how to memorize music with numerous musical exam.pdf

8/15/2019 How to Memorize Music With Numerous Musical Exam.pdf

1/62

HOW

T

O

E

MO

R

Z E M

U

S

C

W i

t

h

N

um

e r

o u s

M

u s

ic

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. FR E

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.

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W

. RE E V E S

,

8

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.

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3/62

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l

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et

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thank t

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5/62

C H A

T

E R I .

h

/

I

e

m

ori

zin

g

C H A

TE R I I .

M usical Analysis

C H A TE R

T

h

e

Faculty o

f Touc h

C

HA T

E R IV.

The Faculty of H earing

C

HA

T

E R V .

The Faculty o

f

S

ig

ht

C

HA

T

E R V

I

.

T

h

e

Fac u lt y o

f

E mot ion

C

H

A

T

E R V

I

I

.

O

n the S e le c t iono

f

a R eper t ory

CH

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TE R V

I I I .

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n a M e t hod o

f

S

t udy

AG E

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7/62

H

O

W

T

O

MEM

O

R

I

S

E

M

U

S

I

C

.

I .

H E s ubj e ct o f memoris in g mus ic i s o f p aramou ntimp ort ance t o a l l wh o h av e in v iew t he c on cert

pl at form as a means o f earning a l ive lihood ; andeven those p ianists whose ambition does not lead them be fore the p ub l i c gaze c annot afford t o neg l ec t this branch o f their Art. M o s t o f u s h a v e

,

a t o n e t i m e o r another

,

w itne sse d the con f usi on o f p iani st s wh o,

onbei ng a ske d t o p l ay

,

murmur gent ly that “ they have

left their music at home ,”

and , on further being pressed ,are obl iged to confess that “ they cannot p l ay withouttheir notes .” Could anything be more humil iat ing thanfor a pianist of advanced technique to have to make

an

ex c use of that sort ? And yet i t i s be ing done dai ly by thou s an d s o f m us ic ian s who either w i l l n ot t ake the trouble to memorise a dozen pieces

,

or d o not under

st an d how t o go abo ut d o ing s o.S

ome pianists eveng o s o far as t o c o n fe s s t h at t h e y are u tt erly unable t o

B


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2 H O W T O JIE JIOR IS E M USIC .

memorise anyth

ing ;

in cases o f that sort we may assume t

h

at they h ave n ever tr ied,

for a l l int el l igen tmusic al p e o p le h av e i t in t h e ir p o we r t o c o mmit a fe w pie c es to memory i f they only exercise the faculties H eaven has bestowed upon them .

I remember o nce heari ng a l a dy o f th is descript ionpl ay at a “ music al evening .”

S

h

e was a pro fic ientplayer

,

she was mistress of an exce l lent technique ,

but,

alas

she had

negle c ted to commit any music tomemory

. S

he

made the u su al ex cu ses ,

an d then

bo l dl y con fessed th at i t w as not in her power tomemorise a p ie c e o f music o f even ord in ary l ength .In

s p i t e o f th is ,

however ,

she was p

u

rsua

d

e

d

t o g o t othe piano

,

and we w ere treated to the strangest jumble t h a t i t h a s e v e r b e e n m y l o t t o h e a r .

S

h

e

began witha o l i s h Danc e o f

S

c harwenka’s ,

after pl aying s ixteen

b a r s o f w h

ic h

s

h

e

tac kled G

o

d

a

r

d

’

s

second M azurka,

and finished up with the l atter p art o f a ChopinNocturne

,

and “ a l i t t l e t h i n g o f m y o w n,

you know .

”

Needless to say ,

her reputat ion as a ser ious s tudent of music was destroyed from that date forth

,

and she has never c onsented sinc e to “ pl ay from memory

.

”

M emori sing music d oes not cal l for any extra

ordinary talent ; it merely requires l ike a lmost every th ing el se practice an d common sense

.

If

only pianists would real ise this

,

there would not be so muchcause for complaint . An d if a p ian is t

,

in the ordinary cours e o f hi s stu dy

,

i s ab l e t o memor i se h al f -a

-dozenpieces

,

how many more wi l l he be able to master when

he has given special attention to the

subject

Fi f t y y e ars ag o i t was qu i t e t h e c u s t o m f o r p i an i sts to pl ay in publ ic from printed music

.

No one thought o f ca l l ing them slovenly for doing so

:

i t w a s


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H

OW

T O JIE JIO

R

I

S

E M USIC .3

recognised as being quite the proper thing t o d o . B utgradual ly a change took place

.

It began to be recog n ised

as a truth that more p iani st s cou l d p l ay their music better when they ha

d

memorize d i t th an t hey could when pl aying from the printed sheet

,

and thencompet i tion set in

.

F

irst one pi anist wou l d give arecital entirely from memory

,

and then another ;

final ly ,

i t became the general custom ,

and t ho se art ist s who,

either through indolence ,

o r bec au se t hey h ad a l lowedtheir f acu l ties to r ust for t oo l ong a peri od o f t ime

,

and were consequently unable t

o keep u p with the ir more fortunate

c

o

n

f

r

e

res

,

w e r e a l l o w e d t o d r o p o u t o f rank

,

an d t he p ubl ic knew them n o more .

S

p

ec

i

a

l is

a

t ion of ta lent may be carr ied t o o f a r ,

bu t i t i s p o s s ib le for i t not t o be carried f ar e nough

;

an d the p ianop lay ing o f the fourth

,

fi fth,

an d sixth d ec ad es o f the

nineteenth ce n

tury would have been far more advancedif only the e lement of compet i t ion had entered into.

itt

o

the extent that it does in these days .

ianists o f .

former d ay s must necessaril y h ave recogn ised the enorm ou s d ifference there i s i n the qu al i ty o f th e p l ay ing o f tho se w h

o

are c onten t t ointerpret their music direct ly from the printed sheet

,

a n d t h e q u a l i t y o f the p layin g o f t ho se wh o p erform from memory

;

but their indifference with regard tothe ir own impro vemen t i s h ard t o e xp la in

.

F

o

r

there i s n o d oub t th at t here

is

a v ast impro vement in t he pl aying o f a piece when it has been memori sedperfe c t l y . I have heard persons contradict this

,

their

argument being that , having onc e memorise d a p iece ,one ’s pl aying o f i t becomes mechanical and indifferent

.

They aver t hat t o o m u c h famil iar i ty breeds c ontempt

o

r

,

at al l event s ,

indifference and that the finer


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4

H O W T O M

E

JI

OR

I

S

E

MUSIC .

sh ad es o f ex pre ssion an d the more subtle and e lusive thought s a l to gether esc ape the notice o f the p iani sts imply because of his long acquaintance with them . I

can wel l bel i eve that thi s i s the c ase w ith piece s o f third or fourth-rate qual ity ,

but I must c onfess that I do not see how this could happen with the works of the great masters

.

Th

e

y

need constant study and playing before the p ianist may tru ly be said to have absorbeda l l t h a t i s i n them

,

for to h im who is a lways s tudying

,

new thoughts wi l l constant ly be revealed . E special ly

i s th is the case if the p ianis t comes to his work with ac lear an d v ig oro us min d. It i s aston ish in g t o how great a degree the appreciat ion of good music depends on health

.

A v ig o ro u s min d an d a h e a l t h y bo d y g o avery l ong way tow ard s success in l i f e

,

and this i s particu l arl y true w ith regard to the stu dy o f mu si c

and the memoris ing of i t.

It i s the ambition o f many otherwise est imable teachers to obtain from their pupils w hat may seem t

o

be the best resu l ts in the shortest t ime ,

an d wit h th is e n d i n V iew they never take any trouble in attempting t o i nsti l in thei r p upi l s ’ min d s the abso lu te ne c essity of their learning to play from memory

.

u p i l s are l e f t

very largely to the ir own resources in th is matter ,

the consequences being that the greater proportion of them never at tem pt to d o anything at a l l

.

