I am a violinist of eight years and am legally blind, therefore I cannot read music. I memorize every piece I play by ear. This video introduced me to other methods of memorization. I was unaware of these different types and how I was already using them. Thank you for opening my eyes on this topic. I really appreciate it.
... 3 things. 1. Im sorry ur legally blind. 2. When i read that,i thought of** that one vine "im legally blind". 3 "thank you for opening my eyes."....pun intended...?
alliana padam theres literally all sorts of ways blind people can write comments...many blind youtubers adress this..one way is by voice in which it takes what they say and types it into the phone...a brain keyboard (havent seen much of that)...or a friend..its not hard
@z恶魔小王子 WHO considers blindness by visual acuity which is less than 3/60 or 10/200 in the better eye. There are many low vision devices that can enhance computer work for people with vision less than 3/60.
I think there are 4. Visual memory is important too. For classical musicians, the written score is often the first contact with the music: one reads before physically playing or hearing. I'm a pianist, and memory is considered important for us. Many pianists have photographic memories and "see" the score as they play. This is good advice for all musicians. Thank you.
+Francis Squire Yes, someone once told me, "memorize the coffee stain". LOL....and it's true...don't we see all the marks, tears, stains in our memory as we play? We all have a touch of "visual" memory. Some more developed than others. Thanks for the input.
Been teaching myself violin for less than 3 weeks . I've watched alot of video's. Came across this one .(yours) Extremely helpful . Immediately started improving . Thanks so much.
Great Charles! So glad to hear that. Keep up the good work. YOu might venture over to www.RedDesertViolin.com for more great info for beginners. (lots of it is free) Best of luck to you!
I am learning bagpipes, I started six months ago myself and I can play plenty of tunes on sheet music but I am desperate to get off music sheets as pipers have to play from memory and my instructor is trying to impress that upon me. What you say makes perfect sense and I intend to put your advice into practice. You obviously cannot force your memory to work, it comes naturally and makes sense over time
Elka.....have you also found my videos about ear training? Ear training and memorization are INSEPARABLE. If I asked you to play "Three Blind Mice"....you might be able to play it for me on the first try. Does that mean you MEMORIZED it? NO.....it means you have the ear training to play it by ear on your first try. So improving your ear training will simultaneously improve your ability to play by memory. If your ears are trained, you can play any song that's in your head by memory.....not just the ones that you have practiced and memorized.
This is just superb, I been tryin to find out about "memorization tips and techniques" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you heard people talk about - Yiyevi Ponevi Approach - (search on google ) ? Ive heard some interesting things about it and my friend got amazing results with it.
Great video. I use color codes to divide a piece into sections with textmarkers. Same bit is same color. Variation is different one but still corresponding like pink and yellow creating orange. Really different is blue and yellow making green. I use V shapes in pencil for breathing pauses and large vertical stripes for emphasising beats and horizontal stripes for phrases. Pauses are big thick black stripes plus numbers above them to indicate the time of the pause. A worked on partition looks like a very intricate roadmap once you are done but it is a great visual aid and once you see it, you'll know the tune immediately even after several years. That is a fourth memory: the visual representation of what you are hearing and thinking.
Very thoughtful. I have been working with these concepts for years. I am finding that serious meditation, continuous relaxation of the body (arms, wrist, and hand) music reading and close VISUAL study of keyboard (piano), as well as music scale and chord analysis leads to exceptionally strong reading and improvisational playing. Most players, even experts seem to not know this.
Thank you for your lessons. I lost a chunk of hearing so gave up playing the violin. Better heating aid have enabled me to hear all the notes now though I'll never be able to work with sound as you can. After at least a 12 year gap in playing I now enjoy trying again but relying on muscle memory. All tips are do very helpful to keep on track.
Hi Frayne, it will be challenging with only part of your hearing, true. But you will also learn to be sensitive to the vibrations in your fingers, and even your jawbone. I highly recommend you search my channel for "Intonation" and "Ringy Notes". I don't remember the name of the videos, there are several...but they will help put you on the right track for training yourself to feel those vibrations. Good luck!
Good suggestion to be able to sing/hum the tune as a way to play it by memory. I've noticed sometimes I visually memorize parts of the sheet music and "see" it when I play. Wierd, huh?
Thank you!!!! I'm glad to know that muscle memory alone isn't always reliable. I was wondering how it is how I do well with a piece at home, then struggle with the same thing with my teacher during a lesson. It's highly frustrating when your teacher tries to explain how to play something when I already do it at home. Its a little waste of time for both of us when we can be focusing on other things. I do better picking out patterns in the music.
This helped me sooooo much! My high school marching band is playing in the Electric Light show at Disney World. I was so stressed as to how to memorize the music but this made it sooo much easier
Love your video. Others talk theory but do not have practical exercises like you’ve spelled out. This cellist thanks you! I believe this will help a lot.
