I used the spaced repetition a lot when learning languages, but somehow it didn't cross my mind that the same could apply to learning music! That's a great tip.
Thank you for the sage advice. I’m 73 years old with 22 months of piano lessons under my belt. It is not easy going especially when I envision that much younger students probably learn 3 times faster than me. I will certainly start revisiting pieces I’ve learned using your technique.
This is an excellent video! Thank you! I had seriously studied piano when young, but burned out and stopped playing after performances with memory problems. Now, that I am 73, I am starting to play for myself, this information is very helpful and reminds me that I CAN play and be happy with myself. Thank you again!
It's always good to know we're not the only one 'suffering'! A concert pianist friend of mine told me that your attitude in practising should be one of 're-learning' not just mindless repetition. We all have 'those spots' needing constant revising.
I've been watching a lot (maybe too many) piano playing related videos lately and this is the most useful and encouraging one I've viewed. Very motivational to get a higher level perspective and honest, realistic view of the difficulties of learning piano at ANY age. There is a lot of misinformation out there that leads one to believe piano can be learned in a week, month or year (which might be true if you only want to learn how to play Mary Had a Little Lamb over and over forever). This leads to a lot of discouragement and self doubt. Nice to hear from a professional that piano simply takes time to learn and forgetting a piece you learned is normal no matter what level you have achieved...unless you use the recall method described.
I play classical guitar but this still applies. I have the same problem with forgetting a piece after i learn it and move onto a new piece. I play my repoirte every time i practice so i dont forget, but as it grows obviously that's not practical . This was very helpful
During ww2, A well known Japanese musician ‘pianist’ held captive hadn’t played for years. After the war was over, he played piano as if he practiced everyday. When asked how he could play such complex piece in front of audience’ after years of being prisoner of war. He said my music never left me. (Pointing at his head) I played everyday
Yes this is one of my biggest frustration forgetting what I just played a thousand times after a week of two ! maybel 72 thanks so much for this !!! so very helpful !!!
Great video. Great contralto voice 😊. I apply this method using flashcards with the title of the pieces, and giving a revision time each day, being also critical to how dificult the retrieval part was. If it was easy, the flashcard goes on the bottom of the deck, if it was difficult, it goes just after the next one, and so on.
I do exactly this with guitar practice for exercises and songs. I mark my progress with a letter which shows me how far back I need to put the card in the box. I take the front cards for each day's practice. This works really really well.
Very good advice. I am also a teacher and just gave a workshop on how to plan and use practice time. Questions on memory came up. Good to hear you are helping people as well!
As always concise information. I now realise that I have learnt my pieces purely based on repetition and muscle memory. I sat my Grade 6 exam this year - aged 64 - and passed but, my goodness, what hard work it was and I can no longer play any of them! My plan now is to revisit pieces I liked over the years and see if I can resurrect them using this method to create a playlist. An end I hope to years of practice with nothing (apart for a short period before an exam) I can actually play !
Thank you for a great tutorial. Although I don't play the Piano, I play the Mandolin, Tenor guitar and High and Low whistle, and I recognise all of the points that you have made, regarding the lack of memory. I learned a lot here. Thanks again, David.
I had 4 lessons when I was 12 and got pulled out because I was better than my foster parents own child. Im 57 now and revisiting where I left off, I still remember the proper fingering for scales somehow. Cheers from co ros common
Always thrilled to hear of someone returning to piano, especially after they didn’t get the best start in childhood - best of luck with it! I’m a Roscommon native myself, by the way - I grew up in Castlerea 😊
You’re so smart and helpful. Thank you so much. Your topics are always top tier. I am trying so hard to develop my memory and your video is perfect for me.
Thanks for sharing this topic, "we don't forget some of the nice music pieces we had learned" by encoding, processing and retrieval it from our muscle memory. Practice with constant repetitions help to retrieve what we have learned but also do remember to leave some music note pointers or notations on the music sheet so we don't have to start fresh again. I usually keep it in a folder and practice the pieces daily so I can play fluently and without making mistakes in front of audiences.
