On my last post I looked at some of the benefits of memorising music and so today I thought I'd talk about how to memorise music. Different techniques tend to work for different people. Some people simply find that after they've played a piece enough times it will be learnt from memory. Others find they need to remember key things about the structure of the piece to enable them to memorise the music. Still others find it very difficult to memorise and may spend hours reading over the music, playing it, even writing it out. The key thing is to try to find the technique that works for you by trying them all and then try to keep learning music from memory so that you develop that skill.
Let me give you a few ideas that may help with memorising music:
1. Look at the structure of a piece. For example if a piece is in ternary form (ABA) then knowing this means that you are aware that the opening tune will return near the end.
2. Memorise short sections at a time. Don't tackle the whole piece in one go but memorise the first few bars and then add a bit more to this the next time you practise.
3. Try playing a piece through with the music on the stand but keeping your eyes shut as much as possible. This way you'll be playing quite a lot of the music from memory and you'll be aware of the areas you still need to memorise as it will be these points where you will need to look at the music.
4. Try listening to lots of different recordings of the piece while following the score. In fact if you have the facilities record yourself and listen to it while following the score.
5. Try writing out the music. Some people find it useful to write out the music as this helps them picture the music as they are playing it.
Above all try to work at the skill of memorising music, even if initially you can only remember a short phrase. Also, if you choose to perform from music always make sure you can keep going (even if you have to make it up!) if you get a memory slip.
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