Memorize at the Same Time You Learn a Piece

I'm studying a most interesting article entitled "Fundamentals of Piano Practice" by Chuan C. Chang. Many innovative suggestions are offered, some of which I'll have to ponder before I would incorporate or recommend, but I did find this quotation of interest and value:

"Once students develop memorizing-learning routines that are comfortable for them, most of them will find that learning and memorizing together takes less time than learning alone, for difficult passages. This happens because you eliminate the process of looking at the music, interpreting it, and passing the instructions from the eyes to the brain and then to the hands."

There's the pdf version to download: http://www.pianopractice.org/book.pdf.

Video #3: How to Practice the Piano--Memorization

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeDEI0dGW_w&list=RDO6AAkGBc0eg&index=3

A great YouTube video by living pianos.com on memorization techniques.

Memorization

Memorizing piano music takes skill. In this blog I will share memorization tips.

This website gives you several basic memorization techniques to get you started:

http://www.nazzaromusic.com/6-quick-tips-memorizing-performing-music/

There are three memorization techniques that aren't mentioned in this article.

One is to play slowly. Playing slowly and counting the rhythm are helpful not only in memorization but they're important when learning to play any new piece.

The second is to use the articulation and dynamics from the start. Don't wait until you've memorized a piece to start including them. It's more difficult to re-learn something than it is to just learn it a certain way to begin with.

The third is to decide upfront that you will memorize a certain piece. Then as you learn it, section by section, memorize that section.

Once again, don't just learn (and memorize) the notes, rhythm, and fingering; add the articulation and dynamics from the beginning of the learning process. Memorize each section in its complete form.