It

cannot be emp h as ise d t oo stron gly th at t his neg lec t o n the p artof teachers i s detr imental to their own interests

;

for what can we think of a professor whose pupil can never

pl ay the p iano unless he has brought with him abund le o f music under hi s arm ? B ut,

quite apartf rom the p l ea sure t hat c om petent p iani st s c an g ive other people

,

they ought to consider themselves as well.


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I

I O W T O JI E JIO

R I

S

E M USIC .5

H ow truly fortunate are those who are able to commune with the master -minds of music without having firs t t oseek the p aper to wh ich their thoughts have been

transmitted

I t seem s to me the very height o f f ol l y for p ianists del iberate ly to refuse to s tore the ir minds with the lofty conceptions of our great composers whenevery o ppor tu ni ty o f d oing s o i s pre sente d t o them .O f course

,

i t i s not t o b e ex pected th at the am ateur pianist can commit to memory

a

l l that the greatc om po sers h ave wr itten that wou l d be i mpossib le

Bu t i t i s with in th e p ower o f a l l o f u s t o l e arn a few o f th

e fin e w o r k s o f o u r p i anoforte l iterature ,

and i f we refuse to grasp our opportunit ies in this direct ion

,

we are great ly to be blamed . And

,

besides ,

it i s i n finitely better t o impres s six o r e ight p iece s ind el ibly on o ur memory than to have an imperfect knowledge of four

or fi

ve d ozen ; for i f a piece be once thoroughl y memorised by

the he ar t as wel l as by the brai n the p u p i l w i l l find cons iderable dif fic ul ty in forgetting it

.

The greatest c are shoul d there fore be ex erci sed inselecting those pieces which the p up i l in ten d s t o make h is own

;

and further o n i n thi s book wi l l be founda chapter deal ing with the subject.

The present work d oes not pretend to be an ex h

a

u

s

t

ive

one on this al l important subject of M emorising M usic

.

There are many points which must be decidedby t he ind iv id u al

,

and it wou ld be a t ask o f super er

o

g

a

t

i

o

n

for me to attemp t to l ay d own the l aw onevery hand

.

I t i s merel y my d esire t o po int ou t the

chief out l ines of this department of musical s tudy , andto show the unin iti ated p up il s the more i mportantpoi

nts t o be observed . I have attempted no detailedex p l an ati on o f the sci ent i fic f act s whi ch govern the


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6

H

OW

T O JIE JIOR IS E JILS I(7.

d ifferent f acu l ties t hat are exerci sed when one i s memorising music

:

that must be left for other writers .

I sha l l rest s at is fied i f I s uccee d in d irect in g the attention o f young students to this important subject

,

f o r i t i s o n e t h a t w i l l w e l l r e p a y a n y e ffo rt s mad e t omaster it .

There are very few pianists who recognise the factthat in memorising music several total l y d ifferent facult ies are brought into requisi t ion

,

and that it i s only by the pat ient cult ivat ion of each of these facult ies

individual ly that music may be memorised successful ly and permanently

.

Thoughtless people among W

hom the m aj ority o f am ateur p ianist s m ay be c la ssedo ften arri ve at resu l ts w ithout the l east attem pt todiscover how they have done so .

F

or instance I have known pianists and I must confess

,

they have been

chie fl

y

o

f

the fair sex

who have succeeded incommitt ing to memory a fa ir ly large number of p ieces without knowing

,

or c aring t o k now ,

h ow th ey h ave done it . I recol lect once remarking to a fair pianist of th i s description on the fact that she ha d d one anadmirab le piece o f work i

n

s tudying Beethoven’s “ Appassionata ” S onat a so thorough ly that she was

able t o p lay i t wi t h o u t h e r mu s ic .“ Yes

,

” she repl ied,

“ but i t was hard work - very hard . An d even now

,

when p la

y ing the S

onata,

I

sometimes come to a dead sto p i n the m id dl e o f it,

and haven’t t h e l e a s t i d e a h o w t o g o o n.

”

“ Ah;

indeed ? D o you rely on your eye ,

ear ,

or

sense of touch chie fl

y ?

”

I asked

.

“

Oh,

I don’t k now ,

I ’m s ure ,

” was her answer .

“ I simply p l ayed the thing o ver and over ag ain

,

untilsomehow o r o ther

,

I c ame to pl ay i t quite from


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H O W TO M E M ORISE M USIC.

memory .

B ut i

t to ok m e a tremen do us time severalmonths of constant study .”

Thi s seemingl y extr aord inary con fessi on i s quit e a

common one on the p art o f those who have never

g

iven an y origina l th ou gh t t o t heir st ud ie s .

I f thi s p art icu l ar p upi l h ad on l y l earned from a c om petentteacher

,

she wou l d h ave d i scovered the f act that inp l aying a piece o f mu sic “ over an d o ver agai n

,

” inorder to memorise i t

,

s

h

e was mere ly wasting valuable t ime which might have been p ut t o better u se b y the

e x e r c i s e o f a l it t le common sense .S

h

e had , i t i s t r u e ,memo rise d her music fa ir ly adequ ate ly

,

bu t she h add one so i n a very r ou nd ab ou t m anner

,

and,

on her own confess ion

,

with very u nrel i ab l e resu l t s . M ere mec hanica l work

,

however ,

i s ,

by itsel f ,

worse thanuseless

:

i t is o ften d isastrous .

G

o od p i an o fort e

p laying requires the exerc ise of independent thoughton the part of the pupi l as much as the s tudy o f E ucl iddoes

,

an d u nl ess t he stu dent i s d eterm ine d t o thi nk o ut thi ng s for hi mse l f

,

it i s better for him not toattem pt t o p l ay the p iano at al l . T o commi t a p iece o f m usic to mem ory sim pl y by con st ant l y p l ay in g i tover and over again

,

means ,

a s a r e s u l t,

a mechanical

s t y le o f p lay in g wh ic h, t o s ay t h e l e as t , i s n o t i n a

y

way pleas ing .

No

M emori sing mu si c i s not mere ch il d ’s p l ay .

O n the other hand,

i t i s not a matter of extraordinary d if fi culty

.

I t i s simpl y necessary for the pupi l toknow “ how it’s done

,

” and the rest i s p atience and

di l igent s t udy .

B ut I mu s t insist on the necess ity for every p u pi l t o th ink for himse lf

.

D o n o t b e s a t i s fiedt h at a t h in

g

i s s o j u s t b e c a u s e y o u r t e a c h e r s a y s i t i s .C on firm hi s word s by thought and observation o f


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8

H O W T O M E M ORISE M USIC .

your own ;

i f y o u fin d th at y our te acher h as m ade amistake

,

te l l h im so

you wi l l most l ike ly discover thatt

h

e

mistake is yours ,

b u t n o h a r m w i l l b e d o n e you

W

i l l at l e ast k now th at y ou h ave h ad the co ur age o f y o u r o wn op inions .

There are fiv e d ifferent facult ies which,

t o a gre ater or l es s degree

,

are brou ght i nt o re qui sit ion by the st ud ent wh o attempt s t o memorise mu s ic in the rightway

.

These facult ies wil l each be dealt with separately

in succeeding articles , b u t i t w i l l b e w e l l , fir s t o f a l l , totabulate them here . The beginner must not be alarmedat this array of work to be accompl ished

;

one faculty o n l y i s t o b e d e v e l o p e d a t a t i m e

,

and I c a n a t l e a s tpromise him that he wil l find the work interesting

.

T

HE

F

A

C

U LT Y or TOU CH.

Thi s i s the f acu l ty wh ich the i gn orant p ian istuses unconsciously when attempting to memorise

:

it is almost entirely a mechanical faculty .

T

H

E

F

A

C

U LT Y

O

F HEAR

ING

.

Th e e ar i s an imp ort an t factor in every bran ch

o f m u s i c ,

but particu lar ly so in th is branch.

,

The e ar i s c ap able o f be in g t ra in e d t o a h i g h s t a t e o f perfection

,

even when the trainin g i s begu n com

p

ara

t

ive l

y

l a t e i n l i f e .

T

H

E

FAC

U

LT Yo

r

S

IG

H

T .