My two biggest hurdles with piano learning has been the time it takes me to learn a piece and the ability recall my favorite pieces. Over the last couple of years after intentionally learning best approaches to practice, time to learn pieces of equal ability have changed from months to weeks and some cases a week. The information you provided about the ‘Retrieval Phase’ is brilliant. I am looking forward to starting my new ‘Spaced repetition’ regiment using as you suggested a calendar. Thank you so much for this memory key. I am hopeful it will unlock the ability to recall those pleasurable pieces for me. Wishing health and happiness to you.
Really good advice that makes so much sense. Thank you. I think I rely on muscle memory to much, although I do memorise the melody quite quickly, maybe because I'm a singer, however, not so much the chords. I hear if I have played the wrong chord though. Perhaps I should maybe pay more attention to the chord progressions more. Thank you, 😊
This is brilliantly delivered and valuable for any musician (I play guitar and sing, and play cornet). I'm an instant subscriber. There are two things I would add. First, the term muscle memory is confusing as there are two types. Only the first is relevant here and is an informal term for neurological consolidation of procedures through repetition - muscles don't have memory in this context. You could better say 'automatic memory'. It refers to many forms of memory, not just motor skills. Second, in your retrieval schedule, it is useful to modify your frequencies according to error frequency, Ideally, you want to get a schedule that traps just before you make errors, without playing too often so that the spacing effect is weakened.
Someone else suggested “kinetic memory”. The term “muscle memory” has an advantage though in that it differentiates precisely between motor skills and the other relevant forms of memory that need to be developed separately when learning music, i.e., aural, visual and cognitive, and is widely understood as exactly the first type of muscle memory you refer to.
Very informative and appreciated video! I purposely spent 1 week not playing a piece that I "memorized" months ago. When I tried to play it after the week was over, I found myself having to pull out the sheet music for some measures 🤦🏾♂️. So in a messed up way, I'm glad to see that it happened to someone on a level of piano playing that I'll never be on 😂
I've used spaced repetition for years in learning Spanish as a new language with Supermemo, now Anki. These programs use at algorithm which is very effective to determine the intervals at which you see a ''flash card''. It usually is hard to remember the answer because you were at the point of forgetting. With time, the intervals can increase to a year or more. I will add one of my piano pieces as a flash cards and see how it goes
Thank you for harnessing my ego as an enthusiastic learner. Oftentimes we want to walk before crawling. I have been subconsciously doing what you said and therefore resonate with this video. Thank you for validating. How True : perfect practice makes perfect.
I realised that if I let myself 'forget' something and relearn it, I will retain the information better and longer. This applies to everything from language to lyrics to computer repair.
Thought I was the ONLY one who did this. I spend lot time learning guitar stuff RUclips. Now I try go through everyday but I forgottin much. The harder ones ‘id never be able to play like ‘Thump flamenco technique is out of my grasp. Goin NO where with, yet I don’t forget. Everyday for a month I should’ve overcame awkwardness. Some people have that little extra ‘ingredient’ called talent. Musical inheritance, they endure overcome quick, as if unlimited
I'm 67 and have been taking lessons for nearly 5 years. I've only memorized 1 song, but the worst part for me is playing in front of other people. I've been in 2 recitals, knew the music well, but when I started my hands started shaking uncontrollably. I made it through roughly, but was totally humiliated. I followed young kids who, even though they might have been nervous, didn't let it affect their performance. Guess I'll just play for myself.
Sorry to hear that, and having suffered bad stage fright myself, I can sympathise! You might be interested in the Overcome Your Performance Anxiety workshop I’m running on Oct. 27th - more information at www.lecheilemusic.com/home
There are a number of techniques used to memorize and learn. I think of how to meditate on Scripture. We observe, then interpret, then apply. It seems like some similar steps.
I probably would be one of those that would drive people crazy cuz I have a bunch of pieces that I know AND remember! But I have the same problem - I could go to play a piece that I know, and all of a sudden, it's like I don't know it!! It frustrates me to no end, cuz I find myself thinking "how would I be able to remember it if I go to play it say in front of someone?" And I admit, I envy those who can seemingly pull out a piece and play it flawlessly. But then I play it later on - boom! No prob! But I think I'm doing what you're saying, I play a certain number of the pieces every few days so I can stay on top of them. May not *totally* fix the problem, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something!
