Do you have any incentive ideas for a memorizing contest, or something of that nature to encourage memorizing pieces? Some of my students are very beginner, and some are older students who have transferred (or who have REALLY applied themselves). How do you make it equal for both types of students – the 6-year olds and the 16-year olds, working on very different material?
I’m hoping that some others will chime in on this one, because I’m not sure how helpful I will be! For one thing, I don’t make a very big deal about memorization in my studio and I don’t require it for my recitals. Some students are naturally gifted in this area and memorize almost simultaneously with learning to play the piece. Others are strongly note-reading oriented and feel extremely nervous and uncomfortable playing from memory. I fit into the latter category and have had too many disastrous memorization-related experiences to enforce memorization across the board.
That said, there are, of course, certain times when memorization is required – for our state evaluation programs and for competitions. And many times I’ll have students elect to memorize a piece for one of our group classes during the year. In these cases, I have certain strategies that I use with my students to help them learn to memorize effectively, but I haven’t done a strictly memorization-oriented practice incentive in any of my practice incentive themes.
Here are a few strategies that I like to use for memorization:
1. In the Faber Piano Adventures Level 1 Technique and Artistry Book there is a piece called Kaleidoscope Colors. I love to introduce this piece by having the student discuss the patterns they see in the first line. Then I take the book away and have them play it by memory. We do this with each subsequent line so that in a few short minutes they can play the entire piece by memory based upon an understanding of the patterns. We do this a little bit with earlier level pieces, but this is typically the point where I officially introduce the principle of cognitive memorization.
2. Label various sections in the piece with numbers or letters and then write the corresponding numbers/letters on slips of paper. Have the student randomly select one of the slips and then work on memorizing that section. Continue until all sections have been worked on. Then I drill them at the following lesson by randomly choosing sections to see if the student can play them as stand-alone sections.
If you have other suggestions for memorization strategies or contests, I’d love to hear about them! This is an area where I could definitely use some improvement!
Remember, if you have a question you’d like to contribute to next week’s Monday Mailbag, leave it in the comments below or send me an e-mail sometime this week with Monday Mailbag in the subject line!
I like to have my students find repeating melodic or rhythmic sections in their music beginning in the primer level and label them with colored pencils. For example, in the song Hot Cross Buns I would draw the following colored lines above each phrase:
Hot Cross Buns (Yellow-A)
Hot Cross Buns (Yellow-A)
One a Penny Two a Penny (Red-B)
Hot Cross Buns (Yellow-A)
After I’ve demonstrated with a couple of songs, I turn the pencils over to them.
This not only helps them learn the music more quickly, it also helps them “chunk” their songs for easier memorization.
Usually the colors we pick are random, but if a song has a “minor” section or an “exciting” section I have the student choose a color that they think reflects the mood of that part of the song.
For pieces with repeating themes with variations they label each section A, A1, A2, etc. and “squiggle” the colored lines at the point where the music starts to vary from the first theme presented.
Often if the song doesn’t have a repeating melody, there are repeating rhythmic motifs that I have them find and color in a similar way.
Another strategy is to have the student make a “memory map.” On a blank piece of paper using their music as a guide have them “draw out” their music in a simplified form using colored lines to represent the basic melodic contour of each phrase, rectangles for chords, dots for staccato notes, simple pictures of what a certain part of the song makes them think of, etc. This is especially helpful for visual learners.
I have my students play a fun memorization game called “Traveling Music”. In this game you are allowed to look at your music as much as you’d like — the deal is that the book moves to a different location every practice session! For example:
day 1: music is on top of the piano
day 2: music is under the piano bench
day 3: music is in the kitchen
day 4: etc.
If the student forgets a note, they are more than welcome to study the music (wherever it is in the house that day), but they may not bring the music back to the piano.
Granted, the student must know the music well before beginning this game… I usually use it to help get reluctant students ‘off the page’. The kids love it, though, which makes them want to practice/memorize.
Wow! Great ideas! I especially love the ‘traveling music’ game–that’s brilliant, Anya!
The only thing I have to contribute, is that I try to emphasize purposeful memorization rather than accidental memorization or memorization based purely on feel. Purposeful memory (knowing exactly what notes you’re playing at what time) tends to be much more successful when you’re flush with nervousness and second-guessing yourself.
These are great ideas! Interestingly enough, I have the opposite problem as the poster of the original question. I do offer my students extra “music bucks” if they memorize a piece, but in one case, this created a monster! One of my young students now memorizes every single piece he plays, and comes back with the notes memorized before he has mastered the dynamics, articulation, phrasing, etc. so that he can get the extra bucks! He’s very proud to show off that he can play it without the book, but he’s not playing it well! I’ve had to require him to learn a piece to excellence before I’ll consider awarding anything for memory. I should have set up my incentive that way from the start!