By t h is I do not mean to convey the impress ion

th at by l ook ing at one ’

s fin ger s whi l st they are p laying music

,

one m ay a ssi st the memory ;

butthat by observation and prac t ice one can see

i

n

th e

m ind

’

s

e

y

e a rep resen tat io n o f t he p iece o f music one is engaged in p laying

.


15/62

H O W T O J

I

E JIOR

I

S

E M USIC . 9

T

HE

F

AC

U

LTY

o

r ANALYSIS .We a r e a l l a b l e t o p u l l t h i n g s t o p i e c e s m o r e o r

l e ss e as ily ,

b ut i t i s a somewhat d ifferent m atter

putting them together again.

I n this case the facul ty o f synthesi s i s a lmost as importantas that o f analy s

i

s .

I n or der t o bene fit t o t h e fu l l by the ex erc ise o f t his fac ul t y

,

it is necessary to h ave at l ea st an e lement ary knowl ed ge o f harmony .

TH

E

F

A

C

U

LT Y OF MEMOR ISING ONE’ S E MOT IONS .This faculty i s very

,

often exercised quite uncon

s

c

iou

s

l

y

by pianists ,

a n d i n c a s e s o f t h a t s o r t i t i s un d oubte d ly a gre at hel p

;

b ut when the subj ec ti s st ud ie d th ou g h t fu l ly

,

t he he lp i t afford s i s increased wonderfully .

No w i t i s ad v is able fo r t h e s t u d e n t at firs t t o s t u d y eac h o f

,

these branches of the subject separately ;

whenhe i s thorou ghl y gr oun ded i n them al l

,

t hey m ay b e combined quite natural l

y

and without any d if ficulty .L

ater on wi l l be pr inted a c hapter devoted to “ M ethod s o f S

tudy ,

” a n d i n t h i s I have attempted to show how

far i t is advisable to cult ivate each of these facult ies .I t m ay be as wel l t o menti on here that the above

f acu l tie s are u se d i n p i ano f orte p l ay in g ,

though,

o f course

,

the greater p ort ion o f what i s here writtenwoul d appl y equal l y wel l to the or

g

an,

harmonium ,

viol in,

fl ute ,

etc .


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1

0

H

OW

T

O

M E M ORISE M USIC .

I I .

MU S

I

CA

L

AN

A

LYS IS .

G

RE AT

d ea l i s inc l uded i n the se two word s they embrace the whole vast subject of H armony

,

with i t s many compl icated ru les and Observances .

B ut ,for the purpose of memorising ,

I h ave never foun d i tnecessary to go into the subject of H armony in detai l .The bro ad o ut l ine s shou l d be l earned

,

and le arne dth oroughly

,

but matters connected with obscure points rare ly met with may wel l be left a lone .

I t i s n o t my in t e n t io n h e re t o g iv e a d is qu is i t io n o n

H armony ;

I am taking it for granted that al l who readth e s e p ages have at least a rudimentary knowledge of the subject

,

and that many wi l l have advanced far intothe science . B u t before I proceed to deal with i t in i t s re l ati on shi p to the subj ect o f M emorising M usic

,

I

should l ike to say something of the absolute necessi ty

fo r a l l s t u d e n t s o f t h e p ian o fo rt e t o s t u d y i t.

I t i s arisky thing when a young student l imits the fie l d o f h i s stu dy t o suc h a n ex ten t t ha t he e xc l ude s every thin g from his programme save one part icu lar branch of the


17/62

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18/62

1 2

HOW

T O M

E JI

O

R

I

S

E M USI C.

d

iverse statement.

I t i s v e r y c l e a r ,

then,

t h a t i t i s a nex ceed ingl y f ool i sh pract ice to attem pt t o l earn by he art th at wh ic h one d oes no t pro perl y und erst and

,

and every student who wishes to commit a smal lre pert ory t o memory i s i n t hat po si ti on i f he h as n oknowledge of harmony .\N

hen a scientis t wishes to understand the s tructure o

f an animal,

he dissects i t . With scissors ,

knife ,

an dscalpel

,

he removes a l l super fl uous fl esh,

an d lay s bare the veins

,

arteries ,

and nerves . H e not ice s c are ful ly

how the mu scl es are p l aced , how they are c onnectedW i th the nerves

;

he not ices the manner of the beat ing o f the heart

,

a

n

d

the ci rcul a ti on o f t he b l oo d ;

andfro m a l l t h i s k n o wle d g e h e i s ab le t o fo rm a v e ry fa i r i d e a o f h o w t h e b o d y i s c onstru c ted as a l ivin g unit

,

h ow one p art ac ts in conj un ct io n with an other ;

and,

flna

l

lv

,

the reason why this part icu lar animal exists the reas o

n for i ts cre at io n. And so i t is with music ,

I t mu s t be d is s e c t e d,

analysed . E ach paragraph mustbe separated from those which surround it

;

each thoughtmu st be stud ied al one

,

e ach b ar ,

each chord,

eachnote .

S

entenc e mu st be connecte d w ith sentence ,

p aragrap h with p aragraph,

complete thought,

with

complete thought , until , at length , the work o f art i s completely constructed

,

and its fu l l meaning under stood . It may be asked

,

“ B u t d oes not a l l thi s f ussy peering i nt o t he n ook s an d cr anni es o f a p iece m ake one obl i vi ou s o f i ts grandeur ? I f I want t oadmire a r uine d c ast le

,

I don’t go right u p to i t

an d ex amin e each se parate st one .

Why t hen m ust I do this in music ?” No,

you don’t lo o k at

eac h separate s t o n e t h at h e lp s t o mak e an o ld c as t le

,

I know ;

b u t aruine d cast le and a grand piece of music are not by any


19/62

H O W T O M E M 0R 1 SE M USIC. 1 3

m

ean

s synonymous .

You have ,

no doubt,

at one t ime or another

,

tr ied to read Browning ;

i f h e h as ap p e ale dt o y our p articu l ar i nd ivi du al ity

,

you have gone on

reading him ,

fin d in g much t o att ract

,

and perhap s al i tt l e to re pel.

H owever ,

he h as pro ve d fasc in at in g ,

and yet in your reading you stumbled across passages which you d idn’t qu ite u nd erst an d . Their meaning eluded t he v ig i lance o f y ou r int el l ect

.

Yo u rea d an dre -read

,

and read yet again,

bu t s t i l l y o u d o n o t u n d e r stand

.

Wel l,

the end o

f

it al l was that you had to analyse

the p ass age s i n co l d b l oo d y ou h ad t o d i ssect t hem ,pick out the subject

,

search for the object,

and discover the predicate . And the resu l t

?

Complete understanding

,

of course .

A n d s o i t i s w i t h m u s i c . Train your mind

to dissect p art icularly p assages that do not seem quite c lear

.

I have heard expressed by students another objectionto th is mode of procedure in ut il i sing musical analysis

as an aid t o m em orisng

. They s ay th at to o mu chfamil iarity breeds contempt

,

and that too cl ose anacquaintance with the structure o f a piece wil l destroy much of i t s poetry - 4t h at as s o o n as we d is c o v e r “ how i ts d one

,

” we sh al l ce ase t o h ave any respect f or the

wor k

i tse lf . Th is m ay be true eno ugh wi th reg ardto the work o f the lesser men

,

but I d o ubt very much i f i t wou ld hol d water when appl ied to the greater m asters o f mu sic t heir be au t ies are real

,

not sham ,

and j u s t a s a preci ou s st on e be c omes more beau ti f u l t he m ore c l ose l y i t i s e xam ine d

,

so d o the

work s o f B eetho ven , M ozart ,S

chubert, Chopin , anda l l the other gl or iou s i mmort al s who have g iven

U

s

of their best appear more G

o

d

-l ike t he more t hey are studied . B ut it s houl d n ot be overl ooked that in


20/62

1

4


studying c lose ly the works of these men,

one ’s mentalatt itude should be one of lowly admirat ion and respect .To me t here i s nothi ng m ore annoy in g th an to hear a st udent st il l in hi s ’teens

,

c ritic is ing adversely some o f the masterp ie c es o f the piano forte . R espectth at wh ic h you stu dy

,

an d y our respect wi l l not gounrewarded .

erhap s the most u se fu l way to put thi s f acu lty o f m usic al anal y si s t o the best ad vant age i s t o p l ay the p iece o ver i n one ’s mind when one i s away from

th e pi an o out wa lkin g in the c ountry , for instance ,or sitting in th

e

quiet o f one ’s stu dy . To g

o

/

throu gh a p iece ment al l y i s not on ly goo d trai ning for the memory

,

but for t he brain it se l f . E ach chords houl d be recognised and named

,

e ach arpeggiod issected n ote by n ote

,

and each rapi d run p l ayed

(

in the mind,

o f course )

,

s lowl y and d el iber ate l

y

.

