musical memory. Secrets of quick memorization.

If you have ever thought about how to quickly and efficiently memorize the composition being analyzed, I bring to your attention great article on this topic.

It may seem to someone that it is a "multibook book", but despite the fact that the article was written by a student of the Faculty of Arts as a test in the subject "Musical Psychology", it is very easy to read.

Lazy people can scroll right down - there are 4 rules for effective memorization that can be applied right now. I wish the rest enjoy reading

Alex Born

Introduction

A good musical memory is a quick memorization of a piece of music, its lasting preservation and the most accurate reproduction even after a long period of time after learning. Mozart, Liszt, Anton Rubinstein, Rachmaninov possessed a gigantic musical memory, and they could easily keep in their memory almost all the main musical literature. But what great musicians achieved without apparent difficulty, ordinary musicians, even with the ability, have to win with great effort. This applies to all musical abilities in general and to musical memory in particular. From the point of view of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, “musical memory, like memory in general, playing an important role in the field of any mental work, is more difficult to give in to artificial methods of development and makes you more or less reconcile with what each given subject has from nature."

This fatalistic point of view is opposed by another, according to which musical memory "is amenable to significant development in the process of special pedagogical influences."
Memory play, as you know, expands the performing possibilities of a musician. “A chord played as freely as you like from notes does not sound half as free as it is played from memory,” R. Schumann believed.

The purpose of this work is to reveal the concept of "memory", to determine the methods of effective memorization that can be recommended for performing musicians.

1. The concept of "musical memory"

Musical memory is called “memory for music,” that is, for musical-auditory, musical-visual, and musical-motor images. It manifests itself in the ability to form, remember, recognize, correlate, preserve these images, the logic of their change and development.
Musical memory is a condition for a person's contact with music (to understand the meaning of music, one must keep in memory sounds and their properties, consonances and themes, their modifications, individual intonations, etc.). Musical memory captures not only sounding music, but also the fabric of our experience, separating them or merging them to the point of indistinguishability (in a sense, the experience of music is music). Musical memory integrates musical impressions, as well as the ways and means of their formation.
Musical memory belongs to the so-called special types memory, which, on the one hand, combines the features of a particular type of human activity, and on the other hand, an individual innate predisposition, as it were, an increased sensitivity to capturing and storing a certain kind of information. That is why the assessment of musical memory is one of the most controversial issues in musical psychology.

2. Types of musical memory

First of all, let's analyze the types of musical memory that a musician has to deal with. Obviously, we can talk about motor, emotional, visual, auditory and logical memory when we memorize a piece of music. Depending on the individual abilities, each musician relies on a more convenient type of memory for him.

According to A.D. Alekseev, the author of "Methods of teaching to play the piano" (M., 1988) - "musical memory is a synthetic concept, including auditory, motor, logical, visual and other types of memory." In his opinion, it is necessary “that the pianist should have developed at least three types of memory - auditory, which serves as the basis for work in any field. musical art, logical - connected with the understanding of the content of the work, the patterns of development of the composer's thoughts and motor - extremely important for the performer-instrumentalist.

L. McKinnon, an English researcher of problems of musical memory, also believes that “musical memory as some kind of special kind memory does not exist. What is commonly understood as musical memory is in reality a collaboration various kinds memories that every normal person has - the memory of the ear, eyes, touch and movement. According to the researcher, “at least three types of memory should cooperate in the process of learning by heart: auditory, tactile and motor. Visual memory, usually associated with them, only supplements this peculiar quartet in one way or another.

B. M. Teplov, speaking of musical memory, considered the auditory and motor components to be the main ones in it. All other types of musical memory were considered by him valuable, but auxiliary. The auditory component is the leading one. But, said B. M. Teplov, “it is quite possible and, unfortunately, even widespread purely motor memorization of music played on the piano.”
To date, in the theory of musical performance, the point of view has been established, according to which the most reliable form of performance memory is the unity of auditory and motor components.

3. Memory and time

At human memory amazing relationship with time. Aristotle called memory the organ of measuring time. Time serves as one of the criteria for separating the main types of memory - long-term and short-term.

It is thanks to memory that a person can be aware of all possible time slices of events:

Past distant (then)
past near (yesterday, just now)
present (here and now)
near future (tomorrow, just about)
distant future (then, someday)

This allows you to flexibly manage your behavior and actions, creates the basis for the best organization and storage of individual experience.
The relationship between long-term and short-term memory (as well as the mechanisms underlying them) continues to be one of the most difficult problems in psychology that do not have definitive solutions. Let us consider some aspects of the relationship between memory and time, as a result of which a musical image is born in the mind and a musical experience is formed.

short term memory

The concept of "short-term memory" refers to mnemonic processes of a very short duration. Here, trace retention is measured at intervals ranging from fractions of a second to several minutes.
Imprinting in ultra-short-term memory occurs without any processing whatsoever.

Short-term images arise already at the moment of direct perception of the musical material and last only a few seconds, rarely minutes, and then disappear. Such an image is characterized by a kind of photographicity - the completeness of the sound characteristics, the preservation of the absolute height of sound, timbre, intensity (even for people who do not have absolute pitch). However, it reflects only a single concrete perception, and it lacks any degree of generalization. For all its vivacity, the auditory image of short-term memory is fragile: when you try to reproduce a melody with your voice according to the primary image, it is instantly destroyed.

RAM

RAM (from Latin operatio - action) serves only the performance of certain actions or any specific activity in general. It holds the information necessary to perform an action (hence its name), after which this information is "reset". Sometimes RAM is referred to as a special type of short-term memory due to the limited storage time of information.

The main task of working memory in the perception of music and playing music is the formation and retention of the image of the musical whole, without which it is impossible to comprehend and intotone sounds. The operational image of music also includes the psychological fabric of musical comprehension and experience.

For the musical memory of most people, the minimum operational unit is a motive, the union of sounds around a strong beat, the maximum (taking into account the wide individual differences in operational memory) is a melodic construction that combines several motives or phrases. For musicians, the minimum and maximum volume of an operational unit is much wider and can cover not only extended melodies, but also detailed polyphonic fragments of music in all details. The volume of the operational unit of memory can be influenced by the degree of mastery of the musical language and the style of the work.

Properties of long-term memory

Long-term memory is the ability to preserve and reproduce traces of long-past events, to retain acquired knowledge and skills for a long time. It covers the whole life of a person, and its hidden reserves are so great that we do not even approximately know its boundaries.
Musical long-term memory captures, in fact, the entire musical experience of a person, including not only images of sounds and sound structures, ideas about the ways of connections between them, musical concepts, but also musical experiences, performing and cognitive actions, including those associated with the work of the long-term memory itself, that is, facilitating memorization, ordering, recall, etc.

4. Two memory modes

Memory is arbitrary and involuntary.
Memory processes can be carried out in two main modes: voluntary (with the participation of a person's conscious effort) and involuntary. In the first case, memorization (preservation and reproduction) is a relatively independent task; in the second, it is a by-product of some other activity. The efficiency of both memory modes is not necessarily related.
The ability to quickly, fully grasp the material does not at all imply the success of its active memorization. It is quite possible that the listened work is immediately, “on the fly”, reproduced quite accurately. And vice versa - prolonged memorization does not lead to the desired result.
With an involuntary mode of memory operation, we imprint the material without special efforts, without concentrating on the process of memorization. General intellectual activity, mental susceptibility, the degree of concentration of attention affect the effectiveness of involuntary memory.
Its productivity is usually reduced in the early stages of mastering any activity, when attention is "scattered" by too large volumes of new information, and also in cases when actions are too automated, performed "automatically".
In an arbitrary mode of memory operation, we have the goal of remembering and reproducing certain motivating motives, special aids and techniques that should be learned beforehand - otherwise there is no voluntary memorization. Arbitrary memory requires focus on the object and on the imprinting process at the same time.

5. Memorizing a piece of music

The words "remembering" and "memory" are often used as synonyms: if a person remembers quickly and accurately, then his memory is considered good. In fact, memorization is a relatively independent process of memory with its own internal patterns and obstacles. Psychologically, the processes of memorization are similar to the processes of understanding. As noted, memorization requires some schematization and reorganization of the material.

The essence of long-term memorization is to establish a connection between the new and the stored in memory, or vice versa, the existing one with the new. All the main types of memory are involved in the work of establishing connections, more precisely, memory works as a single ensemble of various functions. Relatively speaking, figurative memory seeks associations (from Latin associatio --- connection), logical - structural connections, emotional opens semantic.

Associations

Some part of the content of our memory is a complex network of associations that can connect impressions and ideas, images and actions, thoughts and actions, motives and concepts, etc. A lost image can be restored by its connections in memory storages. The appearance in the mind of one element of the association almost automatically entails the appearance of its other element.
As a result of the emergence of associations, the sensual image is translated into a visual form. Holding the image, a vivid association facilitates its reproduction. Each association is a kind of "hook" for which a specific fact or image is hooked. With its help, the latter seem to rise to the surface of consciousness.
Associative connections are of great importance for elementary forms of memorization, however, more complex levels of memory cannot be explained only by associations. Associations are important for long-term storage, but the latter depends on more than just associations. There are people with a phenomenal memory that has nothing to do with associations.
The ratio of associative and non-associative ways of imprinting and reproduction gives the memory flexibility and multivariance in the accumulation of experience. It acquires the ability to fix a completely new “in itself”, and, if necessary, to connect it with the contents of memory.
The associative component is necessary in the work for the work of musical memory, involving imagination and creative thinking. Associations are a way of semantization - giving meaning to musical sounds. The creative practice of musicians is rich in non-musical and non-auditory images and associations - involuntary, free, personally colored, redundant in comparison with the narrow tasks of memorizing and reproducing music.
The completeness of the associative image, embedding it into the musical and personal inner experience, ensures the completeness of comprehension and the strength of retention in memory.
Since the interrupted task is better remembered, the periodic “postponing” of the piece being learned contributes to its better memorization.

6. The specifics of memorization

“Memorize or work on a piece?”

