To memorize or not to memorize, that is the question?

[mpeltz]

I play a regular 3 hour weekly gig at a local resturant. I'm a fingerstyle/classical guitarist that plays everything from classical to pop and everything inbetween. I have about 60 songs under my memory belt to some degree or another but I am alwasy trying to add new music. I do not play by ear so I am always getting music from somewhere. I find that trying to memorize the new stuff is getting more and more stressful. I am retired and this is just supposed to be fun for me. I find pros and cons to memorizing. On the pro side I don't have to drag out music sheets, on the negative side, I can have memory lapses in the middle of a song and that is frustrating. I find it also easier to currect songs I am playing from the sheet music were as once I have memorized a piece it is harder to go back and fix parts that are getting "muddy". I am actually memorizing the music even though I am still relying on the sheets but I have them for security I guess. Playing for 3 hours is a lot of music, and I try not to repeate and I want to continue to add. Would love to hear from some others on this topic. Thanks again for the input.

[riffmeister]

Having three hours of music under your fingertips from memory is quite a lot, congratulations!

I think different people have different capacities for the amount of music they can play from memory, so the answer to the question about reading vs memorizing will probably vary form person to person. As a general answer to the question, then, I would say memorize as much as you are comfortable with, and have scores for the rest.

Bottom line is you want your performance to be as enjoyable as possible both to yourself and to the audience, so do whatever it takes to accomplish that.

[Dave T]

...I can have memory lapses in the middle of a song and that is frustrating.

I sure know what that's like. Although I don't have anything like 3 hours of music memorized I still find myself coming up blank occasionally in the middle of a song I already know. I always thought that's a sign of lacking of focus. If it's going to get worse as I learn more songs I'm in big trouble. (LOL)

More seriously, I have been tempted (in part because of the above) to start having tabs laid out on a music stand, just to fall back on. I haven't done it yet as I'm afraid I'll get dependent on it. I like being able to pick up my guitar and play a song I know from memory.

Dave

[ceciltguitar]

Congratulations on the gig! 3 hour gig for a retired guy - good for you! A lot of retired folks do not have the health to do a 3 hour gig.

Stress is like exercise, up to a point the right stress in the right amount is a good thing. Up to you to determine where you fall on the continuum of healthy vs non-healthy stress.

FWIW, once upon a time I thought it was just me, and then read in several top guitarist autobiographies something to this effect: How come I have played this tune X number of times and still have memory lapses?

Another common experience in those of us who have had enough birthdays to retire: How come I remember note-for-note the tune that I learned 30+ years ago and have not played for a year, but cannot remember all the notes in the simpler tune that I thought that I memorized last week?

Enjoy the ride on the green side of the grass as long as you can!

[Gitfiddlemann]

Having three hours of music under your fingertips from memory is quite a lot, congratulations!

Definitely. Don't beat yourself up too badly if you have the occasional memory cramp.
My theory, and I think that Dave T hit upon it too, is that if the memory issues aren't due mostly to nerves, which I don't believe so in your case since you're a seasoned performer, then many, if not most of them, could perhaps be traced to transitory lapses in focus or concentration.
Concentration is something I think we all think we can do better than we actually do. I recall David Russell talking about that in an interview, and it stuck with me. Preventing "brain drift" while playing (particularly for tunes we play a lot) is a part of practice that needs to be developed on its own, in addition to our other technical bag of tricks. It doesn't come naturally to most people. It can be work, especially for demanding pieces, or ones you think you have memorized, but perhaps not fully so, to give the tune your full attention at all times. Especially during practice, when do overs and just going through the motions can make us lazier in this regard.
So it might be helpful, the next time you practice, particularly those pieces where memory lapses have occurred, to make a point of giving it your all in terms of focus. It's very much an acquired trait. Not one most of us are born with (imo).
Please note that this is just a suggestion on my part. I personally don't have 3 hours worth of memorized pieces like you do. That really is pretty darn good capacity, and I'm sure you could teach me a thing or two about performing in the manner that you do. Only throwing it out there for your consideration.

[mpeltz]

All good stuff! Thank you all for the comments. I do agree on the focus issue, particulary when it involves playing pieces I have played for years and in a performance, part of it "disapears"! For most of my life I have memorized my pieces, but now that I am actually playing these gigs, (my new retirement job) the catch has been adding new music qucker, as for the next weeks gig!! Well let me be honest now, it will take me a little more than a week to get a piece up to performance level depending on the piece, but you know what I mean. It is nice to be able to just pick up the guitar and play a piece, but in the 3 hour performance setting, it helps to have the music with me on my new pieces. I will probably memorize some of that at some point.
Love this forum!!

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by mpeltz

I play a regular 3 hour weekly gig at a local resturant. I'm a fingerstyle/classical guitarist that plays everything from classical to pop and everything inbetween. I have about 60 songs under my memory belt to some degree or another but I am alwasy trying to add new music. I do not play by ear so I am always getting music from somewhere. I find that trying to memorize the new stuff is getting more and more stressful. I am retired and this is just supposed to be fun for me. I find pros and cons to memorizing. On the pro side I don't have to drag out music sheets, on the negative side, I can have memory lapses in the middle of a song and that is frustrating. I find it also easier to currect songs I am playing from the sheet music were as once I have memorized a piece it is harder to go back and fix parts that are getting "muddy". I am actually memorizing the music even though I am still relying on the sheets but I have them for security I guess. Playing for 3 hours is a lot of music, and I try not to repeate and I want to continue to add. Would love to hear from some others on this topic. Thanks again for the input.

