Memorization
 

I currently have a fairly large number of pieces in my repertoire and memorizing new pieces is alway a challenge. I've even started to perform pieces from the sheet music and find this easier to a point but may hamper my ability to perform it well. I'd like to hear how others go about memorizing their music. I'm sure everyone may have there own methods but It may be helpful to hear how others do this task. I work on the piece from the music until I'm comfortable playing it then I will start to memorize it in sections. It is never an easy process! It may take weeks depending on the length of the piece maybe longer before I'm confident I can perform it with out forgetting sections. (This still happens sometimes even with a lot of time put in). Thank for any input.

Mostly repetition in sections until I can play it while talking or watching TV. I often find that once I really have one in memory, I can't immediately think of what finger on what fret without picking up a guitar to work it out.

I do make it a point to also practice starting at random passages or playing the parts out of sequence. Seems to help in recovering from the inevitable mistake that will happen.

Yes I have heard about practicing sections out of sequence. Wow getting to the point I can play and talk or watch tv takes a long time if ever. Thanks for the input.

I do a phrase at the time, and then a section. Then I do the whole song. Then I mistakenly feel I've conquered it, and often don't play it for a while. Then I go back and re-learn the phrases I forgot. Usually I'm okay after that.

Some material is much easier on the memory than other stuff. In general, the more I've listened to a song, the easier it is to memorize. Of course more repeating parts of phrases helps too. I try to make sure I'm learning multiple tunes in parallel. I'll mix in a hard one, with something easier, and then something else that I'm just polishing up or something.

Information overload alert!
 

Some ideas to consider:

http://stephenaronstudio.blogspot.co...backwards.html

http://www.pooretom.com/backtofront.html

http://www.terrymuska.com/STUDENTS/memorization.html

http://www.classicalguitardelcamp.co...ic.php?t=64262

Once I can play the piece star to finish with the music. I take the score and visualize the piece without the gutiar in my hands. Next, I visualize the piece without the score or the guitar.

After I can play the piece (guitar in hand now) through without memory lapses, I randomly select starting points (measure 10, measure 6 etc.). I use the score initially, then work without the score.

Then I chose a space where family members will pass by or enter. They tend to produce the best distractons for me. I have also used Hendrix on the stereo, the television, and sitting on the front porch while garbage collectors or landscapers make their way up my street, for distractions to overcome.

I found that if I use these techniques (extra effort), pieces learned (and thought forgotten) decades ago, come back to me in a practice session or two.

I like the distraction idea!! That is the bigest thing that throws me off. Once you have memorized a piece do you find it dificult to go back to the music if you forget a section? I have found that this can really mess me up for some reason. It is like the music is totaly unrecognizable?? It takes me a while to find the section I want to work on??

I do have some trouble going back to the score after memorizing the piece. Memorizing and then visualizing the score without the guitar helps. It's like introducing a secondary skill to help the primary one. One caveat, that I encounter, is that I also memorize the type set. The same notes set with a different type format causes some confusion . Until I find a way to over come this obstacle, I keep my original scores safe.

I have not tried this yet, but you might try starting the piece at each measure, or maybe every 3rd or 4th measure, if it's really long.

One teacher of mine recommended singing the piece. That might work for you. If you sing through the piece while watching the score, you should be able to find your place. I told the teacher that if I could sing, I would not be studying the guitar (a lot less money for gear).

I also have problems memorizing the pieces I play and frequently have lapses...especially when under pressure.
I have to hammer away at the piece and I try to start random measures just before and after the problem areas so that I have a better chance of not getting stuck.
Isn't it amazing that the better players here seem to learn difficult pieces so quickly! How in the world can they do that? I am constantly amazed that they have this ability.

All of these things are effective tools to memorize. One thing I haven't seen mentioned that teachers used to stress to me is harmonic analysis. It may seem a lot of effort but it really does help to have an idea of what is actually happening in the music. It's not so much that you play the piece thinking every chord, scale, and interval, but when you 'know the basic plot' it sticks with you when your muscle memory deserts you. Muscle memory can be very fickle.

Another tool that's especially good for tricky runs and transitions is to practice very small chunks. You might for instance break a run up so that you 'land' on every beat, or every other beat, or every downbeat. When you 'land' you mentally prepare for the next burst of movement, you see the contour, fingering, etc, then when you're ready you 'go' quickly and don't stop until your next landing note. You can really hammer out one troubling beat, measure, phrase, this way and not move on until you make real progress with it. You can end up spending 20 minutes polishing a single half of a beat of a Bach Fugue like this. Sooner or later you have to move on for sanity's sake though :). At that point you've absorbed as much as you're going to, and it's probably more than it feels like at the time. A lot happens in the 'rest' period after a practice session and when you go back the progress can seem magical.

Yes, that "rest" between practice sessions and mostly over night does have an interesting effect on memory. I have also noticed fatigue can cause blocks as well. Resting seems to "reboot" the brain sometimes. I'm working on mentally working through the piece to see if I can actually visualize playing it when I'm laying in bed. This is not easy!! The picture in my head is not as clear as I would like it to be. I'll keep working on this and see if it helps as well. Thanks for the great input.

I'm working on the visualization concept. It is not easy. The picture in my head is not as clear as I would like it to be. Hopefuly it will get clearer as I work on this skill.

I think this forum is a great learning tool to see how the "better" players improve their skills. The input I get from my posts are very helpful. Now I need to apply them. It is a learning process...but hey, we have a lifetime to improve. :)

I'm not convinced visualization is necessary. The connection needed is more like between muscle memory and the auditory functions. In playing position, you can't see both hands so visual cues will have limited value.

Relating muscle memory to auditory function helps. You need to be careful. It's easy to learn a wrong note. If a note sounds correct (fits harmonically) and is easier to reach with your fingers, there's a good chance that you will learn to play it instead of the note that the composer or arranger wrote. That "wrong note" may be fine if you're playing jazz.

It's also easier to lose your place using this memory device once you are distracted. If you know the score you can respond to a distraction by playing from your mental image of the score.