Maria Martinez Ayerza. High in the air

Transcription

1 Maria Martinez Ayerza High in the air Sight reading, transposition and memory skills for recorder players Conservatorium van Amsterdam, march 2006 Thesis for the completion of the advanced music studies

2 Table of contents Page Fingering symbols 2 Introduction 3 1. Sight reading General information 1.2. Specific aspects of sight-reading concerning recorder players Real pitch Suggestions for the development of sight-reading skills 2. Transposition Definition 2.2. Specific aspects of transposition concerning recorder players Transposing while sight-reading - Method I: changing the clef and key signature - Method 2: use of intervallic structures - Method 3: use of harmonic analysis The recorder as a transposing instrument - Transposing instruments - Observations on teaching G-alto Open and shaded tonalities 3. Memory skills General information 3.2. Specific aspects of memory skills concerning recorder players Bibliography 24 1

3 Fingering symbols This paper uses the standard fingering nomenclature: Strikethrough numbers indicate half-covered holes (as in ) 2

4 Introduction Sight-reading, transposition and memory are essential performance sub-skills for advanced musicians. They make players more flexible, improve performance efficiency, increase selfconfidence and reduce dependency on the written score: a trait that remains typical of classical music education in conservatories. These three skills are interrelated. The development of one of them will reinforce the others, since they share a basic cognitive process: the assimilation and recognition of musical patterns. The development of music psychology during the past century has provided abundant information about the cognitive processes underlying sight-reading, transposition and memory skills that have significant implications for teachers and musicians. Nevertheless, a detailed description of these psychological procedures is beyond the practical purposes of this paper. The fact that this thesis is especially addressed to recorder players responds to the insufficient attention that sight-reading, transposition and memory skills usually receive in the recorder education at music schools and conservatories. Therefore, this essay aims to provide basic background information concerning the aforementioned skills; discuss specific issues of these abilities which are directly relevant for recorder players; give basic advice to advanced players willing to improve their sight-reading, transposition and memory skills and provide both players and composers with a clear guide of the size, pitch and range of recorders. This paper is divided in three sections, dealing with sight-reading, transposition and memory skills respectively. Each section starts with a general introduction (for which the main information sources are scientific articles, books and methods), followed by the discussion of specific topics related to the recorder (for which an important information source has been my own experience, next to existing recorder methods). This research is addressed to advanced recorder players, teachers willing to stimulate the development of sight-reading, transposition or memory skills of their students, and other musicians interested on the acquisition and development of these skills, since many of the principles exposed in this paper are applicable to other instruments as well. 3

5 1. Sight-reading 1.1. General information - Definition and advantages The musical term sight-reading refers to the performance of unfamiliar music from the score without previous rehearsal. This skill is typical of Western classical music, where musical notation is essential for the composition, conservation and transmission of musical works 1. Developing sight-reading skills offers considerable advantages for any musician: it reduces the necessary study time to be able to perform a piece in public, it is crucial for the musical activities of accompanists and orchestral musicians and it makes the player more selfconfident and reliable. - How does it work? The sight-reading of music relies on the short-term memory of the player, where the information deciphered from the score is stored for a few seconds in the form of information chunks (musically meaningful units). This process is easy to understand through an analogy with language: if one reads a text, the smallest possible information chunk is one letter, if you read music, one tone. If you are familiar with the language of a text, your mind will automatically group several letters together: you will perceive a word like example as a meaningful unit and not as the sum of 7 letters. In the same way, the assimilation of certain musical structures (like scales, arpeggios or sequences) makes them easy to recognize as musically meaningful units and allows the player to sight-read more comfortably. Recent studies about the acquisition of sight-reading skills (like Goolsby, 1994 and Waters, 1997) have shown that good readers scan the page more efficiently than poor readers, looking for eventually difficult passages that they are therefore able to prepare to a higher standard. In addition to this, good readers seem to be able to recall more fragments of a piece they have just played than poor ones. This is relevant because similar musical material can come back several times during a piece, and to improve the performance level in a second interpretation of the same work. How can musicians improve their sight-reading skills? Psychologists agree on two determinant factors that help improving the development of sight-reading skills in musicians: - Experience (sight-reading regularly) - Familiarity with the repertoire: the greater the knowledge of a certain style, the more fluent the sight-reading. 1 A very interesting vision on the function and problems of Western notation can be found in chapter 4 of Nicholas Cook s Music. A very short introduction (2000). 4