Absolutely! You might also find this little hack useful: Learn piano scales in half the time with this simple trick! ruclips.net/video/zl8lAYzaeKU/видео.html
Thank you for the good advice. I had done Bastien method books some 30 years ago and now that I am 63 years old, I went back doing them all over again and at a much slower pace. I have finished level 3 of those books but because I read very good reviews on Adult Piano Adventures, I got that all in one book. However, I’m unsure if it is wise to start all over again with a different system or shall just proceed with Bastien level 4? I would appreciate your advice very much. Thank you.
Why not both? If you proceed with the Bastien level 4 you’ll be expanding your skills, and if at the same time you work through the Piano Adventures book you’ll be consolidating what you’ve always learned. I always recommend that students play a lot of “easy” music alongside the more challenging stuff. Best of luck! 😊
Hi Alan, I recently ran a workshop on exactly this topic. It’s available in my membership, and if you sign up for the 7 day free trial it won’t cost you anything to watch. There are a number of other workshops that might also help, and I’ll be running a performance anxiety workshop live on October 27th, that you can sign up for at www.lecheilemusic.com/home
I used spaced repetition to learn small chunks of pieces about 10 years ago but it was a bit too finegrained and overwhelming. Might be good to add 1 card to an Anki deck when you've just learned a piece.
How in the name of God can a professional classical orchestra and the soloist not be on the same page as to what piece they’re playing? Hard to believe that could happen outside of someone purposefully trying to sabotage the thing.
Apparently she was only approached the day before the performance to fill in for someone else who couldn’t make it, and misheard the number of the concerto during the phone call. The performance itself was actually a publicly attended rehearsal for the main event that evening. These things do happen, even to seasoned pros! 😱
I’m going to try this and report back in a few months, with my 3 exam pieces, and a couple of my “play for fun” pieces. For the spaced repetition, is that with the sheet music in front of you, or playing from memory, or either? Thank you.
Hi Julian, can you try the link again - mailchi.mp/bccb1e32807f/practice-workbook-giveaway - and if it still doesn't work for you, please email me at leah@lecheilemusic.com and I'll send it by return.
I've been playing piano for 45 years and still can't play one single piece from memory. Now that I'm learning guitar, I'm learning the pieces from memory straight up.
@@ChrisBrocI meant I think playing from memory has to do with the way you learn pieces. With piano, I learned the pieces from reading dots, following the music and now I can't play anything without the music. With guitar, I don't learn anything from written music, I've thrown the music away and learn bar by bar or chord by chord usually from you tube clips and I've found I retain the information and remember the pieces.
How does one show up to play a concerto in performance without ever rehearsing? There was no discussion of tempo, entrances, ritards, etc. with the conductor beforehand? They planned to just wing it? From their casual dress, maybe so.
Well I am nearly 80 and haven't touched a keyboard for 35 years! I reached about grade 5 (UK) at that time. But I can read music, love classical piano music, am fit & healthy and want to get back to it. Memory is one huge problem, the other is sloppy fingers. I borrowed a cheap digital keyboard just to see if I am mad to be trying this but it's so terrible, the keys being mere switches (no loud or soft) and a short compass. So maybe I have to take the plunge and buy a decent one; no room for an acoustic piano sadly. Has anyone else restarted their playing at this age? Am I too optimistic?
I have a number of students in my membership program who are in their 80s. They’re my favourite members because they’re so engaged and just all round lovely people 🥰 So I think you can definitely jump back into piano and have lots of fun with it!
Thanks for the tips!👍🙏 Just a point about so called muscle memory, it's a misleading phrase. There is no memory in the muscle the memory is still in the brain. It might be more accurate to call it kinetic memory? It's the brain and nervous system that's remembering the movements not the muscle, muscles have no memory. 🤔 As far as i know??
You’re correct of course, it’s important to understand that any physical skill is learned and laid down first in the neurons of the brain and then transmitted to the muscles. 👍
@LeCheileMusic I think I use to think the muscles were remembering the movements, until someone said there's no such thing, it's the brain that's remembering. 😅👍
This is for church gospel music? I like to assume judgmental. They like dominant 7 chords? Wish I played for church it do me some good. Sometimes before the ending a song, they’ll move the entire song KEY up half step. They don’t believe in effects, prefer no reverb nothing even when it’s outside vocals mic.