Basically you'd play the music through once or several times to decipher the intro, ending and middle parts and note if any sections are repeated exactly the same way or the same tune in another Key. A lot of Asians (Chinese, Japanese, Koreans) are brought up in school to learn things by rogue memorization. Try to play every piece of music you come across from memory and you exercise your brain to do it better and better.
Thanks for posting - never knew that muscle memory is the least powerful. Visualisation of the music in your mind' eye helps me. And also practicing without the instrument - forcing recall.
Sweet...as a jazz player I rely mostly on my "intellectual" memory and the function known as "chunking" which is a type of pattern recognition. of course, for a jazz player form structure is very important...A A1 etc and is an easy affair because the forms in standards and jazz tunes are so formulaic. Although, since the 1960s tunes have been written in irregular forms going along with non-functional free tonality. For me I tend to categorize jazz licks, lick types and improvisational devices according to types. For instance I might hear or learn a new lick or phrase and think "Oh it's one of those whatchmacallits! )" [chunking} I even think diagrammatic...probably some visual memory of fingers on my guitar neck. Some traditional; jazz lick types even have names: "The Cry Me a River" lick, "Honeysuckle Rose" lick and most of the historic and currently well-known jazz heroes play (ed) versions of those licks. If you ask me to play one of these by name I can play or improvise my version. Further, many of jazz vocabulary are based on those common licks. Finally I like to name some of the licks...that's my Chet Baker lick, or my Sonny Stitt lick from point of origin, Today I learned a new concept of arpegiating in 5ths I call it the "Russian lick" ffrom a (Russian video) Also concept is very important someone will say "Play a melodic minor idea a half step above an altered dominant chord; I can do that without hearing it or having a specific lick in mind. Thx for posting! )
Man, it would be fun to play some jazz with you! I bet I could learn A TON from you. I am not familiar with the Cry Me a River lick, or any of the licks you mention.....but I am going to look them up!!!
A thought, I drive for a living, and play by ear, the wonderful thing is the repeat play on the cd player, after 400+ miles of hearing the same tune or song, it is in your head, like it or not, makes it easier to get it to your fingers, works for me, is that the first memory??
YES! That is the first type of memory! I think MEMORIZATION and PLAYING BY EAR are very closely linked, because the first type of memorization is really playing by ear, and in order to play by ear, the tune must be memorized....see what I mean?
This video is so clear and simple to understand. Thank you for making such useful videos. I hope you continue to make lectures that can help adult learners like me. More power to you and your channel! 💕👏👌😊
There are a few types of memory, Kinesthetic _ those that learn through movement, Aural - learn through sound, Visual - learn through watching, then you have the short term memory that will keep it in your mind for about 5 minutes and only 7-9 bits at a time, then the long term memory which is the forever memory. Some people work better writing things down physically, then you have those who learn ok by using a digital device. Howard Gardener did an interesting peice on learning styles.
I rely on visual memory more than my others. Visual memory is also the memory that gets to work first because usually you see the piece your playing before anything. I'm also a flute player.
Thank you so much! I'm currently working on memorizing 6 pieces for audition and they are all due after 3 weeks , hopefully I'll be able to make it with your tips. TT
+mscaroline4097 You're so welcome. Good luck! Have you found my blog posts on how to memorize music? www.reddesertviolin.com/category/music-memorization-tips-violin/
I'm a guitar teacher and research songs before I play and teach them. An example is Proud Mary by Credence Clearwater Revival. Did you know that a Riverboat Queen is a boat with a big wheel that keeps on turning.
Hi I am a Chinese student and Originally I started to play violin as a hobbies, when I was 13, I decided to play violin as my permanent career, but I always be trained as amateurish player before, I accumulated lots of problem, I think now my biggest problem is that I can't read the name of the notes very quickly when I'm playing and I always use the muscles memory for 8 years, now I'm preparing to apply the music conservatory, I think I must solve this problem, So I just want to ask you that can I correct my memorizing way? After I watched this Video, I just try to use the intellectual memorizing in BACH fugue, I summarized all types of temple pattern of this piece, actually, it's not too much, I've just thinking that if I have obstacles in remember the notes names, are there have other way to help me remember the whole pieces firmly？ expect for your answer.
Hi! Hmmmm.....based on your description, your problem is NOT with memorization.....your problem is with SIGHT READING. You simply need to work on sight reading. The best way to improve your sight-reading is to get an ETUDE book that you have NOT learned yet. Sight-read 1 etude ever day. Sight-reading has RULES that you need to obey. 1) DO NOT STOP no matter what.....keep going. If you have to skip notes, FINE....skip them, but DO NOT STOP. 2) Pick a slow speed where you can get about 85% of the notes, at least. If you cannot get 85% of the notes, SLOW IT DOWN. 3) Use a metronome to FORCE you to keep going at speed. 4) No second chances. If you miss a note, IT IS GONE.....read forward 5) Train your eyes to read a tiny bit ahead of where you are playing, so that you have time to REACT to what is written. If you do this for 30 days, you will see improvement. Do it for 6 months, and you will be amazed. Good etudes are Wohlfahrt, Kreutzer, Fiorillo, some of the easier etudes. There are TONS of them online, so you can do this for 6 months and never run out of new ones!