B y ment al p l ay in g o f th is d es c r ipt ion one has

to re ly so lely on the faculty of music al analys

i

s and i f it does not desert one when tested

,

i t may be taken for gr a

ntedthat i t i s developed wel l and tru ly

.

H owever important in their var ious ways the other facu l t ie s may be

,

there i s no d oubt i n my m ind th at

th i s p art ic u lar fac u l t y o f m u s ic al an aly s i s i s t h e bac k bone o f the m a l l . I t i s t h e t r u n k o f

t

h

e

tree of whic hth

e other facu l t ie s are but the

branc hes .

I t may be s e e n at a g lanc e w h y t h i s i s s o

.

M u s ic a l an a ly s i s i s amental exercise

,

pur e

an d s imp le ,

t

h

e

emotions have noth i ng wh atever t o d o wi th it

,

o f c ourse .

E ven the

intel lect is l iable , from one cause or another , t o d e crease o r i nc rease i n i ts power from t ime t o t ime ,

and i t i s qu i te poss ible for i t to desert one ’s memory at a cr it icalmoment

;

but the emotions themselves s imply because


21/62

1

1

0 il

T O M E M ORISE M USIC . 1 5

they are emot ions are st i l l l ess rel iable and even more changeable

.

One ’s intel lect shou l d a lway s be the ruling factor in one ’s playing the emotions should come

a good second,

fo r t h o u g h i t i s a mat t e r o f t h e u t mo s timportance that one s h

ould be able to fee l,

y e t i t i s s t i l las important that one should a lso th ink and reason .

When the f ac u l t y i s d eve loped,

t he st ud en t sh ou ldlearn to wr i te out a l l

his

memorised pieces entirely from memory

.

This ,

o f c ourse ,

i s n ot abso lu te ly e ssent ial ;

but he who desire s

to study the subject thoroughly

c ann ot d o be tter t han mak e an at tempt at t his . I t is ,no doubt

,

. wearisome work copying out from memory along Bach

F

ugue or Beethoven S

onata,

but a moment ’s thought wi l l serve to demon strate how excel l ent amethod this is both for testing one ’s progress

,

and alsofor impressing more firm ly o n t h e m i n d w h a t o n e h a s

already memorised.

I g ive one exam p l e here to show the s tudent what I mean by thi s f acu l ty o f mu si ca l an al y si s

,

a n d h o w i tmay ass i st one ’s memory

:

E x.

I

.

B

e e r

h

o

v

n

x .

.

M

ar

ez

a

j

n

c

o

re

.

The l ast b ar i n the above ex ampl e i s not by any means

an

easy one to memorise ;

i t i s n o t a n e a s y o n e t o p l a y

,

even,

at first s ight . B u t an al y se it . What i s


22/62

1

6

HO W T O M E M ORISE M USIC .

th

e

n ame o f t h e c h o rd ? Wel l,

in t his p art ic u lar c ase i t d oe sn’t very m uch m atter

,

for it is ) certain that i twi l l no t be memori sed by th at mean s . And t he eye wil l not ass ist to any appreciable extent for the chordin cold pr int looks anything but at tract ive and easy toremember

.

No ;

the ear ,

the facul ty o f touch,

a

nd

m us ica l an al y si s wi l l be o ur hel p in memori sing

this part icular bar

.

Wel l,

s u p p o s e w e p l a y i t . What

does i t a l l c o m e t o ? Then notes correspond to the notes o f the common

ch

o

r

d

of A maj or . Fancy th

at com p

lex ,

d iffi cult-l ooking chord i s nothing more or l ess thanan o ld fami l iar f r ie n d . I t i s n’t t h e c h o r d o f A m a j o r

,

of course ;

but for pract ica l purposes we may c onsider i t i s .

S

o

,

in p lay in g t h e Funeral M arch of Beethovenfrom memory

,

when we come to this b ar we shou l dn e v e r be at a lo s s wh at t o p lay the word s A m aj or w il l at once come to our m ind s

,

an d ou r fin gers wi l lreadily p lay the correct notes .

I have purpose ly c ho sen an extreme ex amp le inorder to show the method which the student may adoptwhen studying th i s branc h o f t h e a r t . O ften enoug

h

,

t

he

most formidable looking chords are ,

w hen p laye don the piano

,

old famil iar fr iends of m any ye a

r ’ s stand

ing .

I remember onc e seeing an autograp h o f R ubinstein’

s .

I t was t h is :

E x . 10

V ery important-looking ,

i s i t n o t an d yet on l y Cmajor

,

after al l . And so i t with much of the most d iffi

c

u

l

t music if analysed,

i t w i l l l o s e m u c h o f i t s d r e a dcomplexity .


23/62

H

O

W

T O M

E M

ORISE M USIC. 17

II

I

.

Th e F

a

c

ul

t

y

o

f

To

u

ch .

woul d be a matter o f considerable d if ficulty adequately to de fine the

F

aculty of Touch . I t con

si st s in t he p l a yi ng o f notes i n a d e finite succession, or order ,

with ou t the aid o f any c on sc iou s facu l ty .B

u

t

th e ful fi l ment o f thi s d e fin it ion i s never me t wit h i npractice

,

f or i t i s im po ssibl e to p l ay entirel y by thi s faculty alone

:

one other hearing ,

s ight or analysis i s bound to give more or less assi s t ance

.

B ut’

for t he p urpos e o f ex p lan at ion

,

thi s de fin iti on w il l perh ap s serve . B y its means the fingers perform their d ut y from

m

ere habit.

Accu stomed as t hey are t o p utt in g forth a certain

,

but cons t antly varying ,

amount of force in a d u l y r e g u l at ed manner

,

t h e y may be re l ie d u p o n,

by th e exercise of this faculty of touch,

to interpre t the music wit h a c e r t ain amount of regard to express ion

that i s , the e

n

s

a

n

d

7

7

’

s

, wil l , in al l probabil i ty , be d u ly em

p

hasised,

bu t t he more d el ic ate and subt le nu ance s w il l

,

in most cases ,

b e e nt

irely neglected.

B u t t h e d u e interpretation of these less evident shades of ex p ress

i

on

0


24/62

1

8


may be sa fel y l eft to the ot her facult ies ,

though the faculty of touch is no me an aid to the memory in paying

d

ue

regard t o the more e xaggerated incre ase s an d

d

ecreases in t he volume of sound .Though this faculty of touch occupies so important a

place in helping one to memorise even the most dif ficultmusic

,

yet because it is so entirely mechanical,

it is very \

untrustworthy .

I t proves in

pract ice an excel l entservant

,

bu t a ho pel ess ly tyr ann ou s m aster . I t cannever be rel ied u pon by i tsel f

;

i t need s other wel l

d eveloped facult ies to suppor t i t when it is l ikely to fai l.

I t i s t r u e ,

many pianists learn quite a number of pieces almost solely by means o f this faculty o f touch

,

and they are very o ften able t o p lay t hem abso lu te ly c orrect ly

,

in every respect.

But a t ime comes in every case whent

his faculty fai ls them ,

and they break down hopelessly o ften enough i n p ub l ic

,

and thei r c on fu si on an dd

i sgrace are remembere d for man y a lon g d ay .

The r

eas

o

n

o f

this sudden and quite unexpected fai lure of the sense of touch to do i t s work is that i t i s

,

as it were ,

based on a del icate chain of mechanism which connects one bar with the preceding and succeeding bars

,

and this chain is l iable to be broken by the s l ightest untoward

e vent. The creaking of a chair , the opening of a door ,the rustl ing of a programme

,

are often quite su f

ficient tobre ak the ch ain

,

an d the resu lt i s confus ion.