This question is far from simple from a psychological point of view. D. Oistrakh is credited with the following aphorism: “If the work is not yours, then why study it? If the work is yours, then why study it?
“First of all, when you take on a work, you need to learn it by heart and know it by heart in order to play well at a slow pace,” A. Goldenweiser believed. “And with motor memory, it happens the other way around: at a fast tempo, the pianist plays a piece, but at a slow tempo he can’t ... we must fight to replace motor memory with auditory memory” [Pianists tell ..., 1984, p. 108].
Learning as a mnemonic activity has its own psychological features, it does not oppose creative work, but simply solves other problems.

We resort to memorization when memorization is difficult. The more precisely the difficulties are defined, the more productive the memorization.

Learning methods are specific to different types activities are individual for each person. But they are based on several general principles:

The first of these is an increase in the intensity and volume of impressions to be remembered.
the second is the effective processing of the material (creation of strong associations, identification of semantic or structural connections)
the third is the search for optimal means and rhythm in working on the material

Strengthening the impression

The strength of the preservation of the material depends on the strength of the impression. In fact, the strengthening of the impression is the formation and maintenance of a fresh interest in the material. Strengthening the first involuntary impression can be done in two ways: by creating strong internal images or continuously repeating the material until it is clear and fixed in memory. To make the image brighter, stronger, it is necessary to thicken its emotional tone and expand the figurative-associative basis. L. McKinnon recommended "getting the most out of the novelty of the first impression." If the first impression is clear, precise and musical, then half the work is already done.

Successive repetitions can also enhance first impressions. But repetition is also one of the most effective ways retention of a memory trace, the main form of memorization, especially with large amounts of material and with high requirements for fidelity. Repetitions are a special multifaceted activity, during which the material is processed and the optimal means and rhythm are found in working on it.

Repetitions: Mechanical and Meaningful

It is often assumed that the difference between mechanical and meaningful repetitions is the degree of active participation of consciousness. In fact, this is only an external feature. The difference lies in the attitude towards those difficulties in memorization that required memorization of the material. Mechanical repetitions seem to ignore these difficulties (it is assumed that they will resolve themselves as repetitions build up - "gouging", as they sometimes say). With meaningful repetitions, the objective and subjective difficulties of memorization determine the purpose of each particular repetition. “The whole secret of learning,” says L. Mackinon, “is the ability to pay attention to only one subject at any given moment” [Mackinon L., 1967, p. 44].

With mechanical repetitions leading role play a variety of motor moments, motor memory is activated in all its manifestations, starting from the direct fixation of the main motor sensations and ending with auxiliary movements that support memorization (“beating the beat”, special body movements, rewriting for memory). Thus, the semantic content of the text can be gradually destroyed, and instead of overcoming the difficulties of memorization, the reproduction of even what has been learned worsens.

Thus, mechanical repetitions are dangerous not only because they involuntarily develop auditory clichés, that the intonation-logical connections in the play become rigid, simplified, their meaning is quickly emasculated, and the play is “talked out”, but also by the potential danger of destroying what has already been achieved.
The danger of turning mechanical repetitions into cramming is especially real for children, in whom external actions may not be related to the degree of internal concentration and may be in the nature of "self-imitation".

In general or in parts?

For an optimal repetition strategy, the answers to the questions are of great importance: to repeat as a whole or in parts? at what time intervals and at what pace? Answers can be very different, depending on the nature of the difficulties overcome in the process of memorization.

The effectiveness of any method is relative, there is no universal way for memorizing any music and acceptable for any musician.
The "holistic" method is more effective when the piece is small and can be covered by a single internal gaze of the musician. In other words, if the play can be easily covered as a whole, then it is better not to split it into fragments. The "fractional" method has its own characteristics. The breakdown into parts can be carried out taking into account artistic and semantic criteria (related to the structure of the work) or specific technical problems that need to be solved. But in any case, the volume of the fragment for repetition should not exceed the volume of the inner gaze. Therefore, it is better to teach large texts in parts. (In connection with the partial method, psychologists have also studied the question of how to teach more effectively, with separate hands or together? Experiments have shown that the answer to this question depends on musical experience and is always individual).

And if the material is of uneven difficulty, then it is better to memorize it using a combined method. In short, the experiments only confirmed the old rule: do not learn a lot at one time and do not break the material into too large or too small portions. In either method, the musical quality of the work is critical.

When memorizing parts, the phenomenon of interference is often observed (Latin inter-- between wferens-- carrying, transferring) - the mutual influence (often negative) of the learned material on the quality of memorizing new material or the negative effect of memorizing new material on the preservation of what has been learned. Having learned new material, one may find that what was learned the day before is forgotten, or vice versa, the newly learned material “prevents” learning new material, gets confused with it. Interference is the main cause of errors and memory lapses.

A typical example is forgetting the beginning of a piece. Usually, the beginning and the end are more easily imprinted in memory and more difficult to erase. Therefore, they are less worked on, but they are more susceptible to interference. On the other hand, just because of the better memorization of the beginning and end, interferences can occur in relation to the middle pieces.

Interference is prevented by increased attention to fragments in which there is something in common, as well as maintaining a fresh interest in the work, a sense of diversity. However, memory errors are not always the result of interference as such; more often, on the contrary, interference occurs due to the fact that the material is not understood and not mastered analytically.
At what pace?
Musicians usually compare the effectiveness of memorization in fast and slow tempos, referring to the speed of performing a piece. Psychologists emphasize the speed of assimilation, according to which three tempo options are distinguished: a decreasing tempo, an increasing tempo, and alternating, sometimes accelerating, sometimes slowing down. Memorization techniques, as it turned out, are not the same in these three cases.

The decreasing rate of memorization is characterized by an attitude towards assimilation of the meaning of the text. With such a pace, the task at first is to grasp the general semantic whole with the help of fluent, indicative reading. The result is a more or less coherent, though not very distinct, picture. Then the pace of assimilation slows down, attention is more or less evenly distributed throughout the material. With each subsequent repetition, semantic connections gradually become clearer, the material is mentally combined around semantic supports, a certain logical scheme is formed - a support for memorization. As it is formed, the mastered parts of the material are reproduced at a faster pace. For a musician, such a memorization strategy can influence the choice of the tempo of a piece, if the latter directly affects the speed of thinking (the speed of assimilation).

The increasing pace of memorization is associated with an orientation towards the external form of the material, when the meaning, as it were, fades into the background. The memorization process is based on the development of individual elements of the form, and a gradual acceleration of the tempo is required in order for them to connect with each other, “link” in memory into a single whole. It is no coincidence that the danger of forgetting fast music is less than that of slow music.
The strategy of alternating rates of assimilation does not rely on any particular setting, but uses any one that fits the material or the mnemonic task. Sometimes it is optimal for consolidating the learned material or for correcting learned mistakes.

The question about the pace of repetitions during memorization has only individual answers. If the main difficulties lie in mastering the structure and meaning of the work, then transitions to slower tempos will probably be more effective, but if the problems are related to grasping the sound form, then reverse dynamics will be optimal.

Conclusion

To improve the processes of memorization and memorization, it is useful to take into account the basic psychological principles.

Since it is better to remember what you imagine as a whole, it is necessary to improve the methods of grasping and holding the integral image of the work, to expand the scope of the inner gaze.

Since emotionally rich material is better remembered, situations of memorizing “naked notes” should be avoided, since the latter can acquire random emotional overtones.
Since what you need is more firmly remembered, you must learn to constantly maintain interest in work, especially if it is imposed due to circumstances and is not creatively close.
Since what is more accurately remembered is what attention is fully focused on, work should be avoided with fatigue of attention or with a reduced psychological tone (in some cases, such states can activate figurative memory, but not necessarily in the desired direction).
Since not only information is remembered, but also the way in which it is "obtained", the effectiveness of memorization depends on the organization of the process of working on the material.

The sometimes encountered formula - "slow music should be played at a moving pace, and fast music at a slow one" - is true and conditional at the same time, if the task that is being solved is not indicated.

Problems of memory, and in particular the problems of musical memory, have been the focus of attention of many scientists, dramatic actors, directors, musicians of all specialties, and teachers for several centuries. On the one hand, musical memory has already been studied quite thoroughly and you can safely use and apply the recommendations and advice proposed in previously published works and articles. On the other hand, the problem remains!

Over the past century, the main aspects of the work of memory have been formulated, a huge number of recommendations and advice have been given, but how can all this experience be effectively applied separately to each individual? On this occasion, there is a good statement by I. Hoffmann: “No rule or advice given to one can suit anyone else if it does not pass through the sieve of his own mind and is not subjected in this process to such changes that will make them suitable for this case” . The problem is that there is no ready-made recipe for memorizing a piece of music specifically for each musician. There is no definite answer to this question. Everyone is individual, and therefore solutions related to memory problems, each musician should be able to find for himself and apply in practice, based on individual psychological qualities.

musical memory- the ability to recognize and reproduce musical material. Musical recognition is necessary for the meaningful perception of music. Necessary condition musical memory - sufficient development of musical ear. An important place in musical memory is occupied by auditory memory (one of the varieties of figurative memory associated with the capture, preservation and reproduction of auditory images) and emotional memory (memory for emotionally colored events). When playing music, a significant role is also played by motor memory (memorizing a sequence of movements), visual memory (memorizing a musical text) and verbal-logical memory, with the help of which the logic of the structure of a musical work is memorized.

B. Teplov established that in persons with a highly developed "inner hearing" not only the emergence of auditory representations only after visual perception takes place, but also direct "hearing with the eyes", i.e. transformation of visual perception of musical text into visual-auditory perception. The musical text itself begins to be experienced by them in an auditory way.

It is also known that the process of learning a piece of music from memory in pedagogical practice is left without proper guidance from the teacher. This leads to the fact that the student is left with this problem one on one, and solves it to the best of his ability and ability, and often in the same way - by repeated repetition with constant peering into the musical text, with the hope that in the next playing something in memory will remain. Naturally, a stable positive result cannot be ensured in this way.

