This post comprises the first article I wrote for the Piano Professional Magazine (Autumn 2013 edition, Pg. 22-24), which is published by EPTA  or the European Piano Teaching Association.

I hope these suggestions and ideas might be useful to those studying for their diplomas or teaching memorisation to students. There is a helpful PDF download at the end featuring ten tips largely built on the ideas in the article.

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Hungarian virtuoso Franz Liszt (1811-1886) developed the concept of the solo piano recital. As a result, the Romantic era became the golden age for the piano.

Liszt not only masterminded the solo recital but he devised how the piano was to be positioned on stage too; with the instrument side-on so that a pianist’s profile could be admired with the lid up facing the audience to ensure full volume. Crucially, he was also the first pianist to play from memory in public.

This potent combination guaranteed total devotion from his fans and more importantly set the stage for all future piano recitals. Liszt apparently often commented on the importance of playing without the score:

He benefitted tremendously from performing in this way. He successfully conveyed a charismatic romantic image. It was an image he had worked hard to cultivate. However, for subsequent generations of pianists, who have since made the concert platform their home, playing from memory has indeed been the cause of much misery. There are, of course, pianists who find memorisation a fairly straight forward process and would indeed never want to play with the score, but for most, playing from memory can cause grief and terror.

Today’s concert pianist is expected to play their entire repertoire from memory (with the exception of complex Twentieth Century works and chamber music). Successful memorisation often eludes students. They rely on learning a work digitally. They pray their hands and fingers will remember where to go during performances. This approach doesn’t bode well because stress will often intervene and cause the dreaded memory lapse.

Those taking amateur music exams are not required to play from memory. If you are preparing for a concert or music festival, it’s a good idea to be brave and perform without the music. This shows you really ‘know’ your piece. There are many unexpected advantages to memorisation and perhaps one of the most important is a regular brain ‘workout’. There is no doubt that once the human brain learns to retain and process information then this generally becomes a habit and one which can be very useful in many different life situations.

Memorisation does put extra pressure on public performance. A pianist needs to develop a different kind of mind-set entirely in order to perform large concert programmes accurately without the score. If you plan to play a piece from memory, decide this before learning begins. Start by learning in a very focused way from the outset. Make a conscious effort to memorise every bar, nuance, and phrase as you progress. Much memorisation occurs in the early learning stages as you become more familiar with a work. It saves time and energy if you capitalise on this fact. This is better than studying a piece through repeated reading and focusing on memorising it at a later date.

Memorisation can be a daunting prospect particularly if you have never done it before. However, this should not deter you because it is entirely possible to develop this skill at any point in your piano playing career, and your confidence will soar when you become accustomed to playing without the score. Many find memorisation ultimately affords greater freedom.

There are so many ways to enhance your memorisation technique and if you implement many of the following suggestions, you will be well on the way to developing a reliable memory.

Here are four popular methods:

Visual memory

Try to remember what the music looks like on the page. At first you might recall certain patterns of notes, key signatures or where particular passages occur in the score. This is photographic memory. It helps to keep going through the work in your mind, first with the score in front of you. Then, try doing it without the music, away from the piano. The latter is a skill that is really worth developing as it allows for mental practice which can be a very useful tool.

It’s best not to rely too much on looking at your hands. This type of memory can cause problems during a performance. Memory slips can happen if not backed up with other types of memorisation.

It might be a good idea to remember or recall the physical gestures involved in playing a piece. Certain movements and finger patterns can act as a guide, for example. Perhaps memorise difficult passages first then practise them as a technical exercise every day.

Auditory or Aural Memory

Listen to everything you play meticulously. This might seem an obvious instruction but many do not consciously ‘hear’ what they are playing or learning.

Most humans can remember a tune. This process involves nurturing that skill to a highly sophisticated level. As with many skills, it takes a while for the mind to assimilate all the nuances in a piano piece. Eventually, you will learn to ‘hear’ everything you play from start to finish.

Kinaesthetic or Muscular Memory

The ability to remember or recall all the actual physical sensations and movements is crucial. It involves remembering the finger patterns and shapes. You must also recall the arm, hand or wrist motions, pedalling, note repetitions, and repetitive patterns. Fingerings help with memorisation. This is one of the many reasons why fingering is such an important element in piano playing.

Play through the piece each hand separately without the score; this is especially helpful for the bass or left hand. Practising and concentrating on the left hand is a crucial part of developing piano technique so it may be beneficial to always practice the left hand first and commit it to memory securely at the same time.

You could trust your instincts. Try to play a work through in the dark. Can you feel your way around the instrument and play everything precisely? This is a challenge. It’s good fun too. It’s quite difficult just to find the correct place to start your piece.

You could trust your instincts. Try to play a work through in the dark. Can you feel your way around the instrument and play everything precisely? This is a challenge. It’s good fun too. It’s quite difficult just to find the correct place to start your piece.

Intellectual Memory

Undoubtedly the most important element in your memory armour; it involves total ‘immersion’ in the score. You must know your piece backwards.

Look out for typical signs in the music that will ‘jog’ your memory; key changes, chord progressions, scale passages, large leaps, dynamics etc. All these elements will support successful memorisation.

Thoroughly study the structure of a work and assess the style. The way it has been constructed, particularly harmonic structure as this helps with the sound as well. To accomplish this, study music theory. You need familiarity with four-part harmony, chord progressions, cadences, key changes, and counterpoint, etc. It can help to break down complex florid or rapid passage work into chords. Creating a skeleton of the harmonic pattern in a movement or work is also beneficial. This way, harmonic progressions are realised and assimilated.