I f the sense of touch were direct ly under the control of one ’s w i l l

,

one might hop e t o overcome thi s ten dency t osudden breakdown but as it i s almost purely mechanical

,

i t i s ut ter ly imposs ible to accompl ish th is .

The question m ay be a sked:

“ I f the faculty o f touch is so

v

ery unreliable ,

a

n

d

as i t i s a mat t e r o f t

he

utmos t im p ortance that one ’s m usi c sho ul d be m

emo

r


25/62



26/62

2

0

HO W T O M E M ORISE M USIC.

nowadays been reduced to almost an exact sc ience andi f it s l aw s are obeye d con sequen t succes s w il l be the

result .Another matter which requires at tent ion is the way

one s i t s at the p iano.

O f course ,

no pianist worthy of the name ever dreams of lo l l ing against the back of h is cha ir when he i s p l ay ing

;

that i s the resul t o f mere idleness and indi

f

ference .

I take i t for granted that a l ls tudents who read these chapters wi l l know how to s i tat a piano

;

but what I wish to emphasise is this :alway

s

s

i

t

i

n

e

x

a

c

t

l

y

t

h

e s

a

m

e

a

t

t

i

t

u

d

e

.

H ave your seat raised t oprecisely the s

a

me height whenever you play ,

and holdyour body in exact ly the same posit ion that you are accus t omed t o

.

As I h av e s aid be fore ,

t he l e ast th in g often throws one

o

ff

t h e t rac k wh e n o n e i s re ly in g t oany extent on the sense of touch

,

an d i t i s o n ly by s afe guarding one ’ s sel f again st al l contingencie s o f th atdescription

,

that one c an hop e to make thi s facu lty more rel iable and trustwor

t

hy .

I t has often been said th at al l true art ists are more or less nervous when they p l ay i n p ub l ic

,

an d t hat they p lay a l i t t l e be t t e r fo r be in g s o

;

what truth there may be in t h is I do not know

,

but I do know that nervous

n ess concerning the re l iabi l i ty of the faculty of touch is very apt to destroy t he faculty as long as the nervousness lasts . When p l ay ing from memory i t i s d i sas t ro us t ot ro uble y ourse l f with wh at i s c oming n ex t

.

Anxious thought concerning the next bar has no other e

f

fec t ont he nex t bar ex ce p t annihil ating it altogether

.

Above a

l

l

things ,

don

’

t worry . R

emember that you have other fac ul t ie s t o s up po rt y o u bes id es the facu l t y o f to uch.

Try to concentrate your thoughts on t h a t p a r t o f y o u r mu sic which i s at the moment being inter p reted

,

an

d


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H O W T O M E M ORISE M USIC.

2

1

rest assured that the remainder wil l come al l r ight o f i ts own accord .

I t wi l l be seen,

then,

that though this particular sense i s a l together outside one ’s power o f wil l

,

and i s aptto prove a deserter when i t s presence i s most urgently required

,

yet i t i s by no means to be despised as an a idin memorising mUsic

A s a r u l e ,

it is developed unconsciously ,

and the pity i s that this i s so

;

the more unconsciously it is developed,

t he l es s u se fu l wi l l i t b e found when called into requisi

t ion . To mak e i t l ess o f a purel y mech anical andarti fici al ai d to the memory

,

an d more o f a pr acti calhelp

,

i s my a im in givin g the fol lo win g e x amp les .

I nplaying them

,

the s tudent should take due . n o t e o f t h e f act th at i t is the purel y

p

h

y

si

c

al sen sat ion s o f hi s fin gers an d h an d th at h ave t o be t aken i nt o acco unt

,

an d th at every thing e l se sho uld , f or the t ime being ,be entirely forgotten.

I n E xamples 3

,

4

,

and 5

E x .3

. E x 4

.

E x .

5

.

p

g

:

23

:

it wi l l be ob served that the fi in

g

e

rs

occu py d ifferentpositions respectively

,

and that in playing the inversions of the common chord they exper ience physical sensat

rons s imi lar in k ind,

but different in degree .

An d n o t

only th is

the common Ch o rd o f C maj o r wi l l c re at e aphys ical sensat ion o f i t s own

,

a n d t h i s i s t r u e o f t h e common chords of each of the different keys

.

Th at i s

j

t o s a y ,

the further one ’s h a n d m o v e s u p the keyboard,


28/62

2

2

HO W T O M E M ORISE M USIC.

t

h

e

greater wi l l be the s tra in on the muscles not only o f the h an d a l one

,

but al so o f the arm . A practicali l lustrat ion of this is given in the next example

,

E

x

.

6

.

where the tension on the muscles of the fingers and arm

increases and decreases in pr e p ort ion as t he n ote s g ou p o r d o wn t h e s t av e

.

This ,

of course ,

ap p l ie s t o t h e left hand as wel l as the r ig h t

,

though in this

case i t wi l lbe seen that the greater tension is exper ienced as the hand progresses

c

o

w

n

the key -board . All the arpeggios ,

wi th t heir v ari ou s i nversions ,

should.

b

e practised

thoroughly (

n o matter h ow we l l th e stu d en t may p lay them already

)

,

an d h is a tt ention should be concentratedent ire ly on th e p hy sica l s id e o f t he que st ion . I n t h i s connection

,

I k now o f no better exercise s than the hackneyed “ One H undre d and One ” o f C ar l Czerny

;

but I do not advise the s tudent to s tudy these unt i l he has firmly grasped the var ious phys ical sensat ions he experiences in playing the scales and arpeggios

.

I d o n o t wis h i t t o be u n d e rs t o o d t h at t h e o bj e c t o f this careful observation and study is that the pianoforte player may

,

when performing a piece ,

c a l l t o m i n d i nt u r n t h e d ifferent degrees of strain t h at are p ut u pon fingers

,

and so ai d his memory ;

that method o f

memor ising wou l d not on l y b e excessivel y c l um sy ,but would in most cases tend to destroy a l l that

r

efi

n

e

ment and del icacy whic h are so necessary to an art ist ic ren dering o f re al music . M y desire i s that the per


29/62

HOW

T O M E M ORISE M USI C.

23

former should take due note of his phys ical sensat ionsin ord er th at h is

u

n

c

o

n

s

c

i

o

u

s sen se o f t ouch may be thoughtfully developed

,

and thus made a more re l iabl egu id e i n assi sting the memory . A lthou gh so muchconscious thought must necessari ly be expended on the r ight development of the sense of touch

,

ye t i t s h o u ldbe kep t in mind that

,

wh e n u s e d as an a id t o memory ,

i t shou ld be used as sub -consc ious ly as poss ible ;

inother words

,

when perfor m

ing a p iece from memory ,

t ake c are o f the e

x

p

r

ess

i

o

n

w

the soul an d t he notes /

wi l l t ake care o f themsel ve s

;

bu t when commit ting music to memory

,

to o gre at an amou nt o f app l icat io nand stu dy c annot be ex pended on thi s part icul ar subject

.

The s t udent may ask ,

“ H o w i s it poss ible for th is sense of touch you speak of to he l p me when I am playing from memory

,

i f I am t o fo rg e t a l l abo u t i

t

?

”

Th is i s a sen sib le que st ion,

a n d it deserves a sensible answer for i t d oe s ind ee d seem st rang e th at one cand erive mater ia l assi st an ce fro m a c are fu l ly -developedfaculty merely by forge t ting

i

t

.

The reason is t his .

As I h ave a lrea dy st ated

,

’

l

t

o

u

c

h i s ,

i n the very n at ure o f th in gs

,

a p ure ly u

n

c

’

o

n

s

c

io

u

s

j

a

c

u

l

t

y

;

it act s free ”

from the wil l,

and quite apar t from the mind.

But it

i

s

n o

t

c

u

l

t

i

v

a

t

e

d

u

n

c

o

n

s

c

i

o

u

s

l

y

e

x

c

e

p

t t

o

a

c

e

r

t

a

i

n

d

e

g

ree

.