The problem I find : when you LEARN something , certainly in a TACTILE way ( piano ) , you are creating neuron links which then create MUSCLE MEMORY in your hands , fingers ,, cracked it , BUT THEN you approach a different piece of music in a different key for eg ,,, your muscle memory is now working AGAINST you , ! The POINT IS ; are you 5 , 15 , 25 , 40 , 50 , 70 ? Each decade that passes your so called NEURON PLASICITY is reduced MASSIVELY , the only answer is : you cant possible remember all this massive amount of EVER CHANGING info , you HAVE to have the Dots there ,at least as a reference ,, if you cant read MJSIC , your stuffed ,😂😂😂😂😂😂( i am a rubbish reader BTW )
There’s actually less variety in the structure of music than you think - for example, any piece in the key of C will be primarily based on the tonic (I) and dominant (V) chords of C and G, or G7. The subdominant (IV) chord, F in the key of C, will also be important. Once you know what the primary chords in any key are, you’re halfway to learning the piece. This is the cognitive, or analytical, element I talk about in the video. It sounds complicated but with a little practice you’ll start to see it in every piece. I’ll link to a couple of videos below to get you started. 😊
Love your advice, but have a hearing problem, and find your speech very fast and really struggle to keep up with your videos, I am 82 so perhaps the fault could be mine.
Absolutely, as the other commenter here mentioned, you can slow me down in the settings (I’m often told that I talk fast, it’s not just you!). You’ll find the settings wheel icon on the bottom (or sometimes top) right of your screen, and the drop down menu will have playback speed in it.
you can turn on the subtitles to read long. there should be a button/icon that says "cc" in the top right corner of the video if you are using the same version as me. hope that helps a little bit.
I used the spaced repetition a lot when learning languages, but somehow it didn't cross my mind that the same could apply to learning music! That's a great tip.
Thank you for the sage advice. I’m 73 years old with 22 months of piano lessons under my belt. It is not easy going especially when I envision that much younger students probably learn 3 times faster than me. I will certainly start revisiting pieces I’ve learned using your technique.
Keep going …you’re an inspiration 👍
You always get straight to the point in a practical manner. Thank you 🙏
This is so helpful. I'm going to start using this method right away. Thank you.
This is an excellent video! Thank you! I had seriously studied piano when young, but burned out and stopped playing after performances with memory problems. Now, that I am 73, I am starting to play for myself, this information is very helpful and reminds me that I CAN play and be happy with myself.
Thank you again!
It's always good to know we're not the only one 'suffering'! A concert pianist friend of mine told me that your attitude in practising should be one of 're-learning' not just mindless repetition. We all have 'those spots' needing constant revising.
Great advice! 😊
That's my thought too!!
I've been watching a lot (maybe too many) piano playing related videos lately and this is the most useful and encouraging one I've viewed. Very motivational to get a higher level perspective and honest, realistic view of the difficulties of learning piano at ANY age. There is a lot of misinformation out there that leads one to believe piano can be learned in a week, month or year (which might be true if you only want to learn how to play Mary Had a Little Lamb over and over forever). This leads to a lot of discouragement and self doubt. Nice to hear from a professional that piano simply takes time to learn and forgetting a piece you learned is normal no matter what level you have achieved...unless you use the recall method described.
Thank you. Spaced repetition planned out systematically. Brilliant tip.
I play classical guitar but this still applies. I have the same problem with forgetting a piece after i learn it and move onto a new piece. I play my repoirte every time i practice so i dont forget, but as it grows obviously that's not practical . This was very helpful
During ww2, A well known Japanese musician ‘pianist’ held captive hadn’t played for years. After the war was over, he played piano as if he practiced everyday. When asked how he could play such complex piece in front of audience’ after years of being prisoner of war. He said my music never left me. (Pointing at his head) I played everyday
That's v touching
Thank you! Great information!
Thank you for this technique. Retention is one of my biggest problems after learning a piece.
Yes this is one of my biggest frustration forgetting what I just played a thousand times after a week of two ! maybel 72 thanks so much for this !!! so very helpful !!!
Very intelligent reasoning and delivery. Special kudos for making it a rather short video. Thank you very much.
I have that problem too. This video is very interesting. I will watch it once more to be sure to retain your advice.
You have good videos and have helped me improve just subscribed
Thank you for making this video. Very informative.
Great video. Great contralto voice 😊. I apply this method using flashcards with the title of the pieces, and giving a revision time each day, being also critical to how dificult the retrieval part was. If it was easy, the flashcard goes on the bottom of the deck, if it was difficult, it goes just after the next one, and so on.
