Practice to Remember
To practice mindfully it is important to know a little bit about how our brain memorises information and acquires motor skills. Knowing a bit about this process helps to design your practicing in a way, that allows you to memorize new passages faster and have them more easily recalled.
Think of our memory like of a library.
For every Information there is a file card that helps us later to find and retrieve this information again. If the information is not so important, our brain makes only a basic file card and sends the information to the other dust collecting items in the back rooms of our library. If the information is a strong exciting and emotionally charged event, our brain creates a very detailed card and puts the information into the easy accessible shelves.
We have to make normal things we have to learn, that our brain might not see as important, more palatable, interesting and important to our brain. We have to charge the information with emotions or provide many different, interesting perspectives. Only then will our working memory, the so called short-term memory, start to save the information completely and will provide different gateways to recall this information.
Information is said to be in our working memory for about 20 seconds before it is either deleted, because it was seen as completely unimportant or saved into the darkest back-vaults of our longterm memory, because there was no reason to make a detailed file card or keep the information ready for further use. Only a bit less than 1% of all information makes it into a good easy accessible spot of our long term memory.
A information is given priority, if within those 20 seconds, it comes many times, is brought to us with great attention or is very emotional.
You can try playing a piece 3 times through in its entire length, or you can play each time only a snippet of a few bars, that last less than 20 seconds and repeat those 3 times, one after the other. Both ways take the same amount of time, but which do you think is more efficient?
To learn something new it helps our brain to connect it to something it already knows. Everybody is different in that sense. While one fairs best with connecting it to colours or pictures, the other one prefers connecting it to certain feelings or words. You have to find out for yourself what works best for you, whether you are a visual, aural, or any other type.
Create different memorisation channels
Every information you add to a passage you have to play, the more and more varied you describe this passage, the more memory channels will open up. The short-term memory will make a very detailed file-card and it will be much easier to retrieve the information later when you need it. Always use also Your right brain, by trying to define what you are practising emotionally as well.
Here a few questions you can ask yourself:
Are those happy, bouncy, or heavy or sad notes?
How would you like to be dressed to suit the character of this passage?
Can I come up with lyrics to this melody?
Do this sounds represent any colour?
Is there a story that I could tell with this music?
If this piece would be a painting, how would it look like?
Speak with yourself, ask yourself questions, act as if you are your own teacher. Asking yourself questions like this, does not only make practicing a bit more colorful and engaging, but also helps you to organise the knowledge and to memorise it better. Give it a try!