Hi Lora! Your explanation about music memory is excellent! I'm actually a piano player and I've been relying on my memory to play most of the classical pieces that I love but now I feel that my sight reading has become very bad I was taught to use the jingle "E very G ood B oy D eserves Fudge" method but everytime I want to play a specific song I have to keep singing this jingle to get past the first bar please is there any way you could share an easier trick or tip to how to memorize the notes by seeing them without relying on this jingle! I'm a struggling student and I appreciate all your help so much! :))
***** Hi Gracee Sings! This is an excellent suggestion....I could write a whole article or video on this topic. For now, this is what I suggest to you: try reversing the process. instead of seeing a note ON PAPER and trying to name it, play a note on your violin, name what the note is, and write it down on paper, or at least say where it is on paper. (2nd line up, top line, etc) I suggest that you get some blank staff paper (find it free on VirtualSheetMusic.com) and use the blank staff paper to do a little homework. Try this: Play 1st finger on E string. Name the pitch. (f) Now write down where it goes. (top line) Play 1st finger on the A string. etc. Do all your 1st fingers. Then do all your second fingers. Beyond this, you still need to quickly name the note and where it is on your violin by looking at sheet music. There are some REALLY cool music apps for phones....I bet there is one that helps you to drill note names and makes it very fun. Why don't you search that out, and come back and let us all know what you found? Let's see....someone was just telling me about an app called "violin". And it will at least help you learn the notes on your violin. LET ME KNOW what you discover!!!!
This might sound strange but as an adult learner, I found the easiest way was to listen to a tune I enjoy and refer to a violin tutor to play, show me (visually) by finger method where to place them on the violin and I do repetition of the tune and rely on my ears until I mastered it. I do so poorly in reading music notes that even the basics use to frustrate me and stop me from progressing. I found with such a method I lost interest in the violin. I think people need to find what works best for them so it does not deter them away from what they are capable of. Everyone is different in how they process information.
Red Desert Fiddle I'm studying the violin, you can say I'm a beginner since it's been only 2 years. Anyways I watch many of your videos frequently as they're really very informative and are very useful also for understanding and correcting frequently faced problems. You're like a long distance teacher for me :). Please keep up the good work!!
I would say it falls into the category of aural memory. Don't you think so? I mean, some violin pieces are impossible to sing with the human voice...so we sing them in our heads. I think it is a little weaker than actually singing it.....but it still counts. That is an interesting question.....I welcome input and debate!
I have one question ! First thing thank you for this great video it's really helpful But my question is ..how I will know in every piece the keys !! Like A2 .C.B Sorry but I have problem with that knowing every part of the piece what is The keys if you please can tell me how to do it or maybe you have a video for recognize that !!
kosay oddo Hi Kosay Do not worry about labeling every section of a piece "correctly". Label the sections in ways that make sense to you. We all have natural "stopping places", especially if you are on the look-out for them. Think of your music as a poem or a speech. Where does it naturally come to an end, like the end of a sentence of paragraph. THERE ARE NO WRONG ANSWERS! Just keep it simple and natural. (IN GENERAL....a musical section is 8 bars or 16 bars long....sometimes, the sections are even shorter....like 4 bars. Do you notice a pattern? 4, 8, 16.....so, you can start by looking at 4 or 8 bars......I bet you will find natural stopping spots there. I am also NOT talking about pitches or notes. When I say "A2", I mean it is the second time "Part A" has happened. I am not talking about note names.
I'm playing the 3rd symphony of beethoven and I'm not having difficulties memorising it but rather reading notes in a VERY fast pace (6 notes per sec maximum) My partner told me he didn't look at the notes at all but he played it SO DAMN WELL (sry for cursing) that I wondered HOW he can read the notes that fast ? I'm from a school orchestra so I'm not really used to reading notes that fast, but now that I signed up for a big orchestra concert I'm panicking a bit xD what do I do ? Again I'm not lacking the skill to actually play it, but the skill to read notes in a very fast pace
Hi Zack. Sorry for the delayed reply, but I think you will still benefit from the answer. So when we read notes REALLY fast there are several things going on simultaneously. First, the eye is looking ahead and scanning for early warnings such as accidentals or rhythmic changes, or to see how long a certain pattern will be repeated. So that's #1....to scan ahead of what you are actually playing. #2 is that we are NOT reading individual notes. Just like when you are reading a book, you don't read the actual LETTERS.......your eyes have had enough practice to grab whole words and phrases all at the same time. IT's the same with music.....with practice, you will start to recognize familiar patterns that occur frequently. Scale patterns, arpeggio patterns, broken 3rds, etc. THis is a HUGE reason why we practice scales. The final thing that is happening is the most sophisticated. As we play, we are constructing the song or passage in our minds.....we are COMPREHENDING what the music is doing, and based on our experience and musical maturitiy, we can sort of predict what will come next. It's like.....after you read enough western novels, they take on a certain formula....sure with a few surprises, but we can predict alot. This ability really helps our sight-reading and fast reading. Just time and practice develops #3, but you can accelerate 1 and 2 by practicing scales alot and training yourself to read "chunks" of information, seek familiar patterns, and think about GROUPS of notes rather than individual notes. Let me know how it goes for you! I'd love to know of any break-throughs you have.