I do exactly this with guitar practice for exercises and songs. I mark my progress with a letter which shows me how far back I need to put the card in the box. I take the front cards for each day's practice. This works really really well.
Very good advice. I am also a teacher and just gave a workshop on how to plan and use practice time. Questions on memory came up. Good to hear you are helping people as well!
Thanks
Thanks so much! 🙏
As always concise information. I now realise that I have learnt my pieces purely based on repetition and muscle memory.
I sat my Grade 6 exam this year - aged 64 - and passed but, my goodness, what hard work it was and I can no longer play any of them!
My plan now is to revisit pieces I liked over the years and see if I can resurrect them using this method to create a playlist. An end I hope to years of practice with nothing (apart for a short period before an exam) I can actually play !
Well done, passing grade 6 is a major achievement! Best of luck with the repertoire building 😊
Thank you, I play guitar and I like your information here. I think it may help me. Im trying to play more without reading. 🤗 🎼
Thanks!
Thank you! 🙏
Thank you for a great tutorial.
Although I don't play the Piano, I play the Mandolin, Tenor guitar and High and Low whistle, and I recognise all of the points that you have made, regarding the lack of memory.
I learned a lot here.
Thanks again, David.
I had 4 lessons when I was 12 and got pulled out because I was better than my foster parents own child. Im 57 now and revisiting where I left off, I still remember the proper fingering for scales somehow. Cheers from co ros common
Always thrilled to hear of someone returning to piano, especially after they didn’t get the best start in childhood - best of luck with it! I’m a Roscommon native myself, by the way - I grew up in Castlerea 😊
@ piano is keeping me saneish! Our daughter lives in Castlerea. Small world
You’re so smart and helpful. Thank you so much. Your topics are always top tier. I am trying so hard to develop my memory and your video is perfect for me.
Thanks for sharing this topic, "we don't forget some of the nice music pieces we had learned" by encoding, processing and retrieval it from our muscle memory. Practice with constant repetitions help to retrieve what we have learned but also do remember to leave some music note pointers or notations on the music sheet so we don't have to start fresh again. I usually keep it in a folder and practice the pieces daily so I can play fluently and without making mistakes in front of audiences.
Thanks
Thank you!
I was just wondering about this. It makes a lot of sense. Thank you!
Excellent advice !!!!! Thank you - I'm heading back to the piano 🌻
Now here is some “gold plated” advise, thank you. 🌟🌟
Just what I needed to hear 🎵🙏🏽 thank you 😊
Thanks for the motivation to revive past pieces. The specific schedule you suggest is useful to refer to. I must do it!
Thank you very much, Im currently on Bach's WTC pilgrimage, intending to memorise every single piece, i guess your advice will be of huge help
Please post your odyssey somewhere on RUclips so we can follow your journey
Now that’s an epic journey - best of luck! 😃
My two biggest hurdles with piano learning has been the time it takes me to learn a piece and the ability recall my favorite pieces.
Over the last couple of years after intentionally learning best approaches to practice, time to learn pieces of equal ability have changed from months to weeks and some cases a week.
The information you provided about the ‘Retrieval Phase’ is brilliant. I am looking forward to starting my new ‘Spaced repetition’ regiment using as you suggested a calendar.
Thank you so much for this memory key. I am hopeful it will unlock the ability to recall those pleasurable pieces for me.
Wishing health and happiness to you.
Great to hear - yes, good practice techniques make a huge difference! 👍😊
Thank you for this tip! This is exactly the question I have been wondering about recently!
This video was awesome. I struggle so much with this. Thanks you!!!!
Great information, I play another instrument and am trying to improve my recall, Thankyou is appreciated 👍❤
Really good advice that makes so much sense. Thank you. I think I rely on muscle memory to much, although I do memorise the melody quite quickly, maybe because I'm a singer, however, not so much the chords. I hear if I have played the wrong chord though. Perhaps I should maybe pay more attention to the chord progressions more.
Thank you, 😊
This makes good sense. Thanks.
Thanks, great info and applies to any instrument!😊
Thank you for your excellent, and down to earth advice!
Looks like hit the mark with many of us. Thank you! Good video.
Thank you
Thank you. I like the memory retrieval process. 😊
Love listening to your videos. Great voice and editing.
