Memorizing, Part II

 

I wrote about memorizing in a previous post (November, 2012). Some of this will be repetition of those points, but in this post I also want to give my thoughts regarding a post I've recently read from someone who also has a blog about learning and playing the piano.

The best memorizers are the the musicians with the best ears. It's really that simple. (The exception would be those with a photographic memory, who are picturing the score as they play. This may be a very reliable way to memorize, but I feel it is not the best way, from a musical standpoint.) Of course you realize that when I say "ear" I'm talking about the auditory cortex of the brain. If you know a piece of music by ear then you automatically know it by memory. Let's take a simple example: you never saw the sheet music for Happy Birthday, but it was easy for you to pick out the melody by ear and then harmonize it with a few simple chords. You are probably not going to "forget" it. Once your ear knows it, it always knows it. (You don't foget how to sing songs you've known well. Maybe the words, but not the tune.) You may think that's a huge stretch, to know a Chopin Ballade "by ear," but I assure you it can be done, and is done, by all the top pianists.

There are quite a few earlier posts which discuss how to develop your ear.

The points made by the other blogger are as follows:

• Play through your music regularly. Yes, of course, if you learn a piece but then don't play it for many years, the memory may fade. It will fade the most if you depended mostly on muscle memory, which is the first "memory" to be acquired and the first to be lost. The neurological pathways that form muscle memory have fallen into dis-use and will disappear, or perhaps they are "over-written" by new ones. If you've played piano for a lifetime, as I have, and have learned thousands of pieces, it's difficult to play through all the pieces frequently. But I do agree with the concept: the more often you bring your pieces out of "cold storage" the better you will know them.
• His second point is to understand the structure of the piece through music theory. I agree that it's a great idea to understand how your piece is put together, especially when it comes to harmony. You can learn what comprises "sonata form," which applies to sonatas as well as concertos, many symphonies, string quartets, and many others. But a Mozart sonata is very different than one by Prokofieff, and just knowing the "facts" of sonata form isn't going to help you with memorizing. Am I saying it's OK to be a dummy about musical form? Absolutely not. Although it would be possible to know nothing about how how music is structured and still play beautifully, why would you? If you love music, hopefully you'd want to know more about it -- in depth. In my previous  post on memory I discuss the ways that intellectual knowledge of your piece can be important. But it is not the primary foundation for memorizing.
• His next point is "learn the music correctly from the start." What can I say? Duh.
• "Slow practice reinforces your memory." Not necessarily. If it did, you'd find it easier to memorize slow pieces than fast ones. But you'll find that's not true. A fast Clementi Sonatina is far easier to memorize than, say, a slow piece by Rachmaninoff, Brahms, or Bartok. Why? The harmonies in the latter pieces are exponentially more complex, and it is hearing those harmonies (not just being able to name them) that creates the challenge for memory. 
• "Play through the piece in your mind." Your "fingers" may go through the motions of playing even when you are not at the piano, and your mind may be hearing the piece internally. But how much are you really hearing? Can you sing the bass line? How about one of the inner voices? I emphasize the importance of singing. The ear and the voice have a direct connection; there is no muscle memory to assist you. So if you can sing it, the ear knows it. I think limited amounts of "playing" when you are away from the piano, such as when you can't really get to a piano, could potentially be useful, but try to spend your time at the actual piano instead.
• His final point is to take care of your body and mind. Again, what can I say..... If you are ill or depressed you may not memorize easily. But I'm sure there are many exceptions. Even so, of course take care of your health for its own sake!

What About the 4th Finger?

 

Pianists often complain about the 4th finger, specifically, its lack of "independence." Or people will tell you that it's a weaker finger. (They'll say that about the pinky as well.) People (teachers, bloggers, etc.) will give you advice on how to deal with that, but sadly, most of it is not only wrong, but potentially harmful.

The thumb, pointer finger and pinky all have their own tendons. The index and ring fingers share a tendon. This is why, for example, you can't lift your 4th finger as high when your hand is flat on a surface. Contrary to what many will tell you, however, you don't need to lift your fingers high when playing, so it's not a problem!