The relevance of the work is due to the key role of musical memory in performing activities.

In the process of writing the work, the target setting led to a number of tasks:

1) explain the natural laws of memory (define musical memory, consider the meaning of memory, and associations. Describe the types of musical memory, basic processes and mechanisms).

2) reveal the importance of the complexity of musical memory and the main methods of its development.

3) to offer an effective method of learning a piece of music for students and pupils.

So, what is memory, what are the characteristics of memory processes, what are the main types of musical memory? And actually, what are the methods for the most effective memorization of a piece of music and the development of musical memory that can be recommended for performing musicians who, due to the specifics of their work, need to memorize a lot?

1. Musical memory

1.1. The main types of musical memory

When memorizing a piece of music, we use motor, emotional, visual, auditory and logical types of memory. Depending on individual abilities, each musician will rely on a more convenient type of memory for him.

According to A. Alekseev, "musical memory is a synthetic concept, including auditory, motor, logical, visual and other types of memory." In his opinion, it is necessary “for a pianist to develop at least three types of memory - auditory, which serves as the basis for successful work in any field of musical art, logical - associated with understanding the content of the work, the patterns of development of the composer’s thought, and motor - extremely important for the performer -instrumentalist.

This point of view was also shared by S. Savshinsky, who believed that "the pianist's memory is complex - it is auditory, visual, and muscular-playing."

L. McKinnon, an English researcher of problems of musical memory, also believes that “musical memory does not exist as a special kind of memory. What is usually understood by musical memory is in reality a collaboration of the various kinds of memory that every normal person possesses - ear, eye, touch and movement memory. According to the researcher, “at least three types of memory must cooperate in the process of learning by heart: auditory, tactile and motor. Visual memory, usually associated with them, only supplements, to one degree or another, this peculiar quartet.

To date, in the theory of musical performance, the point of view has been established, according to which the most reliable form of performing memory is the unity of auditory and motor components.

B. Teplov, speaking of musical memory, considered the auditory and motor components to be the main ones in it. All other types of musical memory were considered by him valuable, but auxiliary. The auditory component in musical memory is the leading one. But, said B. Teplov, “it is quite possible, and, unfortunately, even widespread purely motor memorization of music played on the piano. Piano pedagogy must develop connections between auditory representations and piano movements as close and deep as the connections between auditory representations and vocal motor skills.

Modern methodologists attach great importance to the preliminary analysis of a musical work, as a result of which the material is actively memorized. The importance and effectiveness of this memorization method has been proven in the works of both domestic and foreign researchers. Thus, the American psychologist G. Whipple in his experiments compared the productivity of various methods of memorizing music on the piano, which differed from each other in that in one case, before studying a musical composition on the piano, a preliminary analysis was carried out, in the other, the analysis was not applied. At the same time, the time for memorization in both groups of subjects was the same.

G. Whipple concluded that “the method in which periods of analytical study were used before direct practical work at the instrument showed significant superiority over the method in which the period of analytical study was omitted. These differences are so significant that they clearly prove the advantage of analytical methods over unsystematic practice, not only for the group of students participating in the experiment, but also for all other piano students. According to G. Whipple, "these methods will be of great help in increasing the efficiency of memorizing by heart ... For most students, the analytical study of music has given a significant improvement in the memorization process compared to immediate practical work at the instrument."

A similar conclusion was reached by another psychologist, G. Rebson, who previously taught his subjects to understand the structure and mutual correlation of all parts of the material, as well as the tonal plan of a musical work. As the researcher noted, “without studying the structure of the material, memorizing it comes down to acquiring purely technical skills, which in themselves depend on countless andlong workouts.

According to L. McKinnon, "the method of analyzing and establishing conscious associations is the only reliable way to memorize music ... Only what is noted consciously can be recalled later of one's own free will."

A. Korto adhered to a similar point of view on the problem under consideration. “The work on memorization must be entirely reasonable and must be facilitated by auxiliary moments in accordance with the characteristic features of the work, its structure and expressive means.”

The German teacher K. Martinsen, speaking about the processes of memorizing a piece of music, spoke of “constructive memory”, meaning by this the ability of the performer to understand well all the smallest details of the piece being learned, in their isolation and the ability to put them together.

The importance of an analytical approach to work on artisticway is emphasized in the works of domestic musicians-teachers. The following statement by S.E. Feinberg: “It is usually argued that the essence of music is emotional impact. This approach narrows the scope of musical existence and necessarily requires both expansion and clarification. Is it only music that expresses feelings? Music is primarily logical. However we define music, we will always find in it a sequence of deeply conditioned sounds. And this conditionality is akin to that activity of consciousness, which we call logic.

Understanding a work is very important for its memorization, because the processes of understanding are used as memorization techniques. The action of memorizing information is first formed as a cognitive action, which is then already used as a method of arbitrary memorization. The condition for improving the processes of memorization is the formation of processes of understanding as specially organized mental actions. This work is the initial stage in the development of arbitrary logical memory.

1.2. Memorization techniques

In modern psychology, actions for memorizing a text are divided into three groups: semantic grouping, identifying semantic strongholds, and correlation processes. In accordance with these principles, in the work of V.I. Mutsmakher "Improving musical memory in the process of learning to play the piano" developed methods for memorizing a piece of music by heart.

semantic grouping. The essence of the reception, as the author points out, is the division of the work into separate fragments, episodes, each of which is a logically complete semantic unit of musical material. Therefore, the method of semantic grouping can rightfully be called the method of semantic separation... Semantic units are not only large parts, such as exposition, development, reprise, but also included in them - such as the main, side, final parts. Meaningful memorization, carried out in accordance with each element of the musical form, should go from the particular to the whole, by gradually combining smaller parts into larger ones.

In case of forgetting during execution, the memory is revertedto strongholds, which are, as it were, the switch of the next series of performing movements. However, the premature "remembering" of the strong points can adversely affect the freedom of performance. The use of semantic grouping justifies itself on early stages learning things. After it has already been learned, one should pay attention first of all to the transfer of a holistic artistic image of the work. As L. McKinnon aptly put it, “the first stage of work is to force yourself to do certain things; the latter is not to prevent things from doing themselves.”

Semantic correlation. This technique is based on the use of mental operations to compare some of the characteristic features of the tonal and harmonic plans, voice leading, melody, accompaniment of the work being studied.

In case of lack of musical and theoretical knowledge necessary for the analysis of a work, it is recommended to pay attention to the simplest elements of the musical fabric - intervals, chords, sequences.

Both techniques - semantic grouping and semantic correlation - are especially effective when memorizing works written in tripartite form and sonata allegro form., in which the third movement is similar to the first, and the reprise repeats the exposition. At the same time, as V. Mutzmacher correctly notes, “it is important to comprehend and determine what is completely identical in an identical material and what is not ... close attention require imitations, varied repetitions, modulating sequences, etc. elements of musical fabric. Referring to G. Kogan, the author emphasizes that "when a piece of music is learned and "goes" without hesitation, a return to analysis only harms the cause."

2. BASIC METHODS OF MUSICAL MEMORY DEVELOPMENT IN MUSIC PEDAGOGY

2.1 Memorization methods according to I. Hoffmann

In our recommendations, we will take as a basis the well-known triad "I see - I hear - I play" and the principles of working on a piece of music proposed by I. Hoffman. These principles are based on various ways of working on a work.

1. Work with the text of the work without a tool.At this stage, the process of familiarization and primary memorization of the work is carried out on the basis of a careful study of the musical text and the presentation of the sound with the help of inner hearing. Mental musical perception can be carried out in the following directions - identification and definition:

The main mood of the work;

The means by which it is expressed;

Features of the development of the artistic image;

The main idea of ​​the work;

His own personal meaning in the analyzed work.

Careful analysis of the text of the work contributes to its subsequent successful memorization. Here is how, for example, the teacher of the famous German pianist W. Gieseking, K. Leimer, “spoke” with his students the text of L. Beethoven's sonata in F minor, op. 2 No. 1: “The Sonata begins with an arpeggiated F-minor chord from “do” of the 1st octave to “A flat” of the second, followed in the second text by a grupto on “fa” of the second octave. Then comes the dominant seventh chord (from "G" of the first to "B-flat" of the second octave) with the final notes of the group to "G" and the subsequent repetition from the 2nd to the 4th measures, after which the F-minor fourth-sixth chord and the scale-like descent of eighths to "do" notes. In the left hand, the F-minor triad is replaced by a dominant seventh chord.

These first 8 bars main topic are easily understood when thinking over the read text, can and should be first played by heart and then memorized.

This method of memorization develops musical-auditory and motor representations, thinking and visual memory. What is seen must be understood and heard.

Many cases are known, as S. Savshinsky testifies, when a pianist learned a piece only by reading it with his eyes. F. Liszt performed the composition of his student in the concert, having reviewed it just before the performance. They say that I. Hoffman also learned P. Tchaikovsky's Humoresque during the intermission of the concert and performed it as an encore. S. Bülow, in a letter to R. Wagner, reports that more than once he was forced to teach concert programs in a railroad car.

The development of the ability to learn a work from notes without an instrument is one of the growth reserves professional excellence musician. The pronunciation of a musical text leads to the transfer of external mental actions to the internal plan and to their subsequent necessary “folding” from a sequential process into a structural, synchronous one, which fits in the mind as if simultaneously, immediately, entirely.

2 . Working with the text of the piece by instrument. The first playing of a work after a mental acquaintance with it, according to the recommendations of modern methodologists, should be aimed at grasping and understanding its general artistic meaning. Therefore, at this stage, they talk about a sketch acquaintance with the work, for which it must be played at the right pace; in this case, you can not care about the accuracy of execution. R. Schumann, for example, recommended that the first plays be done “from beginning to end”. As the Eastern proverb says, "Let the first day of acquaintance become one of the thousand days of long-term friendship."