Relying primarily on muscle memory is very dangerous and can lead to a great deal of performance anxiety. Intellectual memory is unreliable because it can't operate in real-time like aural memory. Aural memory should be our primary source of memory for confident playing. Most music instruction is deficient in aural training. The best musicians I've known had superior aural skills. Good advice about taking a simple tune and playing it by ear. A good test is to transpose the tune by ear....
+Vico Re Yes, aural memory might be the glue that holds it all together for a live performance. But it sure helps to have all the other things in place to help us too!
0:16 three types 1:18 default type 1:46 first type (aural momory) 2:03 listen and memories 2:38 Note by notes 3:05 Second type 5:18 third type 6:12 Skeleton structure 7:10 method 9:17 I don't totally agree( start with easy)
didn't help, i have to memorize a piece in less than a week, and I already know the piece, but I'm still learning the notes, but it won't stick in there
Sara, I think it is one of those things where you need to give it time and LOTS of application. You wouldn't notice a muscle getting stronger in just one week.....but in one year of exercising it, it would be very obviously stronger. Keep working at it. It will get better!
Yes...definitely use all the available tools. But music is primarily an aural language. To play an instrument as freely as one speaks his native language requires more emphasis on aural skills in my opinion....
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I am a violinist of eight years and am legally blind, therefore I cannot read music. I memorize every piece I play by ear. This video introduced me to other methods of memorization. I was unaware of these different types and how I was already using them.
Thank you for opening my eyes on this topic. I really appreciate it.
... 3 things.
1. Im sorry ur legally blind.
2. When i read that,i thought of** that one vine "im legally blind".
3 "thank you for opening my eyes."....pun intended...?
uhm. sorry if i offend you or anyone else, but...how...did you find this video ans type if you're legally blind?..
alliana padam theres literally all sorts of ways blind people can write comments...many blind youtubers adress this..one way is by voice in which it takes what they say and types it into the phone...a brain keyboard (havent seen much of that)...or a friend..its not hard
If u blind how u type
@z恶魔小王子 WHO considers blindness by visual acuity which is less than 3/60 or 10/200 in the better eye. There are many low vision devices that can enhance computer work for people with vision less than 3/60.
I think there are 4. Visual memory is important too. For classical musicians, the written score is often the first contact with the music: one reads before physically playing or hearing. I'm a pianist, and memory is considered important for us. Many pianists have photographic memories and "see" the score as they play. This is good advice for all musicians. Thank you.
+Francis Squire Yes, someone once told me, "memorize the coffee stain". LOL....and it's true...don't we see all the marks, tears, stains in our memory as we play? We all have a touch of "visual" memory. Some more developed than others. Thanks for the input.
A tip : watch series on Kaldrostream. Been using it for watching loads of movies during the lockdown.
@Ahmed Ryan Definitely, been watching on kaldroStream for years myself =)
@Ahmed Ryan Yea, I have been using kaldroStream for months myself :)
Been teaching myself violin for less than 3 weeks . I've watched alot of video's. Came across this one .(yours) Extremely helpful . Immediately started improving . Thanks so much.
Great Charles! So glad to hear that. Keep up the good work. YOu might venture over to www.RedDesertViolin.com for more great info for beginners. (lots of it is free) Best of luck to you!
I am learning bagpipes, I started six months ago myself and I can play plenty of tunes on sheet music but I am desperate to get off music sheets as pipers have to play from memory and my instructor is trying to impress that upon me. What you say makes perfect sense and I intend to put your advice into practice. You obviously cannot force your memory to work, it comes naturally and makes sense over time
Elka.....have you also found my videos about ear training?
Ear training and memorization are INSEPARABLE.
If I asked you to play "Three Blind Mice"....you might be able to play it for me on the first try. Does that mean you MEMORIZED it? NO.....it means you have the ear training to play it by ear on your first try.
So improving your ear training will simultaneously improve your ability to play by memory.
If your ears are trained, you can play any song that's in your head by memory.....not just the ones that you have practiced and memorized.