All the great pianists of the past and present have the same anatomy of the hand, so clearly it can't really be a problem. Some will say that the great pianists do "exercises" to increase the indepence and strength of these fingers; however, you can't really overcome anatomy. 

[Please read my post titled "Independence," from, appropriately, July 4, 2022.]

When you think about it, you'll realize our hands aren't that well suited to the piano! The thumb is opposable and contacts the keys differently, the fingers are all different lengths, and then there is the situation with the tendons. And yet, over the centuries, great pianists have made it sound natural and beautiful, from the softest and most delicate to the loudest and most dramatic, from dreamily slow to dazzlingly fast. Unfortunately, some students of the piano never achieve that kind of playing. There are many reasons for this, of course, but one reason is that they follow advice that is based on false reasoning.

Robert Schumann invented some sort of contraption that was supposed to solve the "problem" of the 4th finger, but sadly, and not surprisingly, he ended up permanently injuring his hand instead. Likewise, some "exercises" can cause permanent damage if done over a long period of time.

All of this angst about the 4th finger comes from the old misconception and "300-year-old idea" (see my post of that title) that the fingers should work independently. Along with that old idea is the one that you need strength to play the piano. As you've heard me say many times, young child prodigies aren't strong yet they still play the big works for the piano that adults do. Where power is needed, such as very loud playing, the arm provides all the power that is needed. 

Instead of independence, we should be focusing on the whole hand working as a unit. Focusing on each finger produces a "note-wise" sound (the sound you might associate with a total beginner), the opposite of the "long line" and beautiful phrasing that pianists (and all musicians) strive for. The so-called exercises that are often prescribed have you playing in this note-wise manner, and even lifting the fingers high, supposedly to increase strength. Along with a bad sound, you'll find you cannot lift fingers high when you want to play fast; obviously it would be too inefficient. My advice would be: don't practice any "technique" that you can't use in all situations.

I recently read someone's blog post about the 4th finger. I'm going to go through each of his points and counter them with my own.

• "The fourth finger is naturally weaker than the others." False; it is due to the shared tendon, not strength (which would have to come from muscles).
• His paragraph titled "strenghthening the 4th finger" doesn't actually talk about that at all. He does say we need to shift the weight towards the "top" fingers, the 4th and 5th, to produce an even sound. Shifting the weight does help bring out the melody, as an example. The weight comes from the arm, and in no way changes the strength of the fingers.
  
• "Focus on playing scales and make sure you have a clean release of the 4th finger." We actually don't want to be lifting any finger. What goes up must come down, to quote a phrase. Lifting the 4th finger high, or any of the fingers for that matter, will, as mentioned, produce that note-wise, stiff, mechanical sound. Maybe you'd think that's OK for an exercise, but if you do it, you will find that's how you'll play your pieces as well. It's difficult, if not impossible, to learn one technique but then do something else "when it counts."
• He also says to practice slow, with the metronome. (Why on earth would you need the metronome??)  None of this will change the anatomy of your hand and it will definitely not make your playing musical and beautiful.

I would caution people to take the advice of someone who doesn't even give you the actual facts (e.g. no mention in his post about the tendons). Most of what he advises is a re-hash of the old ideas which were developed when they were still playing harpsichords.

When to Trust, When to Question

 

When you start lessons with a private teacher as a total beginner, you need to do a good deal of research to find a good teacher. Though it's tempting just to select someone who is geographically close to you, or someone who has the lowest hourly rate, you may be doing yourself (or your child) a great disservice. Asking friends for a recommendation could be useful, but if that friend just went to the closest or cheapest teacher, they may not have enough perspective to make a good recommendation. You'd have to know more about the student's progress with that teacher, as well as their level of enjoyment, to assess the recommendation. Unfortunately, some people don't really have high expectations of piano lessons, and some even expect that there will be some degree of drudgery involved, since this is what they have heard from others. I've spoken with dozens (possibly hundreds) of people over the years who hated their childhood lessons. And yet, those teachers were still probably recommended to others simply because the person recommending didn't know any better.

If you are starting lessons as an adult having had lessons earlier in life, at least you may know what you did or didn't like about your previous lessons. But you still don't necessarily know what the alternatives are. 

