Research on Memorization Pedagogy for Modern Piano Works Based on Multi-Memory Encoding and Analytical Methods
Modern piano works are atonal with thick textures. Students find them hard to memorize and often forget them on stage. This problem has troubled piano teaching for a long time. This paper offers a memorization framework to solve this problem. It comes from cognitive psychology and music analysis. The framework has three parts. Students analyze the musical structure and break the atonal music into logical sections. These sections become easier to understand. This step gives the music clear meaning. Students use verbal strategies and describe the music in their minds. This helps them hold the information in working memory. Students combine visual images with muscle memory. This creates a dual system of image and body feeling as it uses several senses at once. Early analysis suggests this method may help students learn faster and also lower their stage anxiety. It can make modern piano works easier to teach and learn.
[1] Grokhotov SV, 2019, On the Dichotomy of “Masculine” and “Feminine” in Scriabin’s Fifth Sonata (on the Example of Motivic Metrics). Scientific Bulletin of the Moscow Conservatory, (3): 28–45.
[2] Farré Rozada L, 2024, Exploring the Benefits of Conceptual Simplification for Memorizing Post-Tonal Piano Music: Main Findings of Testing a New Method with Recruited Practitioners. MET2024 Proceedings.
[3] Mutsmakher VI, 1984, Sovershenstvovanie muzykal’noi pamyati v protsesse obucheniya igre na fortepiano [Improvement of Musical Memory in the Process of Piano Teaching]. Moscow: Muzyka.
[4] Rasskazova NN, 2022, Slozhnosti razvitiya muzykal’noi pamyati v protsesse obucheniya igre na fortepiano [Difficulties in the Development of Musical Memory in Piano Teaching]. Morozovsk: Children’s School of Arts.
[5] Stellou C, Jakubowski K, 2024, A Survey into Piano Teachers’ Perceptions of Music Memorization in One-to-One Piano Lessons: A Preliminary Study. Music & Science, 7. DOI:10.1177/20592043231225733.
[6] Farré Rozada L, 2024, Conceptual Simplification: An Empirical Investigation of a New Method for Analysis, Learning and Memorisation of Post-Tonal Piano Music, thesis, Birmingham City University.
[7] Zaletina AM, 2023, Tekhnologiya zapominaniya muzykal’nogo proizvedeniya naizust’: metodicheskie rekomendatsii [Technology of Memorizing a Musical Work by Heart: Methodological Recommendations]. Irkutsk: Irkutsk Theatre School.
[8] Savshinsky SI, 1964, Rabota pianista nad muzykal’nym proizvedeniem [The Pianist’s Work on a Musical Work]. Moscow: Muzyka.
[9] Anonymous, 2005, The Principle of the Four-Group Series Complementation—An Analysis of the Gigue from Schoenberg’s Piano Suite (Op. 25). Journal of Xinghai Conservatory of Music, (2).
[10] Baddeley A, 2000, The Episodic Buffer: A New Component of Working Memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(11): 417–423.
[11] Suteu CL, 2023, Mastering the Musical Memory of the Skilled Pianist. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brașov. Series VIII: Performing Arts, 15(64)(2): 9–18.
[12] Loimusalo N, Huovinen E, 2021, Pianists’ Aural Imagery and Conceptual Strategies in Memorizing and Performing Nontonal Music. Journal of Research in Music Education, 69(2): 179–202. DOI:10.1177/0022429420965264.
[13] Anonymous, 2006, The Implicit Tonal Construction of a Classic Atonal Work—A Tonal Analysis of the Second Movement of Schoenberg’s Piano Suite Op. 25. Journal of Tianjin Conservatory of Music, (3).
[14] Fonte V, Pipa L, Williamon A, Lisboa T, 2022, Memorising Contemporary Piano Music as Described by Professional Pianists. Music & Science, 5: 1–15. DOI:10.1177/20592043221132932.
[15] Pineda E, Platel H, Madurell F, 2018, Multilayer Integration and Metacognition: An Exploratory Study. 15th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition (ICMPC15) / 10th Triennial Conference of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music (ESCOM10), Montreal.