This is a brilliant video. I've made some notes of everything that you've said here so that I don't forget anything. You're an excellent teacher.
Thanks, Garry! Glad you found it helpful! Take care! L
Red Desert Violin
This is just superb, I been tryin to find out about "memorization tips and techniques" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you heard people talk about - Yiyevi Ponevi Approach - (search on google ) ? Ive heard some interesting things about it and my friend got amazing results with it.
Great video. I use color codes to divide a piece into sections with textmarkers. Same bit is same color. Variation is different one but still corresponding like pink and yellow creating orange. Really different is blue and yellow making green. I use V shapes in pencil for breathing pauses and large vertical stripes for emphasising beats and horizontal stripes for phrases. Pauses are big thick black stripes plus numbers above them to indicate the time of the pause. A worked on partition looks like a very intricate roadmap once you are done but it is a great visual aid and once you see it, you'll know the tune immediately even after several years. That is a fourth memory: the visual representation of what you are hearing and thinking.
+carolineleiden YES! I love it! GREAT ideas
Very thoughtful. I have been working with these concepts for years. I am finding that serious meditation, continuous relaxation of the body (arms, wrist, and hand) music reading and close VISUAL study of keyboard (piano), as well as music scale and chord analysis leads to exceptionally strong reading and improvisational playing. Most players, even experts seem to not know this.
+sidthinker That's because no one wants to sit back and meditate or relax! Relaxation is harder than hard work! But I totally see your point!
Thank you for your lessons. I lost a chunk of hearing so gave up playing the violin. Better heating aid have enabled me to hear all the notes now though I'll never be able to work with sound as you can. After at least a 12 year gap in playing I now enjoy trying again but relying on muscle memory. All tips are do very helpful to keep on track.
Hi Frayne, it will be challenging with only part of your hearing, true. But you will also learn to be sensitive to the vibrations in your fingers, and even your jawbone. I highly recommend you search my channel for "Intonation" and "Ringy Notes". I don't remember the name of the videos, there are several...but they will help put you on the right track for training yourself to feel those vibrations. Good luck!
9 years later this helped a bass guitarist from Scotland, who's learning songs for playing in a band! Thank you 👍
Rock on! Have fun with your band! What is your band called?
@@RedDesertViolin Neen ;the wiser 👍
Good suggestion to be able to sing/hum the tune as a way to play it by memory. I've noticed sometimes I visually memorize parts of the sheet music and "see" it when I play. Wierd, huh?
Thank you!!!! I'm glad to know that muscle memory alone isn't always reliable. I was wondering how it is how I do well with a piece at home, then struggle with the same thing with my teacher during a lesson. It's highly frustrating when your teacher tries to explain how to play something when I already do it at home. Its a little waste of time for both of us when we can be focusing on other things.
I do better picking out patterns in the music.
This helped me sooooo much! My high school marching band is playing in the Electric Light show at Disney World. I was so stressed as to how to memorize the music but this made it sooo much easier
GREAT! Wow....that must have been a FUN show! (but nerve-wracking) So glad this helped you to memorize it!
Love your video. Others talk theory but do not have practical exercises like you’ve spelled out. This cellist thanks you! I believe this will help a lot.
Thank you for your kind words! Best of luck to you!
One of the best tips I have ever heard!!!!Thank you so much for creating this video!🙌
Glad it was helpful!
This is a fantastic video. Been playing for years and never really gave memory much thought. Well explained and I find this video very fascinating.
Basically you'd play the music through once or several times to decipher the intro, ending and middle parts and note if any sections are repeated exactly the same way or the same tune in another Key.
A lot of Asians (Chinese, Japanese, Koreans) are brought up in school to learn things by rogue memorization. Try to play every piece of music you come across from memory and you exercise your brain to do it better and better.
incredible video, i’m a rising 9th grader and am playing in carnegie hall, and i need to memorize the pieces, this helped so much!
Wow, congrats on playing Carnegie! I have a student auditioning for the honors orchestra at Carnegie. Best of luck to you!
@@RedDesertViolin Thanks! the experience was one i’ll never forget being there
Thanks for posting - never knew that muscle memory is the least powerful. Visualisation of the music in your mind' eye helps me. And also practicing without the instrument - forcing recall.
+Slim Estrada Thanks for your comment. Keep working that muscle!
thanks, very good tips
thanks for your generosity.
a great person and teacher
Form and Structure......great advice! Thanx!
Thanks, curtpiazza1688!