6 Experience can be acquired by sight-reading regularly, during practice sessions, rehearsals and even in public performances. It is essential to choose pieces with growing technical and expressive demands. Familiarity with the repertoire can be built up listening to recordings or improvising on the chosen style. Both ways help to assimilate the recurring patterns of the chosen style. Lehmann & McArthur (2002) suggest the following strategies to practice sight-reading: Practicing for performance Correct your mistakes Look at hands while playing The details are important Correct fingering is crucial Avoid errors and omissions Practicing sight-reading Maintain rhythm and meter Avoid looking at hands The big picture is important Get to notes however you can Errors and omissions are OK 5

7 1.2. Specific aspects of sight-reading concerning recorder players Real pitch The sounding pitch of recorders is often confusing for listeners. As early as 1619, Michael Praetorius pointed out in his Syntagma Musicum that recorders actually sound an octave higher than is usually indicated. Many modern editions have appeared with wrong clefs, in which the notated pitch is an octave lower than intended. For example, the Schott edition of the C major concerto RV by Antonio Vivaldi is notated like this: This actually corresponds to the compass of an alto recorder. The correct notation for sopranino implies the use of an ottava (8) sign above the clef, indicating that the sounding pitch is one octave higher than written: The following table illustrates the sounding and written pitch of different types of recorders. The first column shows the real pitch in treble or bass clef, the second, the clef in which music for the instrument should be notated. In the case of instruments in different tones (keys) than C and F (the standard modern fingering systems), the right column includes also instructions to write a transposed part. Instrument Lowest note (real pitch) Lowest note (written pitch) Piccolino in F Garklein in C Sopranino in G transp. 1 tone down (F-fingerings, + 2 flats) Sopranino in F Sixth flute in D transp. 1 tone down (C-fingerings + 2 flats) Soprano in C (Fifth flute) 2 Originalmusik für Blockflöte OFB 113 6

8 Instrument Lowest note (real pitch) Lowest note (written pitch) Fourth flute in Bb transp. 1 tone up (C-fingerings + 2 sharps) Third flute in A transp. minor 3rd up (C-fingerings + 3 flats) Alternative: Maj. 3rd down, F-fing., + 4 flats Alto in G 1 tone down (F-fingerings, + 2 flats) Alto in F (Alto in Eb) 1 tone up (F-fingerings, + 2 sharps) Voice flute in d 1 tone down (C-fingerings, + 2 flats) Tenor in c Basset in g 1 tone down (F-fingerings, +2 flats) Basset in f Great bass in c Double bass in f Contrabass in c Sub-contrabass Bb 5th up, F-fingerings, + 1 sharp Sub-contrabass F 7

9 Next to the existing variety of commercially available recorder sizes (shown in the table above), another factor contributes to the expansion of the recorder family: makers build instruments using different pitch reference standards. Renaissance instruments are often tuned in A=512 Hz. or A=466 Hz.; modern instruments in A=440 Hz.; baroque instruments in A=415 Hz. or A=392 Hz. (French baroque pitch). All these pitches are a half-step apart. It is possible to consider an instrument tuned to a certain pitch as a different size tuned to another. For example: an F-alto in 440 can be considered as a G alto in 392. The following table shows how five different f-altos, tuned to different pitches, can be considered as five different models in A=440: A= 392 (-1 tone) A = 415 (-1 semitone) A = 440 (reference) A = 466 (+1 semitone) A = 512 (+1 tone) Alto in F (392) = Alto en Eb (440) Alto in F (415) = Alto in E (440) Alto in F Alto in F (466) = Alto in F# /Gb (440) Alto in F (512) = Alto in G (440) With this information, it is possible to fill the chromatic gaps of the table on pages 7-8, obtaining a fully chromatic range of recorders: Instrument Lowest note (real pitch) Lowest note (as written) Soprano in b transp. 1 semitone up, C-fingerings + 5 flats Alto in Ab transp. min. 3rd down, F-fingerings + 3 flats Alto in F#/Gb Chr.semitone down, F-fing., +7 flats, or Diat.semitone down, F-fing, + 5 sharps Alto in e Diatonic semitone up, F-fingerings, + 5 flats Tenor in c#(db) Chr.semitone down, C-fing., +7 flats, or Diat.semitone down, C-fing, + 5 sharps 8