After the first acquaintance, a detailed study of the work begins - semantic strong points are singled out, difficult places are identified, convenient fingering is set, unusual performing movements are mastered at a slow pace. At this stage, awareness of the melodic, harmonic and textural features of the work continues, its tonal-harmonic plan is clarified, within the framework of which the development of the artistic image is carried out. Continuous mental work, constant thinking about what is being played is the key to successful memorization of a work by heart. “Only that which is well understood is remembered well.” Golden Rule didactics, which is equally true for a student trying to remember various historical events, and for a musician who learns a piece of music by heart.

What kind of memorization - voluntary (i.e. intentional, specially oriented) or involuntary (i.e. carried out unintentionally) - is more preferable in memorizing a piece?

There are no clear answers to this question. According to some musicians (A. Goldenweiser, L. McKinnon, S. Savshinsky), voluntary memorization based on rational use special mnemonic techniques and rules, careful consideration of what is being learned. According to another point of view, which belongs to prominent musicians-performers (G. Neuhaus, K. Igumnov, S. Richter, D. Oistrakh, S. Feinberg), memorization is not a special task of the performer. In the process of working on the artistic content of a work, it is remembered without violating memory. Achievement is the same high results, as G. Tsypin notes, with the opposite approach to the matter, it has the right to exist and ultimately depends on the personality of a particular musician, individual style his activities.

Upon closer examination of the individual style of activity of various musicians, it is noteworthy that among those who advocate arbitrary memorization, there are many theoreticians and methodologists who have a pronounced logical orientation of activity and have an analytical mindset. The activity of such people is due to the activation of the left hemisphere of the brain, which in this case is the leading one.

Among those who advocate involuntary memorization, there are more "pure" performing musicians who focus in their work mainly on figurative thinking, which is associated with the activity of the right, "artistic" hemisphere.

If the first group of musicians is characterized by the principle expressed in the statement of Professor S. Savshinsky: “In order for the memory to work fruitfully, the most important condition is a conscious mindset for memorization,” then the second group of musicians is characterized by the position expressed in the words of G. Neuhaus: “I... just play the piece until I learn it. If you need to play by heart, I won’t remember it yet, and if you don’t need to play by heart, then I don’t remember it.

Based on the foregoing, two ways can be proposed in the method of memorizing a piece of music, each of which does not exclude the other. One of these ways is arbitrary memorization, in which the work is carefully analyzed in terms of its form, texture, harmonic plan, and finding strong points. In another case, memorization will be based on involuntary memory in the process of solving specific problems of finding the most satisfactory embodiment of an artistic image. By being active in this search, we will involuntarily remember what we need to learn.

One of the pitfalls that many musicians fall into when learning a new piece by heart is memorizing it as a result of repetition. The main load with this method of memorization falls on motor memory. But this way of solving the problem, as the famous French pianist Marguerite Long rightly noted, is “a lazy solution of dubious fidelity and, moreover, wasting precious time.”

In order for the process of memorization to proceed most efficiently, it is necessary to include in the work the activities of all analyzers of the musician, namely:

Looking and peering at the notes, you can remember the text visually and then, while playing, imagine it mentally before your eyes while playing;

Listening to the melody, singing it separately in a voice without an instrument, you can remember the melody by ear;

- “working out” the texture of the work with your fingers, you can remember it motor-motor;

By noting the strong points of the work during the game, you can connect the logical memory based on memorizing the logic of the development of the harmonic plan.

The higher the sensual, sensory and mental activity in the process of learning a work, the faster it is learned by heart.

When memorizing by heart, one should not try to memorize the whole work at once. It is better to try to memorize separate small fragments first, because we already know, "the percentage of retention of memorized material is inversely proportional to the volume of this material." Therefore, a reasonable dosage of what is being learned must be observed.

Breaks should also be taken between strenuous mnemonic work and other activities requiring great mental or physical exertion. After the musical material is learned, it is necessary to give him the opportunity to simply “lie down”. During this break, the formed traces harden. If, after mnemonic work, some kind of psychological overload is allowed, then the learned material will be forgotten due to the retroactive, i.e. "acting back", braking.

In the same way, when starting work on a new work, which requires increased attention strain, it will be difficult to remember it by heart due to the proactive action in this case, i.e. "acting forward", braking after doing hard work.

3. Work on a work without text (play by heart).In the process of performing a work by heart, it is further strengthened in memory - auditory, motor, logical. Great help associations that the performer resorts to in order to find greater expressiveness of the performance also have a role in memorization.

The attraction of poetic associations to enhance the aesthetic sense is a long tradition in musical performance.

Poetic images, pictures, associations, taken both from life and from other works of art, are well activated when setting tasks like: "It seems to be in this music ...". The combination of audible sounds with extra-musical images and ideas that have a similar poetic basis awakens emotional memory, which is said to be stronger than the memory of reason.

Here are some of A.T. Rubinstein, addressed to his students to awaken their creative imagination:

• the beginning of Schumann's "Fantasy": "This first thought must be pronounced like this, recited, as if you are addressing all of humanity, the whole world ...";
• duet from Don Giovanni by Mozart - Liszt: “You turned Zerlina into a dramatic person. You have to play naively, and you perform as if it were Donna Anna. It should sound fun and at the same time passionate, and all together

Easy and playful. A. Rubinstein played an excerpt from a duet, imitating the coquetry of a village girl not only with sounds, but also with his facial expressions. “Here she raised her eyes to him, but she lowered her gaze. No, you have a secular lady, and here is a peasant woman in white stockings.

Undoubtedly, a work learned in such a way, in which the content of the music is linked to a wide range of associations, will not only be more expressively performed, but also more firmly learned.

When a piece has already been learned by heart, it needs regular repetition to fix it in memory. Just as a forest road, when not traveled for a long time, overgrown with weeds and shrubs, so neural traces, a kind of memory tracks, are blurred and forgotten under the influence of new life experiences. “Other things being equal,” L. Zankov pointed out, “an increase in the number of repetitions leads to better memorization.” But "beyond known limits, increasing the number of repetitions does not improve memory ... Fewer repetitions ... may give a better result than much more repetitions under other conditions."

The repetition of material countless times for better memorization is reminiscent of "cramming" in nature, which is unconditionally condemned by modern didactics, both in general and in music pedagogy. Endless mechanistic repetitions hinder the development of a musician, limit his repertoire, and dull his artistic perception. Therefore, the work of a musician of any specialty is most fruitful when, as I. Hoffman noted, “it is performed with complete mental concentration, and the latter can only be maintained for a certain time. In the classroom, the quantitative side matters only in combination with the qualitative one.

As studies by Soviet and foreign psychologists show, the repetition of learned material is effective when it includes something new, and not a simple restoration of what has already been. In each repetition, it is always necessary to introduce at least some element of novelty - either in sensations, or in associations, or in techniques.

V. Mutsmacher in his work recommends, when repeating, to establish new, previously unnoticed connections, dependencies between parts of the work, melody and accompaniment, various characteristic elements of texture, harmony. To do this, it is necessary to develop the ability to apply the existing musical and theoretical knowledge in practice independently, without the help of a teacher. A variety of impressions and actions performed in the process of repetition of musical material helps to keep attention for a long time.

The ability to look at the old in a new way each time, to highlight in it what has not yet been distinguished, to find what has not yet been found - such work on a thing is akin to the eye and ear of a person in love who finds all this in an object of interest to him without much difficulty. Therefore, good memorization is always one way or another the product of the artist-performer falling in love with him.

The speed and strength of memorization are also associated with a rational distribution of repetitions in time. According to S.I. Savshinsky, “memorization distributed over a number of days will give a longer memorization than persistent memorization in one step. In the end, it turns out to be more economical: you can learn a work in one day, but it is hardly forgotten tomorrow.

Therefore, it is better to spread the repetition over several days. The most effective is the unequal distribution of repetitions, when more time and repetitions are allotted for the first study or repetition method than for subsequent methods of studying educational material. The best memorization results are, as studies show, when the material is repeated every other day. It is not recommended to take too long breaks when memorizing - in this case, it can turn into a new memorization.

"Trial" playing by heart in many cases is accompanied by inaccuracies and errors, which, as W. Mutzmacher rightly emphasizes, "require from the student increased auditory control, focused attention, collected will. All this is necessary to fix the mistakes made... Particular attention should be paid to the "junctions" of individual fragments and episodes. Practice shows that often a student cannot play the whole piece by heart, while he knows each part of it separately by memory quite well.

Even when the work is well learned by heart, methodologists recommend not to part with the musical text, looking for new semantic connections in it, delving into every turn of the composer's thought. Repetition by notes should regularly alternate with playing by heart.

A huge benefit for memorizing a piece comes from playing at a slow pace, which should not be neglected even by students with a good memory. This helps, as the Bulgarian methodologist A. Stoyanov points out, "to refresh musical ideas, to clarify everything that could escape the control of consciousness over time."

4. Work without an instrument and without notes.According to A. Stoyanov, with whom one cannot but agree, a musician of any specialty “only then can one be convinced that he really memorized a given piece when he, the musician, is able to restore it mentally, to trace its development exactly according to the text, without looking at the notes, and to realize clearly in oneself its smallest constituent elements.

This is the most difficult way to work on a work, and I. Hoffmann spoke about its complexity and "fatiguing" mentally for a reason. Nevertheless, by alternating mental playing of a piece without an instrument with real playing on an instrument, a student can achieve an extremely strong memorization of a piece.

In the process of such a way of working in the mind, what psychologists call a simultaneous image is formed, in which temporal relations are translated into spatial ones. We find a number of thoughts on this subject in the work of B. Teplov "The Psychology of Musical Abilities".

So, W. Mozart in one of his letters says that he can spiritually survey a work written by him with one glance, like a beautiful picture or a person. He can hear this work in his imagination not sequentially, as it will sound later, but all at once. “The best thing,” concludes W. Mozart, “is to listen to it all at once.”

Similar thoughts were expressed by K. Weber. “The inner ear has an amazing ability to grasp and embrace entire musical constructions ... This ear allows you to simultaneously hear entire periods, even entire pieces.”

