Strategies for Memorizing Music
Aaron Williamon · Oxford University Press eBooks · 2004
This chapter reviews a range of memorization strategies that are available to musicians. The chapter is in three main sections. It begins by setting out basic principles of human memory, including a discussion of the psychological structures thought to be involved in memorization and some recommendations for improving memory generally. The second section explores musical memory specifically and offers a selection of strategies commonly used by musicians and tested through systematic research. These include rote memorization, methods for memorizing visual and auditory information, methods for developing and exploiting ‘conceptual’ memory, and memorization for words and music. The chapter closes with a discussion of how these strategies can be used in conjunction with one another and how individual differences in learning styles may impact on one's capacity to memorize.