I've written several posts about finding a good teacher (see "Finding a Teacher" from 2011, or "Is Your Teacher a Professional?" from 2024, and others). I recommend you read those first.

You've done your due diligence and you've started the lessons. Now what? It's best to go into the lessons with a completely open mind, if possible. The lessons may be quite different than what you expected. Or maybe they're very much what you expected. But the fewer expectations you have, the better. If you chose that particular teacher based on solid information about how they teach (which you would have gotten in your interview with them before starting), and you feel comfortable with them personally, now is the time to trust. The teacher is the expert (hopefully) and you are not, so there is no point to question their instructions at this stage. You need to go with their guidance and see where it takes you. And it takes time to absorb all the new experiences, so you can't assess after just a few lessons. The exceptions to this would be if the teacher is unkind or critical, or if what they have you doing causes any pain or strain in your hands and arms. These would be red flags and you need to question the teacher about them immediately. But, other than that, if the lessons are enjoyable, just go with it. If the teacher is explaining why they are having you do certain things, as they should, then you can feel comfortable that you are on a good path.

If, however, after a few months or so, you find you dread practicing and/or going to the lessons, or if you just feel you are not making progress, now is the time to question. Bring any and all concerns to the teacher and evaluate their response. If they wave off your concerns saying "well, that's just how it is when you're a beginner," or something along those lines, you should continue to seek answers from the teacher. If the answers are simply not satisfying to you, perhaps you need to try someone else. It happens. As I explain in earlier posts, there are no tests or evaluations that private teachers have to pass, so, unfortunately, you are the guinea pig. No two students are the same; if the teacher is actually a good teacher, he/she needs to be an excellent problem-solver, and it is the teacher's responsibility to work at solving your particular issues or problems. If the teacher just follows the same "formula" for every student, many students may find it lacking for their needs. It may be time to cut the cord and move on.

This month, January 2025, marks 50 years since I started lessons with my late, great teacher, Joseph Prostakoff, in New York City. When I started lessons with him, I already had my degree in music from Manhattan School of Music, and excellent conservatory in most respects. And yet, I had come to realize that my piano teacher at Manhattan was not right for me. Unfortunately, he wasn't that interested in teaching! After graduation, a chance conversation with a friend led me to Mr. Prostakoff, and after meeting with him to discuss his approach, I had a strong feeling I needed to study with him.  He changed my playing, my teaching, and my life. I was seeking something very different that I had experienced at Manhattan, and that is what I got. At the first lesson he said:

"Many things I tell you and have you do will seem strange and perplexing to you. You will be tempted to fall back on your previous ways of playing and practicing. However, you have come to me because you are seeking a new path. So you must put yourself in my hands and trust me completely. If, after some period of time, you come to believe this path is not right for you, you are free to go, and we part as friends."

A Magic Pill

 

If I told you I had a magic pill that would improve your rate of progress at the piano, you'd want to know about it, right? And if it had no down-side or unwanted side effects, you'd almost certainly want to take it.

I do have such a pill. It's called "playing without looking at your hands."

I've talked about this in previous posts, but I want to emphasize again how important this is. I'm speaking largely to beginner and intermediate students; advanced pianists almost certainly already do this.

Playing without looking at your hands helps you develop your kinesthetic sense. I call it "knowing the geography of the keyboard." When you look at your hands, you bypass the opportunity to develop the kinesthetic. Anyone who has seen a great pianist, or even just a good one, can see that the act of playing the piano is very physical, and that physical ability must be acquired though excellent training, just as it would for an athlete.