Great info, thank you ❤❤❤❤❤
I knew about retrieval from Gregg Goodhart. But that idea of a practice diary really helps getting it done.
This is brilliantly delivered and valuable for any musician (I play guitar and sing, and play cornet). I'm an instant subscriber. There are two things I would add. First, the term muscle memory is confusing as there are two types. Only the first is relevant here and is an informal term for neurological consolidation of procedures through repetition - muscles don't have memory in this context. You could better say 'automatic memory'. It refers to many forms of memory, not just motor skills. Second, in your retrieval schedule, it is useful to modify your frequencies according to error frequency, Ideally, you want to get a schedule that traps just before you make errors, without playing too often so that the spacing effect is weakened.
Someone else suggested “kinetic memory”. The term “muscle memory” has an advantage though in that it differentiates precisely between motor skills and the other relevant forms of memory that need to be developed separately when learning music, i.e., aural, visual and cognitive, and is widely understood as exactly the first type of muscle memory you refer to.
What a wonderful video! I hope it goes viral.❤
Great tip thank you, I often struggle with guitar solo's.
Very informative and appreciated video! I purposely spent 1 week not playing a piece that I "memorized" months ago. When I tried to play it after the week was over, I found myself having to pull out the sheet music for some measures 🤦🏾♂️. So in a messed up way, I'm glad to see that it happened to someone on a level of piano playing that I'll never be on 😂
Thank You very much.
Thank you for this info 🎉
Thanks for sharing.🐨
Thanks you a million ..Your Advice / lesson ..is very useful.for me..
Omg this is me, I thought I had a piece memorised and went back to it an no idea .i am going to try this space -repetition
Thank You so much for this insight!!
I've used spaced repetition for years in learning Spanish as a new language with Supermemo, now Anki. These programs use at algorithm which is very effective to determine the intervals at which you see a ''flash card''. It usually is hard to remember the answer because you were at the point of forgetting. With time, the intervals can increase to a year or more. I will add one of my piano pieces as a flash cards and see how it goes
Someone else mentioned Anki as well, sounds perfect. Good luck! 😊
Great lesson thank you
Not a piano player but appreciate the lesson. Good points, great strategy.
Excellent. Very practical info.
This also applies to learning a language. Thanks
I just found your channel. Fantastic. Thank you!
Excellent as usual
Thank you for harnessing my ego as an enthusiastic learner. Oftentimes we want to walk before crawling. I have been subconsciously doing what you said and therefore resonate with this video. Thank you for validating. How True : perfect practice makes perfect.
Very good video. Thankyou
Thank you for this extremely valuable information, this can be applied to anything for memory retrieval....
Yes, I believe so 😊
I shall use this process in trying to remember lyrics to songs , as a guitar player, that is a frustratingly weak area of mine. …Excellent lesson !
Very helpful veru useful and very clever information thank you!!!
Great video Leah. Jackie
I'll give it a shot. Thank you!
Interesting, very informative
thanks awfully, that's a huge help
Thanks Leah.
I was wondering why I forget fingerings on pieces I hadn't practiced for a few days.
I realised that if I let myself 'forget' something and relearn it, I will retain the information better and longer. This applies to everything from language to lyrics to computer repair.
I have that problem. I think this video proposes a very good solution, but I don't remember it anymore. Let me watch it again!
Thought I was the ONLY one who did this. I spend lot time learning guitar stuff RUclips. Now I try go through everyday but I forgottin much. The harder ones ‘id never be able to play like ‘Thump flamenco technique is out of my grasp. Goin NO where with, yet I don’t forget. Everyday for a month I should’ve overcame awkwardness. Some people have that little extra ‘ingredient’ called talent. Musical inheritance, they endure overcome quick, as if unlimited
I'm 67 and have been taking lessons for nearly 5 years. I've only memorized 1 song, but the worst part for me is playing in front of other people. I've been in 2 recitals, knew the music well, but when I started my hands started shaking uncontrollably. I made it through roughly, but was totally humiliated. I followed young kids who, even though they might have been nervous, didn't let it affect their performance. Guess I'll just play for myself.
