Tips for Memorizing Music
By Valerie Gracious
Memorizing anything can be a daunting task, and it becomes even more daunting if you have to memorize something that you’re going to perform. No one wants to be the one person in a chorus who comes in at the wrong time or flubs the lyrics.
Worrying about memorizing just adds to any nervousness about singing and can impact your performance. You want to show up at call time with complete confidence that you’ve got the music down pat.
Here are a few tried and true tips to successful memorizing that you can try:
- Listen to rehearsal tracks while driving
This is an ideal time to listen to tracks over and over, whether it’s a long road trip or just running errands. Make a playlist of all the rehearsal tracks and shuffle it to keep it interesting, or keep it in show order so that also becomes ingrained. - Singing along with different parts
Once you have a song somewhat memorized, It’s also helpful to rehearse with the track that is not your part. If you’re an Alto, try singing your part with the Soprano track. This will really solidify your sound and make sure there are no trouble spots with harmony. - Take off the training wheels
Try singing off book when you don’t think you’re ready to go off book. Your brain has to make the switch from accessing the music and lyrics to relying on muscle memory. Even if you struggle through half the song, the sooner you can take away the training wheels, the sooner you will nail it on your own. Plus, you probably know more than you think because you are allowing your brain a chance to work in a more efficient way. - Go from back to front
It is often suggested to work on memorizing the last section first and then work your way backwards adding on the next previous section as you start to make headway. The theory is that when people are learning and rehearsing a song, you typically hear the beginning sections far more than the end sections, so they are the toughest to memorize when you need to. Starting from the end reinforces those sections early on as they will get repeated way more than they would in rehearsal or if you’re trying to memorize start to finish. - Sing everywhere!
Repetition is the key to developing the muscle memory, so sing as often as you can between rehearsals. Sing in the shower, the car, when you’re cooking dinner, going for a walk, doing housework, exercising – whatever it is, the reinforcement is invaluable. - Sing with a friend
Recruit a fellow chorus member to work on memorizing together. It makes it much more fun and you both benefit by supporting each other. Try it with someone in your section at first, then try with someone from a different section. Make an evening of it – share some snacks or some wine and it will seem less like a chore and more of a social event. Ideally, you could establish a regular day and time reserved for this purpose.
Once you are memorized you will not only be free from clutching your music binder, but you will also be free to enjoy the music, pay attention to what you are conveying, feel the emotions, move your body. When you are free of the burden of reading, you can keep your eyes up and actually see what the conductor is doing and your only concern is giving an authentic, solid performance.
