MEMORY, HOW TO DEVELOP, TRAIN AND USE IT/PART 15
CHAPTER XV.
HOW TO REMEMBER MUSIC.
Like
all of the other faculties of the mind, that of music or tune is manifested in
varying degrees by different individuals. To some music seems to be almost
instinctively grasped, while to others it is acquired only by great effort and
much labor. To some harmony is natural, and inharmony a matter of repulsion,
while others fail to recognize the difference between the two except in extreme
cases. Some seem to be the very soul of music, while others have no conception
of what the soul of music may be. Then there is manifested the different phases
of the knowledge of music. Some play correctly by ear, but are clumsy and
inefficient when it comes to playing by note. Others play very correctly in a
mechanical manner, but fail to retain the memory of music which they have
heard. It is indeed a good musician who combines within himself, or herself,
both of the two last mentioned faculties—the ear perception of music and
the ability to execute correctly from notes.
There
are many cases of record in which extraordinary powers of memory of music have
been manifested. Fuller relates the following instances of this particular
phase of memory: Carolan, the greatest of Irish bards, once met a noted
musician and challenged him to a test of their respective musical abilities.
The defi was accepted and Carolan's rival played on his violin
one of Vivaldi's most difficult concertos. On the conclusion of the
performance, Carolan, who had never heard the piece before, took his harp and
played the concerto through from beginning to end without making a single
error. His rival thereupon yielded the palm, thoroughly satisfied of Carolan's
superiority, as well he might be. Beethoven could retain in his memory any
musical composition, however complex, that he had listened to, and could
reproduce most of it. He could play from memory every one of the compositions
in Bach's 'Well Tempered Clavichord,' there being forty-eight preludes and the
same number of fugues which in intricacy of movement and difficulty of
execution are almost unexampled, as each of these compositions is written in
the most abstruse style of counterpoint.
"Mozart,
at four years of age, could remember note for note, elaborate solos in
concertos which he had heard; he could learn a minuet in half an hour, and even
composed short pieces at that early age. At six he was able to compose without
the aid of an instrument, and continued to advance rapidly in musical memory
and knowledge. When fourteen years old he went to Rome in Holy Week. At the
Sistine Chapel was performed each day, Allegri's 'Miserere,' the score of which
Mozart wished to obtain, but he learned that no copies were allowed to be made.
He listened attentively to the performance, at the conclusion of which he wrote
the whole score from memory without an error. Another time, Mozart was engaged
to contribute an original composition to be performed by a noted violinist and
himself at Vienna before the Emperor Joseph. On arriving at the appointed place
Mozart discovered that he had forgotten to bring his part.
Nothing dismayed, he placed a blank sheet of paper before him, and played
his part through from memory without a mistake. When the opera of 'Don
Giovanni' was first performed there was no time to copy the score for the
harpsichord, but Mozart was equal to the occasion; he conducted the entire opera
and played the harpsichord accompaniment to the songs and choruses without a
note before him. There are many well-attested instances of Mendelssohn's
remarkable musical memory. He once gave a grand concert in London, at which his
Overture to 'Midsummer Night's Dream' was produced. There was only one copy of
the full score, which was taken charge of by the organist of St. Paul's
Cathedral, who unfortunately left it in a hackney coach—whereupon Mendelssohn
wrote out another score from memory, without an error. At another time, when
about to direct a public performance of Bach's 'Passion Music,' he found on
mounting the conductor's platform that instead of the score of the work to be
performed, that of another composition had been brought by mistake. Without
hesitation Mendelssohn successfully conducted this complicated work from
memory, automatically turning over leaf after leaf of the score before him as
the performance progressed, so that no feeling of uneasiness might enter the
minds of the orchestra and singers. Gottschalk, it is said, could play from
memory several thousand compositions, including many of the works of Bach. The
noted conductor, Vianesi, rarely has the score before him in conducting an
opera, knowing every note of many operas from memory."
It
will be seen that two phases of memory must enter into the "memory of
music"—the memory of tune and the memory of the notes. The memory of tune
of course falls into the class of ear-impressions, and what has been said
regarding them is also applicable to this case. The memory of notes falls into
the classification of eye-impressions, and the rules of this class of memory
applies in this case. As to the cultivation of the memory of tune, the
principle advice to be given is that the student take an active interest in all
that pertains to the sound of music, and also takes every opportunity for
listening to good music, and endeavoring to reproduce it in the
imagination or memory. Endeavor to enter into the spirit of the music until it
becomes a part of yourself. Rest not content with merely hearing it, but lend
yourself to a feeling of its meaning. The more the music
"means to you," the more easily will you remember it. The plan
followed by many students, particularly those of vocal music, is to have a few
bars of a piece played over to them several times, until they are able to hum
it correctly; then a few more are added; and then a few more and so on. Each
addition must be reviewed in connection with that which was learned before, so
that the chain of association may be kept unbroken. The principle is the same
as the child learning his A-B-C—he remembers "B" because it follows
"A." By this constant addition of "just a little bit more,"
accompanied by frequent reviews, long and difficult pieces may be memorized.
The
memory of notes may be developed by the method above named—the method of
learning a few bars well, and then adding a few more, and frequently reviewing
as far as you have learned, forging the links of association as you go along,
by frequent practice. The method being entirely that of eye-impression and
subject to its rules, you must observe the idea of visualization—that is
learning each bar until you can see it "in your mind's
eye" as you proceed. But in this, as in many other eye-impressions, you
will find that you will be greatly aided by your memory of the sound of
the notes, in addition to their appearance. Try to associate the two as much as
possible, so that when you see a note, you will hear the
sound of it, and when you hear a note sounded, you will see it
as it appears on the score. This combining of the impressions of both sight and
sound will give you the benefit of the double sense impression, which results
in doubling your memory efficiency. In addition to visualizing the notes
themselves, the student should add the appearance of the various symbols
denoting the key, the time, the movement, expression, etc., so that he may hum
the air from the visualized notes, with expression and with correct
interpretation. Changes of key, time or movement should be carefully noted in
the memorization of the notes. And above everything else, memorize the feeling of
that particular portion of the score, that you may not only see and hear, but
also feel that which you are recalling.
We
would advise the student to practice memorizing simple songs at first, for
various reasons. One of these reasons is that these songs lend themselves
readily to memorizing, and the chain of easy association is usually maintained
throughout.
In
this phase of memory, as in all others, we add the advice to: Take interest;
bestow Attention; and Practice and Exercise as often as possible. You may have
tired of these words—but they constitute the main principles of the development
of a retentive memory. Things must be impressed upon the memory, before they
may be recalled. This should be remembered in every consideration of the
subject.
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