10 Suggestions for the development of sight-reading skills As mentioned above, the development of sight-reading skills depends on two main factors: experience and familiarity with the repertoire. Integrating short sight-reading sessions (of around minutes) two times a week in the regular practice routine should be enough to enhance the sight-reading skills of a player. Since recorder players usually deal with very different music styles, it is recommendable also to vary the style of the material used for sight-reading, as long as the chosen pieces are technically challenging for the player (overly simple works will not stimulate any development). During a sight-reading practice session, the following procedure can be followed: - Scan the score before playing. Focus first on understanding the musical form: look for repetitions, da capo and dal segno signs. - Identify technically difficult passages and try to prepare them mentally. - Play the piece, making a clever tempo choice. Do not stop or correct eventual mistakes: concentrate on the overview of the piece. - After the first performance, evaluate your playing. Have a look at the problematic passages, but do not practice them on your instrument. Try to elaborate strategies to perform them better on a second run through. - If certain passages continue to be technically problematic, spend no longer than five minutes on them between your second and third run through. - After the third run through, move on to another piece. This way of practicing focuses on the importance of mental preparation: many players tend to repeat difficult passages over and over in an unvaried manner, while looking for possible alternatives can make it feel much easier. When sight-reading non - original recorder music, players might need to transpose on the spot. Therefore, the next chapter focuses on the development of transposition skills and the means by which recorder players deal with the great variety of instruments of the recorder family. 9

11 2. Transposition 2.1 Definition According to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, transposition is the notation or performance of music at a pitch different from that in which it was originally conceived or notated, by raising or lowering all the notes in it by a given interval. Considering, for example, the following fragments: Example I Example II Example II is a transposition of the first one a fourth up. 2.2 Specific aspects of transposition concerning recorder players Two aspects of transposition are especially relevant for recorder players: a) Transposing while sight-reading b) Considering certain recorder models as transposing instruments Transposing while sight-reading The ability of transposing while sight-reading is very practical for recorder players in a variety of situations: - when trying out different transpositions or instrumentations for a piece - when playing unconventional recorder models (like a fourth flute in Bb) Hereunder three different transposition methods are presented, based respectively on the imagination of a new clef and key signature, the recognition of intervallic structures and the harmonic analysis of a piece. 10

12 Method 1: Changing the clef and key signature This graphic is a representation of the circle of fifths. Outside the circle appear the major (in capitals) and minor tonalities (in small letters), inside, the number of accidentals in the key signature of every tonality. Enharmonic tonalities always make the sum of twelve accidentals (for example: C# Major has seven sharps and Db Major five flats, together they make twelve.) The circle of fifths is the basis of a basic transposition method for tonal music that can be illustrated through this example. from J.S. Bach, Musikalisches Opfer BWV 1080 To transpose this melody a minor third down: a) Find out the original tonality (in this case, c-minor) b) Find out the new tonality (a minor third under the original one, therefore: a minor) c) Find out the new clef. The first original note is C. The new first note must be a minor third below: A. Find out in which clef the first tone is called "a", in this case, c on the first line. This is the imaginary clef to use. d) Check the graphic above. Find the original tonality and the new one. Count the steps between both following the shortest way (in this case 3 steps to the right). The arrows inside the circle indicate the two possible directions: to the right (when adding sharps to the original key signature) or to the left (when adding flats). Then check the following table: Steps To the right (adding sharps) F C G D A E B F# C# G# D# A# To the left (adding flats) B E A D G C F Bb Eb Ab Db Gb 11

13 Having taken three steps to the right, whenever the tones F, C and G receive an accidental in the transposed version, you must read them a half-step higher than notated. At the end of this process, you would read: When making a transposition in which you need to add flats, the corresponding steps must be lowered by a half-step. To simplify this calculation, you can also make use of the following table: Interval Up Down Minor second diatonic: + 5 flats (b, e, a,d,g down) or chromatic: + 7 sharps (all up) diatonic: + 5 sharps (f, c, g, d, a up) or chromatic: + 7 flats (all down) Major second + 2 sharps (f, c up) + 2 flats (b, e down) Minor third + 3 flats (b, e, a down) + 3 sharps (f, c, g up) Major third + 4 sharps (f, c, g, d up) + 4 flats (b, e, a, d down) Perfect fourth + 1 flat (b down) + 1 sharp (f up) Augmented fourth + 6 sharps (f, c, g, d, a, e up) + 6 flats (b, e, a, d, g, c down) Once you have established the new tonality, and before you start playing, run through some scales and arpeggios in the new tonality. Make sure you that you are aware of where the half-tone steps are, so as to be able to use them as checkpoints. The main advantage of this system is that we continue to be conscious of the real pitch. The problem is that to be able to transpose to any tonality one must be able to read in all the clefs (seven in total), and having to replace the accidentals mentally can create confusion or insecurity. A similar transposition method was already being employed by amateur recorder players in the seventeenth century: the anonymous Italian handbook Tutto il bisognevole..., probably written around 1670, includes a table of transpositions based on clef and key signature changes, so that amateurs are able to play their favourite songs and opera arias if the original vocal range is out of the recorder compass. - Method 2: Use of intervallic structures This system is based on the mental recognition of the intervals that conform the melody we want to transpose. In the example used before, we recognize the following intervals: 12