According to K. Martinsen, “before you extract the first sound, the general image of the work already lives in the performer. Even before the first sound, the performer feels the first part of the sonata as a general complex, he also feels the internal structure of the remaining parts as a general complex ... Based on the general image, every detail of the performing art is directed by the master.

G. Shchapov also speaks about the ability to mentally capture the content of music as a whole: “During the performance, he (the performer) must have in his mind, on all the most important facets, some synthesized summary of what he has already played, and at the same time, as it were, some kind of extremely compressed summary of what he has already played. what is yet to be played. According to the Hungarian musician S. Kovacs, he mostly remembers the “general image” and the beginning of the play. Kovacs also reports that the best musicians, whom he asked about the "general image" of a thing, represent the "whole piece" mainly in space. Sh. Kovacs himself imagined the play as a kind of dissected architectonics, and its parts - auditory-motor.

Mental repetitions of a piece develop concentration of attention on auditory images, which is so necessary during public performance, enhance the expressiveness of the game, and deepen the understanding of a musical composition. The one who perfectly masters these methods of work is truly the happiest musician!

Development of musical and auditorymemory is also promoted by:

Constant memorization of new prose, poetry and musical works;

Connecting other analyzers to the learning process, for example, associating the material being learned with various colors, movements, visual images;

Activation of motivation for personal significance and the need for memorization;

Picking up various melodies by ear on a musical instrument.

Development of visualMemory can be aided by activities such as:

look at several at the same time various items, close your eyes and list them according to your mental representation;

Drawing from memory of familiar people or objects;

Drawing from memory pictures of famous artists and comparing them with the original;

Restoration of a holistic image of a person or situation based on one detail, followed by drawing. For example, to restore the image of the noblewoman Morozova by one of her raised hands.

For the development of emotional memory:

Pick up an object associated with the memory of a previously lived situation, and use it to recall other objects from the same situation. Many people take pebbles, shells and various kinds of souvenirs from places of rest for these purposes. At the same time, visual images, lighting, sensations of smells and sensations in the body should be remembered and revived. Take a pose and do some physical movements that were performed in the recalled situation;

Transfer with lines and paints by means abstract painting various emotions - sadness, elation, a state of expectation, etc.

2.2. Memorization methods according to V. Mutsmacher

One of the urgent problems in the learning process is the speed of memorizing musical material. It is important for all types of student activities. The ability to quickly learn a piece by heart becomes a serious problem in a lesson whose time is limited. The memorization of a piece is usually carried out in two ways: either from the particular to the whole, or from the whole to the particular. In the first case, a work or a fragment from it is memorized from beginning to end in separate passages, gradually each subsequent passage joins the previous one, learned earlier. But you can teach in another way: first, the entire material is analyzed, certain phrases, sentences are singled out, their similarities and differences are established, and a scheme is drawn up for their distribution in the melody. Phrases are learned separately. The volume of these phrases is often small, so they are remembered faster than sentences.

In practice, the first method of memorization is most often used. Is he rational?

Solving one of the most important problems musical training- disclosure artistic content works - based on auditory analysis of the material. By memorizing a piece from the particular to the whole, we can make a holistic analysis of the musical material only after memorizing the entire piece. The assimilation of a play as a work of art only then begins in essence. Therefore, in practice, we can conditionally distinguish two stages of work on a play: the stage of memorization and the stage of artistic comprehension of the work, as if polishing it.

Learning the play in the second way - from the whole to the parts, we simultaneously reveal its content. Cultivating the ability to reveal the content of a simple work accessible to them will help to penetrate deeper into music when getting acquainted with more complex compositions. This means that learning a piece with its simultaneous analysis willto promote the formation of students' musical perception skills, to expand their general musical horizons. Developing the skill of memorization by dividing the whole into its constituent elements will help to fulfill various tasks of musical education. Students will get acquainted with phrasing, elements of rhythm, with the modal system, etc. At the stage of memorizing a piece, we not only use the lesson time more productively, but also directly solve the main problem of musical education - the problem of perceiving the artistic content of a musical work.

Learning the play in the first way - from the particular to the whole, we move away from the direct solution of this problem. In this case, there is a fear that the work on the play will be of a formal nature.

Quick memorization of a piece by heart allowsnot only to use the lesson time more rationally, but also to keep the play in memory in the future. The determining value, as the outstanding psychologist A. Smirnov points out, is not the result of memorization in itself, but mental activity during the process of memorization. Based on this, memorization from the whole to the parts is fully justified, the melody is not just remembered, but remembered as an artistically meaningful piece of music.

In addition to the above, memorization in a way from the whole to parts allows you to use logical techniques when memorizing. The use of mnemonic techniques contributes to faster, more accurate memorization of the play, its more durable preservation in memory.

As a mnemonic device, we used the method of grouping musical material. When forming a skill, logical memorization using the grouping method, two stages are revealed:

The ability to isolate certain phrases in a play, to compare them, to group them, that is, to master the methods of grouping musical material, is a cognitive process;

The ability to use the results of such an analysis in order to memorize a given grouping is a mnemonic technique.

Our goal is to show how the method of grouping musical material is formed and used in practice. In the future, we will pay attention to this, although the assimilation of grouping as a memorization technique is only a particular aspect, and of course, it is also an acquaintance with the analysis of a musical work as a whole.

The specificity of the perception of musical material lies in the fact that people with a trained ear hear several lines at the same time: rhythm, pitch, timbre, etc. The emotional impression while listening to a piece of music, as it were, is added together from many musical components. In the learning process, one has to analyze in turn, first one line, then another, etc. This technique is used to isolate and group certain rhythmic, pitch, etc. lines. structures.

In parallel with the solution of a particular task, to teach how to quickly memorize a melody using the grouping method, the teacher necessarily sets himself the main goal - revealing the content of the work, penetrating into its musical fabric for the most complete and deep understanding by students of the essence of music itself.

As experimental studies have shown, the analysis of musical material from the whole to parts and the use of the grouping method as a memorization technique successfully affect the effectiveness of the learning process.

The strength of memory is positively affected by the actions that we perform with the material being studied. It is known that when memorizing a difficult musical text, technically complex fragments are remembered better than simpler episodes. Such places have to be repeated many times, to think over the fingering, as a result of which the difficult text makes deeper traces in the memory.

From the experiments conducted by A. Smirnov, it follows that the more various actions we can take with the material being learned, the more chances we have to memorize it faster.

The main methods of memorization in modern psychology are those that are associated with understanding the information being memorized, finding a certain sequence and logic in it, highlighting semantic units that carry the main semantic load establishing intergroup links.

Great opportunities in memorization have a plan for memorization. This clarifies the structure of the text and allows you to cover it at once and in its entirety. The plan divides the material into pieces and fragments, each of which is recommended to come up with its own name, reflecting its content. Further, through the name of the parts, it is recommended to link all the material into a single chain of associations. It is recommended to combine individual thoughts and sentences into larger semantic units. The process of memorizing by enlarged units is easier than by fractional and single ones.

To activate memory, psychologists recommend activating figurative memory associated with memory for various sensations. People who memorize the text well include in the memorization process the activity of not only the main analyzer, but also others.

Great opportunities for memorization are provided by memorization methods associated with preliminary autogenic immersion. This is a state that I. Pavlov called "phase", that is, in an intermediate phase between sleep and wakefulness. In this state, strong stimuli cause a weak reaction, and weak ones, for example, a word, a strong one. Therefore, the text perceived at the moment of being in the paradoxical phase is remembered much better and to a greater extent than in the normal state of wakefulness. Experiments in this area, conducted by the Bulgarian scientist A. Lozanov, gave a new direction in teaching, called suggestive pedagogy.

But more stable memorization can also be achieved under the reverse version of the conditions - with interference that makes the student concentrate his drawing out more strongly. As a result, a stronger focus of excitation is created in the brain and the resulting conditioned connections become stronger..

2.3. Development of Musical Memory: Summary of Recommendations

We are naturally interested in the method of memorization that the musician must use. Memorization must precede memorization. Carefully play the piece by sheet music until you feel confident that the piece has been mastered, that you know it. This usually comes before technical mastery of the piece. Then check what is imprinted in memory. Trial execution: will not do without inaccuracies. Sometimes it may happen that you have to pick up something by ear, play it “in your own words”, that is, not quite accurately. One must be aware of this: “Here I played wrong! I'll clarify in due time." So play until the moment when the memory fails so much that performance process will stop. Without looking at the notes, try to find a new point of support in your memory and play again from a new place until the next stop, and so on.

Perform this test several times in a row. Usually the second, third check reveals that the memory has captured pieces of music larger than it was possible to play the first time. Having established what you managed to remember, and what requires further work, and be sure to clarify from the notes what was played “in your own words”, return to scrutiny works by notes, but do not try, by all means, to “memorize” places that did not lend themselves to direct memorization. (Hoffman recommends doing this away from the piano. Start playing only after a few hours.)

After a few days of classes, you can make a new check. Undoubtedly, during this time memorization has greatly advanced (sometimes even in those cases when the piece was not played in the interval). If much has not yet been memorized, then there is still no point in forcing special memorization. It will be necessary to move on to this when only individual episodes and elements of texture remain outside the memory.

Let everyone look for those analogies that help him.

It is important that there are no mechanical repetitions of what has already been found. In each repetition, let a new comprehension and a new one in the character and technique of performance be introduced. There is no need to be afraid that not everything that has been tried will be for the better. Even if something has to be rejected tomorrow, it will still serve as a new link in memory, and thus will contribute to memorization. Knowledge “not right”, “not right” is also knowledge!

The fear that the inaccuracies made during the first playbacks are imprinted, and subsequently, as they say, “you can’t cut them down with an ax”, I consider it unreasonable. If this were really the case, then the mistakes that are inevitable in the first period of mastering any skill would clog the memory so much that development that requires overcoming one's "yesterday" would be almost impossible. In reality, the new, realized as correct, good, giving emotional satisfaction, is thereby fixed and at the same time serves as a brake on the erroneous and rejected.

