3 Tips for Memorization
Memorization has a lot of benefits for students, but sometimes it can be a lot of work! As with everything in life, some students find memorization easy, and some may struggle with it. Every student is different!
Students may find these 3 memorization tips to be helpful:
Tip 1: Make sure practice time is efficient and productive.
Practice time should never be robotic repetition! Whenever students are putting in good practice time using various practice tips like these, they will inadvertently be helping themselves memorize their music. Consistent overall practice time experiencing the music in different ways will definitely make a difference. It helps to solidify students’ vision and memory of the piece itself making things a whole lot easier in the long run!
Tip 2: Look for things that are the same or different in the piece.
This has always been a HUGE help to me in memorization! Music is full of patterns and recurring ideas – look for them! Are there snippets of the melody or harmonies that return in other parts of the piece? Are there similar intervallic relationships throughout the piece? Comparatively, are there places within the piece that stick out as being completely different from everything else? Students can create a mental map of the piece using this information in their mind, but they could also write it out on paper! Getting a piece of paper and some colored pencils, and drawing some notes may help them remember these things.
Tip 3: Listen, listen, listen!
Undoubtedly, listening actively and frequently to their piece will help students with memorization. Students should be listening to their music in any way they have available to them: YouTube, streaming services, recordings from the library, etc. When students immerse themselves in their pieces by not only playing them but hearing them, their memory will have more opportunities to grab ahold of them. This can even be as simple as playing through each voice or layer in their piece, too. Play the melody alone, and listen closely. Can you even sing along? Do the same thing with the chords and other voices. If they can sing it, they have been listening!
Certainly, these are only a few tips that can aid in memorization for students. Have you discovered any more that work for your child? Leave them in the comments below!