Sorry to hear that, and having suffered bad stage fright myself, I can sympathise! You might be interested in the Overcome Your Performance Anxiety workshop I’m running on Oct. 27th - more information at www.lecheilemusic.com/home
There are a number of techniques used to memorize and learn. I think of how to meditate on Scripture. We observe, then interpret, then apply. It seems like some similar steps.
I probably would be one of those that would drive people crazy cuz I have a bunch of pieces that I know AND remember! But I have the same problem - I could go to play a piece that I know, and all of a sudden, it's like I don't know it!! It frustrates me to no end, cuz I find myself thinking "how would I be able to remember it if I go to play it say in front of someone?" And I admit, I envy those who can seemingly pull out a piece and play it flawlessly. But then I play it later on - boom! No prob! But I think I'm doing what you're saying, I play a certain number of the pieces every few days so I can stay on top of them. May not *totally* fix the problem, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something!
Well done you, sounds like you’re already doing all the right things 😃👏
@@LeCheileMusic Aw, thanks!!☺️
Would this method also be recommended for someone learning scales?
Absolutely! You might also find this little hack useful:
Learn piano scales in half the time with this simple trick!
ruclips.net/video/zl8lAYzaeKU/видео.html
Thank you for the good advice. I had done Bastien method books some 30 years ago and now that I am 63 years old, I went back doing them all over again and at a much slower pace. I have finished level 3 of those books but because I read very good reviews on Adult Piano Adventures, I got that all in one book. However, I’m unsure if it is wise to start all over again with a different system or shall just proceed with Bastien level 4? I would appreciate your advice very much. Thank you.
Why not both? If you proceed with the Bastien level 4 you’ll be expanding your skills, and if at the same time you work through the Piano Adventures book you’ll be consolidating what you’ve always learned. I always recommend that students play a lot of “easy” music alongside the more challenging stuff. Best of luck! 😊
@ Thank you very much for your kind advice. Much appreciated🙏🙏🙏🙏
Can I buy any course off you (as a classical guitarist) to help thoroughly prepare a piece for performance ??😊
Hi Alan, I recently ran a workshop on exactly this topic. It’s available in my membership, and if you sign up for the 7 day free trial it won’t cost you anything to watch. There are a number of other workshops that might also help, and I’ll be running a performance anxiety workshop live on October 27th, that you can sign up for at www.lecheilemusic.com/home
😊wim😊😊
I used spaced repetition to learn small chunks of pieces about 10 years ago but it was a bit too finegrained and overwhelming. Might be good to add 1 card to an Anki deck when you've just learned a piece.
I hadn’t heard of Anki cards but they sound helpful! 👍
How in the name of God can a professional classical orchestra and the soloist not be on the same page as to what piece they’re playing? Hard to believe that could happen outside of someone purposefully trying to sabotage the thing.
Apparently she was only approached the day before the performance to fill in for someone else who couldn’t make it, and misheard the number of the concerto during the phone call. The performance itself was actually a publicly attended rehearsal for the main event that evening. These things do happen, even to seasoned pros! 😱
I’m going to try this and report back in a few months, with my 3 exam pieces, and a couple of my “play for fun” pieces.
For the spaced repetition, is that with the sheet music in front of you, or playing from memory, or either? Thank you.
Yes, either - whatever your preference is 😊
I've got a great memory but I forgot where I put it...
Thanks for the useful advice. I've tried to download your free practice workbook but it hasn't worked. Please can you investigate?
Hi Julian, can you try the link again - mailchi.mp/bccb1e32807f/practice-workbook-giveaway - and if it still doesn't work for you, please email me at leah@lecheilemusic.com and I'll send it by return.
I've been playing piano for 45 years and still can't play one single piece from memory. Now that I'm learning guitar, I'm learning the pieces from memory straight up.
Not sure what the point of your comment is? Are you saying that some people are just not able to play certain instruments no matter how long they try?
@@ChrisBrocI meant I think playing from memory has to do with the way you learn pieces. With piano, I learned the pieces from reading dots, following the music and now I can't play anything without the music. With guitar, I don't learn anything from written music, I've thrown the music away and learn bar by bar or chord by chord usually from you tube clips and I've found I retain the information and remember the pieces.
Oh my thank you from my heart. I am 74 and was beginning to think i might be getting some dementia. Im not kidding. I will keep trying.
Is anyone else skeptical of the Maria concerto story?
I believe it’s genuine!