U

p

to a certain point,

the sense o f t ouch may be developedwithout conscious s t udy

;

bu t t o be o f any perm anen tand real value

,

careful thought must be bestowed upon it.

J

u s t a s a m a n,

after having firs t l earned his ste p s i

n

valse ,

must accustom himself t o the individual pecul iari

t ies of the part icular partner with whom he is dancing ,be fore h e i s ab le t o mov e abou t e as ily an d grace ful ly without any conscious effort

,

so m ust the p ian is t pay due regard to the exercises of his fingers

,

in order that,


30/62

2

t

HOW

T

O

M E M ORISE M USIC.

when cal led upon to d o so,

t

h

e

sen sat ion s he h as observed an d memorised when st ud y in g a p articu lar

piece ,

may quite unconsciously

suggest the notes that

require to be pl ayed.

I n o rd e r t h at I may ex p la in myse lf more c learly ,

I wi l l instance the opening bars of Beethoven ’s

S

onata,

O p .’

2

,

No . I

E x 7

.

B

E

E

H

O

V E

N

.

Throughout the firs t movemen t o f th is S o nat a the phrases found in bars

3

,

5

,

6

and 7

recur over and over again

,

and nearl y al way s with the same fingering .

Technically ,

t h e p h ras e i s n ot d if ficult ;

e v e n i l l-trained finger s wi l l not stumb le over i t

;

and yet it i s notcommonplace . Now

,

in order to study these few n ote s with regar d t o the sen se o f t ouch

,

it wi l l be nece ssary t o t ake e ach n ote in t urn

,

an d observ e by which fin g e r i t i s t o b e p l a y e d .

L

e

t

us take the th irdbar . I t wil l be observed that the fourth finger plays

A

fl at staccato,

an d t hat t he n ote i s d ot ted ;

the second,

third , and first fingers are ready in posit ion above their respective notes

,

so that the tr ip let i s p layed eas i ly an

d

gracefully ,

and the final note of the second bar is s truck by the second finger

.

\N

h

il st

the whole bar should be


31/62


32/62

2

6 HO W T O M E M ORISE M USIC.

Before c losing this chapter ,

I shou l d l ike t o pointou t t hat in many short p ieces

(

such a s M endelssohn ’s “

S ongs Without Words ” and C

hopin’s “ E tudes ,

”

e t

c

)

,

(

th

er e

i

s

m

ver

y of t

e n

.

a h

o

m

o

g

e

n

e

i

t

y

a

h

o

f

t

e

c

q

g

a

which br in gs int o p lay on e p articu lar “

k in d o f touch

f i om

t

h

e beginning of a piece to i ts c lose .

S

ii

ch

a p i ece S t u d y in E fl at

(

Book I I

)

.

E x

. 8.

F

R

.

C

H

O N

.

e

t

c.

All the way through this s tudy requires an extensiono f the fingers quite unusual

;

but though this i s the main p oi nt t o be noted

,

i t sho ul d n ot b e o ver lo oked

t ha t t here ar e other fe at ures o f l ess si gn i fi

cance , buty

e

t important. D o not overl ook es senti al s ;

on the other hand

,

beware of wearying yourself with useless andobscure points . Work thoroughly

,

but do not become apedant . I ndividua l thought wil l be necessary on the partof every student when he begins to memorise a piece of music : but he wi l l not go far wrong

,

i f he w i l l on ly u se

his powers of observation ; that is a l l that is necessary The fol lowing examples wi l l indicate the method by

means of which this may be accomplished.

E x

.

9

.


33/62



34/62

28

HO W T O M E M ORISE M USIC .

This i s a mel ody o f muc h greater dif ficulty thanE xample

9

.

The key is U

nfamil iar ,

the rhythm i s awkward

,

t he i nterv al s u ncommon . Now ,

i f the stu

d

ent find s he i s abl e to understand the mel ody of this example by his mind alone

,

he may rest satis fied

t

h at h e i s fa i r ly we l l ad v anc ed,

and may commenc e th e

s

tudy o f th e n ex t c hapter ;

but i f ,

perchance ,

he i s

u

n able t o s e e an y me lo d y at a l l in t h e e x amp le e x c e p tb

y

the aid of the pianoforte ,

he should study m any simple

t

unes in this way ,

gradu al ly sel ecting more and more ditfi

:

ult ones , until his mind is able to grasp the full meaning o

f

any melody merely by reading the printed notes .The m etho d o f st ud yin g the sou nd s o f ch ord s has

a

more or less accurate -

conception of the sound of ,

say ,

the common c hord o f C

-major ;

i f the read er d oubt s th

e

accuracy o f hi s c onception,

l et him test i t by p lay in g t h e c

h

ord on the pianoforte ,

and noting where an

d

why he is wrong . This principle should be appl iedt o a l l t h e s i m p l e r

,

and o f the m

ofe

_

§

o

r

f

5

1

é

x

chor d

-

s

:

major a

d

m

in

o

r.

I t is only

by pers i stent

T

eS

t

in

g

o f th i s de

s

C

ri

p

t

i

on

’

th

a

t the ear can be proper ly t rained

,

and it i s not too much to say that when

th e student i s studying this branch o f the subj ectof music

,

he s hould bestow at least one hour per day oni t

.

And as his ear and his intel lect become more c losely al l ied

,

he wi l l find more and more meaning eveni

n long -famil iar me lo dies . A l l mu sici an s and par t

i

c

u

l

a

rl

y

a l l executi ve mu sic ians shou l d h ave thei r

intel lect and ear so indissolubly joined together in sym pathy ,

that what the intel lect perceives the ear under stands

,

and what reaches the ear i s immediately c omprehended by the intel lect

.


35/62

HO W T O M E M ORISE M USIC . 29

The m

e

m o

r

y_

_

o

f

m a n i s so

fick l e and incons t ant -thatW

N W

that through e

x

citeme n t,

ex

h

a

u

s

t io

n

,

or any o

ther ord in

a

ry c ause ,

the f acu l ty

o f c al l in g t o min d a m

e

mo

ri

s

e

d

t

un

e

deserts

one as wel la s the

f ac ul ty o f t ouch ;

but i t mu st be rememberedt h

a

t there ar

e

sti l l three other f acu lt ie s t o f al l b ac k

u

p

on, and rarely , if ever , do t h e y fa i l a t -once

T

h

e

sounds of chords must be memorised by the earin much the same way as the melodies

,

only this s ide of the subj ect i s m

o

re d if ficu lt t o master . I t i s not,

perhaps , s o im p ortant to memorise the harmony as i t is th

at the mel o dy shou l d be we l l noted,

a s t h e m e l o d y often suggests the accompanying harmony

,

in

many c ase s ,

therefore ,

u nneces sary to memorise th e d ifferent h armonies o f a p iece b y t he e ar

,

unless t

he

harmonies are very strange andp

e

cu

lia

r

u

f

I t w o u l d be

wel l t o stu dy an d memori se by t he e ar n

ii

i

C

h

o f the harm

o

ii

y

o f Chopin,

when p layin

g t h at C

o

mpose r

t his

als o t o t ho se mod ern compo sers who are noted for t heir originality in harmonic invention

.

But this special department of the art is best s tudied inconjunction with Chapter V I.

,

whi ch d eal s with t

h

e

subject of M usical Analysis .


36/62

3

0


I

V

.

Th e Fac

u

l

t

y

o

f

H

ear

i

n

g

.

the m usici an the ear i s a l l im p or t ant.

I t i s t h e sin

e

q

d

n

o

n

o f al l that he does . L

e t him lose his

hearing , and he is hel pless ; com po sit ion s m ay n otc

ease to come from his pen,

but the joy of creat ion wi l lbe great l y sp oi l ed by the con s t ant thought that

,

d owh at h e may

,

h e w i l l never be ab l e to hear the re su l to f h is labo u rs

.

B u t s t r a n g e a s i t m a y a p p e a r a t first,

:the man who possesses the most keenly sensit ive ear ,

i s not necessarily the best musician . I ntellectual capacity

,

temperament,

originality ,

and power of interpretat ionare e ach o f them m ore or l es s neces sar y t o the mu sio

i an who d esire s t o b e ab ove the comm on herd,

andth ese are th ings that cannot be ac quired

.

