Klarinet Archive - Posting 000330.txt from 1995/07

From: Moonwolf <moonwolf@-----.NET>
Subj: Re: Memory question
Date: Sun, 30 Jul 1995 01:35:01 -0400

>In my experience, some people are able to memorize visually, actually
>seeing the notes as they play, others auditorially, but for most it is
>a perceptual-motor activity.

I think this is what dancers refer to as muscular memory and I first
ran into it playing the piano. I too had to memorize a piece (in this case,
the "Moonlight Sonata") and I played it to death - not to mention the utter
boredom of everyone else in the house - and eventually got to the point
where I could practically play it in my sleep.

Of course after the occaision where it's performance was required, I
didn't look at the thing again for years. Then one day, about 12 years
later, I sat down at the bench, opened up the book and stared at the damned
thing. It looked totally unfamiliar and the thought running through my head
was - "I can't play this!" But by then, my hands had already taken over and
were doing quite nicely on their own. It was a truly bizarre feeling. My
brain wasn't comprehending what my eyes were seeing, but my hands were
playing it never the less. They "remembered".

Robbyn