An excerpt from an article I wrote in 2010 regarding music and memory
Basic Elements of Human Memory
Each of us has memory. We use it with ease and it hardly occurs to us to be amazed at the capacity for knowledge and how it can be used. Over the years, science has endeavored to learn how the human memory system operates. Most people think of human memory as being a passive storage space, but this isn’t actually the case. Current science has discovered that memory is an active set of processes – when we first perceive something, it is ‘worked on’ in working memory. This is called encoding. Memories have to be encoded before they can be stored in long-term memory.
Perception
Music is all about perception. We often think of the music consumer when we speak of perception. The listener hears and sees a performance, draws conclusions, remembers the experience and frequently makes decisions about whether to listen again based on the overall perception of the concert. For the musician, perception is an ongoing critical aspect of performance that has nothing to do with casual listening, but is an intense and valuable tool relating to musical memory.
Musical memory is dependent on the coordination and development of perception. The three perceptions vital to musical memory are auditory perception, visual perception, and kinesthetic perception. These are necessary elements of music memorization.
Auditory perception or aural perception enables imagination of the sound of a piece of music. When in performance, this imagination allows for the anticipation of upcoming events within the music, as well as a concurrent evaluation of the performance in progress. This relates to many aspects of the music performed. Correct pitches, tuning, timing and meter, tempo, intensity and volume, are all part of this perception. This is all based upon the memory of how the piece is to be performed. This perception is only a part of what is needed for successful performance.
Visual perception enables mental imaging of the score as well as aspects of the conditions under which the performance takes place. Visualization includes the hand position on the violin, piano or trombone. Obviously this affects pitch, tuning, and even timbre of a performance. For vocalists, this can mean a visualization of surroundings an opera scene for example. Also, vocalists may visualize the lyrics as seen on the page. Again, this perception is only a part of what is needed for successful performance.
Kinesthetic perception enables a performer to execute complex motor sequences needed to play an instrument or to sing. This is facilitated by extended physical training related to the instrument of choice, or through vocal study. This perception is only a part of what is needed for successful performance.
The perceptions mentioned previously, Auditory, Visual and Kinesthetic work together in a coordinated fashion to provide the framework for complete performance memory. “To recall and retain the music without stimulus from the printed page, one must see it in the mind’s eye, hear it, and feel it through the neuro-muscular system. This process is obviously a voluntary one and basically dependent upon the will, desire, and intent to memorize.”
Healthy Habits Can Improve Memory
It is important to recognize that the brain is biological. The brain has nutritional and other needs just as do other organs in the body. Good habits can increase the health of the brain, thereby assisting with overall memory function. Here are a few items to consider:
Regular Exercise
- Increases oxygen to the brain.
- Reduces risk for disorders like diabetes that lead to memory loss.
- Enhances the effect of helpful brain chemicals.
Managing Stress
- Cortisol, the stress hormone, can damage the hippocampus (memory center of the brain).
- Stress makes it difficult to concentrate.
Good Sleep Habits
- Sleep is necessary for memory consolidation (short term moves to long term).
- Insomnia and lack of sleep cause tiredness, with a lack of concentration.
Be a Non-smoker
- Smoking constricts arteries that deliver vital oxygen to the brain.
- Smoking heightens the risk of vascular disorders that can cause stroke.
Good Nutrition
- Foods with B vitamins and folic acid, protect neurons, and they help to make red blood cells.
- Antioxidants such as vitamins C, E, and beta carotene fight free radicals and improve circulation.
- Omega-3 fatty acids are concentrated in the brain and are associated with cognitive function. Foods high in omega-3 are vital to healthy brain function.
Memorization Methods for Musicians
Analysis is important. Describe and analyze the piece in terms of its overall form, and then each movement, section, major themes, sequences, characteristic intervals, modulations, key areas, rhythmic patterns, dynamics, phrasing, etc. Learning the landmarks of the piece and knowing just where they are, and being able to describe them is a great start toward memorization as well as understanding interpretation.
Use markers of different colors to highlight the various themes or voices and their recurrences. Explain what they contribute to the music. Mark the closures and the points of tension and resolution.
Memorize in sections. This is known as chunking. Use the formal structure of the piece to create logical sections. Lay the score aside and use it as a reference only. Visualize the score with the eyes closed. Hear the music in your mind, slowly, listening to every nuance and noticing every note, dynamic, and expression.
As an option, memorize the work beginning at the final measures, and then continue to add “chunks” until memorized to the beginning. Czerny endorsed this method of memorization and referred to it as “learning backwards.” Franz Liszt was also a proponent of this methodology, and claimed that it was the very best means of obtaining absolute security of memorization. You will find that the obvious continued repetition of sections lends itself to successful memorization with potentially stronger mental linkage to the piece.
After working on memorization it is important to get a good nights rest. Memories are transferred from short term to long term memory in the hippocampus. This transfer happens during REM sleep.
Perhaps this is one reason it is better to get a good nights sleep before a test rather than studying all night.
I think it is safe to say that the ability to memorize music is not a special gift possessed by only a few highly talented well-trained musicians, but rather a skill and technique which can be acquired and used by normal and typical music students at various age levels. Certainly there are many degrees of musical intellect and aptitude, and obviously the ability to memorize will be proportionate to those abilities. Very few can expect to achieve the phenomenal memory span of a Bernstein, or a Toscanini, but we can memorize music if we know how. To know how, we must learn the music as clearly understood rhythmic, melodic, harmonic and structural designs and meaningful units. To be successful, we must learn to take advantage of the three basic memory perceptions mentioned previously in this paper: Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic. The coordination of these are the key to memorization.
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