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That's a really fantastic idea! I also do what Kreisler said in another thread, I've picked up (stolen) dozens of ideas from other teachers posting here, and this one sounds like a real winner.

Just a plea not to serve up half-baked Beethoven ... the idea of simplifying Fur Elise will have Ludwig turning over in his proverbial ... more than 60% of the miniature gem consists of a repeating theme of the simplest of right-over-left arpeggios and should be played as read ... the "difficult bits" (racy chords and chromatic runs) can be added later.

I cannot practice repertoire daily, but do make it happen at least three times a week. I spend the first hour reviewing repertoire, and picking out what seems to be weakest for intense review.

You might like to know this conversation actually had an effect on someone! I decided to really try to memorize a couple pieces so I can play them at those odd times when someone asks me to play their piano. I just about have these 2 pieces memorized anyway, and they are fairly easy. Chopin posthumous nocturne in C#minor, and Debussy Arabesque #2. So we'll see how it goes.

On a related topic, last time I visited someone out of town, they said "Be sure to bring some music so you can play for us." It turned out that in the center of their piano it had 1 note that wouldn't sound at all and 1 black note with the ebony half broken off so that every time you played the key it moved away and had to be replaced. I find it's often the case that people have a piano that's almost impossible to play classical music on.

frida, those are great pieces to memorize and make part of your repertoire! Congratulations.

Just an FYI for any adult beginner who might be reading this. My teacher did not ask me to memorize and I did not find the need to do so. After a few years though, I felt I hit an impasse with my progress and decided among other things, to try memorization.

It was torture at first. I was not able to memorize any of the pieces I was currently playng.

My memory skills needed some practice, so with guidance, I went back and memorized a few very easy one pagers I did during the first year or so of lessons. And built up from there.

I am not saying that this is necessary for everyone, but if you try to memorize your current work and cannot, you might try dropping back to easier pieces to gain confidence and skill before deciding you can't memorize music.

That's definitely the way to go--start with memorizing very easy pieces; esp. pieces that are not harmonically complex. I still don't think I'm going to be memorizing the more ambitious pieces I want to perform such as Beethoven sonatas, Debussy Estampes or Preludes, etc.

"How is the piece divided up? Where is the music going, what are the high points? Where are the modulations? Analyze the various sections of the composition."

This is working.

Music with "form" to it (ie: repeatable parts/sections of new development/contrasting sections)

Practicing repetitiously in small sections really helps the learner. Then adding the learned sections together.

Finding the more difficult or longer sections and working on them more frequently with repetition will be an advantage.

Finding similar sections and learning for the repeated sections change is important.

Once practiced and learned well and memorized, the section can be ignored each time it reappears as you already know it.

Music that is "through" composed (no repeatable parts) is more difficult to learn in that you don't have the benefit of "recycling".

It helps to hum along with outer or inner voice so you can anticipate.

It also helps to to be able to audiate the music from just looking at the score before putting hands on the keyboard to play.

One of the "crimes" of my teaching is that I teach students to analyze what they are working on in "color codes" marking on their lesson materials. If one has only expensive texts of literature, this is not such a good idea in the book. One could make personal copies for the purpose of "diagramming graphically" what is happening on the page. Little colorful "memo's" to one's self. I call this "Picasso". If you do it you'll see why.

I have a whole process that I started doing in the 1980's about these markings in my "Piano Power" method. Other teachers now recommend it and they are calling it "music mapping".

Keep your enthusiasm for memorization up. The more you do the easier it gets, I think. And, yes, start with much easier pieces before taking on the masterworks.

Betty

Great teaching methods, I'll do it. Thank you.