how to remember long pieces of music

[sutong]

How do you remember long pieces of  music?

I try playing a piece which is 14 pages long. A month later I can remember the first 5 lines. Do you remember by finger patterns, like  translate pitch sounds into finger position or learn the score?

I have one hour a day to practice pipa only so I think mg progress is slow now.

[davidmdahl]

I break a tune down into sections, and identify where the music repeats. Often times, the music repeats, but with something changed. In that case, you only have to learn that section once, and then just the differences for the next appearance. In general, I like to find the patterns, and then memorize those, instead of note by note. It really helps if the music is built on easy-to-remember phrases. Folk tunes are often like that, but traditional music often spins from one motif to another, making it much harder to memorize. For traditional music, I sometimes have to go measure by measure. Even then I try to group the measures, so I am working with phrases.

It is good to memorize by every angle you can approach the music. Hear the music in your mind, and see the score, at least at critical points. Some memorization is mostly muscle memory, and while you want that as part of your memory, alone it is not reliable under stress. Don't try to memorize everything all at once. Pick a section and work on that until it is comfortable, and then move on. Don't forget to continue working on sections you have memorized.

One technique I have used to good effect is to work on sections at the end of the tune first. This will help to avoid the problem that the beginning of the tune is more secure than the end. Since the ending is the part of the tune the audience hears last, it is most important to play well. Of course, you want to play everything well, but especially the end.

Memorization is like most aspects of music. It gets better and easier with practice.

Best wishes,

David

[sutong]

Thanks David.

I cannot read jian pu very well so i am trying to rely by aural learning. For atonal music, this must be really hard! My friend complain that i always play the same thing, but that is practicing to get it right.

I will try and learn more jian pu to have another way of remember phrases.

[davidmdahl]

Almost 20 years ago, I learned Irish music on the wooden flute by ear from my teacher. Even though I could read the score, my teacher wanted me to learn in the traditional manner. I found it slow going, but it got easier as I became used to it, and I found that the tunes I learned this way were more secure then those I learned from the score. So, learning by ear is not a bad way to go, but do still think that being able to read a score is very useful, and important if you want to play music with others. I have been beating the drum for jianpu for Chinese music, but Samuel has written that staff notation is becoming more the choice, at least in orchestras and professional ensembles. In my neck of the woods, I really need to read both jianpu and staff scores, and then be able to play in whatever key is the choice of the ensemble.

Best wishes,

David

[jbfiddle]

I'm a fan of learning to read whatever notation is in vogue in your neck of the woods (jianpu, staff, tab, whatever) - I've certainly never heard anyone complain about having learned to read music! That said, I'm first going to parrot David by recommending you break it down into parts. There are definitely patterns, and once you can cue into those patterns huge passages become much smaller and more manageable.

The other thing I'd say is to listen to a piece one-hundred times a day. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but you cannot over listen. Don't just leave it on in the background either, but find a couple of times a day to sit down, eyes closed, headphones on, distractions at bay, and just soak it in. If you start thinking about the grocery list before the whole piece is over, stop there and call it good for that session. Eventually you'll acclimate to these dedicated listening sessions and be able to get through a longer piece without mental wandering. Only do this dedicated listening a few times a day - it can be exhausting!

The goal here is to engrave the tune in your soul. Actually, Tai Chi masters talk about storing chi in your bones - I guess in this case we're looking to store music in our bones instead!

One of the biggest draws to Chinese music for me is the incredible story-telling that goes on in every piece. I come from the Irish music world that David mentioned, and though there is a lifetime worth of story in that tradition, the Chinese approach is even more theatrical. If you can internalize that story-telling by repeated (or, better yet, non-stop) listening then you'll have no problem remembering each little turn in a particular piece - you'll let the story carry you along.

[edcat7]

Listening to that piece of music until it's engrained in your soul is a good idea, that's why I record my erhu teacher. However my classical guitar teacher prevents me recording her as she says she wants me to learn to sight read.

After a while whist I'm playing any tune on erhu or guitar I don't consciously think what note I'm playing and if you asked me for example where a certain note is I wouldn't be immediately be able to tell you.

[sutong]

I read what you say and have been trying.

I am really sick of hearing myself play the same thing wrong but I have learnt the first few notes off by heart of a new song!