Some tips and suggestions:

Visualisation can be a useful tool or method. This is the ability to form mental pictures of events, images or situations. Aural visualisation is sometimes called the ‘inner ear’. It allows a pianist to hear how the melody, harmony, and dynamics will sound. It includes all details found in the music, effectively ‘predicting’ the sound before it happens. If the ‘inner ear’ is working well, then the pianist’s fingers know what to do. They can produce the sound they want. This technique can be especially effective and has been used by many artists, not only musicians. Sit quietly and imagine playing the whole piece from beginning to end. See every hand position or movement. In effect, ‘watch’ yourself play the piece. You might be surprised at just how much concentration this involves. Some find it helpful to see themselves actually sitting on the stage or wherever the performance will take place.

The trick to successful memorisation is thorough structural knowledge of a piece. It should be combined with a strong awareness of the musical or expressive qualities. Emotional connections seem to really aid memory. I have found this to be true not only with my own playing. It also applies to the playing of colleagues and students.

Hearing the music in your mind really helps, especially focusing on the way it affects you emotionally. By learning and thinking in this way you will never forget any detail in your piano piece. Learn to play from the heart; the music needs to be part of your soul. Musicianship and interpretation play a vital role in memory but they are frequently over looked. The concept behind this is that you will be very focused on the expressive and interpretive qualities. As a result, your mind won’t worry about memory or detrimental thoughts of a possible lapse. This point is crucial. It’s connected to many aspects of performing. A positive mind-set really does help when memorising. An ‘I can’ attitude goes a long way. Try to quell the negative mental chatter. The ‘inner voice’ can frequently undermine a performance.

Even after methodical analysis and careful preparation, it’s still possible to get into a muddle on stage. Nerves can sabotage practice and preparation so what do you do when a memory slip occurs? Whatever happens, don’t stop playing. Some pianists have the ability to extemporise or improvise when they lose where they are in the score until they are able to ‘find themselves’.

The majority of classical pianists don’t improvise, so an effective strategy is to make sure that you know your piece in sections and are able to ‘jump’ quite cleanly from one passage or ‘section’ to another. Try to memorise in small sections, passages or ‘chunks’. The more sections you break the piece into, the better. You are completely free to break the work down as you wish. Learn the piece so you know each section thoroughly. If a memory slip does occur then you won’t be too flummoxed and will be able to keep playing to the end of the work. It’s not advisable to ‘go back’ and play the elusive passage again. Doing so just encourages another slip. It may make you even more frustrated. Once it has gone from your mind it doesn’t usually miraculously reappear a few minutes later, so it’s best to move on and finish the piece in a convincing way. Be prepared to start playing from any part of the piece. This way, if a memory lapse occurs, you can still continue playing. Try not to think about the slip at all. Otherwise, you will focus on it for the rest of the performance.

I use the following strategy in my memorisation classes and students have found this helpful:

1.

Listen to the work before you start learning it and observe the score carefully. Be aware of how the work makes you feel and spend time focusing particularly on interpretation.

2.

Take a short passage (perhaps a four bar phrase or a line or two of a piece). Start by memorising the left hand on its own. Then memorise the right hand. Be able to play them through accurately without the music, noting all the unusual features (i.e. large leaps, scale passages etc.). Also pay special attention to fingerings as they can be very useful as a memorisation aid. When you have done this, you may benefit from reversing the roles. Play the left hand line with the right hand and vice versa. This allows your mind to really know the shape of the musical lines rather than only relying on digital learning which can be dangerous. Practising a line of music with one finger at a time can be advantageous too.

3.

Then play the passage hands together using the score at first then taking it away as soon as possible. Observe which passages you find difficult to recall. Work thoroughly on those areas (by repeating as well as mentally finding patterns to remember). Most passage work has some unusual feature which will help act as a ‘signpost’. The more ‘signposts’ you can find the better.

4.

Sing the melodies in your piece. Then play them with and without the accompaniment. This practice makes you more aware of the musical structure. Another valuable exercise at this point may include playing the accompanying material in a piece from memory. You could also try playing the accompaniment with the bass line first, if there is one, and then with the melody line. Doing all this at slow speeds can be helpful. It allows your mind to digest the musical lines and phrases.

5.

Work the passage up to tempo with a metronome but without using the score. It’s really important to emphasise how repetition really does assist memory. As mentioned earlier, it’s a good idea to play the piece without the score as soon as possible. This way, your fingers and brain will quickly accustom themselves to this.

6.

Repeat steps 2 – 5 on other sections of the piece.

7.

Practice other pieces before coming back to test your memory during practice sessions. You will probably find that you can’t remember every detail at this stage. Memory takes time and persistence so just keep working on it.

8.

Test your memory on the same passages the next day. Continue this practice for consecutive days. Do this before resuming work on other sections in the piece.

Once you have committed your piece to memory, work at it backwards, i.e. playing and analysing the last phrase first. Learning backwards can really work well and professionals sometimes employ this method.

Young children will often memorise far more easily than adults, and we all have highly individual ways of remembering music. The success of memorisation is normally just persistent practice. Sometimes it’s necessary to have a memory lapse or a stumble under pressure whilst playing in public. Only then do we realise what we must do to safeguard our memory for the next performance. Don’t expect to memorise in one practice session. Memory takes time and work. Divide your piece into small sections or passages. You will make progress every day. Good luck!

Ten Top Tips for Effective Memorisation

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