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One the major problems I have, probably because I am adult beginner, is that I seem incapable of using procedural memory (i.e. muscle memory) to get through any kind of performance where no score is available. I tend to realize that I am just relying on muscle memory and this causes me to start asking myself questions concerning the details of the score as I am playing. Any inability to answer these questions just seems to spawn doubt about my memory of the score and completely de-rails my performance. And all this occurs in what seems like an instant.

In a effort to combat this, I have taken to practising mentally in addition to practising at the piano. In other words, I basically practice the piece as I would normally except that I do it in my head and try to see and hear every note, only referring to the score if absolutely necessary. This tactic seemed to help my performance at my last recital.

I asked one of my instructor's more advanced students if they use this tactic and she gave me a emphatic "no way, that would be way too hard!"

I am just wondering, for pianists who play relatively difficult works (e.g. a Bach fugue), do you use mental practice, or do you just rely on a implicit procedural/muscular knowledge of the score?
I guess, basically, what I am asking is, how do you memorize your music?

I have heard that "chunking" is a good way to memorize a piece, that is breaking it into smaller parts you memorize. You do find you can not start that piece at just any place but where you start that chunk. At least that's my experience. I have never tried to play a piece in my head, but rather depend on muscle memory.

I believe that muscle memory alone is a recipe for disaster. Imagine trying to run down a road with your eyes closed, relying on muscle memory alone (the act of running). It would take only the slightest distraction and down you go. Performing music is much the same.

Personally, I try to understand the music which I will perform, both on a structural level and an interperative level. If you know how a piece of music is constructed (form, style, chord progressions, modulations, etc.) and have a good sense of how to interpret that construction (shaping the melody, voicing chords, etc.), then both memorization and performance from memory can become substantially easier.

It is 'way too hard!' but if you want to be confident go for it. The thing with mental rehearsal (but you must memorize the harmony as well) is that it puts the piece in a place where adrenaline (the main symptom of stage fright) can't get at it.

In this forum you may find a link to a book; this is the link to its preview:
http://www.musicmemorization.com/Preview.pdf

The praface starts with:
"On French television, the amazing French virtuoso Hélène Grimaud was interviewed—nothing abnormal so far, but suddenly, something striking happened. The anchor declared that only recently had the worldrenowned pianist purchased a piano! The virtuoso explained that she had a little upright piano before, which she almost never used, because she always favored mental practice. “When you have a clear image of what you want to do with a piece, you almost don’t need instrumental slavery! And above all the convenient aspect of it, like practicing in airplanes or hotel rooms where international artists spend a lot of time, it is good to have a clear mental picture of what we want to do with the work, because every artistic creation starts first in the imaginary.” In another interview—this one on the radio—a famous pianist declared he likes to rehearse Mozart’s concertos while riding his bicycle in Switzerland!"

Many pianists that I've met say that they memorize their pieces while going for a run or doing other activities.

I only started mental practice this year. Where I used to practice hours and hours at the piano, I feel like I barely practice at all now (time split between the desk and piano) but am a better musician for sure.

The only problem I've encountered at times is maintaining technique. I'm still learning to balance the two.

While I find it practically impossible to do Mme. de Horvath said that Gabrilowitsch would pace up and down the room with the score memorizing it and then just play it. Then there is the story of Dohnanyi taking a new piece, studying it on the train and then performing it that evening in a program.

My college teacher recommended mental practice but I can't seem to be able to do it.

I think once you are completly confident with a piece of music you are playing then it will become natural that you can play it by memory evenutally.

What I'd maybe suggest is breaking it down into smaller sections, so once you are happy with the song, then go over the intro, play this looking at the music, then try playing it with your eyes closed, so you use other senses to feel and hear where the notes are, and try it this way. This works for me and my pupils if they are struggling with memorising parts.

This is why I love smart phones and iPods. I will get the piece I'm working on from IMSLP or scan it in (if I still need my markings) and when I'm out walking the dog or sitting around at my kids' activities or lying awake in bed at night, I will go through the piece in my head. Where I'm not sure, I can pull up the score on my iPod and check. I do think that working on the pieces away from the piano will help your memorization a lot. I don't tend to do it in lieu of practicing at the piano, though. Unless you have been playing for years and years or you have more than three hours a day available for practicing, you need to sit at the piano when you can.

This is fascinating, because when I was younger I used to do exactly this when I had to memorize a drum score (I used to play the side drum). And I can do this on the piano as well, except now whenever I have to perform I begin introspecting and this implicit natural memory completely goes out the window.