When you start out as a beginner, you probably will use a book for beginners to learn to read music. These books all start you in a "five-finger position," meaning each hand is over just five notes, so everything you need to play will be right under your hands, so to speak. Even using this very limited range of notes, there are still plenty of challenges as you develop the coordination you need, not to mention reading rhythm correctly, etc. The book should be emphasizing reading by interval, so that your hand learns to navigate by interval, meaning it feels the distance between notes. If you first learned to read, whether by teaching yourself, or with a bad teacher, then you may have learned to read using note names (E,G,B,D,F etc.) then you very likely started looking at your hands right from the start, because, presumably, if you wan to find G, you'd need to look down at the keys to see where G is. This is a terrible way to start. If you can't master just a five-note range without looking, you will find it extremely difficult to move on to more complex and more interesting music. You may eventually play the more complex music, but it will take you MUCH longer to learn and master, because of the constant looking back and forth between the score and the keyboard, but mostly because you just aren't developing the kinesthetic skills you'll need. In more complex music it will be impossible to look at both hands at once because of where they are on the keyboard. Trying to search and find every note by eye is far too slow, except maybe for simple -- and slow -- music.

Soon the books will expand the range to six or maybe eight notes in each hand. Then it will have you play pieces where it is necessary to move your hand(s) to a new position, that it, to different notes. The books won't have you doing large jumps (that comes later), but you can't just "cling" to the five or six notes where you started. The sooner you do this the better, because many students like to cling to that five-finger hand position -- it becomes a kind of security blanket.

When you move to each new challenge, the urge to look at your hands becomes very strong. It is all about the fear of wrong notes. Yes, in learning to play the piano, you will play many, many wrong notes. Instead of cringing, getting frustrated, and immediately wanting to look at your hands, you must recognize this is part of the learning process. A figure skater, in learning to do those amazing jumps, is going to fall a great number of times. If a skating student said "but I just don't want to fall!" they will never become an advanced skater. So it is with piano and wrong notes. 

Not looking at your hands has other benefits as well. When you hear a wrong note, you want to be able to identify by ear what the problem is, so you can adjust and move on. So your auditory sense will also get stronger. When you hear a wrong note, if you always, stop, look, try to "correct" it before moving on, this WILL become your habit. You can't just think that one day you will suddenly play with fluidity if this is how you have practiced.

I should mention that if you are playing by ear, or improvising, or playing a piece that you have memorized, you don't need to stare off into space. You will look at the keyboard just to keep a general eye on things, but certainly not looking for every note. You can't imagine that a great jazz improvisor is looking at his hands to see what notes to play!

I believe that playing without looking at your hands is one of the most important keys to unlock the ability to make the progress. Unfortunately, many people find my "magic pill" difficult to swallow. Nevertheless, I urge you to persevere. Looking at your hands to find the correct notes may seem like an obvious solution in the moment -- you may think, hey, aren't we supposed to play the right notes??  Getting the right note because you looked at the keyboard to find it is equivalent to winning the battle, but I assure you, you will lose the war. You may get the immediate gratification from the "correct note," but you are hampering your long term success." 

Singing

 

I find it somewhat sad that many people don't sing. Or they sing very softly and timidly because they believe they don't have a good voice and/or don't sing on key. Singing is universal -- all cultures do it -- and singing most likely emerged right along with speech in human evolution. We need to exercise our human right to sing!

Singing is so natural that, regardless of how well (or badly) you think you sing, you can see that there is a direct connection between the brain (auditory cortex) and the vocal chords. When you want to sing Happy Birthday, you just sing it. No one ever taught you how exactly to contract your vocal chord muscles to sing each of the notes. In a sense, the ear just tells the voice what to do, and it does it!

If you think you sing badly, the solution is to sing more, not less. That is the way to strengthen the ear/voice connection. You don't need to take singing lessons; instead, play a note on the piano (or other instrument) and try to match it with your voice. When you really are singing the same note, you will experience it "lock in" with the note you are playing. If it doesn't sound right, try to determine whether you are too low or too high and try to adjust until you lock in. (Obviously, try to play a note that is within your vocal range -- lower if you are a man and highter if you are a woman.) Many people struggle with this, but I believe everyone can improve. This is a good first step.

I do teach ear development as well as sight-singing (which you'd need to do in a choir, for example), and have many methods to help students with this. However, it's beyond the scope of this post to detail it all here.

What does this have to do with the piano? As you've read in previous posts, the importance of the ear cannot be over-stated. 

