 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Asheeka
Date: 2006-03-13 20:17
Hey!
I have to memorize a piece, and i've only been playing for a year and 1/2 so i havn't had to before. I wanted to know, what is the best method to memorize? please rply!
luv yaz lotz,
asheeka
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Author: Danny Boy
Date: 2006-03-13 20:30
This is a skill that can definitely be learned, and I certainly found that it improved my performing hugely.
I was advised to write the music out from memory...it certainly worked for me.
The more memory work you do as well, the better you get at it.
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2006-03-13 21:01
The more you play a piece, the easier it is to memorize. Hear each note in your head before you play them. Listen to recordings of your piece. If you have to, memorize 4 bar sections at a time until you've memorized the whole thing. Good luck!
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2006-03-13 21:22
> Listen to recordings of your piece.
If possible, convert the recording to mp3 and load it into you player. Listen when commuting etc. Helps me a lot with "odd" rhythms.
--
Ben
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Author: Bradley
Date: 2006-03-13 21:48
I find that just working through the fingerings of a piece while listening to a recording of it sometimes helps. Try to work through it in sections like Carrie said- no matter how small. Practise the parts you can from memory and actively work on trying to remember the fingerings so you can practise more from memory. Keep in mind that it's your fingers that need to do the learning- muscle memory is what I need to work during memorization. I also memorize the music so I can see each section in my head as I play, but if it's not automatic in your fingers then it won't come off well.
I'm playing the Mozart with my school's HS/College orchestra on the 28th of this month and it's really aggravating. I have (had?) it memorized for the concerto competition, but infront of my friends in the orchestra I play in daily I seem to just forget the music. I haven't rehearsed with the orchestra without my sheet music yet, and I feel like I can't. Maybe if I'm brave enough one day it will work out!
I've performed from memory before, and I think I'm a better player when I'm playing from memory, but the Mozart just won't stick for some reason.
Bradley
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Author: Sean.Perrin
Date: 2006-03-14 23:50
Interesting, I'm working on memorizing Premiere Rhapsody right now and tried writing out some sections. I wrote down about twelve bars, checked it and was right! It was helpful, but interesting because I'd never even thought of doing that before.
Founder and host of the Clarineat Podcast: http://www.clarineat.com
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Author: Cowchick
Date: 2006-03-15 00:54
Memorization, IMHO, is one of the more challenging aspects of playing. Two different approaches have been mentioned above, and it basically boils down to the right brain, left brain thing. Muscle memory is great--you just put yourself on autopilot and away you go. All is fine and good until somebody's pager goes off in the fourth row, or someone coughs, or whatever. Now suddenly your brain has shifted sides, and you may find that you no longer have a clue where you are in the piece. This is why an intellectual approach is a really good idea. You need to have a backup or plan B. Writing out the music, note for note, is a technique that I have found particularly helpful. It is time consuming. It is tedious. It is boring. It also works. If you can write the piece down, note for note, from memory, you KNOW that you know the piece. Another technique that is helpful is to sing the note names of the piece. For the faster passages, you'll obviously have to slow down, but again, if you can sing all the names of the notes correctly, you KNOW that you know the piece. If you are commuting and listening to a recording, think the note names as you listen. This will keep you concentrating on the piece while you listen. Finally, practice starting the piece from various rehearsal letters--from memory. This way, in the unlikely event of a memory slip, the conductor can give you a rehearsal letter and you'll immediately know where the orchestra is (and where you should be).
If you can do all these things, then you can be confident that you KNOW the work. And that will make all the difference in the world when you walk out onto that stage, clarinet in hand and conductor in tow. You will be able to smile and enjoy the moment. It is, without a doubt, one of the greatest feelings in the world.
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Author: ken
Date: 2006-03-16 02:11
Good suggestions; I recommend to my students the method of memorizing notes "by sight" and dynamics and expressions "by ear." In this way, more of your natural senses become actively involved, are strengthened and forced to work together (spider senses don't count.) Sight is two dimensional and right brain; hearing/creativity are three dimensional and left brain. v/r Ken
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Author: diz
Date: 2006-03-16 23:46
Sorry for the bluntness, but you are either blessed with a good memory or you are not and chances are if you're an excellent sight reader you'll be worse at memorizing and vice versa (though there are exceptions).
My suggestion from someone who has great difficulty with memorization: start by playing the piece NOTE PERFECTLY first off ... slow the tempo down if necessary. Unlearning mistakes is far more difficult than learning a new piece.
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
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