14 This method is especially suitable to transpose previously memorized melodies, since it is necessary to avoid thinking note names to make use of it. This might sound complicated, but we often do it unconsciously: when we whistle or sing a familiar tune, our mind automatically applies the melodic intervals independently of the chosen starting pitch. The application of this transposition method when playing recorder implies training the ability of automatically playing any interval from any fingering, as suggested by Walter van Hauwe in The Modern Recorder Player, volume II, part I ("About scales and arpeggios"). Following Van Hauwe's principles, to transpose the given fragment a minor third down, the first step is finding the new first fingering. If the above example is played on a tenor recorder, the first fingering in the original tonality is 02. If the player wishes to transpose the fragment a minor third down, the first fingering will be a minor third below 02 (0 12). The player can then perform the melody by reproducing its intervallic structure. A great advantage of this way of transposing is its universal versatility. It is possible to apply it to tonal music, like the given example, but also to non-tonal music (based on pentatonic, whole-tone or octotonic scales, church modes or even atonal)which can be studied with this approach. Next to van Hauwe s book, the method Recorder Revisited by Erik Bosgraaf offers multiple exercises through which players can internalize the intervallic distance between fingerings. - Method 3: Use of harmonic analysis The harmonic method is based on the harmonic function of the notes and their position in a certain chord. For example: Telemann, Fantasia TWV 40:12 (arranged for alto recorder) The harmonic scheme of this fragment can be applied to any other tonality. Knowing the function and disposition of the chords (indicated in the example by the figured bass) it is possible to transpose the fragment. This method can rarely be used independently, since compositions are not always as harmonically clear as this example. Nevertheless, good understanding of the harmony of a piece combined with any of the other transposition methods described above can be extremely helpful. 13

15 The recorder as a transposing instrument - Transposing instruments The New Grove Dictionary online defines transposing instruments as follows: Instruments for which the music is not notated at the actual pitch of the sound, but is transposed upwards or downwards by some specific musical interval. Transposition is traditionally reckoned relative to the pitch C ( ) The intention is to maintain the relationship between notation and execution (fingering etc.) among instruments of a similar kind but of different pitch. Many modern woodwind instruments are transposing: a clarinet in Bb, for example sounds a major second lower than notated. If the player reads the sounding pitch will be Published parts for clarinet in Bb are transposed one tone up so that the player can read comfortably. Because of the development of this transposing system, woodwind players often learn one set of fingerings ( in C ) that they use on all the members of their instrumental family. Recorder players, on the contrary, usually learn two sets of fingerings (for instruments in C and in F, which became a standard in the 1940s). Next to instruments in C and F, recorders in G (like Renaissance altos), D (like the baroque voice flute and sixth flute) and Bb are relatively common. Most players and teachers consider these models as transposing instruments, although learning a third or fourth fingering system is also an option for frequently played models, such as G-alto or voice flute. In the past, many recorder sizes were considered transposing instruments. In England, in the late seventeenth century and first half of the eighteenth, the names third flute, fourth flute, fifth flute and sixth flute designated different kinds of recorders tuned respectively a third, fourth, fifth and sixth above an F-alto recorder, the standard model at the time. These models were transposing instruments: music was adjusted so that players could always read F-fingerings. This is the case in the solo part of the concerto in F for soprano recorder and strings by Giuseppe Sammartini ( ) and in the concerti for sixth flute by John Baston (fl ), William Babell (c ) and Robert Woodcock ( ). A logical order to learn new fingering systems could be the following: 1) Renaissance alto in G: this is a good instrument to play early solo and ensemble repertoire. In the earliest known treatises mentioning the recorder family, like Musica Getutscht (1511) by Sebastian Virdung, Musica Instrumentalis Deudsch (1529) by Martin Agricola and Opera intitulata Fontegara (1535) by Sylvestro Ganassi, G-alto was the highest model. 14

