There are many important elements to performing music, such as the ability to read music, correctly identifying key and time signatures, proper hand position and posture, etc. But how important is memorizing music?

This week, let’s explore the value of memorization, performing without sheet music, and how to start internalizing your favourites!

The Benefits of Memorizing Music

The key reason to memorize your piano, violin, vocal, or other musical parts is that it frees your mind for other things. If you don’t need to read the music, you are more free to express yourself through your performance, as well as prevent errors. No wonder professional soloists prefer to memorize their music!

Free From Reading

Despite being a critical skill, reading music is still a mentally taxing activity. If you play an instrument, you must read not only the notes but also your own scribbled notations, the dynamics, and every other element that impacts how the piece is performed. However, after memorizing music before the performance, you needn’t think about any of these things while you play. That isn’t to say you go on “autopilot,” but it does mean a less restrictive playing mindset and environment. Your performance may even feel more like a natural conversation.

Better Expression

Audiences can often tell the difference between memorized performances and those performed while reading music. Instrumentalists who have spent time memorizing music can move with the music, engage with the audience, and improvise with dynamics and other music concepts more freely. Pianists and violinists, for example, are often more rigid when reading music off the stand, but soloists will evoke a greater response from their audience when they perform without the music in front of them.

Many professional musical performers feel the music stand acts as a literal barrier between them and the audience, one they (and you) would be better off without.

Memorizing Music May Limit Errors

If you’ve reached the point where you know your music well enough to perform it for a live audience confidently, you’ve already memorized much of it! The fact is, it’s impossible to play music with any level of difficulty at the proper speed without some amount of memorization.

Many high-level musicians, particularly pianists, deal with a difficult “halfway” point in their memory. They know the music well enough to look down at their hands during particularly tricky passages, but they still need to look up at the page when those parts have ended. This sort of half-memorization may cause the musician to lose their place. It risks them not being able to find the right spot when they look back up at the music.

This can, of course, have disastrous results during a live performance.

Performing From Memory With Confidence

The skill that is performing confidently from memory is four-fold.

First, put some effort into memorizing your music every time you practice. When you work on a difficult passage, start committing it to memory. Later, when you practice it again, try to practice from memory. If practiced enough, it will feel natural come performance time. This principle applies to the entire piece of music.

Secondly, set a goal to memorize your music at least a month (or two!) before you’re scheduled to perform it. Once you’ve achieved that, take a week off from practicing that particular piece. When you come back to it, pay special attention to the areas that feel shaky after your time away from it. This will help you “re-memorize” those areas and firmly lodge them in your long-term memory.

Thirdly, you need to practice performing from memory. Gather any audience you can–peers, friends, family–and treat them to a performance. Be sure to take it as seriously as an audition. It may not seem like much, but even this small experience will give you confidence when you need it later.

Finally, keep your brain engaged as you practice. If you drill difficult passages mindlessly, relying only on “muscle memory,” you may lack confidence when the live performance arrives. If you’re not used to actively remembering the music as you perform it, you may find yourself more prone to errors.

Additional Ways to Improve Music Memorization

Engage More Senses

Engaging multiple senses while you practice memorizing can make musical passages easier to remember later. Think about how a passage makes you feel. Imagine your finger movements. Tap into the emotions or mental images that come to mind as you play different parts.

Use Chunking

One effective way to memorize longer musical sections is to break them down into shorter, organized chunks. Some music coaches even recommend starting at the end of a piece and working backward toward the beginning in chunks. Find what works best for you.

Keep a Practice Routine

It may seem inconsequential, but being relaxed and comfortable aids in the memorization process. What’s more, tension and discomfort can actually impede it. So, adjust your practice schedule and routine so that it fits with your schedule, methods, and preferences. The less pressured you feel and the more comfortable you are, the easier time you’ll have memorizing music.

Closing Thoughts on Memorizing Music

Much like learning anything else, learning and memorizing a new piece of music is a very individual process; it’s different for every single musician. For that reason, you must experiment with your methods, especially if what you’re doing isn’t working well for you.

Want a guide to help you along your musical journey? Join the professional instructors at The Music Studio! Registration for our programs and lessons is open now!