I am curious, for those people who basically rely solely on the implicit memory you gather during your standard routine of practising, how is it that you are able to perform without a more concrete knowledge? i.e. What stops you from introspecting? Has anyone who relies on this implicit type of method ever had the experience before or during a performance of not knowing how the piece goes? If so, then what did you do about it?

This is a common problem and by no means limited to adult beginners. Even an experienced player can on rare occasion get distracted by something, get a case of the nerves or whatever, slip up, realize that they've been playing by muscle memory and don't know how/where to continue. Intimate mental familiarity with the text certainly helps, but sometimes you just get confused and start doubting yourself. And it's hard to restart playing in the middle of a melodic line if you don't have the muscle memory for it.

For difficult pieces a pianist friend of mine practices starting at any arbitrary point thoughout the score. She'll work her way backwards bar by bar, and make sure she can begin anywhere, at the drop of a hat. It's time intensive but it's saved her on stage a few times.

There are four main types of memory:
1) Muscle Memory: Muscle memory is the physical memory of the muscles of the fingers, hands, and arms. Not very reliable.
2) Analytical Memory: Analytical memory involves memorizing things like the harmony, chords, scales, patterns, form, and structure of the piece. This is is sort of a musical "map" of the piece.
3) Visual Memory: Visual memory is a mental picture of the score as it appears on the page. I find that this can be helpful in remembering exactly what notes are part of complex chords or arpeggios. Also, this type of memory is useful for memorizing all kinds of interpretive symbols: dynamics, articulation, phrasings, etc.
4) Aural Memory: Aural memory is the sound of the music. Especially concerns things like dynamics, articulation, phrasing, voicing, tone, and color.

When memorizing, I try to use each of these types because that creates a very secure and accurate memory.

I hope that helps!

If you can play something perfectly with the score, then it is essentially memorized and you can take away the score. However, playing it from memory can still be shaky, as you've discovered. Little things can derail the performance. Secure memory playing seems to involve a kind of mental toughness, for lack of a more precise description. You can't let random thoughts, miscellaneous noises, outside disturbances, etc. interrupt your playing. I would think that you need to practice playing from memory with assistance from another person. You start playing and you instruct the person to try and derail your playing by any means: making noises, saying nasty things, slapping you hard on the back or face, etc. This will "toughen you up" for public performances from memory.

In response to the original post: Good for you! Mental practice and score study (and combining the two) is a wonderful thing to do, and it helps you memorize and play confidently!

And if I may add, another good tactic is practicing with the lights off (even if you can still see a little bit). And still, practice with your eyes closed is great to do, too.

CraigG compared not explicitly (as opposed to implicitly) knowing the details of the score to running with your eyes closed. I think this is a great analogy.

Suppose you are in a scenario where there are no distractions and you consciously focus upon what you are playing, only to realize you don't actually know what you are doing? Doesn't this scare you?

It seems to me that there is no way to prevent this from occurring since you cannot prevent a thought before it occurs. You can only defend yourself once the thought has occurred. And the only sure defence, it seems to me, is explicit knowledge of every musical detail.

I have a strong sense of auditory imagery paired with a semi-photographic memory. I keep photographic "benchmarks" for myself so that if I do indeed happen to forget what I'm doing, I can return to those "benchmarks" instead of the beginning of the piece. Also, I also practice piano in my head almost all the time. I also always try to get at least 2 different fingerings for a piece which I find is helpful. In general, I just memorize the structure of the piece and keep everything else (dynamics, fingerings, etc...) flexible to the circumstances. A lot of it is "autopilot" but recently, I've found myself engaging my brain in controlling the "larger picture" such as dynamics, staccatos, etc... which is very helpful. Hope this helps...

At least in my case, the more complex the music gets, the more I rely on practise with the score away from the piano. I would have a hard time memorizing a bach fugue any other way. It seems there is no one way to learn music and everyone has different strengths.

Just curious, has anyone ever tried to memorize a piece before learning it at the piano? Apparently this is what guys like Gould, Richter, and Gieseking would do.

I think I might give it a shot.

Yeh. I did it for a Chopin Mazurka. Worked swell, should do it more often.

Absolutely, that is the way I do it. When you do it this way it becomes more of a mental exercise. I find the first time I actually play something at the piano, it can be a bit awkward since I haven't developed any kind of muscle memory (just a memory of the score.)

Its actually not that hard to do. Basically you break down the score into small memorizable chunks or phrases, and memorize each phrase one at a time. I spend at most a couple of minutes on each phrase, usually less. At the end you just put everything together. It can actually be fun to do. In a few cases I might just start sight reading the music first at the piano, but not because its easier. In some cases I will do a more in depth analysis of the entire score.