I have about 100 measures of music to pass off within the next two days with apx. 4 hours minimum available for practice. :shifty:

Is repetition the best way to memorize music?

Could I perhaps memorize the notes on piano which is my main instrument and be able to play it on sax?

I guess what I really want to ask is can you music music [I]effectively without having the instrument it is written for in front of you?

Ever heard of muscle memory? Repetition helps it a lot, and so you don't have to remember any difficult notes etc. The only problem is, it's muscle memory, therefore you can't transfer it over into another instrument unless you memorized the melody notes.

It's different for everyone, but that's how I see it as. :\

well as you say it would be in a different key the only way of memorising would be to learn the notes by degree of the scale (i.e. tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, leading note).

if you're playing it on the sax rather than piano you should find it relatively easier to memorise cos there is only one line- especially if you've had to memorise stuff on the piano before.

but im sure it would be a lot easier just to memorise the part you will be playing in the first place so if you have to play on sax then memorise the sax part and ignore the piano completely. as you only have a couple of days to do it i doubt muscle memory (memorising it by playing it over and over) would work that well because to get muscle memory its not just playing it over and over for hours its about playing it for hours then coming back the next day and doing same then coming back the next day etc etc. plus muscle memory isnt that reliable anyway because the slightest loss of concentration and your fingers forget the patterns/combinations they're meant to be doing.

as you only have two days what i would do is split the 100 measures into two and do 50 in one day and 50 in another, but maybe break your practise down into 5 smaller sessions and learn 10 measures per session (or 12 if that works better with the phrases). in each session write memory hints on your music, write the note letters and try and make words and anagrams, use colour (it works), and yes use a lot of repetition.

once you've done that and can play it through relatively comfortably without the music, just go back and work on areas where you have lapses.

how long have you had this music? because if you've been playing it a while you'll probably find bits of it are stuck in your memory anyway. and you really should have given yourself more time for doing this- you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself and that wont help the memorisation process

I am lucky to have photographic memory, so I memorize things easily... What I pay attention to are intervals and scales that happen to be in any part of the piece. It may even be helpful to write some of the piece down on another sheet of paper and doing it repetitively. Muscle memory doesn't help much for me, since I only pay attention to what is on the paper and just try to play it.

Sometimes I even grab the music sheet and just add expression marks to the way I see it (cresc., dim., rit., etc). I also (at least) try to find a recording of the piece I play.

Memorizing is alot easier than people make it seem. xD Just keep playing the song over and over, and eventually you will memorize it. I have done this for all of my semester juries for the past 3 years, and it always works. :P I know playing a song over and over and OVER AGAIN sounds boring, but with only 2 days to memorize, I don't really know what else to tell you....:heh:

Well there are certain ways to memorise music, first of all get it recorded and then play it over and over again. till it gets logded in your head. but you wont be able to PLAY it until you develop relative pitch or already have perfect pitch. secondly you can try segmenting it and memorise by parts. then theres always the mnemonics :D course in music i like putting the entire phrase to an emotion, and it really helps me remember all of it.

Any time i needed to memorize music I just played it repeatedly. I'd play it 3 or 4 times with the sheet music and then try without the music. And then another two times or so with the music and just basically play it without the sheet music. If I forgot a certain part, I'd play a little before that and the part I needed to memorize so I could connect the two...until I got the whole thing memorized.

Also, dunno what to tell you. 100 measures could be a little if it's something catchy and moderately paced. If it's something slow and/or isn't as catchy then it could be harder to memorize. Anyways, I just suggest playing it over and over on the instrument you need to learn it on. Enough time playin it and you'll get it.

I think splitting it up into smaller chunks is really helpful, and then repeating those chunks. Then when you get tired of one part you can work on another.

My favorite thing to do when memorizing is practice and practice a part until I can play it pretty well, and then see if I can play it through at least once with no mistakes. If I make a mistake, I have to go back to the beginning and start over!

When we're memorizing music in my marching band section, we always have everyone play through a small part a few times, then try it without looking at the music to see which parts are good and which parts need more work, then we do IPT (Individual Practice Time) on those parts, come back together and play it one more time with the music if you need it, then we turn the music around so we can't see it.

I think just focus on repetition, but think of new ways to mix it up and make it interesting so you don't get bored or frustrated. Try memorizing from the end first instead of the beginning, reward yourself when you can play through a part without looking. If you want to practice when you're away from the piano, bring the sheet music with you and memorize the note names at the start of each section so if you get a little lost you can come back in by remembering the letters, and practice the key movements with your fingers.

Good luck!

If you can sing it you can memorize it in my opinion. lol. I've never found memorizing hard, just practice a lot. (Also 4 hours isn't much at all.. The other day I practiced piano for 5 hours then had a band rehearsal for 2 hours.)

Do it piece by piece, it makes things easier

I've always memorized music by playing the first few measures (On the instrument I need to know it on, if not, just moving my fingers as if I was) repeatedly, Then, when I think I'm ready, I turn the music over so I can't see it and try it like that A few times, checking after each time I go. Then I start from the beginning again and play it further than I had the first time, but not too much.

If you keep doing that, You can have it memorized within a day or so. It's best if you have the instrument for at least the first few times through.

Ever heard of muscle memory? Repetition helps it a lot, and so you don't have to remember any difficult notes etc. The only problem is, it's muscle memory, therefore you can't transfer it over into another instrument unless you memorized the melody notes.

It's different for everyone, but that's how I see it as. :\

Ah... muscle memory. It's so weird that thing.

I can play a song I forgot 8 months ago only if I don't think about it xD

Ah... muscle memory. It's so weird that thing.

I can play a song I forgot 8 months ago only if I don't think about it xD

Me too x] Let the fingers do the job =D

*hahaha pun x]*

just study how do study a test. read it over, cover it up and play, it u can't do that, just keep on trying.