What Are "Effective Song Memorization Strategies" Flashcards
Based on the "Master Your Musical Memory" course by Classical Guitar Shed. Since 2013, Classical Guitar Shed (www.classicalguitarshed.com) is a comprehensive online course for anyone who wants to learn classical guitar and improve their overall playing.
What are the benefits of ”Musical Memorization”?
- It frees your mind from reading, allows you to express the music, and prevents errors that lurk in the continuum between complete memorization and complete reliance on the score.
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
How does ”Musical Memorization” help and how does it work?
- Memorizing Music spurs the brain to better learn the material by creating light stress, leading to learning and changes in the brain.
- Pressure and consequences lead to faster and more permanent learning, provided the stress is not so high that we go into full fight/flight/freeze mode.
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
What are the four types of memory used in musical memorization?
- “Visual” Memory
- “Aural” Memory
- “Kinesthetic, Tactile, or Muscle” Memory
- “Theoretical, or Intellectual” Memory
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
What does visual memory include?
- Mental images of the fretboard, hands, score, tabs, and other literal, lyrical, or symbolic images associated with the music.
- These mental images could reflect the physical act of playing, or they could include visual narratives, story, other memories, metaphors, analogies, etc
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
What is ”aural memory”?
- Absorbing Sounds associated with specific music, such as melody, bass, texture, phrasing, and imagined elements like a band or symphony.
- Likewise we can also associate words or voices to specific parts of the music. Anything to do with sound that helps us to recall and play uses aural memory.
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
What is ”kinesthetic memory” also known as?
- More commonly known as muscle memory and tactile memory. This memory is developed through repeated movements. For example, we tie our shoes without thinking of the individual steps involved.
- Every note we play and how we play it contributes to muscle memory, so it is productive to learn good clean technique. When first learning pieces, doing fewer correct repetitions is better than doing more but which contain numerous incorrect repetitions containing mistakes.
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
Why is kinesthetic memory unreliable in performance?
This is the least reliable type of memory in performance, as our physiology changes in times of stress.
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
What does ”Theoretical Memory” or “Intellectual Memory” encompass?
- Theoretical memory includes our ideas and labels for any element of the music. For example, the names of notes and chords, and the relationships between these.
- We also can include the style or history of the music.
- And we can also create our own unique labels or names for sections or elements of the music.
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
What is the “7-step Process” to memorize pieces of music?
1. Identify & Mark Sections On The Score or Tabs
2. Identify Key Notes, Note Patterns, and Chords
3. Clap/Count Rhythm
4. Play Right Hand Alone
5. Play Left Hand Alone
6. Play Slowly With No Mistakes
7. Play With A Metronome.
At each step, memorize the section and test it. Force yourself to recall and perform that one step.
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
What is the “Look-Away” method?
- First play through a small section with the music. Notice all you can.
- Then look away from the sheet music and play it from memory.
- Then look back at the music and play it again, confirming each note and marking.
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
What does the “Puzzle Pieces” technique involve?
- Learning music in small, non-sequential sections.
- With this technique, you learn the music in small sections, and not in the order they appear in the music.
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
What are the “Reverse Sections”, “Bounce Around”, and “Hardest First” practice strategies?
- Hardest First - learn the most difficult parts before all others.
- Reverse Sections - sections from the end to beginning. i.e. the last section, then the previous. The notes stay in forward order within each section.
- Bounce Around - play sections in random order.
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
What is the importance of ”memorizing separate voices”?
- It helps to deeply understand and recall melody, bass, and accompaniment independently.
- Memorize each voice and be able to play it alone. This refers to the melody, bass, and interior voices or accompaniment. You can do this in small sections, which is much easier than doing the whole piece at once.
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
What is a “Musical Map”?
- Write out or draw on paper what happens in each bar of music.
- Use chord names if you know them, lines and arrows, or any other shorthand you devise.
- Give a narration of the action.
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
What is the purpose of “Recall Practice” or “Retrieval Practice”?
- To memorize securely, we must practice recalling the information. This means we play from memory without first looking at the music.
- Recall is both a test and practice. If it feels difficult, we are more effectively learning, provided we continue to force ourselves to recall it.
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
What is “spaced repetition”?
- Gradually increasing the time between recall sessions to promote long-term memory retention. To do this right, it helps to be organized and create a recall schedule.
- When we first learn new material, we recall it frequently. Then we lengthen the time between recalls. This cues the brain to keep the material in long-term memory.
- Flash cards apps like BrainScape and Leitner Boxes work on this principle.
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
What is “interleaved practice”?
- Rotating between related materials to enhance learning through moderate stress.
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Switching between related material instead of spending large amounts of time on each in turn.
• Leaving one before completely mastering it will create moderate stress, which aids retention. - We can rotate recall practice between multiple items. A timer helps, which also adds some moderate stress.
- Interleaved practice can lead us to feel we are not doing well, but we learn faster despite this feeling of failure.
Based on the “Master Your Musical Memory” course by “Classical Guitar Shed” at www.classicalguitarshed.com
