notes, and put them to paper, afterward comparing with the original melody. The key and time may be announced beforehand in the first few attempts.

Ex. 2. Similarly, try unknown passages in two or three parts.

Ex. 3. For four-part work there is ample variety in the modern hymn tune or chant, first writing the melody and bass and afterward adding the inner parts. This will be found rather difficult at first, but be determined to master it and you will succeed.

Application (Touch + Hearing)

Apply the principle of ear training to your selected piece for study. Here is an exercise which is most useful in bringing this faculty into play:

Ex. 1. Play two or three bars over at a time; then close your eyes and imagine that you still hear what you just played. Work through the whole piece in this way several times until you can, at last, hear the whole from beginning to end without playing a single note. Later, when the faculty of analysis develops, your ear will accustom itself to recognizing different chords. Always listen acutely, whether you are playing yourself or someone is playing for you.

Analysis (Memorizing Music Theory)

This is a most interesting study and demands a good knowledge of constructive harmony. It is also a great help to the memory, unlocking, as it were, the door of the composer’s mind. This brings into view the real meaning of the piece. Should the student not know harmony, it is his duty to place himself in the hands of a reliable teacher of that subject. Assuming, however, that you are already acquainted with modern harmony, try and apply its principles. Analyze the more complex chordal progressions in your piece. Find out the “whys” and the “wherefores;” or, in other words, getting behind the composer’s brain.

Music differs so much that it is impossible to lay down any hard and fast rules as to how to proceed. One might say that if the musical texture is “harmonic” or chordal, it must be viewed vertically. That is, from the base to the highest harmony note. But if the texture is “contrapuntal,”—that is, a combination of independent melodies heard at the same time—observe horizontally and onwards and do not worry so much about the harmony. Thus the faculty of analysis does not only consist of dividing a piece into its component parts in accordance with the laws of form. It also necessitates the music being shorn of its ornamentation and reduced to a fundamental skeleton structure, so that the intellect may have a basis to work upon.

Your knowledge of harmony should be such that you can do this at sight of the eye. It is surprising what can be done after a little practice with pen and paper. You should recognize that analysis is the most important faculty in memorizing. However, do not lose sight of the fact that musical composition is not a science of cold facts and, figures, but a real language of its own. It demands high qualities of invention, imagination, and emotion.

Sight (Memorizing Music Staff)

This is a very useful faculty and consists of being able to imagine a picture of the actual printed page. If it is easy to see in your mind’s eye something beautiful that you have witnessed during a visit somewhere. Examples include a country or an art exhibition, and describing it to your friends. Surely a printed page of music should not offer much difficulty. Proceeding somewhat similarly on the lines of hearing. We must be careful not to confuse the two faculties, but for the present shall aim at independence.

Ex. 1. Play two or three bars over at a time, concentrating your whole attention on the appearance of the music. Then close your eyes and imagine you can still see the printed page. Specialize in difficult parts and so assist the touch faculty. It is not expected that you should remember the whole piece in this way.

Ex. 2. For developing your “mental picture” powers, practice reading descriptive poetry, and imaging for yourself the scenes described.

It will thus be noticed that in sight we have an imaginative faculty as contrasted with the mechanical faculty—Touch. But if the latter fails, the will can at once flash on the screen of the mind a reproduction of the actual print and so save the situation so far as touch and sight are concerned.

Emotion (Memorizing Music Conceptually)

Having dealt with touch, hearing, analysis, and sight, we shall now discuss the last quality in memorization, namely, emotion. This faculty gives to your interpretation its life and soul. Without it, your playing will be dull, mechanical, and lacking in color. Have you ever noticed the effect of good music on the feelings? Write down in single words as many of the emotions you can remember to have experienced. Here are two, joy and sorrow, and there are many more.

You are not asked to tabulate your emotions on your music but to feel them deeply and remember them. Even if all the other faculties should fail, the fact of being “carried away” as it were by the music will probably save your performance. Good books, good pictures, good plays, the beauties of nature, and the enjoyment of chamber and orchestral music cannot be too strongly emphasized in the development of the emotional faculty.

Having developed your faculties on the foregoing lines select a repertoire that is well within your powers. Then, decide how much time you can give daily to memorization. Proceed in the order of the Keyword “Thase”(Touch, Hearing, Analysis, Sight, Emotion). Play as far as you can on one faculty alone. Then combine sight and touch and see how far you can go. Afterward, try hearing and analysis. Then when you have accustomed your mind to both independence and a combination of the faculties, link up the four and add the fifth, emotion. If the results prove beneficial the writer will feel more than gratified to have touched the fringe of a very interesting though not very often discussed, subject.

From The Etude (October 1919).

Check out some other posts:

• Beginning Fingerstyle Guitar Begins With The Thumb
• Organizing Practice As You Learn To Play Guitar
• How The Masters Waited And Worked For Success
• The Efficient Music Teacher (The Musician: Vol. 21, No. 1)

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Chadwick Becks

I have two degrees in guitar performance and was privileged to study under Aaron Shearer, Tom Kikta, David Skantar, Ken Karsh, Tim Bedner, and currently Christopher Berg. Outside my editorial work on this blog, I teach full-time across many genres including classical, jazz, blues, rock, funk, and metal.