Sweet...as a jazz player I rely mostly on my "intellectual" memory and the function known as "chunking" which is a type of pattern recognition. of course, for a jazz player form structure is very important...A A1 etc and is an easy affair because the forms in standards and jazz tunes are so formulaic. Although, since the 1960s tunes have been written in irregular forms going along with non-functional free tonality. For me I tend to categorize jazz licks, lick types and improvisational devices according to types. For instance I might hear or learn a new lick or phrase and think "Oh it's one of those whatchmacallits! )" [chunking} I even think diagrammatic...probably some visual memory of fingers on my guitar neck. Some traditional; jazz lick types even have names: "The Cry Me a River" lick, "Honeysuckle Rose" lick and most of the historic and currently well-known jazz heroes play (ed) versions of those licks. If you ask me to play one of these by name I can play or improvise my version. Further, many of jazz vocabulary are based on those common licks. Finally I like to name some of the licks...that's my Chet Baker lick, or my Sonny Stitt lick from point of origin, Today I learned a new concept of arpegiating in 5ths I call it the "Russian lick" ffrom a (Russian video) Also concept is very important someone will say "Play a melodic minor idea a half step above an altered dominant chord; I can do that without hearing it or having a specific lick in mind. Thx for posting! )
Man, it would be fun to play some jazz with you! I bet I could learn A TON from you. I am not familiar with the Cry Me a River lick, or any of the licks you mention.....but I am going to look them up!!!
Great helpful video. thanks ❤
Very good what you just told me I think I have tried too complicated pieces
A thought, I drive for a living, and play by ear, the wonderful thing is the repeat play on the cd player, after 400+ miles of hearing the same tune or song, it is in your head, like it or not, makes it easier to get it to your fingers, works for me, is that the first memory??
YES! That is the first type of memory! I think MEMORIZATION and PLAYING BY EAR are very closely linked, because the first type of memorization is really playing by ear, and in order to play by ear, the tune must be memorized....see what I mean?
would work,i think for the non professional drivers going to and from work??
This video is so clear and simple to understand. Thank you for making such useful videos. I hope you continue to make lectures that can help adult learners like me. More power to you and your channel! 💕👏👌😊
Thank you very much for your kind words!
Thank you very much.
I understand it's not easy to follow your advices but it's
a very good way if not the best.
Thank you.
The main thing about memorization is to PRACTICE it. It's a muscle!
I really get what your saying, yes thank you again Laura such kind guiding, ❤️
Glad it was helpful! Keep up the good work!
There are a few types of memory, Kinesthetic _ those that learn through movement, Aural - learn through sound, Visual - learn through watching, then you have the short term memory that will keep it in your mind for about 5 minutes and only 7-9 bits at a time, then the long term memory which is the forever memory. Some people work better writing things down physically, then you have those who learn ok by using a digital device. Howard Gardener did an interesting peice on learning styles.
+PurdyBear1 Fascinating! Thanks for this input. I love learning more about memorization!
this is great advice, thank you
I rely on visual memory more than my others. Visual memory is also the memory that gets to work first because usually you see the piece your playing before anything. I'm also a flute player.
Outstanding tips.
Thank you so much! I'm currently working on memorizing 6 pieces for audition and they are all due after 3 weeks , hopefully I'll be able to make it with your tips. TT
+mscaroline4097 You're so welcome. Good luck! Have you found my blog posts on how to memorize music? www.reddesertviolin.com/category/music-memorization-tips-violin/
I'm a guitar teacher and research songs before I play and teach them. An example is Proud Mary by Credence Clearwater Revival. Did you know that a Riverboat Queen is a boat with a big wheel that keeps on turning.
+Dave Derby I love to research cool stuff about pieces.....it is fun for students to learn it too! No, I didn't know that about a Riverboat Queen.
Thank you. I'll put these tips to use forthwith!
I use these techniques every day. I know they'll help you. Thanks for watching!
Excellent suggestions.
Thanks for watching!
Excellent advices! Thank you very much!!
Glad it was helpful!
Hi I am a Chinese student and Originally I started to play violin as a hobbies, when I was 13, I decided to play violin as my permanent career, but I always be trained as amateurish player before, I accumulated lots of problem, I think now my biggest problem is that I can't read the name of the notes very quickly when I'm playing and I always use the muscles memory for 8 years, now I'm preparing to apply the music conservatory, I think I must solve this problem, So I just want to ask you that can I correct my memorizing way? After I watched this Video, I just try to use the intellectual memorizing in BACH fugue, I summarized all types of temple pattern of this piece, actually, it's not too much, I've just thinking that if I have obstacles in remember the notes names, are there have other way to help me remember the whole pieces firmly？ expect for your answer.
Hi! Hmmmm.....based on your description, your problem is NOT with memorization.....your problem is with SIGHT READING. You simply need to work on sight reading.
The best way to improve your sight-reading is to get an ETUDE book that you have NOT learned yet.
Sight-read 1 etude ever day.
Sight-reading has RULES that you need to obey.
1) DO NOT STOP no matter what.....keep going. If you have to skip notes, FINE....skip them, but DO NOT STOP.
2) Pick a slow speed where you can get about 85% of the notes, at least. If you cannot get 85% of the notes, SLOW IT DOWN.