In what exactly is remembered easier, faster, and what is slower and more difficult, you can catch some patterns: the places that are most interested in us remain in memory, as well as those that were given more attention and time during work. These will be themes, the most expressive and structurally designed episodes, as well as technically difficult moments that required a lot of effort in the work.

It is more difficult to capture connecting music, transitions, modulations, undertones and accompaniment details.

Varied repetitions of music, similar but differently modulating sequences and sonata reprises, in which the themes found in the exposition are presented in different keys, with different details, with different modulations, require special care. Such cases must be analyzed and recorded not only in musical but also in conceptual memory, that is, by telling them to oneself.

So, in cases where work is being done on sounding by heart a piece of a fairly large volume and uneven in difficulty for memorization, one should first play it in its entirety, or, in any case, in large pieces, and only then finish learning the failed one. L. Nikolaev taught a slightly different method. He advised "limiting yourself to such a piece that fits into memory without great difficulty ... When it is mastered, a new, equally easily digestible piece is added to it, etc." This method is also, of course, justified. You need to listen to the properties of your memory and choose the method that will be more productive.

I will also dwell on a question that is usually not touched upon in the practice of a pianist. It is customary to repeat the memorized many times in a row until it is remembered.

The experiments of psychologists on memorizing a literary text say that it is more expedient to distribute the repetition into several work methods during the day. My experience confirms the data of psychologists.

It should be added that memorization distributed over a number of days gives a longer memorization than persistent memorization at one time. In the end, it turns out to be more economical: you can learn a piece in one day, but it is also forgotten almost the next day.

In student years, a “fast” memory often leads to trouble: having easily memorized the pitch and rhythmic side of music, the musician begins to play the piece by heart even before delving into the meaning and expressive meaning of the composer’s performance remarks, and often without even noticing them. Needless to say, this impoverishes, and often distorts executable work. Therefore, A. Rubinstein believed that “one should not play the work by heart too early, so as not to somehow miss an important shade”

However, in contradiction with A. Rubinshtein, many reputable pianists and teachers believe that learning by heart is what you need to start mastering a piece of music.

There is no single answer to the question of at what stage of work on a work it should be memorized. The answer depends both on the stage of development of the performer and on his individual properties, in particular, on what kind of memory he has the strongest. The faster the work is remembered, the better, of course. But, knowing it by heart, all subsequent work on it should be carried out with notes in front of your eyes, and always thoughtfully delve into the musical text.

Memory learning should never be left to the fingers alone. No matter how well you master this essay, fingers devoid of mind control can easily sin. Such automatic play is quickly disrupted by some unforeseen reason. Musculoskeletal memory, no matter how strong, is not a guarantee of confident performance without notes. Such a performance can be counted on only with the coordinated participation of all types of memory: auditory, visual, analytical, motor. The value of the latter should not be underestimated. It is especially important in fast passages, in confusing polyphonic places, when it is impossible or difficult to carefully follow each sound and all the details of voice leading.

Memorization should always be done consciously. Before starting this work, the musical composition must be completely clear for performance, as complete work with a certain ideological and emotional content and with all its musical and technical details. This is not possible without careful analysis.

Such an analysis presupposes well-known knowledge of musical-theoretical disciplines. But even when the student is deprived of them or when they are meager, he should not start memorizing by memory before he has no bearings in the circle of his possibilities regarding the structure of the composition.

Any premature memorization, before the performer has fully understood the composition and mastered it technically, always has an effect: the student runs the risk of fixing in his mind, along with the exact moments, all the errors made.

It is useful to memorize in parts: first, one small, relatively complete passage, add a second, third, etc. to it.

Another important condition for reliable memorization is learning at a slow pace.

G. Neuhaus advises, while working on a work, to play it "slowly, with all shades (as if looking through a magnifying glass)".

Slow play is especially helpful when learning from memory. No matter how strong the student's musical memory is, he cannot skip the stage of the slow memory exercise. Only then will his memory assimilate accurately and firmly all the musical and technical elements of the composition. It is helpful, even after a piece has been played many times at the prescribed tempo, to practice at a slower tempo from time to time. This helps to freshen up musical performances, to clarify everything that could escape the control of consciousness over time.

When a composition has not been played for a long time and it is possible that some details have been forgotten, one should also turn to a slow tempo in order to regain the old confidence. You should always restore a piece with notes in front of your eyes.

For confident memorization and, in general, for the development of musical memory, the use of mental performance is especially great. It can be carried out in two ways: the student looks at the notes and hears how the composition sounds in all its details, or imagines it mentally without looking at the notes. The second turns out to be more difficult for many, since it implies greater musicality and requires greater efforts of consciousness and will.

Establishment of "reference points" for memory, for example, the beginning of a phrase or period, the appearance of a new key, important point in the development of an essay, helps with confident memorization, reduces the risk of getting lost due to any accidental errors or omission of some details. Memory reference points are very useful in concert performance, especially for pianists who tend to get excited in front of an audience.

There are various ways to check how and how reliably a given essay is learned from memory. One of them: the performer starts the composition from different places, no matter where. Another way is to suddenly stop playing, take your hands off the keyboard, then visualize exactly what's next, and keep playing.

The most reliable, but at the same time the most difficult means of verification is to copy the work from memory without the help of an instrument. Such verification may be resorted to after all other methods have been tested.

There are people with an exceptional musical memory, who memorize a piece of music even in the process of learning it. There are students who bring by heart everything that is assigned to them already at the first lesson. Very often, however, despite the exclusivity of their memory, such persons forget this or that place even in compositions that have been taught for a long time. The reason lies in the fact that, trusting in their innate memory, they did not take the trouble to consciously master the composition from memory, to work at a slow pace.

A good musical memory is not yet a guarantee of confident memorization and performance. Only then can one be convinced that one has really memorized a given work when one is able to restore it mentally, to trace its development exactly according to the text, without looking at the notes, and to clearly realize in oneself its smallest constituent elements. It can safely be argued that the errors in public performance owe much less to the often-cited embarrassment and excitement than to a faulty approach to memorization.

The development of musical memory requires no less systematic care. Here it is necessary to proceed from the tested pedagogical principle: from simple to complex, from smallest to largest. It would be unreasonable to put tasks before the memory that are beyond its power. It is natural to start with compositions of a homophonic character, with simple structure and gradually go to more complex works with varied melody, more frequent harmonic changes, etc.

The first tasks should be modest and large - you can start with very tiny pieces or, if the composition is longer, with one or more periods. Only by following this path can the musical memory be prepared for difficult tasks.

CONCLUSION

Musical memory is a complex complex of different types of memory, but two of them - auditory and motor - are the most important for her. Logical memorization methods, such as semantic grouping and semantic correlation, improve memorization and can be strongly recommended to young musicians who want to advance in this direction. However, reliance on arbitrary or involuntary memory may also depend on the peculiarities of the thinking of the performing musician, the predominance of the mental or artistic principle in him. Different stages of work require different approaches to memorization, and the well-known formula of I. Hoffmann, referring to the methods of learning a piece of music, can serve as a good guide in work.

The correct distribution of repetitions in the process of memorization, when reasonable breaks are taken and attention is paid to the active nature of repetition, also contributes to success.

The achievement of special memory strength is characterized by highly qualified musicians by translating the temporal relations of a musical work into spatial ones. The possibility of such a level of memorization is provided by repeated playing of a piece of music in the mind, at the level of musical and auditory representations.

It is important to create a favorable psychological environment for the student's studies, to find words of support for new creative endeavors, to treat them with sympathy and warmth.

In the process of education, it is important to teach to rely in the knowledge of oneself and the world not so much on reason as on intuition. Since, great discoveries are often made intuitively, thanks to inspiration and insight.

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Musical memory and ways of its development

Popova Alexandra Valerievna,
MOU DOD DSHI. Fryazino,
Moscow region

Musical abilities are clearly manifested in children at the earliest stages of education. This circumstance is a prerequisite for the assertion that musical abilities are an inborn property of a child's personality, predetermining his future development. musical destiny. “The problem of abilities is one of the most acute, if not the most acute, problems of psychology,” says the well-known psychologist S. L. Rubinshtein.

Every child can and should play music. The ennobling significance of these activities, their role in the education of the individual are known to any teacher.

The main musical abilities include: ear for music, modal and rhythmic sense, emotional responsiveness to music and its susceptibility, musical memory. All these abilities are interconnected, amenable to education and organically interact with the system of acquired knowledge, skills and abilities.

In pedagogical practice, questions often arise related to memorizing a piece of music and performing it from memory. Some students have a tenacious, strong memory, others grasp "on the fly", but memorize the work inaccurately, superficially, others move along this path with difficulty. In the process of work, in a lesson with some students, sometimes with great difficulty it is possible to correct an incorrectly memorized phrase, fingering, technique. It would seem that the goal has been achieved, but at the moment of performing on stage, the student suddenly “remembers” the first, incorrectly memorized option. What is the reason for this phenomenon? There are also a number of other practical issues. For example, how best to work on a piece, “finish” it by memorizing it right away, or work on it from notes until it “wins” itself in the fingers, in the movements of the hands. In order to manage the process of memorization, to activate it as much as possible, to handle memory reasonably, it is necessary to have at least a general idea of ​​memory, of its nature.

Memory underlies all human activity. And since he is constantly working, therefore, his memory is constantly working. Like attention, it is turned both to the past and to the future at the same time, because the memory “remembers” not only what has passed, but also what is to be done. One of the paradoxes of memory is that a person remembers everything he has ever seen, heard, felt. But in the process of activity, he can arbitrarily remember not everything. There is a fundamental difference between the concepts: "remembering" and "remembering", since they are based on different mechanisms. Often, referring to the wrong mechanisms and incorrectly assessing the possibilities of memory, the teacher demands from the student what he is unable to do.