A n d a g o o de

ar i s l ikewise a thing one is born with ;

though,

o

i course ,

a defect ive ear may be trained and educated

until it becomes more sensit ive t o the sub t ler differences b etween the pitch and between the

v

ol ume of differents ounds . S t i l l

,

a n atura l ly per fect ear i s a f ar better

p

ossessi on th an on e that h as h ad t o un dergo ye ar s


37/62

HO W TO

M E M ORISE M USIC. 3 1

o f p atien t trainin g be fore i t h as been able t o. reach a

hig h

state of perfection .I n order that I m ay i l l u s t rate my statement that

a g o o d e ar d o e s n ot necessari ly make a good music ian,

I w

i l l mention the case o f a young m an who c ame un der my n ot ice a shor t t ime ago . H e was nineteenyears of age

,

and his parents had spent no incon sider

able amoun t o f money o n h is mus ic al e du cat ion . H e h ad a cert ain amou nt o f techn ique

,

and among other o f h i s p i e c e s

,

h e c ou

l d p l a y h a l f a-d o z e n o f M endels

sohn’s “S

on gs W ithout Words .” Th is w as the re sul to f five y ears ’ tuit ion an d d ai l y pr actice . H e hadalways found i t a great bore t o pract ise the piano

,

andvery r arel y t ouche d i t fo r h is own p l ea sure . B u t he h ad an excel l ent e ar

,

not onl y being easi ly ab le todis tinguish a part icu lar note when pl ayed on a in stru

ment out o f his sight, but a l so correct ly n aming th e s impler chords and their inversions when struck uponth e p ian o

.

I t was to him a matter o f no d if ficulty what e v e r t o p l a y a t u n e t h a t h e h a d h e a r d c a s u a l l y i nthe street

,

and that W

as t h e k i n d o f p l a y i n g h e l i k e dbest . An d yet

,

in sp ite o f t hi s unu su al an d p l easin g gift

,

he never per f ormed on h is i nstr ument wi tho ut

mak in g me an d o thers fee l a lmo st i l l . H i s t o u c h was heavy and l ife less

;

his ideas of t ime and rhythm were conspicuous by their absence

;

and express ion and soulwere absolutely n il . H e p l ayed l ike a m achine th atrequires oi l ing . The not es themselves were correct ly played

,

b ut every th in g e l se w as a s wron g a s i t cou l d

be .

I ocasi

on

a

l l

y he ard o f peo ple en vy in g h is ab i l i ty t o re t a in a fre s h t u n e in h is me mo ry

,

and h

e

certain

l y h ad a w on der f ul g i ft for d oing that

;

b u t h e h a d n o tthe musical te mp erament I t wi l l thu s be seen


38/62

3

2


t h a t i t i s p o s s i b l e f o r a n e x c e l l e n t e a r t o b e p l a c e d i nconjunction with an execrable temperament .

B ut thi s “ i ntel l i gence o f the e ar ,

” i f I m ay co m a phrase

,

i s a gre at b oo n t o mu sic ian s . Al l o f them possess i t to a certain extent

,

but there i s quite a large number of otherwise excel lent m usici an s who d o no tpossess the sense of “ absolute pitch

,

” an d are n o t able to retain a mel od y i n their memory unti l they h ave heard it over and over ag ain . They possess “ tem

p

er

a

m

en

t

” and great power o f interpretation;

perhaps ;

bu t t hey h av e n ot the keenne ss o f e ar wh ich many o f their less gifted brethren possess .

Now ,

in memorising music ,

i t i s very necessary that

th e

ear should be wel l t ra ined,

and those p ianis ts whoare consc ious of having e ither defect ive ears

,

or e ar s th

at are not as ready a s t hey mi ght be to note whatthey hear

,

shoul d see to i t that these de fect s are remedied .

I n order that the ear may be put to the best poss ible use in memorising music

,

i t i s n o t o n ly n e c e s s ary t h atit shou l d b e ab le to ret ain f or . an inde finite per ioda melo d y o nce l earned

,

bu t that i t shou l d(

with the assistance of the intel lect

,

of course )

be able to compre

hend and re member a tune heard once onl y .

The abi l i ty to do this i s somewhat rare

.

The usefulness of i t

i s evinced in that i f a p ianist can remember amel o dy a fter hear in g i t once

,

he i s in a far better posit ion to imprint i t on his mind indel ibly after study

,

th an the pianist who find s it necessary to hear amel od y t wenty or thirty times be fore he i s sure o f h av in g grasp ed i ts fu l l mean in g . Nowadays

,

a new a nd rea l l y str ik ing me l od y i s r are l y he ard

:

they a l ls

t: t o have been u sed u p .

M odern composers have


39/62

H O W T O M E M ORISE M USIC . 3 3

to ca l l a l l the wonderful resources of harmony to the ir

a

i

d

to cover their weakness in inventing melody . I t i s e a

sy enough,

I know ,

to write sentimental l i tt l e tunes ,

pre t ty and charming in themselves , I d o n o t do

ubt,

butp os ses sin g n o p art icu l ar ch aracter or i nd i v i dual i ty .

And this comparat ive sameness in much of the melody o f t he pre sen t d ay i s u nd oubte d ly the reaso n why s ofew people are able to grasp a tune at i t s first hearing ;i t be ars s o man y d ist inct resemblance s t o o ther t une s th

ey have heard,

tha

t i t gets inextricably mingled with

them ,

an d i t i s al m ost a n imp oss ibi l i ty t o sep arat e i t.

The only way by means of which this may be obviatedis to refuse to l is ten to the trash that is dinned into our e a r s d a y b y d a y

,

a n d t o s t u d y o n l y t h e w o r k s o f the

great composers .

B

y

“ trash ” I d o not nece ss ari l y mean “ l ight ” music

,

for l ight music i s very o ften

of exce l lent qual i ty ; bu t I mean s

o

-

c al l e d mu si c th ati s v ul g ar an d pretent iou s ,

possessing no merit,

. andsavo uri ng very stron gl y o f t he mu sic -hal l . Avoid

,

then,

al l m

U

S ic

o f thi s kind . We lcome pure ,

freshmel o die s a s y ou wel come the su nl i ght

;

s t u dy them ;

fi

n

d out how they are constructed ;

feel their emotion ;

d we l l o n them in y our min d when y ou are away fro m

your pianoforte ;

a n d a s a r e s u l t o f a l l t h i s , y o u w i l lgradual ly be able to grasp the meaning and emot ionalforce of a good mel ody the very first time you hear it

.

I t i s a l s o a m a t t e r o f first rate importance that th

e

pianis t should be in a pos i t ion to transfer a melody in

his mind into the actu al soun d o f the pi ano forte .

U

nless one h

a

s been blessed with this gift by nature , itwi l l b e foun d a somewh at d iffi cult thing t o d o

.

The r e a s o n o f i t s im p ortance may be seen when you think o f how ea si l y the con

s

t ant diffi

cul t y may be overcom e

D


40/62

34

l

H

O

W

T

O

M E M ORISE M USI C.

i n p l ay ing a p iece o f m usic from memory ,

when t he sense of touch deserts one utterly

,

and one has n othing l e ft t o g ui de o ne b ut the conti nu at ion o f the m el o dy wh ic h l ingers in one ’s m i n d

,

b u t n o t i n o n e ’ s fingers ;

i n cases o f thi s kind and,

with some p ianists ,

there are very m any thi s power o f t ransposing thoughti nto so un d c annot be t o o hi ghl y estimated . I t s ave s o n

e

from ’

a

n

embarrassing breakdown,

and even whenthere i s not much occasi on f or it s u se

,

it g ives one con fidence and courage .

T

h

e cultivation .of

th is faculty may be carr ied out int

h

e

following way . F

i r s t o f a l l,

it is necessary that you s hou l d test y oursel f t o fin d o ut whether or not you possess this power

,

and i f you d o,

t o wh at ex tent .Take any ordinary melody whic h you have had in your m

i

n

e

for some mon th s ,

and which you have occasion

a

l l

y

sung or hummed to yourself ,

bu t of which you have never seen the printed music

,

and which you have n ever tr ied t o p lay o n t he p iano forte .