3) Use a metronome to FORCE you to keep going at speed.
4) No second chances. If you miss a note, IT IS GONE.....read forward
5) Train your eyes to read a tiny bit ahead of where you are playing, so that you have time to REACT to what is written.
If you do this for 30 days, you will see improvement. Do it for 6 months, and you will be amazed.
Good etudes are Wohlfahrt, Kreutzer, Fiorillo, some of the easier etudes. There are TONS of them online, so you can do this for 6 months and never run out of new ones!
Very valuable video. Thanks
Such useful insight thank you
Hope it helps. Thanks for watching!
What kind of bow are you using? Thanks!! By the way helpful video.
Its a pernambuco bow by the maker "Ledzinski"
The late great Henry ford once said " When you have a big job to do, break it down into smaller tasks and it will be less overwhelming"!
+SHADOWMAN296 True, it is!
Hi Lora! Your explanation about music memory is excellent! I'm actually a piano player and I've been relying on my memory to play most of the classical pieces that I love but now I feel that my sight reading has become very bad I was taught to use the jingle "E very G ood B oy D eserves Fudge" method but everytime I want to play a specific song I have to keep singing this jingle to get past the first bar please is there any way you could share an easier trick or tip to how to memorize the notes by seeing them without relying on this jingle! I'm a struggling student and I appreciate all your help so much! :))
***** Hi Gracee Sings! This is an excellent suggestion....I could write a whole article or video on this topic. For now, this is what I suggest to you: try reversing the process. instead of seeing a note ON PAPER and trying to name it, play a note on your violin, name what the note is, and write it down on paper, or at least say where it is on paper. (2nd line up, top line, etc) I suggest that you get some blank staff paper (find it free on VirtualSheetMusic.com) and use the blank staff paper to do a little homework.
Try this:
Play 1st finger on E string. Name the pitch. (f) Now write down where it goes. (top line)
Play 1st finger on the A string. etc.
Do all your 1st fingers.
Then do all your second fingers.
Beyond this, you still need to quickly name the note and where it is on your violin by looking at sheet music. There are some REALLY cool music apps for phones....I bet there is one that helps you to drill note names and makes it very fun. Why don't you search that out, and come back and let us all know what you found? Let's see....someone was just telling me about an app called "violin". And it will at least help you learn the notes on your violin. LET ME KNOW what you discover!!!!
What a nice video¡ So usefull. Thank you very much.....
Glad you found it helpful, Rocko!
Wow...such great tips. Thank you!
+Luver Lee Yep. Give them a try...you'll be amazed. Thanks for watching!
Very helpful thank you!
Glad it helped!
super useful information! thanks so much!
I hope it will help. Be sure to try the methods I listed.....and let me know how it goes!
Thanks so much for this vide ! Very helpful
thank you. Great advice.
Hope it helps!
This might sound strange but as an adult learner, I found the easiest way was to listen to a tune I enjoy and refer to a violin tutor to play, show me (visually) by finger method where to place them on the violin and I do repetition of the tune and rely on my ears until I mastered it. I do so poorly in reading music notes that even the basics use to frustrate me and stop me from progressing. I found with such a method I lost interest in the violin. I think people need to find what works best for them so it does not deter them away from what they are capable of. Everyone is different in how they process information.
+Ally Zabady Absolutely true, Ally! Glad you found your way!
This is great. Thanks
:-)
Super tips teacher I loved it
AUGUSTINE violinist from Malaysia
Thank you, Augustine!
Pretty good tips...
Thanks for watching!
Red Desert Fiddle I'm studying the violin, you can say I'm a beginner since it's been only 2 years. Anyways I watch many of your videos frequently as they're really very informative and are very useful also for understanding and correcting frequently faced problems. You're like a long distance teacher for me :). Please keep up the good work!!
***** :-) Ok, I will do my best to keep them coming!
Thank you, very helpful!!
Striptokoque Thanks for watching. I know these tips will help....I use them myself ALL the time!
Excellent video!
Unrelated curiosity and I must comment - The violin in the background appears to only have 1 F-hole!??
+Annette Brower LOLOL.....indeed, it DOES appear that way! Hilarious! But it's just a trick of light and shadow. There are indeed 2 f-holes!
Phew!!!....good to know. Thanks. :-)
Does memorising the Viatti "without" singing count as Aural memory? I've almost never sing
I would say it falls into the category of aural memory. Don't you think so? I mean, some violin pieces are impossible to sing with the human voice...so we sing them in our heads. I think it is a little weaker than actually singing it.....but it still counts. That is an interesting question.....I welcome input and debate!
Vingo bow??
I have one question !
First thing thank you for this great video it's really helpful
But my question is ..how I will know in every piece the keys !!
