Psychologists who study learning say: Analyzing the meaning of something helps you remember it longer. Theoretically the long - term memory disposes over an unlimited staggering capacity.
Luckily experienced musicians are not at "Point Zero" with their capacities! They have access to a large number of complex skill and information blocks that need not be constantly chunked down! For a beginner the scale of C major is loaded with unknown parts, the teacher has to introduce these in progressing steps. Professional musicians in comparison, only have to reduce to the nearest complex form, in order to attach onto the newly learned material. You save time and energy if you have these complex chunks are already "in storage". But that is not yet the case with beginners. AND – that is one of our goals when practicing!
Contents learned over a diversity of channels, gets fixed more securely in the memory. Speaking out loud and writing down the musical text, for example, strengthens the learning process.
Did you know?
Theoretically, the long-term memory has an unlimited capacity. The difficulty is in retrieving the desired information at will. The information processing that takes place between short-term and long-term memories needs a period of time without interference. Pauses can, therefore, be regarded as “information-clinchers” and the most ideal method of retaining new material may be to sleep after learning it.
Actually, after practicing a part thoroughly, take a short break and review mentally what you’ve just learned. After that, don’t think of anything for awhile! (Easy, right?!) The actual learning takes place during this break!
Try this!
When you get pretty clear about a piece, divide it into smaller sections, practice these, put them back together again a play the piece as a whole. Psychologists refer to this method as "synthesis-analysis-synthesis". (This method is great for “rewarming” long forgotten pieces or for polishing newer pieces.
Stop-Prepare
You insert stops at certain points in the piece. For instance if your piece has a section with running sixteenth notes, you could stop on the first sixteenth note of every beat. Or between each measure. Or before every “hard part”. Then you have time to mentally prepare the notes coming up. (Hmm, this makes for lots of “new beginnings”. Doesn’t our brain love those?!) The ensuing patterns also help our brain to remember easier.
Luckily experienced musicians are not at "Point Zero" with their capacities! They have access to a large number of complex skill and information blocks that need not be constantly chunked down! For a beginner the scale of C major is loaded with unknown parts, the teacher has to introduce these in progressing steps. Professional musicians in comparison, only have to reduce to the nearest complex form, in order to attach onto the newly learned material. You save time and energy if you have these complex chunks are already "in storage". But that is not yet the case with beginners. AND – that is one of our goals when practicing!
Contents learned over a diversity of channels, gets fixed more securely in the memory. Speaking out loud and writing down the musical text, for example, strengthens the learning process.
Did you know?
Theoretically, the long-term memory has an unlimited capacity. The difficulty is in retrieving the desired information at will. The information processing that takes place between short-term and long-term memories needs a period of time without interference. Pauses can, therefore, be regarded as “information-clinchers” and the most ideal method of retaining new material may be to sleep after learning it.
Actually, after practicing a part thoroughly, take a short break and review mentally what you’ve just learned. After that, don’t think of anything for awhile! (Easy, right?!) The actual learning takes place during this break!
Try this!
When you get pretty clear about a piece, divide it into smaller sections, practice these, put them back together again a play the piece as a whole. Psychologists refer to this method as "synthesis-analysis-synthesis". (This method is great for “rewarming” long forgotten pieces or for polishing newer pieces.
Stop-Prepare
You insert stops at certain points in the piece. For instance if your piece has a section with running sixteenth notes, you could stop on the first sixteenth note of every beat. Or between each measure. Or before every “hard part”. Then you have time to mentally prepare the notes coming up. (Hmm, this makes for lots of “new beginnings”. Doesn’t our brain love those?!) The ensuing patterns also help our brain to remember easier.
Great ideas!
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