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This article is from the Piano Playing from Memory FAQ, by Isako Hoshino rmmpfaq@yahoo.com with numerous contributions by others.

3.7) The practical use of theory (Piano Playing from Memory)

Leschetizky placed great emphasis on theoretical analysis of a
piece as part of memorizing, as do many teachers today. I presume
to question whether this is absolutely necessary to memorizing,
but it does contribute much. What you learn from a study of music
theory is a set of technical concepts with which to talk about and
analyze music. These have two important uses in memorizing:

First, identifying the components of a piece draws attention to
all the details of the piece; the increased attention to detail
helps the memorizing process. This means that the analysis should
be done in parallel with or slightly in advance of memorizing.

Second, learning is facilitated by what psychologists call "verbal
mediation", that is, actively using the description of what you
are to do as a learning tool. Learning to operate the manual gear
shift of a car is facilitated by using the words "left foot",
"clutch pedal", "neutral", etc. (Imagine how you would learn
without using these words.) As part of the learning process you
may even repeat to yourself the verbal instructions for shifting
gears as you perform the corresponding operations. You can do
something similar while memorizing music. For example, you may
say to yourself, "The piece begins on G, followed by an arpeggio
starting on C", perhaps in a greatly abbreviated manner. Later,
once the skill has become automatic, the words recede into the
background.

A technical analysis of a piece would include breaking it down
into formal parts as described above in 3.4 plus identifying
elements and structures of the following types:

* harmonic (keys and key changes, chords and chord
progressions)

* melodic (themes and voices; turning points; beginning and
goal notes)

* rhythmic (meter, tempo)

Also, note repeating patterns and variations of or deviations from
the patterns.

 

Continue to:

• prev: 3.6) Working backwards (Piano Playing from Memory)
• Index
• next: 3.8) Visual memory (Piano Playing from Memory)

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