Musical memory, like all mental processes, is also revealed in practical activities. It is her character that largely determines the external manifestations of memory. If this is not taken into account, you can come to the wrong conclusions. So, for example, G. Rossini from memory could not reproduce the music he had just written. But this did not mean at all that he did not have a musical memory, it was just that the music he created or perceived almost immediately “turned off” from his consciousness so as not to interfere with the intensive process of creating new works. At the same time, there are cases phenomenal memory, for example, A Glazunov. S. Rachmaninoff, possessing a remarkable memory, at the same time sometimes made mistakes on stage when performing and was sometimes forced to improvise even in his own works

Already this comparison leads to the conclusion that there is not one type of memory, but at least two, reproductive (mechanical) memory and reconstructive (creative) memory. Reproductive memory, which is mainly associated with the first signaling system, is especially pronounced in children of five or six years of age. Their brain is not yet creative enough to process information coming from the outside world.

Children remember reality as a whole, as an instant picture that is stored in memory as a whole. Such memorization is a forced measure that the body has developed, in childhood about 80% of all vital information falls on a small person. That is why during this period, memorization is usually short-lived, does not last long, information is not so much processed as figuratively combined (in childhood, fairy tales, etc. are of particular interest). In a child of five or six years old, reproduction is usually verbatim, recognition occurs with exact repetition. This is the memory that a person needs as a basis for future activities.

Working on a work with a child at this age and a little later has its own characteristics. It is not always advisable to change the strokes, fingering, since the new version forces the child to largely rebuild the whole work in his mind. For the same reason, it is not worth dividing the work and asking to learn its individual fragments, since each passage can be perceived by him as a whole, individual work. However, the extension of this system to the entire learning process leads in the upper grades to coaching, cramming, and ultimately to memorization. That largely constrains the creative possibilities of the musician.

Reconstructive memory is associated with creative, not mechanical work consciousness, selective processing of information. Over the years, children's reproductive mechanical memory is pushed into the background, and a new memory system comes into play more and more.

With the accumulation of vocabulary, rich information, culture, a person has the ability to analyze, synthesize and new job with accumulated information. Memory, like human activity, is constantly evolving.

The reconstructive moment is connected with the imagination. Remembering individual bright moments, a person is able to reconstruct the whole. In this process of recreating past information, a person's life experience is of great importance - conscious, experienced, rethought. It largely determines the nature and quality of reproduction (this is clearly seen when referring to a piece of music at different stages of learning). It is no coincidence that Bruno Walter argued that "memory depends on the intensity with which a person lived, acted, felt ...". However, reconstructive memory, along with the positive moment of creativity, also has negative side: if you rely only on her, she often fails (examples of this can be found, in particular, in memoirs). In practice, both types of memory in humans act together. After all, a truly artistic performance of a work is not a reproduction of it, but, as it were, a new recreation of the author's intention.

Memory is not a photographing of reality, but a most complex process that develops over time. - According to the content in memory, three structures can be distinguished:

• remembering (directed to the past)
• reproducing (related to the present)
• synthesizing (directed to the future)

If you try to decipher some memory levels from the simplest to the most complex, then due to its specificity, the performer can catch the characteristic features of at least four such levels (naturally, they are not separated during the game).

The first is associated with behavioral, motor memory, and psychologically with interest. The more intense the interest, the more bright moments in the lesson or in homework, the more strongly the musical text and game movements are remembered.

The second is no longer connected with the memorization of the text itself, but with the search for and memorization of expressive tools for the artistic embodiment of the work - the desired character, strokes, expressive complexes, etc., that is, with the set creative goal.

The third one is connected with the memory of the artistic-figurative solution of the work, finding and retaining the psychologically truthful logic of revealing the image, the “tape of vision” (K. S. Stanislavsky), a rich circle of emerging artistic associations, that is, with creative imagination.

And, finally, the fourth one is connected not only with the work under study, the retention of all the material received, its synthesis, but also its processing into a new creative program based on the experience gained, that is, with the general artistic development of the individual.

All these levels are related to different material, which must be remembered, with various conditions for its reproduction - in open activity, or in consciousness (or even in the subconscious). But only the organic connection of all levels into a single interacting complex leads to productive results, contributes to their mutual activation.

In form, memory has several phases, which are sometimes called "memory circles", since the information received and processed by the brain is retained in them, constantly returning to the focus of perception. They are not the same in duration and perform different functions in the process of activity. They, as it were, fix the present time (otherwise it is an elusive line between the past and the future) and connect the information received with previous experience and future programs of activity.

How is memorization done? There are five operational circles of memory. Let us consider in general terms what kind of evolution the received information goes through in them. Within 0.1-0.3 seconds, the shortest-term sensory memory (mechanical) operates, due to the structure of the physiological apparatus of vision and hearing. During this time, sounds are connected into syllables, words, eye movements merge into a single complex, the object is separated from the background, the contour is singled out, the sound line stands out, etc.

In the second circle - about 1 second - a general image, a conditional "picture" is remembered (that's why this circle is called "iconic" memory), a sound "field". This is where comprehension begins. In the process of perception, a person tries to “link” this picture with the previous one and the next one (linking meanings). During this time, you can still “see” and “hear” something else. Then in the human brain there is a complex processing of the information received, its recognition, the selection of signs that are necessary, valuable, new. Already here, a counter flow associated with our experience is superimposed on perception, various associations are born, the desire to predict the direction of the course of events.

At the stage of the second round, motor programs also begin to be developed - motor instructions, which is especially important for instrumentalists. Due to the holistic nature of perception (and the circle of memory at this stage), motor programs are also basically holistic: first, a general outline of movement and boundary points are outlined, beyond which the movement becomes ineffective. detailed detail same happens in the future. Another point is also very important: the brain develops a motor program not only on a real time scale, that is, how it will unfold in motion, but also one more - with a tenfold compression in time, as if compressed (N. P. Bekhtereva). A person needs it first of all to plan his behavior, the necessary sequence of movements, as it were, preliminary, sketchy, on a compressed scale, and then its calm deployment in activity. The reserve of subjective time, which is formed here, is very necessary for the preliminary "playing" of the necessary movements in the mind. This mechanism, these possibilities of the brain are still little used in performing practice, although intuitively brilliant musicians, apparently, used it (Paganini, Liszt and others).

The third circle of memory - five minutes - repetition with the imposition of subsequent information and previous experience, the establishment of a logical connection of events. It has to do with retention of attention on memorization. During this time, the human brain seeks to "watch", finally process, classify information, include the received image in its experience. This circle allows in many ways to foresee and foresee what is received, since consciousness always seeks to predict what is perceived. Here, what was thought and what was received is coordinated, creative imagination is actively included in the work.

The fourth circle of memory (20-60 minutes) - strengthening, fixing the trace in memory. At this time, the value of meaningful information is clarified, the connection of one meaningful information with another (abstract). It was during this period that a certain reconstruction of passes took place. The volume of this circle of memory is the most saturated (a person is able to reproduce in memory a work lasting 30-50 minutes of continuous sound). After one hour, the processed information can go into long-term memory.

Fifth circle - "defending" (one day). During this time, the selection of the necessary, necessary for memorization, the elimination of the outsider (“the morning is wiser than the evening”), the understanding of the frequency of events associated with the daily cycle, the development of behavioral habits, etc.

The three-day cycle is the final process, the formation of experience, the final "withdrawal" of the processed information enriched with associations into long-term memory. By “pulling” the “thread of associations”, a person is able to reproduce this information. Not by chance studying proccess resumes at intervals of three to four days (twice a week). This is the necessary period, which makes it possible for the information received in the lesson to stand and go into long-term memory. Conducting lessons often creates too much load on memory, information does not have time to be thoroughly absorbed and processed by the brain. Not having time to settle down and go into long-term memory, the “extracted” information is deformed. New information is superimposed on the not yet processed information. In the mind, instead of fixing, in connection with this, uncertainty and doubts often appear. The harm of the "training" system is not only in this, but also in the fact that volitional processes are also deformed, and information, instead of being enriched by creative imagination, is depleted.

Some indirect idea of ​​the work of consciousness during memorization can be given by the following experiment, which is well known to psychologists. If you look at a bright point of light and close your eyes, then on the retina we will first see a black spot (negative), then bright yellow (positive), then the spot seems to begin to pulsate, then disappearing, then reappearing, passing through all the colors of the spectrum , and gradually fades away. Approximately in this way, the consciousness, as it were, resumes information, gradually enriching it - as if supplementing it according to the principle of direct contrast (hence, sometimes a quiet sound affects more than a loud one, for example, in the subito piano) and according to the principle of color. Thus, in memory, the information received continuously varies, which is very important for a correct understanding of the term repetition, which is always associated with the enrichment of the perceived.

The process of reproducing a musical composition from memory is always a creative process of image reconstruction. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the issue related to the activation of different types of memory for effective "remembering" of the work.

Musical memory is, first of all, artistic memory for music and one's own interpretation of images - a "tape of vision". We are talking about the image, its dramaturgy, about the whole, which helps to "see" the particulars. For this, climaxes and other milestones are important, which help to concretize attention (on the road, where there are many bright acquaintances, it is always easier and more accurate to move).

When performing a work, motor-behavioral memory associated with professional experience (memorization of movement, memorization of the sequence of motor complexes) is widely used; the memory of "for the future" (of the future) turns out to be decisive in this case. The more options found in the stock, the freer the performer feels. In the process of execution, he selects one option from memory that best suits his state, and “holds” the other options for future interpretations.

In motor memory, tactile-tactile, aimed at controlling the present (support points of the palm, giving a feeling of feeling the neck, fingertips, giving information about the degree of touch and pressure), and motor-muscular, directed to the past and future (controlling how the movement is made and the preparation of the future movement).

Among the elements of artistic memory, many complex ones can be distinguished, for example, memory for the sensation of coloring a sound (the connection between muscular, timbre-auditory sensations and artistic representations), etc.

What are the incentives for memorizing a piece? First of all, this is the excitation of maximum interest in music, specialty, work, finding one's own relationship, setting a specific artistic goal.

Remembrance for the performer - a combination of what he did and should do - is not only a recollection, but a reproduction of the living present (since the work does not exist "in the past"). In his memory, the performer thinks through and re-experiences the same work. However, it cannot be called true memory, only for the text of the work. Rather, it is a memory of one's state, feelings, etc., that arose in the process of learning a piece, performing it in class and on stage.

