How to Memorize Music – A Practical Approach for Non-Geniuses

by David Bolton

Do you play a musical instrument? Here are the best ways to memorize music, explained step-by step. Build a repertoire of pieces that you can play without the score! Now in its third edition (September 2017), "How to memorize Music" has been expanded to include a new chapter that teaches you how to use the power of suggestion to reach an even higher level of expertise in the area of learning musical scores by heart. Though mainly for those who play the piano, or other keyboard instrument, these methods can also be used profitably by other instrumentalists, or even singers. Subjects dealt with include (among others): Three basic types of music memorization “Finger memory” and all that is involved in it Memorizing by hearing Memorizing from the score How I memorize music Learning a piece better by… not practicing it! How to deal with frustration when memorizing Harnessing the Power of Suggestion (new in the third edition) If you are a musician, and wish to systematically expand your memorized repertoire, this book is for you!

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

86 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 25, 2012

About the author

David Bolton is a writer, teacher, speaker, musician, actor and astrologer. His interests include history, psychology, politics, philosophy, quantum physics, classical music, hypnosis, and all areas related to self-improvement.

Reviews

[Briar Graovac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, it works.

I am looking forward to sharing some of these techniques with my students, possibly as a little project to work on while we can't currently have face-to-face classes. I took the techniques and used them immediately on a short intermediate-level piece, and did manage to jam the whole thing in my head to a reasonable level in just one day. Bonus, it helps reinforce intervals, triads, and sevenths in one's head.

I plan on continuing to use these techniques and adapt them into my own practice. Very pleased and well worth a read.

[Ksenia Kurenysheva · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book, especially if you are looking for something to help your high school/undergrad students

Good book, especially if you are looking for something to help your high school/undergrad college students to sort out the process of memorization.
I am teaching now, and while reading this book I felt like I already know and use those techniques described in a book. However, my students are having difficulties when they transition into more difficult repertoire and their strategy of simply playing music until it is ‘’memorized’’ no longer works. It is nice that someone took time and effort to describe the ways to work on memorization in steps. I started to teach my students to apply those steps described in the book and it works!

[indy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author's primary contribution to the topic is this: Place the sheet music off to the side of the instrument, forcing you to twist into an uncomfortable position to read it. The idea is that the physical discomfort motivates you to learn the notes in short segments, reducing the number of head turns.

The technique probably works for some people. I struggle enough with pain, posture, and ergonomics without contorting myself in a new, deliberate way. I'll stick with the closing-the-book method.

[Renato Verissimo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um livro que ensina estratégias para conseguir aprender um repertório de maneira mais rápida. A maioria das técnicas são práticas o suficiente para serem incluídas sem complicações a uma boa rotina de estudos. O autor do texto é pianista por tanto os exemplos são mais relacionáveis ao piano, instrumento que toca diversas vozes simultâneas e tem um papel mais complexo comparado à grande maioria dos instrumentos.