Playing by heart

[Gryvix]

Does anyone have tips to study music easily by heart?

It's quite handy to know eg. warmup exercises or similar or solopieces by heart because then you don't have to have the book or score with you.
I just don't seem to do it, some very basic exercises I know and two hymns, that's it. I've tried harder things, but I just keep getting stuck. And it is not some mental problem because I can study very well (I'm an accountant you know, loads of rules and laws I have to know for my job). But music, no. So tips or exercises to get better at it?

[Bassoonery]

I find this very difficult too - my own compositions, Fur Elise, an obscure B'vn Rondo, and some fragments are about it but I think I'd manage if I was under pressure to do it for a performance or something. I have heard a couple of tips though:

- If playing on a grand piano or with a music stand try progressively moving the music further and further away so it becomes harder to read
- Try playing the piece backwards, or learning it backwards bar by bar. This prevents the common habit of perfecting the beginning and neglecting the ending of a piece
- Analyse the music thoroughly so that you have an understanding of the chords and what is happening in the music. If you have an overall picture it should be easier to remember
- Try picking out the melody by ear on a different instrument. This requires more concentration so the notes will be easier to remember once you come back to the normal instrument

Hope that helps!

[MaestroX]

Interesting thing. I consider myself to have a good musical memory. I can remember any detail about anything musical fine and remember a piece no problem. I have the problem with not being able to use this knowledge in other subject areas.
Are you regarding piano or a different instrument?
Tips wise, hmm, I'm not sure. I've never given it any great thought until now. There have been books written on the subject, i know that. I'll try investigate at my local second hand book store. They have a massive basement full of music scores, books and the like.

[Gryvix]

The cornet, on the piano I pick up a melody very quickly, I do this often when waiting for my teacher last year, but trying to do so on my cornet: no way. (I can't play with two hands, I was gonna take up taking an extra instrument this year, but circumstances made me had to quit even my cornetlessons, tho I'm still practising on my own)
Like last easterholidays I had a week to study for my Businesstax, I had about 500 pages to study. I fell ill and didn't get good enough to study till two days before my exam. I just had to fly through it and I passed it very well as best of my class.
I can remember tunes very well, but that isn't enough to get me to play it. But thanks into helping, it is just a problem I want to solve.

[Will Kirk]

You should always play things very slowly at first. Later on, you can play them up to speed. But never try to memorize an entire piece in 1 day, I usually choose a piece, and then memorize it part by part. That's usually what I do.

[Gopher]

<imho>
I remember on the piano, I had a fairly free method of learning in that there wasn't any strict regimen that I stuck to, but what I did do was be meticulous (although I must admit I was a bit sloppy towards the end before I stopped doing it properly). Basically, it was hands separate for a while until both were fluent, then hands together real slow, then gradually pick up speed. Any couple of bars that you can't play right is repeated until you can, and consistantly repeated every so often, so in essence you're practicing the trouble spots.

I appreciate that this probably isn't to most of you as the piano isn't your main discipline, but it has in part made me form my own opinions about "muscle memory". When I play, I almost never look at the manuscript unless I have to stop; maybe the odd split-second glance to see where I am (as opposed to what I'm playing), partly as a memory aid to jog my mind as to what goes next.
So, really, in the way I do it, you're doing it over and over again; you're training the muscles in your hands to instinctively know where to go so you don't have to think about doing it. It is possible (hell, I can still roughly do rags without thinking about it, even though I haven't played more than about 20 HOURS a year since 2002) but the key is repetition, and correct repetition. Which is why you really have to iron out the imperfections early on, then just keep doing it.

</imho>

[MaestroX]

Originally Posted by Gopher

the key is repetition, and correct repetition. Which is why you really have to iron out the imperfections early on, then just keep doing it.

The worst thing you could possibly do is to learn and remember wrong things early on. I remember practicing a Beethovan sonata and when my teacher got round to hearing it there were several wrong places and it took me ages to iron them out

[Thorolf]

I was always bad at sight reading, so I always learnt things by heart from early on. That said, there is a thing called musical content, and if you find that, you'll remember everything! If every chord, every phrase, every dramatic change, every nunace in the score has its aural counterpart in your head, it means something to you, just like points in a told story. You have to hunt for that, not just the notes, and the notes will be there as an added bonus. Some times, if the music is not that interresting, you’ll have to build something interresting into it youself, like “this part will be played more quietly than the former part” etc. to build dramaturgy where there is nothing explicit on beforehand.

Experiment, shape your music, don’t rely on the inspiration of the moment. If you have found enough content in a piece of music, you can play it just like that, and never be bored! And you won’t forget it either…

Regards

[tawei82]

My case is similar to Thorolf, bad sight reading. I can remember music after numberous of repitition playing, part by part. then combine. We have to feel the music. Funny is, sometimes you have different emotion and the emotion can also show in your playing, like frustrated, sad, haha.
I will also try find out what chord the composer use for interest purpose.

I heard from 1 TV show said that some people is not remember the music, they remember how the hands moving and positioning. I feel that that is also a part of remember the music. If we can feel the music, it is fine. How do you think? Do we need to remember the notes while playing?

After many repeatition, it is just natural to remember the music.

[MaestroX]

Its to do with having a pictorial memory because you can see the notes on the piano. So many player do remember from sight of the notes not the music. I think thats why many people have greater trouble remembering pieces for other instruments such as the clarinet etc (I know I do )