What do you think?
Rate this book
By Heart: The Art of Memorizing Music
By the Art of Memorizing Music takes its readers from personal anecdote to practical skills for becoming a successful memorizing musician. If you are new to memorization, this book will give you the skills and techniques to get started with the process. You will carry those skills and techniques for the rest of your life. Even if you already have a solid memorization practice, this book will inspire some new or different approaches while also reinforcing your own convictions. Many of the techniques presented are good for any type of practice, even for the non-memorizing musician. Therefore, this book is also a useful foundational study of how to practice.
- GenresMusicNonfiction
113 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 7, 2014
136 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 25, 2015
I've wanted to memorise music for many years, and have done a few times in the past, but never managed to retain what I'd learned. On the other hand I've successfully memorised a wide range of poems and pieces of Scripture, and recently worked out a system for keeping these regularly up to date so I don't forget them.
To a great extent, Cienniwa presents a similar approach to memorising music. The things he emphasizes on top of that, however, is that we need to keep a log of the work we're doing while memorising a piece, and that memorising away from the instrument (the piano, in my case) is essential. It's only by doing this that you realise how much you're relying on tactile memory (that is, letting your fingers 'remember' stuff) rather than on real memorising.
Cienniwa is the most encouraging author I've ever read on the art of memorising music. He's humble about his own shortcomings in memorisation, and shares frequently about things that can wrong in performance if you haven't done the basic work. I found this book well worth reading and will keep on coming back to it as I make progress with memorising. Highly recommended.
PS, the only thing that surprises me about this book is its cover. When I first saw it I thought the book must be several decades old. In fact, it's relatively new. Dare I suggest it could do with a more contemporary cover?
To a great extent, Cienniwa presents a similar approach to memorising music. The things he emphasizes on top of that, however, is that we need to keep a log of the work we're doing while memorising a piece, and that memorising away from the instrument (the piano, in my case) is essential. It's only by doing this that you realise how much you're relying on tactile memory (that is, letting your fingers 'remember' stuff) rather than on real memorising.
Cienniwa is the most encouraging author I've ever read on the art of memorising music. He's humble about his own shortcomings in memorisation, and shares frequently about things that can wrong in performance if you haven't done the basic work. I found this book well worth reading and will keep on coming back to it as I make progress with memorising. Highly recommended.
PS, the only thing that surprises me about this book is its cover. When I first saw it I thought the book must be several decades old. In fact, it's relatively new. Dare I suggest it could do with a more contemporary cover?
February 26, 2017
If you are a musician looking for practical guidance on memorizing music, this is a quick-read primer that helps pave the way. Although the author's personal focus is on how to memorize classical music for piano and harpsichord, the memorizing techniques covered here apply to any instrument.
Most striking are the author's explanation of why memorizing music helps us deliver better music, particularly better performances. He covers how playing from a score buffers the music. Although his end game is the recital, he covers, in length, the process of preparing for it, particularly techniques for learning new pieces, the importance of practice performances, and mental practice way from the instrument.
Personally, I was intrigued by his chapters on fear (performance anxiety), the value of meditation, pre-performance rituals, and putting together a recital (essentially the elements of one's gig). This is a book that emphasizes the importance of organization and discipline, everything from the practice log to the metronome. Since my interest is non-classical acoustic guitar playing for personal enjoyment, some of the content was beyond my needs.
Most striking are the author's explanation of why memorizing music helps us deliver better music, particularly better performances. He covers how playing from a score buffers the music. Although his end game is the recital, he covers, in length, the process of preparing for it, particularly techniques for learning new pieces, the importance of practice performances, and mental practice way from the instrument.
Personally, I was intrigued by his chapters on fear (performance anxiety), the value of meditation, pre-performance rituals, and putting together a recital (essentially the elements of one's gig). This is a book that emphasizes the importance of organization and discipline, everything from the practice log to the metronome. Since my interest is non-classical acoustic guitar playing for personal enjoyment, some of the content was beyond my needs.
March 20, 2020
Audiences often enjoy a fine performance without really fathoming the amount of behind-the-scenes sufferings and discipline that went into it. This book, then, is a neat introduction to some of the different types of discipline that go into successful memorizing. I admit I myself use routines of this sort in my own work as a pianist.
July 4, 2022
'I have now listed some of my reasons to why one should perform music by heart. But the most important one remains: We owe it to the music we love.'
As I am now passing a year of piano lessons, memorising a piece of music seems less extraordinary than it once did. When one plays a piece enough, tactile memory will often magically shore up 90% of it. But, as Paul Cienniwa points out, this is only one of three main types of memory - and the least reliable.
Why should we memorise a piece? I would argue, like Cienniwa does, is that it cultivates good habits. It forces you to slow down and analyse. Furthermore, Cienniwa adds, it leads to creating a practice log, and studying the score away from the instrument. This latter technique is something I don't do enough. Cienniwa isn't the first to stress this mental practice, as Karl Leimer decades earlier championed it. It is also a method highlighted in Roger Chaffin's 'Practicing Perfection' by several concert pianists.
Part of Cienniwa's memorisation technique includes doing the usual slow metronome work without the score. I disagree with him that most of our memorisation work should be done below tempo. Playing a piece at 90bpm does not guarantee that it is playable at a set tempo of 128 bpm. Interestingly, Cienniwa also uses the metronome when doing his mental practice away from the piano.