F

o

r

preference t ak e a s imp le t u n e be g in n in g an d e n d in g o n t h e t o n ic say a hymn-tune

,

or a s imple song sung in the streets .

Then go to the p iano,

and t ry t o pl ay the mel ody W i thout any harmonisation whatever

.

I f y o u p l a y i t

from beginning to end with only two or three mis t akes ,y o u m a y r e st assured that you possess the faculty in afairly we l l-developed condition

:

but i f you find that y ou are con stant l y s t umbl ing o ver every o ther n ot e

,

th en you wil l know that Nat ure has not gifted you witht his facu lt y

,

and that a certai n amount o f h ard but

p l eas an t work i s b ef ore y ou .

At first the p ower t opl ay un practised

,

bu t well-known,

melodies from ear ,

as i ti s ca l led

,

will come rather s lowly ;

but after a few week ’s s t u d y o f

,

say ,

h a l f -an sh

o

u

r

a d a y ,

y o u wi l l h av e mad e


41/62


42/62

3

6

H O W T O M E M ORISE M USI C .

V

.

T

h

e

F

a

c

ul

t

y

o

f

S

i

g

h

t

.

H

I

S

f ac ul ty con si st s in b ein g ab le ,

whi le one i s

a

c

t

a

l

l

y

performing ,

to see the printed page in th e

m

i

n

d

’

s

e

y

e

by a mere effort of the wil l.

There are few peo ple who h av e this fac ul t y ,

and I h ave o nly c ome acros s two or three p ian ist s wh o p osses se d i t in s ucha highly developed s tate that i t was of mater ia l ass is tance to them in memorising music . I k n

o

w one famous E n gl i sh p ian ist wh o d ec lares th at he re l ies ch ie fl

y

onthis faculty rel i es on i t more th an a l l the other s p ut

together , a n d h e i s a b l e t o p l a y m o r e t h a n 800 pieces from memory . H e has the most extensive repertory of any musician I have ever heard of in past or present his t ory .The eight hundr ed pieces include ne

a

r ly al l Beethoven ’s S

onatas ,

a large number of the works of C

hopin,

S

chu mann

,

and S

chubert,

and many pieces of Bach,

H andel,

and Weber , w ith stu d ies o f Aren sk y , Tschaikowsky ,G rie

g

,

and other modern men . This i s not at a l l an ex aggeration

,

for in E ng l ish m usic al c i

rcles i t i s wel lkn own th at M r .

F

red erick D awson h as t he most


43/62

HO

W

T O M E M

ORISE M USIC . 37

s

tupendous musical memory of any man l iv ing . I my

s

e lf have tes ted his abi l i ty in th is direct ion ;

I have satdown and named piece after piece until I was tired

,

and

M r .

Dawson h as p laye d t hem a l l witho u t a moment

’

s hes i tation.

And th

e

’

most wonder fu l p art o f it al l i s that he pl ay s them al l m ain ly by the

e

ye ’ s p ower tomemorise alone

.

I c an v e ry we l l be l ie v e h e h as a l l h i s other facult ies developed much better than the ordinary pianist

;

b ut yet,

to him ,

the eye i s the organ thatretains the music that he has memorised . As s o o n as h e

s i t s down to p lay , his eye pictures an exact copy of the music from which he has learned the part icular piece he i s int erpreting

;

and he d oes thi s without hi s being force d t o c lo se h is eye s

.

H e k e e p s t h e m op e n a l l t h e time

,

but sees nothing but his music . A stran ge faculty

,

truly I t i s a lmo s t we ird .

I t wi l l be seen from what has a lready been sa id thatth

i s f a c u l t y o f s i g h t i s f a r m o r e l i k e l y t o b e o f use toth ose who are by n ature c are f ul l y ob serv an t th an t othose who never see anything at which they look

.

The power to observe is dif ficult to acquire . Wh e n o n e h as g one thro ugh l i fe for y ears an d ye ars observin g o nly those part icular things which have interested one

,

andt ak ing n o note o f ord in ary things i n the street an din the country

,

i t i s a great task to turn round and say ,

“ I wil l note everything I see careful ly ,

so that when I a m aw ay fro m i t I shal l remember i t in every detai l

.

’

At least,

i t i s a g re at t as k t o ac t u p t o t h is d e t e rmin ation:

t h e ac t u a l s ay in g o f i t i s e as y e n o u g h.

A habit

that one has cult ivated for years is not so eas i ly brokeno ff:i t be c omes part of one ’ s very nature

,

an d i t i s n e x tt o im po ssib le t o c ast it off so t hat i ts infl uence shal ln eve r be fe l t. I am therefore incl ined to say t o those


44/62

8

8

HO

W T O M E M ORISE M USIC .

who have n

ever traine

d themselves to observe ,

and w hoare

not natural ly able to impress the ir m inds with whatt heir eyes h ave dwel t u pon

,

“

Le av e t his subj ec t o f memori sin g b y the ey e unt il y ou h ave m astere d theother chapters o f the present work

,

and then beg in t

o

lear n

t o observe t hin

g s th at y ou com e acr oss in

your everyday duties .

S

t u d y N at u r e a s s h e i s t o be seen in

the country around you ,

f o r i n t h i s w a y n o t o n l y w i ll

your mind be refreshed and strengthened,

b u t y o u w i l lalso learn to observe and remember things

at

first,

for

the sake o f their beauty , an d then bec au se a l l k now led g e i s b ot h valuable and interesting

.

”

I have within my acquaintance several people of de

ep k n owled ge and h igh att ain men ts in music

,

but o f al lother s ubj ec ts th ey are abso lu te ly ign oran t

.

M entionthe l ate s t p op ul ar novel

,

or the p re sent p ol i t ic al

struggle ,an

d

they l ook at y ou with wi de -

open eyes ,wondering w h at o n e art h y o u are t a lk in g abo u t.

This p a

rticular

form of ignorance i s not so much due to lack of observation as inabil ity to take an intel l igent interestin m atters outsi de one ’s own i mmed i ate s phere o fac t ion

.

But there is

a l ack o f ob servation in many otherwise exceedingly clever people . I t h i n k m o s t o f

u s wi l l h ave come across peop le who are un ab le tote l l t he difference between a swal low and a sparrow

,

amoth and a butter fl y

,

and th is i s perhaps an exagg

er

ation a shee p and a go at.

T o ex cl u de N ature f ro m our observation

,

altogether would,

i f carried too far ,

make one a monomaniac .

B u t the students I wish to refer to more part icularly now are those who have fai led to observe

,

n ot

becaus ethey lack interest or are essential ly ignorant

,

but s imply bec au se Nature h as n ot en do wed t hem with th is p ar


45/62

H O W T O M

E M ORISE M USIC

.

3

9

t i

c

u

l

ar

facul t y ,

for it i s a f acu lty and nothing el se .They have not not iced that many people are

,

almos t at every moment of t heir l ives

,

watchful and observant,

and,

n ot see in g t hi s ,

the consequence has been t hat they have not been aware that there w

as such a faculty as this of observation

.

Their case i s not by any means so hop el es s as i s the case o f t hose mentioned above

,

who are unobservant chie fl y b ec au se t heir s ymp at hies are n arrow an d l imit ed

.

B u t I t ake it that al l my readers have f airl y wid e sym pat hies

,

that t hey have

interes t i

n other t hings bes ides music , an d t h at Nature i s t o t hem a fit s ubj ec t for ” admirat ion and s t udy .H av

i

ng learned to observe interesting objec t s in Nature ,

t ry to form mental p ictures of these objects when y

ou

are away from them .

Not ice t he ir sh ape an d co lo ur ,

and think o f them an d se e

them whe n t hey are n o

longer in your s ight.

By t h is me an s y o u wi l l c o me t oobserve accurately ,

an d ob serv ati on i n one fiel d o f thought leads

how to memorize music with numerous musical exam.pdf

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