Memorizing

I just was wonder...

Does your teacher have you/do you like to memorize pieces before playing them? It always seems less comfortable and more risky to me, and always is, but I suppose it feels better than taking all your music out. I do it, but I was just wondering if most people do, or just play it from the sheet. ^_^

Nobody makes me do anything....however: memorization is nice, but I suck at learning tunes, so usually have a sheet with me...

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I find memorizing piano pieces much harder than memorizing guitar pieces.. Dunno why. I only memorize piano pieces I really like, and it's way cooler when you perform without a sheet. Just my opinions.

I always memorize my stuff, but on the harp it's harder to look at the notes while playing. I think it varies a lot by the instrument. My brother plays the flute, and never memorizes his stuff, because his eyes have nothing better to than read the music while he's playing. On a harp and I'm sure to some extent a piano, it's easier to look at the instrument while playing, though probably very unhealthy in the long-run.

It depends...In Jazz, if I'm playing a 'standard', I usually don't have it memorized, so I read the chord symbols and the melody. When I'm playing things like Marriage of Figaro or Rondo Alla Turca, I memorize it, cuz I can't sight read worth crap.

~Kal

I can barely read music. If I do, I have to pick notes out one at a time... like...

this...

each...

time...

I memorize really easily, even only playing something once can make me stick it in my head :P

By the time I've learned how to play something with the sheet music, I usually have it memorized, except for jazz, 'cause then I really don't sit down and learn it.

I have a good musical ear, read quite well, so tend to memorise. As I play a stringed instrument this is handy because I can wander round the house playing in whatever room is empty, without having to cart the music stand. It does sight reading no good though.

For me it's just natural. As soon as I've learned the notes well, I can remember them without a problem. It's just like "humming the tune with the fingers". I have the whole piece in my head (just like anyone can remember a piece) and I just know where to put the fingers in order for the sound to get out properly (speaking for the piano), so I just "hum it with my fingers", I really can't explain it any better than that :P

I even remember like, the first piece I ever learned (the very cliche Minuet in G by J.S. Bach) :D

Memorizing is easy for me, I remember learning the Vorspiel from the Max Bruch concerto by heart in a day.

It all depends on the insturment and the piece. Is you play the Glockenspiel, it's better to memorize the piece, but if you are playing the piano, you could sight-see the paper and let your fingers do the key-strokes.

I prefer to see the piece, but there are some unforgetable pieces (Paganini's Capriccio No.24) that can be memorized almost instantly.

By the way, I play the Rondo alla Turca by watching the score, along with other pieces, such as Joplin's "The Entertainer", Tchaikovski's "Barcarole" and Oesten's "Dolly's Dreaming and Awakening".

I withstand fromvoting since I find that the alternatives are a bit onesided. Two mean bascically the same thing no, and the other one yes. Where is the middle one?

well I do it but not all the time, so non of the options fit for me.

I play in our school's marching band, and I find memorizing music pretty easy. During concert season, memerization isn't required, but I get it down anyways.

I play in our school's marching band, and I find memorizing music pretty easy. During concert season, memerization isn't required, but I get it down anyways.

Same here- in marching band, we have to memorize EVERYTHING! Speaking of which, Grand Nationals is today, Go Avon!

By the way, I play the Rondo alla Turca by watching the score, along with other pieces, such as Joplin's "The Entertainer", Tchaikovski's "Barcarole" and Oesten's "Dolly's Dreaming and Awakening".

That's rediculous. I couldn't sight read Rondo alla Turca if my life depended on it, and I only play the treble clef line (on vibes- bass is played by marimba). Lucky you. Also, is it just me, or do wind players tend to sight read a bit easier than others?

~Kal

Memorizing for me just comes from playing until it's perfect. When I play a song that much, I memorize it so I can play it faster without having to read the score anymore and so I can look at my hands--naturally lowering the chances for mistake.

I perform most of my solos without music. First of all because all of the competitions that I participate in require it, but also because you start focusing less on the notes and more on making music out of the notes.

Neither answer is quite exact enough so I will respond directly:

I am a pianist, and I thoroughly learn and memorize only the piano works which I truly love and want to learn. If I don't love them from the start, I'll never stick with them long enough to fully memorize and master them.

However, I do sight-read works of all types on a daily basis. Many of these works I choose to keep with me for about a week. I learn the notes, the rhythms, and the form of the piece, without making any special effort to memorize them or get the technical intricacies precisely under my fingers. I feel this is an optimal way of exposing myself to a large amount of repertoire and getting a lot out of each new piece of music I study.

As a singer, I must memorize everything. When I was in band, I never had to memorize anything, but it became a lot easier when I did. Also, if I had most of it down, but couldn't remember a part, I would usually improv some other line. I was always good at keeping my improv within the chord structure.

Piano music... I must have music in front of me, but I can sight-read very easily.

As a singer myself, I also have to do a lot of memorizing. I'm REALLY slow at it though. Memorizing melody is no problem, but I struggle memorizing words.

Just as a teacher I really admire has said:

"the notes just exist in order for the composer to write down his idea; once you learn them, they are of no use", so you are not meant to learn to sight-read and just play what you see, but rather learn what you have to play by heart, and play it by and with heart :blush:

Memorizing for me just comes from playing until it's perfect. When I play a song that much, I memorize it so I can play it faster without having to read the score anymore and so I can look at my hands--naturally lowering the chances for mistake.

there are just some songs that are unforgettable...for me it is the "1812 overture" and also Strauss' "Concerto #1 for Horn in F" and Bernstein's "Overture to Candide"

some pieces and parts get stuck in my head, especially after a concert cause i know i wont be playing them anymore :angry:

i memorise everything, cause I'm scraggy at sight reading

As a singer myself, I also have to do a lot of memorizing. I'm REALLY slow at it though. Memorizing melody is no problem, but I struggle memorizing words.

I would hate to have to memorize all those words. Especially if its in German or something.

That's why I'm a violist! :D lol jk. Memorizing for me is just second nature. After I play a piece, it's usually stuck there forever.

As a pianist, I find that when I truly study a piece in detail to the point of mastery, I cannot help but memorize it. Studying a piece in detail means not only owning all the technical difficulties, but also paying attention to details like the voicing of chords and the subtle shapes of phrases. Piano practice is so much about repetition that memorization happens naturally for me.

Strangely enough, I find that I memorize less traditionally tonal music more readily than romantic or classical pieces. I think the reason is because my harmonic knowledge allows me to "cheat" a bit in the playing of more traditional pieces, whereas I have to maintain utmost focus in learning newer music.