Find solution
What is the best way to memorize music?

What's the best way to memorize sheet music?

  • Do you memorize where your hands move on the instrument; naturally by ear, or is it best to visualize the notes? Or does all that depend on the person's learning style and the song? I would really like to get into a habit of memorizing music. What works best for you? Thank You! = )

  • Answer:

    I learned from my teacher\professor of music that the very best way is called "imaging". It works well for me. It's basically visualizing the notes like you were saying. and It's done away from the instrument. He tells me close my eyes and move my fingers like I'm playing the piece and imagine every single note, stopping occasionally to actually say what notes I'm playing. When I can't remember the note I check the music. An hour of this is worth 3 hours on the instrument. I teach this technique to my students as well, and it works with some and not with others. (although it's anyone's guess if my students are actually imaging correctly when I'm not over their shoulder lol)

Candi *MJ rocked our world* at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

I find the best way is to take it a short section at a time, maybe an 8 measure phrase and do that part over and over again until you can do it by memory. Then, move on to the next 8 measures, and while trying that, combine the two until you're progressively fitting the song together bit by bit.

Dcoil1

Looks like you have some pretty good answers so far here is a couple other things to note! 1- Every person learns and memorize in a different way , so read up on it and try different methods. 2- I personal can't do the visual memory thing. I use muscle memory to remember the sheet music ( so I just remember the actual movements some how. sounds harder then it really is though) 3- break up the song ( or what ever) into sections then make sure you notice where things are similar or different ( like repeats that may end differently) Don't worry if memorizing doesn't come to you right away. I took me over 2 years of lessons to actually remember 1 song and now it seems i can remember TONS of stuff with out even trying ! So keep up the hard work!

Ulyana

Memorizing music is a piece of cake when you analyze what you are playing. Melody lines derive from chord tones. So start with the chords of the song. Play the bass note in the left hand, and just the chord in the right hand as a starting point. Fake books give you the perfect opportunity to practice this technique. Once you are comfortable with the chord progression, working in the melody is easy.

musicandpolitics

Take a small part of the music and wean your way off of the sheet music until you have the one part memorized. Keep doing this until you have done it to the entire piece. After that, put it all together. As for when I play, most of the time I'm too lazy to pull out the music so I just play the parts I remember and once I have that I finally pull out the music.

Ian

i just memorize the music section by section...i would play a section a couple times, then turn it over and play it by memory until i get it stuck in my head...

Danny

Yes.. It depends on the learning style of an individual. BTW to visualize the notes would be much easier than memorizing. For more on guitar lessons: http://www.guitarists.net/

guitarists

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.