@@LeCheileMusic did she never rehearse with the orchestra? Did the conductor never discuss tempi or cadenzas? It would have come up.
How does one show up to play a concerto in performance without ever rehearsing? There was no discussion of tempo, entrances, ritards, etc. with the conductor beforehand? They planned to just wing it? From their casual dress, maybe so.
Well I am nearly 80 and haven't touched a keyboard for 35 years! I reached about grade 5 (UK) at that time. But I can read music, love classical piano music, am fit & healthy and want to get back to it. Memory is one huge problem, the other is sloppy fingers. I borrowed a cheap digital keyboard just to see if I am mad to be trying this but it's so terrible, the keys being mere switches (no loud or soft) and a short compass. So maybe I have to take the plunge and buy a decent one; no room for an acoustic piano sadly. Has anyone else restarted their playing at this age? Am I too optimistic?
I have a number of students in my membership program who are in their 80s. They’re my favourite members because they’re so engaged and just all round lovely people 🥰 So I think you can definitely jump back into piano and have lots of fun with it!
Never too optimistic
It would have been high comedy if she had played the piece she rehearsed and explained that the piece expected had evolved.
Thanks for the tips!👍🙏 Just a point about so called muscle memory, it's a misleading phrase. There is no memory in the muscle the memory is still in the brain. It might be more accurate to call it kinetic memory? It's the brain and nervous system that's remembering the movements not the muscle, muscles have no memory. 🤔 As far as i know??
You’re correct of course, it’s important to understand that any physical skill is learned and laid down first in the neurons of the brain and then transmitted to the muscles. 👍
@LeCheileMusic I think I use to think the muscles were remembering the movements, until someone said there's no such thing, it's the brain that's remembering. 😅👍
I've never forgotten how to play music before, using an even easier method.
Do tell!
@@LeCheileMusic Just never learned any in the first place.
i instantly forgot this video tho ....
Here’s what you can do to remember it: watch it twice a day for one week, then once a day for a week, then every second day… 🤣
This is for church gospel music? I like to assume judgmental. They like dominant 7 chords? Wish I played for church it do me some good. Sometimes before the ending a song, they’ll move the entire song KEY up half step. They don’t believe in effects, prefer no reverb nothing even when it’s outside vocals mic.
Hi Danny, I play classical but I’m sure it also works well for gospel.
The problem I find : when you LEARN something , certainly in a TACTILE way ( piano ) , you are creating neuron links which then create MUSCLE MEMORY in your hands , fingers ,, cracked it , BUT THEN you approach a different piece of music in a different key for eg ,,, your muscle memory is now working AGAINST you , ! The POINT IS ; are you 5 , 15 , 25 , 40 , 50 , 70 ? Each decade that passes your so called NEURON PLASICITY is reduced MASSIVELY , the only answer is : you cant possible remember all this massive amount of EVER CHANGING info , you HAVE to have the Dots there ,at least as a reference ,, if you cant read MJSIC , your stuffed ,😂😂😂😂😂😂( i am a rubbish reader BTW )
There’s actually less variety in the structure of music than you think - for example, any piece in the key of C will be primarily based on the tonic (I) and dominant (V) chords of C and G, or G7. The subdominant (IV) chord, F in the key of C, will also be important. Once you know what the primary chords in any key are, you’re halfway to learning the piece. This is the cognitive, or analytical, element I talk about in the video. It sounds complicated but with a little practice you’ll start to see it in every piece. I’ll link to a couple of videos below to get you started. 😊
Transform Your Music Learning With This Essential Hack!
ruclips.net/video/21X9rlxwE80/видео.html
The 4 Chords That Unlock Most Songs
ruclips.net/video/yjF8hW56nC0/видео.html
Love your advice, but have a hearing problem, and find your speech very fast and really struggle to keep up with your videos, I am 82 so perhaps the fault could be mine.
Maybe setting the speed of youtube replay to 0,75 helps. I do that is quite often.
Absolutely, as the other commenter here mentioned, you can slow me down in the settings (I’m often told that I talk fast, it’s not just you!). You’ll find the settings wheel icon on the bottom (or sometimes top) right of your screen, and the drop down menu will have playback speed in it.
you can turn on the subtitles to read long. there should be a button/icon that says "cc" in the top right corner of the video if you are using the same version as me. hope that helps a little bit.