The Memory Map

The Memory Map

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The Memory Map 3.0 ©

Melissa Colgin Abeln, D.M.A.

The University of Texas at El Paso

In the flute world, memorization is less frequently required, and yet the benefits are tremendous.

  1. Why memorize?
  2. More complete mastery.
  3. Deeper appreciation/understanding
  4. Greater freedom to move and express the music
  5. Enhance communication with the audience—NO MUSIC STAND IN THE WAY
  1. Why memorize by mapping?
  2. Increase efficiency in practice
  3. Retain more of what you have learned
  4. Increase performance level
  5. Achieve artistic mastery
  6. Eye/brain function differs widely
  7. Strong muscles/coordination—great readers
  8. Weak eye/slower brain function—slower to focus—poor readers
  9. Memorization a natural compensation
  1. Various Approaches to Memorization
  2. Consensus among many
  3. Finger/memory memory—what flows automatically without conscious thought
  4. Aural memory—what we hear before playing
  5. Eye/visual memory—mental images of the music
  6. brain memory---understanding of the musical elements coming together
  1. Pianist Martha Beth Lewis
  2. Brute force method
  3. Analysis—form, harmony
  4. Armchair memorizing (mental work without the instrument)
  5. Slow performance-fast performance
  1. Flutist Kimberly Gandrup “Creative Memorizing Tips”. Flute Talk Magazine, Feb. 2000
  2. Begin memorizing the most difficult section first
  3. Mark benchmarks of the form
  4. Mock performances front of friends and family
  5. Practice in the dark
  1. An Expanded Approach
  2. Pianist Rebecca Shockley “Mapping Music: Some Simple Strategies to Help Students Learn” American Music Teacher 56:2 (Oct-Nov. 2006)
  3. Concept of mapping music for learning and memorization
  4. Any stage of learning, all levels
  5. Diagram music using pictures, symbols, colors
  6. Any image that triggers memory of a line, section, page.
  1. The Memory Map –The Inspiration
  2. Kenneth Levy’s model of a musical graph (Music: A Listener’s Introduction, 1983)
  3. A musical work reduced to a graph, with shorthand notations
  4. Form, harmony
  5. Phraseology, theme construction
  6. Rhythmic structures
  7. Other distinguishing features
  8. Helpful format
  1. To Begin Mapping
  2. Form--Determine the main sections
  3. Harmony--Simple chord symbols, progressions, key areas
  1. Add Details as You Practice
  2. NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY
  3. NO RULES—ONLY SUGGESTIONS
  4. Elaborate means aren’t necessary
  5. Handwritten rhythms and directional lines within a framework on a notepad works for some.
  6. Discovery over time
  7. Articulations
  8. Dynamics, nuances
  9. Repetition/development
  10. Color/timbre possibilities
  1. Map Template—See Front Page
  2. Written notes on the left
  3. Musical or rhythmic notations on the right
  4. Some prefer blank paper
  1. Example: Boehm’s Scottish Air
  2. Map shows melodic contour,
  3. directional lines for the melody
  4. rhythmic stems.
  1. Map to solve problems
  2. Marco Granados’ Hibiee-Jibiees
  3. Impossible page turns.
  4. Map shows enough detail to trigger memory
  5. I used this one for an 8 a.m. performance
  1. Summary
  2. Memorization is a process of hard work, discovery

and liberation.

  1. The Memory Map assists the musician to

fully prepare a work.

  1. A written map becomes a visual log of your work
  2. The Memory map is a significant teaching tool.
  3. Time spent on the process of discovery and recording details becomes a worthy investment that pays handsomely for the near-future performance as well as those in years or (decades later.

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SOURCES CONSULTED

Andreas, Jamie. On Memorizing: Part 2.

Dunsby, Jonathon. Memory and memorizing. Grove Online:

Gandrup, Kimberly. Creative Memorizing Tips. Flute Talk Magazine. Vol. 19, no. 6. February, 2000.

Houser, Virginia. Memorization-An Integral Part Of Musicianship at Every Level.

www.personal.ksu.edu/~vhouser/memorize.htm.

Kelly, Robert T. “How to Memorize Music.”

Lewis, Martha Beth.

Levy, Kenneth. Music: A Listener’s Introduction. New York: Harper and Rowe, 1983.

Ramirez, Catherine. Doctoral dissertation in progress, notes and discussion, July 2011.

Thomson, William. Music for Listeners. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1978.

Shockley, Rebecca. Mapping Music: Some Simple Strategies to Help Students Learn. American Music

Teacher 56:2 (Oct-Nov. 2006), p. 34-36.

______. Mapping Music: For Faster Learning and Secure Memory. A-R Editions,

2nd Edition, 2001.

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