Since this isn't a concert setting, and you're essentially background music there to make the dining experience more enjoyable, I think you're okay bringing sheets. I can't imagine that any diner is going to go to management later and express disappointment that the guitar player had a music stand and sheets. On the other hand, they might complain if you badly flub a whole bunch of songs while they're eating. Bring your sheets, reduce your stress, and have a good time.

[pf400]

Absolutely no problem using sheets. Many people will actually appreciate you more seeing that you can read and perform sheet music. My repertoire lasts 2.5 hours but I could stretch it to three although my right hand coordination suffers after 2 hours. As far as the new songs I assume you are concerned that your audience will not want to hear the same pieces over and over ? If they do dine there regularly, hey it's probably partly because they liked what they heard you play. Many will come back just to hear your version of pieces that they enjoy....they will expect to hear those tunes. At 62, it takes me really a lot longer to learn and memorize a piece but this does not bother me because, like you, I have quite the load of arrows in my quiver. Be proud and enjoy !

[oldtimeblues]

Originally Posted by mpeltz

I play a regular 3 hour weekly gig at a local resturant. I'm a fingerstyle/classical guitarist that plays everything from classical to pop and everything inbetween. I have about 60 songs under my memory belt to some degree or another but I am alwasy trying to add new music. I do not play by ear so I am always getting music from somewhere. I find that trying to memorize the new stuff is getting more and more stressful. I am retired and this is just supposed to be fun for me. I find pros and cons to memorizing. On the pro side I don't have to drag out music sheets, on the negative side, I can have memory lapses in the middle of a song and that is frustrating. I find it also easier to currect songs I am playing from the sheet music were as once I have memorized a piece it is harder to go back and fix parts that are getting "muddy". I am actually memorizing the music even though I am still relying on the sheets but I have them for security I guess. Playing for 3 hours is a lot of music, and I try not to repeate and I want to continue to add. Would love to hear from some others on this topic. Thanks again for the input.

If you have a 3 hour weekly gig at the local resturant you should be giving out advice, not asking for it. Most of us would love to have that gig. Except for the problem of being an entertainer instead of a musician. If it was me I would play the the other stuff from memory, and then pull out the music for the classsical stuff (whether you need it or not and you really shouldn't need it if it and you are serious) just to impress people and let them know you are doing something that is so ambitious it actually requires written music.

[posternutbag]

I wouldn't think of sheet music as a crutch. For a 3 hour solo gig, it is almost a requirement.

In my experience, a large percentage of your audience won't know/care enough to notice. People are used to seeing pianists in situations like this playing from sheet music, and they don't think anything of it. Of those who do notice, many will view you as more "professional" because "professional" musicians (ie classical musicians) play from sheet music. At least this is what I have noticed.

I tend to memorize, mostly because my reading skills are not as good as they should be, and I can't tell you how many people have asked me, "Is that a real song, or did you just make it up?"

[sam.spoons]

Yeah, I'm a non reader (well almost, I certainly can't sight read) acoustic (and electric) player and singer. My buddy is a classical guitarist and uses dots for much of his rep when performing, it's standard practice in the classical music world. As many above have said, do what works for you. However, if you have the cash and modest computer skills you can have all your music on an iPad, with an inexpensive page turn foot pedal. My bette noir is remembering lyrics and I use an app called 'My Lyric Book', works great and the iPad is fairly unobtrusive (plus it doesn't need a music stand light )

[lodi_55]

I have about 50 songs memorized. I'm not "prolific" on writing new songs, so I usually only bring 3-4 new songs per year. But my memory is still good and I don't know if I could ever look at sheet music while trying to engage my audience. Just not my thing...

do you have any songs that you could drop out of your lineup? meaning, maybe find 10 songs that you could do without? So maybe if you bring 10 new ones in, you find 10 ones that you stop practicing and hopefully forget about. Not sure if that would help, but I have definitely reviewed my list of songs from time to time and removed some I just didn't feel strongly about.

[HHP]

I try to get to the point that they are not just memorized, but instinctual. I generally feel it is at that point when I can play them reliably but cannot easily visualize what my hands are doing. When I decide to do a tune, the hands just know what to do. If I need to transcribe what I am doing, I almost have to have a guitar in my hands to do it.

A lot of the tunes are in the same keys so one problem I have sometimes is that I will play the A part of one tune and then the B part from another tune. Usually realize it about 4-6 bars in and have to concentrate so I don't switch back the the proper B part. Most people don't even notice.

[k_russell]

I might have about 40 minutes of music memorized. Three hours is impressive!

If a piece is easy to read, I tend to play it from the sheet music. I keep the sheet music in a binder. I can flip to a page and play the piece because I have learned to play it (but not memorized it). These tunes are typically in the key of C or G (Am, Em) and I play them, for most part, in one position.

More difficult pieces offer motivation to memorize. Pieces with a lot of stacked chords, many position changes and less guitar friendly keys, seem to ask me to memorize. The more complex the piece, the better my memory cues work. I rarely have memory lapses playing a difficult piece once I have committed it to memory.

[rodmbds]

Hi! Congrats on the 3 hour gig that's impressive.

Reading your post I pretty much think you've answered yourself there. Sheet music "just to be safe".