Like A2 .C.B
Sorry but I have problem with that knowing every part of the piece what is
The keys if you please can tell me how to do it or maybe you have a video for recognize that !!
kosay oddo Hi Kosay
Do not worry about labeling every section of a piece "correctly". Label the sections in ways that make sense to you. We all have natural "stopping places", especially if you are on the look-out for them. Think of your music as a poem or a speech. Where does it naturally come to an end, like the end of a sentence of paragraph. THERE ARE NO WRONG ANSWERS! Just keep it simple and natural. (IN GENERAL....a musical section is 8 bars or 16 bars long....sometimes, the sections are even shorter....like 4 bars. Do you notice a pattern? 4, 8, 16.....so, you can start by looking at 4 or 8 bars......I bet you will find natural stopping spots there.
I am also NOT talking about pitches or notes. When I say "A2", I mean it is the second time "Part A" has happened. I am not talking about note names.
I'm playing the 3rd symphony of beethoven and I'm not having difficulties memorising it but rather reading notes in a VERY fast pace (6 notes per sec maximum) My partner told me he didn't look at the notes at all but he played it SO DAMN WELL (sry for cursing) that I wondered HOW he can read the notes that fast ? I'm from a school orchestra so I'm not really used to reading notes that fast, but now that I signed up for a big orchestra concert I'm panicking a bit xD what do I do ? Again I'm not lacking the skill to actually play it, but the skill to read notes in a very fast pace
Edit : In the fastest passage it's even more than 6 notes per second. D:
Hi Zack. Sorry for the delayed reply, but I think you will still benefit from the answer. So when we read notes REALLY fast there are several things going on simultaneously. First, the eye is looking ahead and scanning for early warnings such as accidentals or rhythmic changes, or to see how long a certain pattern will be repeated. So that's #1....to scan ahead of what you are actually playing. #2 is that we are NOT reading individual notes. Just like when you are reading a book, you don't read the actual LETTERS.......your eyes have had enough practice to grab whole words and phrases all at the same time. IT's the same with music.....with practice, you will start to recognize familiar patterns that occur frequently. Scale patterns, arpeggio patterns, broken 3rds, etc. THis is a HUGE reason why we practice scales. The final thing that is happening is the most sophisticated. As we play, we are constructing the song or passage in our minds.....we are COMPREHENDING what the music is doing, and based on our experience and musical maturitiy, we can sort of predict what will come next. It's like.....after you read enough western novels, they take on a certain formula....sure with a few surprises, but we can predict alot. This ability really helps our sight-reading and fast reading. Just time and practice develops #3, but you can accelerate 1 and 2 by practicing scales alot and training yourself to read "chunks" of information, seek familiar patterns, and think about GROUPS of notes rather than individual notes. Let me know how it goes for you! I'd love to know of any break-throughs you have.
Hello...I've heard of VISUAL MEMORY....as well
Relying primarily on muscle memory is very dangerous and can lead to a great deal of performance anxiety. Intellectual memory is unreliable because it can't operate in real-time like aural memory. Aural memory should be our primary source of memory for confident playing. Most music instruction is deficient in aural training. The best musicians I've known had superior aural skills. Good advice about taking a simple tune and playing it by ear. A good test is to transpose the tune by ear....
+Vico Re Yes, aural memory might be the glue that holds it all together for a live performance. But it sure helps to have all the other things in place to help us too!
AWESOME VIDEO !!!
Thank you! I know it will help you as it helped me!
Merci
Eric (Paris)
Great ivdeo, but the more interesting thing would be, to play music in the original key of 432 Hz again instead of 440 based.
I feel I okay by memory, but to to 2 things at the same time, read a something and play violin, am def not that good
LOL....yes, it is HARD (and frustrating). It's just one idea!
Sometimes I play a verse and I can't name the song but I remember
Remembering the NAME is only secondary. The most important thing is to be able to play it! LOL
0:16 three types
1:18 default type
1:46 first type (aural momory)
2:03 listen and memories 2:38 Note by notes
3:05 Second type
5:18 third type
6:12 Skeleton structure
7:10 method
9:17 I don't totally agree( start with easy)
if you were my violin teacher, i would be a virtuoso for sure.
I read the comments through the video so didnt hear a word of what said😀
As soon as I heard her voice I immediately thought alphys. (not an insult)
It's hard enough just remembering all these tips haha
LOL....thanks for the chuckle!!!
didn't help, i have to memorize a piece in less than a week, and I already know the piece, but I'm still learning the notes, but it won't stick in there
Sara, I think it is one of those things where you need to give it time and LOTS of application. You wouldn't notice a muscle getting stronger in just one week.....but in one year of exercising it, it would be very obviously stronger. Keep working at it. It will get better!
Yes...definitely use all the available tools. But music is primarily an aural language. To play an instrument as freely as one speaks his native language requires more emphasis on aural skills in my opinion....
+Vico Re You mean ear training? I agree that is HUGELY important.
Playing blindfolded
I like!
WOWZA LOL