Structurally, Cienniwa does what is stressed in 'Practicing Perfection' where he breaks his piece into landmarks. His memorisation work - either at the piano or away from it - involves cycling through these landmarks. He emphasises visualising landmarks and bars before you arrive at them during playing.
Although I preferred Chaffin's work, Cienniwa is a close second on how to memorise a piece. His stressing of mental practice is novel to me, and I look forward to experimenting with it.
As I am now passing a year of piano lessons, memorising a piece of music seems less extraordinary than it once did. When one plays a piece enough, tactile memory will often magically shore up 90% of it. But, as Paul Cienniwa points out, this is only one of three main types of memory - and the least reliable.
Why should we memorise a piece? I would argue, like Cienniwa does, is that it cultivates good habits. It forces you to slow down and analyse. Furthermore, Cienniwa adds, it leads to creating a practice log, and studying the score away from the instrument. This latter technique is something I don't do enough. Cienniwa isn't the first to stress this mental practice, as Karl Leimer decades earlier championed it. It is also a method highlighted in Roger Chaffin's 'Practicing Perfection' by several concert pianists.
Part of Cienniwa's memorisation technique includes doing the usual slow metronome work without the score. I disagree with him that most of our memorisation work should be done below tempo. Playing a piece at 90bpm does not guarantee that it is playable at a set tempo of 128 bpm. Interestingly, Cienniwa also uses the metronome when doing his mental practice away from the piano.
Structurally, Cienniwa does what is stressed in 'Practicing Perfection' where he breaks his piece into landmarks. His memorisation work - either at the piano or away from it - involves cycling through these landmarks. He emphasises visualising landmarks and bars before you arrive at them during playing.
Although I preferred Chaffin's work, Cienniwa is a close second on how to memorise a piece. His stressing of mental practice is novel to me, and I look forward to experimenting with it.
March 2, 2018
This book is wonderful--I have memorized some difficult Bach and Beethoven pieces, but I think I relied on what the author terms "tactile memory". In the last week I've followed his directions about memorizing away from the piano and have made enormous progress. I like the idea of going back to previous pieces both memorized and not, and keeping a log so that you can spend 10 minutes refreshing before going on to major practice items, but not forget that you're doing that.
Absolutely recommend this. I'm 74, and started with the piano at age 60 knowing how to read music and owning a piano. I have a GREAT teacher.
Absolutely recommend this. I'm 74, and started with the piano at age 60 knowing how to read music and owning a piano. I have a GREAT teacher.
June 30, 2023
Personal thesis on music memorisation by the celebrated harpsichordist.
Cienniwa is at pains to stress that this is a personal approach rather than a scientific paper, and in that context this book works well as a window into his memorisation practice. A few bits were more relevant to keyboard players than other instrumentalists, and I wonder whether this book would have worked better as a collaboration with a musicologist or performance psychologist. Having said that, there were lots of good tips and the book was quite practical, which was refreshing for this subject which can get bogged down in abstract science.
Cienniwa is at pains to stress that this is a personal approach rather than a scientific paper, and in that context this book works well as a window into his memorisation practice. A few bits were more relevant to keyboard players than other instrumentalists, and I wonder whether this book would have worked better as a collaboration with a musicologist or performance psychologist. Having said that, there were lots of good tips and the book was quite practical, which was refreshing for this subject which can get bogged down in abstract science.
January 29, 2022
Excellent!
A quick read and excellent. Down to earth, practical, not from a theorist but from a musician who actually does the heavy lifting of memory.
I’ve played from memory all my life and this book has made me interested in preparing a much lengthier program to test run Cienniwa’s ideas.
A quick read and excellent. Down to earth, practical, not from a theorist but from a musician who actually does the heavy lifting of memory.
I’ve played from memory all my life and this book has made me interested in preparing a much lengthier program to test run Cienniwa’s ideas.
December 4, 2023
I'm a guitarist/vocalist
Although this is more centered around harpsichord I found it helpful with my practice routine and learning better memorization techniques. I totally agree that when you play live as well as even practicing/playing on your own, playing from memory is much more effective and communicative between yourself and your audience!
Although this is more centered around harpsichord I found it helpful with my practice routine and learning better memorization techniques. I totally agree that when you play live as well as even practicing/playing on your own, playing from memory is much more effective and communicative between yourself and your audience!
February 17, 2019
Concise and to the point
Best thing about this book is the mental work away from the piano or any other instrument. Has greatly improved my practice and performance. Cudos
Best thing about this book is the mental work away from the piano or any other instrument. Has greatly improved my practice and performance. Cudos
August 19, 2021
Welcome guidance from a Yale-trained harpsichordist on why and how to memorize music.
January 31, 2017
In general, I liked the book. I got it for Christmas and I was having my students memorize music. Any way to get them to do it well is great information. There were several things that I agreed with, some that were iffy (for me), and some not at all. It is from personal experience of Dr. Cienniwa and his return journey to memorizing. This book describes what worked for him. Not all students are at this level of playing or have that much time but as I said, it was great for ideas. Some I will be using.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews