Into the Mind

Just a quick note and update on memorization.

I have noticed that my mind has begun to work more efficiently while I practice. Not only do I seem to organize passages in a manner more conducive to remembering them but I do so without actually thinking too much about it. This result was apparent after I practiced Popper's Gavotte No. 2 in D major for two days. I broke the ABA into subsequent themes and practiced them in turn of appearance. That's is now a given for any work I do for memorizing. What's more is that I now seem to be recognizing other building blocks of the music as an aide in remembering the music.

The Gavotte, granted, was a piece I worked on as a 14 or 15 year old, and then taught to one other student about three years ago, but that is really insignificant since I don't play anything from memory just by hearing it or practicing it without the intention of memorizing it. Or at least, I hadn't played anything from memory as a consequence of merely playing it many times. Now, with some focused thought I retain ever larger and larger pieces of music for later recollection.

Now that I have been practicing with the organized thoughts of a memorizer the process is becoming more automatic and less a frantic battle to keep a few short phrases in my fingers. It is interesting how honing this skill literally gets easier with a more organized approach and continues on organizing the organized, an so on and so forth. It's building on itself. I can live with that.