Specifically, I often have students sing the melody line of the piece they are working on. (You can also sing the bass line or any of the other lines, if it is a multi-voice piece, but start with the melody line.) If you find you can't quite do it, that means the music is not "in your ear" yet, meaning the ear/brain doesn't really know how it sounds. It's imperative that the ear knows it. (By the way, ear and memory are essentially the same; see my post on Memory.) After you have sung it, try playing it again and you will most likely feel it is easier. 

Of course, piano music has a lot more than just melody going on, and since you can't sing more than one note at a time, you can't sing the complete piece. There are many ways to approach that, such as playing everything except the melody on the piano while you sing the melody. 

When you're away from your piano, waiting at a red light,say, sing the melodies from the pieces you're working on. It will help you when you get back to the piano.

Another big advantage to singing the melody is for hearing the phrasing. When you sing, you automatically take your breaths at places that make sense for the music. If there are lyrics, you would breathe where there would be a comma or a period in the lyrics. You wouldn't want to take the breath in the middle of a word, for example. Likewise, in instrumental music, even though there are no lyrics to guide you, you can sense where a musical "thought" ends and where another begins. The equivalent of a breath would be a release of the key(s), so that there is a clear sense of one phrase ending and another beginning. I've heard students, even those with a lot of natural ability, just elide phrases together, which sounds like the equivalent of a long run-on sentence, and doesn't make for a very musical rendition. If you cling to the keys (read my previous post on being "clingy") and you are fearful of picking up your hand(s), you will almost certainly end up eliding the phrases. Whenever a student has the tendency to do this, I write "p.u." in their music, which stands for "pick up." But again, singing the phrase will probably be the most helpful tool.

Don't Be So Clingy

 

Many beginning students -- and some not-so-beginners who have tried to teach themselves -- tend to develop a habit of clinging to the keys. They hold on to a key they have just played, not because it's indicated in the score to do so, but because they are unconsciously using it as an "anchor." Their brain is saying "I've found this note and I'm not letting go until I find the next one!" The unconscious mind thinks that holding onto a note will help them find the next note, which may or may not be the case, but it is a limiting technique. Your playing will never be free and expressive if you are employing fear-based techniques.

Beginners usually start out using a book which starts you in what we call a 5-finger hand position in each hand. The five fingers are placed over 5 notes, usually C to G, and the very earliest pieces just use those 5 notes. This is actually a good method. It enables you to learn to "navigate" from note to note, without looking at your hands (this is perhaps the most important part). The downside of this method is that just playing five keys becomes a kind of "comfort zone" and the student just doesn't wan to leave it. 

When you have some ease with this, the book will introduce another note in each hand, so you will learn to cover a span of six keys. Even though it is still a very limited range, the hands need to learn to move around slightly; they can't just keep one finger over each of the five notes, as before. Then the span of keys will increase again. When you begin to have the interval of an octave, for example, it is tempting to keep your thumb on the lowest note while you "stretch" for the top note. But keeping your hand in this position will limit you from developing the fluidity and ease you need for future music you'll encounter. More advanced music will require jumps of more than your hand can reach by "stretching." After all, the piano has 88 keys, and you can't play intermediate or advanced pieces while unconsciously trying to keep your hands in one place. And of course, holding onto one note means it will continue sounding, which, if not indicated by the composer, may create a sound you don't want.

Most students aren't even aware they are doing this, until I point it out, of course. Becoming aware of what your hands are doing is critical (see my previous post on body awareness). Your body is going to learn how to move to accomplish moving from place to place. This actually happens in the arm, not the fingers. (I often say, the hand isn't going anywhere the arm doesn't take it.) This is because we all have proprioception, that is, the body's ability to sense its own position and movement in space without relying on visual input. It's an automatic, subconscious process that allows us to do virtually everything we do, such as walking, driving, and of course sports and playing an instrument. It goes without saying the great athletes, dancers, and top musicians have highly developed proprioception. (I suppose it doesn't really apply to singers.)

There are "exersices" I give my students to help develop this ability, such as doing large jumps with eyes closed, focusing on the feeling of where your arm is in space. They are always amazed that they can do a jump with accuracy several times in a row, without looking of course, just from putting their awareness on the arm, rather than the keys themselves. 