It is known that this or that sound, smell, circumstances of place and time stimulate the memorization of something. When repeating the sound of music associated with one or another memorable event, psychological state, the performer gets the feeling that he is returning to those events and circumstances again. In this case, the memory operates most efficiently. Genuine creative reconstruction, and therefore good job memory can arise only on the basis of the richest accumulation of material. The richer the information, the more options the performer has, the wider the possibilities for reconstructing the work.

If you do not go a long way at home creative enrichment of information, if you limit yourself only to accurate memorization, memorization, the circle of associations is significantly narrowed, the information turns out to be of little content. In this case, distant associations, the most important for the artistic content of the interpretation, suffer especially. In addition, memorizing one option ("thread solution") makes the performance process not; only uncreative, but also unstable, since the slightest change in conditions, in the subjective state, knocks the performer out of the narrow beaten track. He becomes like a tightrope walker over an abyss. Cramming drastically reduces the amount of memory, as it teaches the brain to operate with simplified monotonous information. Psychologists know that the amount of short-term memory is limited by the number of "pieces" of information. For the shortest circle, it is equal to seven units (" magic number”, most melodic phrases are also limited to seven sounds). Moreover, the more complex the information, the less it is perceived immediately. It would seem that the solution is simple - not to complicate, but to simplify the information. But it's not. With the complication of information, the decrease in volume is much overlapped by an increase in meaning. Indeed, remembering five words, finding a logical connection between them is much easier than nine binary digits, and the difference in the amount of information will be more than five times higher. In addition, meaningless material is remembered seven times worse than well-meaning.

Based on this, if necessary, a brief description of the nature and features of the work of memory, we can derive several recommendations on how and how much you need to do in order to make the most of the properties of memory and not burden it.

Everything that the performer performs on the instrument is not memorized and learned at the same moment. This is a "time delay" process. It is impossible, by learning something, to immediately get a return. In the process of memorization, five minutes of the same type of work is the maximum that our memory is capable of (its “third circle”). After that, the best interval to get the answer that you remember is twenty minutes. After twenty minutes, the processing of information by the brain is carried out by only 50-60%, after a day - by 65-70%, and after three days - about 75%. This is the so-called phenomenon of "reminiscence" (involuntary reproduction of the unreproducible immediately). Improvement (strengthening) of long-term memory depends on involuntary repetition in the mind (due to "circles"); from obligatory repetition from memory during memorization (the inclusion of volitional processes, the beneficial effect of the first repetitions, one or two, maximum three, no more); from the enrichment of information in the latent period (especially during rest, sleep).

This is necessary for the content, artistic side. For the motor side, the intervals here are somewhat different: from the end of the exercise (quite short in time), the best period for reproduction is from thirty seconds to two minutes, when the repetition is effective. By the tenth minute, the best period ends and the reminiscence disappears, therefore, after ten minutes, you can start learning something new. The movement is better remembered with optimal muscle tone, close to the limit ("figurative"), and falls sharply with relaxed muscles or overly tense. As a result, a “squeezed” student can memorize the text very poorly.

What is the benefit of repetition? The repetition carried out by the musician is necessary at the first stages of work to compare and check the options: what has been done, what has not been done, what needs to be fixed. The following feature of the brain's mode of operation should be taken into account: two repetitions a day are three times more effective than eight repetitions. This, however, applies only to primitive cramming. Creative finding of options is not so much repetition as enrichment, processing of information. Music is unique, any repetition deprives it of its aesthetic essence.

It is also necessary to pay attention to the fact that an interrupted task is better remembered, it makes the brain work more actively, grasp new things faster, and remember better.

The secret to fast and lasting memorization of a piece is the use of multiple channels. For example, visual memory graphic image one note or another is not enough. It is visually more important to represent the overall structure of the work, and not just the notes and their place on the page. An associative series can also be attached to the structural sequence. AT associative series together, the visual-motor and visual-auditory moments, the "tape of vision" and other components should work. The main task of memory is to help recreate a single complex in which the end would be closed to the beginning in a holistic artistic process of interpretation.

What causes breakdowns on stage? Memory does not like it when “they do not believe it. Here confidence is more important than doubts: but will memory fail? When memorizing, it is important to “model” in advance not only how the work will be played, but also your state on the stage. Hence the need to check the performer before the performance with an environment close to the stage (at least listening to fellow practitioners).

It is known that when performing works (in particular, the three-part form, sonata Allegro), the beginning and end are remembered better, and the middle section (development) is somewhat worse. This is where the so-called psychological edge effect comes into play. Disruptions on the stage are also when switching attention. For example, one episode is learned well, and the other is worse. Attention may not prepare in time for the need for activation, and an error occurs. Places after climaxes, completion of sections, etc. are also dangerous. The teacher needs to develop in every possible way the student's ability for musical performance, fantasy. One student, having lost the text, stopped helplessly, the other improvised and went on; it speaks of different character work with material.

Answering the question of how best to work on a work - having first learned it by heart, or, having worked on it, then memorize it - it should be said that the full awareness of the work is already memory. The problem of memorizing a work without understanding it should not exist. In addition, the desire to learn a new work by heart right away will interfere with further creative work on it. If the student has found his own approach to the idea of ​​the composition, characteristic strokes, fingering, "sound background", etc., then the work has already become his property, his brainchild, and the problem of mechanical memorization is removed by itself.

It should be added that when studying a work, the student plays it at a slower pace than on stage. Many movements at a slow pace have a somewhat distinctive shape than those at a fast pace. The nature of dynamics, sound production, etc., also changes. Consequently, studying by heart an unfinished composition can become an obstacle to performance on stage.

Literature

1. Barenboim L. Piano Pedagogy. Ch. 1. M., 1988
2. Berkman T. Individual training in music. M.. 1964
3. Davydov V. Types of generalization in teaching. M, 1972.
4. Kogan G. On the intonation richness of the piano performance. - Owls. music, 1975, No. 11
5. Rubinshtein S. Principles and ways of development of psychology. M., 1959.
6. Teplov B. Psychology of musical abilities. M, 1987.
7. Magomedov A. Questions of Teaching Methods for Playing Wind Instruments. - Azerbaijan State Musical Publishing House Baku, 1962.
8. Mikhailova M. Development of children's musical abilities. - Yaroslavl: "Academy of Development" 1997.

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17.03.2015 22:45

Musical memory is the ability to quickly memorize a piece of music and the ability to reproduce it as accurately as possible after an arbitrary period of time. We talked about the process of memorization in the article about musical memory and its types.

This time we will look at various methods and techniques, how to develop musical memory and use it effectively when learning the piece you learn from sheet music. This question worries both professionals and amateurs.

Professionals have to perform in front of an audience on stage. To feel on stage easily and freely, it is advisable to know the piece by heart. And amateurs sometimes want to play in front of friends or at an amateur concert. Playing without peeking at the notes frees you to play the instrument, allowing you to focus on your technique.

How to learn a piece of music

There are some rules to help you memorize a piece of music:

1. After taking the notes, carefully analyze the musical text.
2. Slowly play what you intend to learn several times. Ignore the difficulties and stops that arise - at this stage it is important to embrace the whole work and let it show up in your head. If the work is large, stop at a small part of it.
3. Play and learn difficult passages to understand their structure in detail.
4. Set aside the work you are learning for a day so that the brain can work on its own at a subconscious level. Remember the work only mentally, and if you have any gap, just look at the notes.
5. After that, it is necessary to transfer the work (or part of it) to the instrument. This should be done gradually, slowly, trying to peep into the notes as little as possible.
6. Having learned a work by heart, it is necessary to repeat it regularly for a firm fixation in memory. It is recommended to do this every two days.

There are three main types of actions that promote memorization of musical material:

• semantic grouping- division of the material into logically completed fragments. With thoughtful memorization, small fragments are combined into larger ones.
• Semantic correlation- search for common features of tonal and harmonic plans, melody, accompaniment, voice leading.
• Detection semantic reference places- based on such a place, you can easily reproduce the entire semantic group.

Methods for the development of musical memory according to I. Hoffman.

The method of I. Hoffman today is one of the most effective ways memorization of a piece of music. The basis of this method is the following stages of the development of musical memory:

1. Work with musical text without a tool.

This stage is characterized by familiarization and primary learning of the material. It is necessary to study the musical text well and mentally imagine its sound. When presenting musical material with the help of inner hearing, one should identify and determine: the mood and idea of ​​the work, the features of the development of the artistic image, and, of course, the understanding of the author's intention and your personal vision. A careful analysis of the musical text is very important for subsequent memorization.

2. Work behind the tool.

Understanding the artistic concept of a piece of music is the main goal of the first playing on the instrument. After that, a thorough study immediately begins - the most difficult places are identified, as well as strong semantic points. Difficult places from the performing point of view are worked out at a slow pace. At this stage, the analysis of textural, melodic, harmonic features continues, within which you develop an artistic image. When learning by heart, you should start with separate fragments rather than learning the entire piece all at once.

3. Work without musical text, by heart.

The next stage of fixing a piece of music in memory is carried out in the process of playing it by heart. The creation of artistic or figurative associations that activate emotional memory, which helps to more reliably assimilate the material, can provide significant assistance. To increase the effectiveness of repetition, it is recommended to introduce something new each time - either in your associations or in techniques.

4. Work without a musical instrument and without musical text.

This stage of work is the most difficult. Reliable memorization is achieved by alternating mental reproduction with playing an instrument. Repetition in the mind stimulates memory with auditory images, enhances the emotionality of the game, deepens the perception of a piece of music.

In the question development of musical memory reasonable pedagogical actions aimed at correct memorization are very important. They contribute to the successful development of general and musical memory in students, which, in turn, has a positive effect on creative and technical growth. Dear teachers, do not be too strict with your students. Sometimes they can't play or sing by heart because they're just embarrassed or afraid to make a mistake. This can be fixed by simply becoming a friend to your students :)