How to learn violin and piano and memorize sheet music more easily and faster?

This routine can help musicians of all skill levels memorize their music more easily. Whether you're just learning how to play an instrument or trying to improve your skills, this article will cover some memory techniques that can be useful to anyone. Additionally, my memory program includes strategies to help you learn music faster and more efficiently.

Let's start memorizing music!

How to Memorize Music: A Step-by-Step Memory Procedure

Step 1: Play and listen to the song

It's important to become familiar with the music before memorizing it, so you should already be able to play the music before you start memorizing it. For me, memorizing music is the last step in learning a piece of music; once I've learned everything I can, I save it for last.

Another very useful pre-memory activity is to listen to your songs. Listening both actively and passively can help: Sometimes, listen carefully to the music and try to hear every detail. It can also help you listen passively when you're not always paying attention. This can be a simple activity while you are doing other things, such as computer work or driving.

The more time you spend on the music you want to remember, the better! You'll find that remembering is easier when you have a solid understanding of the source material. Give yourself a good foundation and everything will become a little easier.

Step Two: Study the Details

Next, take a look at the details in the score. Check the notes and rhythm to make sure they are written exactly as you intended.

Then get into the finer details such as fingering, bowing, dynamics and articulation. All of these directions can help you perform the music as the composer intended and are an important part of the music itself. Many of us forget these details when we first begin to memorize them, and our performance falls short as a result.

One of the best ways to navigate music without distraction is to do sheet music study. You can read the score here while listening to the recording. Listening to music alongside notation can help you gain a deeper understanding of what's written on the page, and if you're very careful, you might even notice differences between the recording and the score!

Step 3: Find similarities

In many pieces you will find some similar parts and some different parts. Find all the similar parts of your music. Are they exactly the same? Are a few notes different? Take note of these details and you can even mark them in your music.

If two parts are essentially the same, you really only have to learn it once and then plug that part in where it's needed.

Looking for patterns that occur in different parts of the music is a useful strategy for memorizing music. Look for patterns like similar bows or slurs, repeated notes, or even scales. Catching these little musical ideas can help you learn muscle memory faster.

Step 4: Look for differences

Now focus on what’s “different.” Are any of them related to other parts? Mark the start and end locations of these points. Phrases (small sections or ideas in music) are often presented in a "question and answer" format. Two phrases may start the same way but end in different ways. Being aware of the similarities and differences between them is very helpful!

Even assigning names or labels to different parts of the music will help you identify them and put them in order when you don't have a sheet of music in front of you.

One of the most common mistakes many of us make when playing from memory is forgetting what comes next, or worse, how the music ends! Naming each part of the music and knowing the order will help you complete the music the right way when you are playing under pressure and are more likely to forget notes and passages.

Step 5: Start memorizing

Now it’s time to start the real memorization process!

I start with the first measure. First, I played it by reading the score. Then I tried without. I repeated this process as many times as needed until I was sure I had it memorized. Then I do the same thing with the second measure. First I would play it musically, then not play it, back and forth as many times as needed until I had it memorized.

Next, I put these two measures of music together from memory and practice as needed until I feel very confident.

I repeat this process (learn a section, add it to the rest) until I've read the entire article/paragraph, or until I run out of time for the day.

This process requires a lot of iterations. Repetition is good for both muscle memory and brain memory. The more you play it, the more likely your brain and your hands will remember it. Any memory technique you try will involve frequent repetition, as it is very helpful for memorizing music.

You may find yourself forgetting details from day to day. You may need to go back through each day's practice until you have every part of the piece memorized. As you study and study more and more music, it's completely normal to occasionally forget some details. Be patient with yourself and repeat these steps as needed.

Step 6: Put it all together

Put the little pieces of your memory together and start playing the complete music from memory. Just like our last step, you may need to backtrack here and there to gain confidence throughout the song.

Your memory may be different as you practice each day, and that's okay. Return to step 5 and play alternately with and without the music page. You can measure it piece by piece, from one phrase to another, or from one section to another: whatever size chunks of music you wish to put together will work!

Once you have everything together, practice the entire piece from memory often. The more you play, the more likely you are to remember every detail and master your memory!