one more about memory, but different

[Bijuson]

  Hi, I have read a lot of posts about memory (types, importance, etc), but I did not see someone talk about a way to practice the memory. Anyone have some methods to train memory and make fast any memorisation?

Thanks, Bijuson

[bernhard]

In the old days, before books were freely available, memory was paramount. As books become more widespread (after Gutenberg invented printing), methodologies for memorisation fell into disuse and were completely forgotten.

Consider Seneca who was mayor of Rome and knew all of its citizens by name. (In fact some politicians today have trained themselves to do the same feat). Or think about Pico de la Mirandola an Italian Renaissance intellectual who had a personal collection of some 30 000 books. You could go into his library, choose a book at random, give him the title of the book and a page number, and he would recite for you what was written in the page.

This seems completely amazing to us, but in fact it was quite common before 1500. In those days, if you went to University, you would learn five disciplines: Logic (or the art of correct reasoning), Oratory (or the art of public speech), Rhetoric (or the art of convincing intellectual adversaries) Mathematics (mostly geometry) and the art of memory. This kind of curriculum is all but forgotten, since nowadays we learn quite different things in University!

The art of memory concerned itself with creating on the student an artificial memory since it was understood that the normal memory we all possess is inadequate and insufficient.

The basic method was called “images and places”. Let us say you had to memorise a speech. Basically you would choose a public building and wander around it. Then as you entered a room, you would “hang” the first paragraph of your speech there, the second paragraph on the second room and so on. When it was time to recall the speech, you would then, mentally, go back to the building and retrace your steps room by room collecting the paragraphs of your speech.

This is the gist of the method. Because the art of memory was an University course taken for granted, many public buildings would be planned in such a way as to allow students of the art to use them as “places” to hang the “images”. So many characteristics of renaissance architecture can be easily explained as props for students of the art of memory (e.g. alcoves, columns, statues, etc.)

In our times, the art of memory has been slowly rediscovered, first by magicians and then by card players for whom a prodigious artificial memory can be a great business edge. (I think the record for cards shuffled and remembered is around 800. If they are not shuffled it goes to tens of thousands). There are two basic modern methods that do away with the need for buildings: the chain method (it allows you to remember anything in sequence) and the peg method, which uses numbers the way the old guys used buildings. The peg method allows you to remember things in any order.

This is really too large a subject for me to explain in detail here, so get a book of memory training. They all have more or less the same methods.

Try Harry Lorraine –“The memory book”  for a start.

If you have the discipline to train yourself in the methods you will scare people with your super memory! (I should know, I do!). But be warned: it takes a lot of work until the process becomes subconscious.

For the history of the “Art of Memory” – a fascinating subject, the best reference is Frances Yates “The Art of Memory”. This is an academic book written by a historian. It is not really about tips to improve memory.

For  piano applications, the only 2 books I came across are:

Walter Gieseking & Karl Leimer – Piano technique (Dover). Gieseking would only go to the piano after he had memorised the whole piece working solely on the score. This book explains this kind of mental practice with many examples. (But be warned, it is hard mental work!)

Lilias Mackinnon – “Music by heart” (Oxford University Press). This may be out of print. The psychological theory of memory is probably outdated (my edition is from 1944), but the tips and methods to memorise music are all usable.

Best wishes,
Bernhard

[Saturn]

Another excellent post, Bernhard.

Minor spelling correction, so that people do not get confused if they try to locate the book:

Try Harry Lorraine –“The memory book”  for a start.

That should be Harry Lorayne.

- Saturn

[robert_henry]

Great post by Bernhard.

Let me address this issue as it applies to music.  So many students ask 'how do I memorize?' or they will say 'I've practiced this piece for a month now and I have the notes, so this week I will work on memorizing the piece.'  I have never understood these statements.

The instant one hears a piece for the first time (in fact, BEFORE the first hearing, when one simply knows the type of piece and the composer/country/period), one can begin to form ideas as to the structure and harmony of the piece, and also how the emotional content of the piece is presented, and in what order all this occurs.  Then when one looks at the score both at and away from the piano, one should constantly be analyzing the piece; this analysis includes melody, intervals, voicing, horizontal harmony, harmonic progressions, voice leading, structure, rhythmic patterns, dynamic outline, fingering, pedaling, which techniques to use, and we all know I could go on and on with layer upon layer of awareness.  

Memorizing is not a separate process that is initiated at the tail end of learning a work; rather, it begins when we first learn of the piece's existence.  It is the difference between studying and simply practicing a piece of music.  REAL study (my definition of memorization) requires intense concentration, and for the artist, this process begins at the very first instant and never stops.  One should be mentally exhausted when at the end of a practice (study) session.  It's like wringing out a wash-rag until the last drop of water finally is drawn from it.  Your brain should be out of juice as well.  If one is studying the music they are working on, then memory no longer becomes an issue.

