Memorising Contemporary Piano Music as Described by Professional Pianists

Abstract

The convention of performing from memory is a well-established practice among pianists, but an exception is often made for contemporary piano repertoire. Even so, a number of renowned pianists continue performing highly demanding compositions of this genre from memory, and this practice is commended by contemporary composers. No research to date has systematically investigated musicians’ views on this matter and explored detailed accounts of how to prepare and memorise such repertoire. In this study six renowned professional pianists with experience in performing contemporary piano repertoire were interviewed on their approaches to learning and memorising this music. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the pianists’ accounts revealed a variety of views on performing contemporary music from memory, with some pianists advocating benefits from performing by heart and others from using the score. The general practice strategies reported resembled approaches described by skilled musicians in relation to standard repertoire, with some variations related to different types of contemporary music styles. Memorisation accounts emphasised the importance of strategies such as mental rehearsal, chunking, and reliance on different types of memory and their combination.

Performing Music on Stage: The Role of the Hippocampus in Expert Memory and Culture

“…Today, several studies (or: authentic reports) exist in which professional musicians describe their steps when preparing a new recital program. A successful example is the report series by Roger Chaffin (US-American psychologist) and Gabriela Imreh (US-pianist, of Romanian origin, e.g., [38], also [39]). According to them, a large part of daily practice consists in acquiring a so-called "retrieval scheme," which is part of conceptual (or: declarative) memory.…”

“…In addition, also motor, kinesthetic, and haptic subtypes exist, carrying memory details in terms of finger movements, muscle tension, and somatosensory impressions, for example, how it feels when strings are plucked. Some musicians also possess eidetic or photographic memory, which enables them to see the details of the score before the inner eye (see [38,39] for further details). So, expert musicians memorize a musical piece in a multifaceted way.…”