about MEMORIZING music....

I've been discussing a certain topic with a friend by email and he recently wrote (about that topic)...."too much (information) in a short time is not effective." i.e. don't go into "information overload....it's not productive!"

I was going to post the following a while back but I think I'll do it now on the heels of his remark.

I read music but I don't play from music. I've memorized everything, both the notes and the words, to the point I can play and sing hundreds of songs out of my head. And the reason I did that was so I can watch an audience while I'm playing.

So, I don't say this because I want to be presented with the Medal of Honor. I'm leading up to memorization techniques.

Since I realized early on that memorizing music and words would be a tremendous undertaking, that I would have to come up with some kind of a "method," Well, I came up with "some kind of a method" that works for me.

I was reminded of it a few weeks ago while working on a fancy arrangement of Brazil. The arrangement is so fancy, I have trouble even playing it. So I'm working on the finger technique every single day for weeks and getting nowhere. Then I had to take a weeks break from playing and when I came back to Brazil again...presto, zippo....it all fell into place.

The same holds true for memorizing lyrics. Work like a Devil on memorizing the lyrics for a time and then...drop it! You'll find in the interim that the mind starts to process all that info once you "drop it." When you come back to it a few days later, the words will come floating out of you.

I'm not sure WHY it works but it does for me anyway. I'm glad I discovered this method of memorization....and...I'm glad my friend made that remark "too much (information) in a short time is not effective" to remind me how information overload can literally be counter-productive.

Mark