Robert Henry

[monk]

One should be mentally exhausted when at the end of a practice (study) session.  It's like wringing out a wash-rag until the last drop of water finally is drawn from it.  Your brain should be out of juice as well.

Ouch! I doubt that VERY MUCH!

I don't believe anymore in this macho - hardwork - 12-hours-a-day - exhaust-yourself - attitude.

You should stop practicing when there are BEGINNING signs of mental (or bodily!) exhaustion.
Otherwise you are in danger of damaging body or mind.
If this exhaustion comes too early or too often or doesn't go away, your practice (or living) concept is wrong.
I know TOO MANY musicians who practiced always to the limit and who suddenly were off the scene because they had tendonitis, tinnitus, big muscular problems or needed psychological treatment. Some even went insane.

Best Wishes,
Monk

[robert_henry]

Who said anything about time requirements?

Who said anything about physical exhaustion?

I certainly didn't.  My comments are clearly referring to making the most of one's practice session.  In fact, the kind of mental focus I'm talking about REDUCES the time and physical energy requirements one needs to practice and ultimately perform.  I have put in my share of 12-hour days, and now I enjoy the benfits of that hard work.  I practice no more than two or three hours per day, and some days (or weeks) not at all.  Too many pianists' minds wander during practice sessions, and then they wonder why they have memory slips.  (They wander as they wonder, er...)  

I'm talking about the kind of mental exhaustion you might have after taking a final exam.  You have been thinking for three hours straight.  Now you are mentally exhausted because you have put so much of yourself into your task.  Your BODY might not hurt, but you are exhausted just the same.  You are missing the spirit of my comments, which is that one should devote oneself entirely to the music when studying it.  

I should state here that, in general, most of my comments on these forums are geared to fellow concert pianists or to those who wanting to head in that direction.  There are certain sacrifices one has to make in order to achieve this success.  Just as people in medical school have to study until all hours of the night, a certain portion of the aspiring artist's life will be a sort of heaven and hell rolled into one; heaven because we love what we are doing, but hell because of the discipline and focus it requires.  If you want to play Mario tunes for fun, then my comments are not for you.  If you want a career, you better listen up.

Hard work has nothing to do with 'macho', or any of your other descriptions.  And I find this statement pretty shocking:

"You should stop practicing when there are BEGINNING signs of mental (or bodily!) exhaustion."  

I agree with you in the "bodily" sense, but it cannot be denied that the mental focus required to properly study the all the details of Schubert's D.960 and then to try to wrap one's mind around its 40 minute entirety will be tiring.

I didn't realize this was news.  

And the building up of one's concentration is an important aspect of our performance preparation.  We have to be able to concentrate NON-STOP for a two hour recital.  Monk, how do you expect to get there when you want to stop when the going gets tough?  This kind of concentration doesn't come overnight; it takes years of stretching the mind and challenging the mind.  I would hate to see a performance where the pianist stopped in the middle of a piece just because his mind started to hurt.  How we practice dictates how we perform.  Great men and women throughout history have soldiered forth through adversity and exhaustion.  Anyone who is any good at whatever they do and strives to be the best in their field has put hours of sweat into their craft.

I realize that most people nowadays think that we have "new ways" to achieve greatness.  But nothing has changed.  As Snoop Dog says, "You gotta pay the cost to be the boss."  (I never thought I would use him to further my point.)  

Robert Henry

[Mayla]

This is a great thread!

One of my teachers used to talk to me about this very subject, and I agree whole heartedly with Robert Henry about how memorization takes place.  This same teacher of mine used to talk about memorization as being a specific muscle and one that needs to be trained.  What Robert Henry is talking about is exactly right, and I have practiced simple things, and gleaned great results, to actually train and develop this muscle...

At first, you may want to choose pieces which are somewhat easily accessable; Haydn Sonatas are a great one because they allow for specific initial thoughts and expectations about the piece right from the get go.  Form, phrasing, mood, texture, etc. etc. (which is what Robert Henry was talking about in a couple postings up).  This is also a fabulous way to learn, brush up on, and engrain Sonata form, should you be in need.

Set aside time each day (or as often as you want, the more days consecutively, the better) to spend specifically on the memorization muscle.  Take a page of your choice (or less depending on how your concentration is already; remember we are training this muscle!) and take time memorizing it as though you were going to be performing it in only 1 hour.  Using the exposition of the Sonatas are a great way to begin.

First phrase, or phrase group, 2nd phrase or phrase group etc etc.  Analyzing the entire time is essential, as Robert Henry was also stating.  What kind of cadences do you have? Where does the tonal center go to (is it surprising or expected; why?)?  How do the phrases relate, differ, etc etc.  During this time observe everything that you can, remember, you are performing this page in 1 hour!

The Beethoven 32 variations in c minor are also a great study to aid in developing the memory muscle in this way, memorize one a day.

Happy Praciticing!!

Maylafox