You just can't develop advanced proprioception if you "cling" to the keys. Clinging is antithetical to progress. 

When you notice you are clinging, just try to let go of the fear of wrong notes and let the hands and arms move. You WILL hit wrong notes when you are learning, that's for certain. But you will improve.  Trying to avoid wrong notes by being fearful won't really work, and it also takes all the fun out of it. 

Body Awareness

 

To the casual observer it might appear that playing the piano is mostly about the fingers. This is absolutely not the case. The arms and hands, and the torso to a lesser extent, are very active, and without them the fingers wouldn't be able to do what they do. Unfortunately, this myth is perpetuated by many people, including teachers and so-called "experts." If you've been reading this blog, you know that I talk about the entire mechanism and the importance of knowing how to use it to achieve good technique, but also to be able to play without strain or pain. Most of the physical ailments that pianists are prone to -- tendinitis, carpal tunnel, etc. -- are due to over-taxing the small muscles of the fingers.

What about the rest of the body? The feet are used for the pedals. of course, but the legs are involved in that as well. If you're not using pedal -- in practicing, for example -- your legs should be firmly planted on the floor, not tucked behind you. This helps you feel grounded. I've seen people practice with legs crossed. This is a real no-no. You may know that crossing your legs affects your blood pressure. It also affects how your brain works. It will cause the torso to be out of balance as well. 

The areas where some pianists tend to have a problem are the shoulders, neck and face. Hunching up the shoulders is common. This actually pulls your power away from the hands. You want to power to flow down from the shoulder to the hands at all times. But you absolutely need it for loud and powerful playing. In addition, you will probably have sore back and neck muscles if you spend a long time with shoulders hunched. Another problem is hunching over the piano. You've probably even seen pictures or videos of some famous pianists doing this. I feel like this is an unconscious attempt to get "closer" to the music. They may have adapted to this position and play at a high level, but it's not actually helping them. If you're hunched over you do not have the same freedom with your arms. And, again, you will likely develop tightness or worse in your back and neck. If you develop physical problems in those areas, it will almost certainly begin to impact your playing in a negative way.

The face is an interesting situation. The music you are playing while at the piano is beautiful (hopefully), possibly passionate and dramatic. You are doing your utmost to play expressively. Your face may respond to this by making a variety of expressions. You may have seen professional pianists (some, not all) show their emotions on their faces as they play. Is this a bad thing? No. But let's be clear: the facial expressions are a response to the music; they are not causing the music to sound expressive. If you feel you just cannot play expressively without contorting your face, you might want to experiment with keeping your face relaxed and channeling that emotion into your arms and hands. I used to be one of those who couldn't play without "making a lot of faces," but now I find I don't need to do that.

There is also the issue of involuntary tightening of muscles in the face while playing particularly difficult passages in a piece or just when concentrating hard. Two of my adult students tighten up their jaws or press their lips together when playing difficult passages. The thing is, tightening any muscle is contagious, so to speak, and other muscles may also tighten. It doesn't usually work to say "try to relax." Instead, I have had them experiment with playing with their mouth slightly open, or with a smile. Yes, they feel a little silly at first, but it does work. Their playing doesn't suffer at all when they relax their faces, in fact it may be slightly improved. Any bodily tension which doesn't positively affect your playing should probably be let go.

If I hadn't pointed out to these students that they were tightening their facial muscles, they probably wouldn't have noticed it on their own, because, of course, they have become used to it.  We just aren't very aware of the things we do habitually. There is a whole field of what might be called "body awareness." Yoga, tai chi and many other disciplines teach "tuning in" to your body. I'm sure this is also necessary for athletes. Whether you aspire to be an athlete at the piano (meaning a masterful command of piano technique), or just play simpler music for pleasure, it is important to devleop body awareness. Unfortunately, a lot of what you hear and read about learning to play the piano emphasizes "finger strength" and doing piano exercises for hours and hours. Neither of these will help you -- period. They won't help you develop body awareness, and may worsen any body awareness you had, due to extreme repetition and mechanical playing. Whatever you do, and whenever you play, try to do it with awareness of what your body is doing and how it feels.