16 2) Voice flute in D: the system to learn its fingerings is basically the same than for the G-alto. Learning to sight-read music for voice flute allows the student to perform a large amount of baroque music originally written for transverse flute whilst keeping the original tonality. 3) Recorders in B flat (like the baroque fourth flute or some Renaissance models of tenor, bass and sub-contrabass). 4) Recorders in other keys. - Observations on learning G-alto as a transposing or non-transposing instrument To illustrate how models in other tones than F or C can be introduced to students, G- alto has been taken as an example: the following remarks are also valid for other models. It is important to learn G-fingerings on an instrument in G (and not, for example, on one in F), to create the right association between fingering and pitch, and to enhance the perception of sound and character differences with other models. G-alto as a non-transposing instrument When learning G-alto as a non-transposing instrument, G-fingerings must be learnt as a completely new system. This means creating the association with all its consequences: if we raise finger 7, we get an A, if then we raise finger 6, we get B, and so on.) The problem of this system is that F and G fingerings are only one tone apart: they are so close that the player might shift or confuse the pitches 3. To avoid, it is useful to establish some checkpoints from the beginning, namely: - The lowest tone and its octave: - The semitones of the G major scale: To internalize this checkpoints, we can use exercises like 3 Except in the cases of students with absolute pitch. 15

17 that repeat the semitone link and consequently help the player to remember it. When this step is assimilated we can start introducing minor scales with different half-tone steps (harmonic, melodic, etc.), for example: These exercises can be combined with the performance of pieces in G with very simple modulations, gradually adding other modes or tonalities. G-alto as a transposing instrument Considering G-alto as a transposing instrument implies relating it to the closest fingering system: F. Consequently, the player will think in F, but the instrument will sound one tone higher. If the player reads the sounding pitch will be This means that music should be transposed one tone down to be able to play it in real pitch. Since there are not many modern editions specifically arranged for G-alto, it is really necessary (apart from very practical) for players to be able to sight-read G-fingerings. A good piece to start could be the Ricercata Terza by Giovanni Bassano, which is constructed mainly with scales and sequences and which begins and ends in G. Bassano's Ricercata starts like this: To transpose one tone down, we have to add two flats to the key signature and imagine the same heights on a C clef on the fourth line (see transposing a written tonal melody ). 4 The main advantage of this system is that the same method (transposing one tone down) can be applied to recorders in D in relation to C-fingerings. A student who can play G- alto as a transposing instrument will also be able to learn quickly how to deal with instruments in D. 4 In this case, the sounding pitch will in addition be an octave higher than notated. 16

18 2.2.3 Open and shaded tonalities The recorder, because of its lack of keys, is a diatonic instrument. Walter van Hauwe explains it as follows in The Modern Recorder Player: the principle underlying recorder playing is simply that starting from the fingering an interval of a major second results from the lifting of each consecutive finger. The inevitable imperfection of the recorder results in exceptions which prove the rule. 5 There is a clear difference in sound quality between the diatonic tones obtained by lifting consecutive fingers and the chromatic steps in between. These are produced by fork fingerings, so called because they comprise one or more open finger holes between two closed ones (for example or ). Fork fingerings produce softer, darker and more unstable tones than diatonic fingerings (with consecutive closed holes, for example ) - hence the choice of the adjectives "shaded" (for tonalities featuring several fork fingerings) and "open" (for tonalities featuring several diatonic fingerings). For recorders in which holes 6 and 7 are single (like Renaissance models and some copies of Baroque instruments), the chromatic steps between the fingerings and are very weak. The introduction of double holes, probably by the maker Paul Bressan ( ) contributed improving the sound quality of the lowest four semitones of the recorder. Modern recorders like the ones developed by Maarten Helder and Nikolas Tarasov have keys for finger number 7. Therefore in these models, chromatic steps are more stable. On Renaissance recorders, the difference between open and shaded fingerings is even more extreme than on Baroque or modern ones. Pieces with one or two sharps sound brighter and stable. Flats result darker, softer and unstable. In the standard baroque repertoire, key signatures featuring more than three accidentals are rare. A remarkable exception is Georg Philipp Telemann's sonata in F minor (TWV 41:f1), as well as collections like L'art de Preluder, by Jacques Martin Hotteterre, or L'Alphabet de la Musique, by Johann Christian Schickhardt that include pieces in all the tonalities. The following table includes the optimal (open) and non-optimal (shaded) tonalities for Baroque recorders. Instead of pitches, fingerings are used to indicate the tonic, so that the same table can be applied to any model. The tonalities considered as optimal are the one of the lowest note of the instrument, those a fifth up and down, and their minor relatives. Nonoptimal tonalities are sorted according to the amount of awkward connections (of the kind , involving several fingers), the sound quality of the tonic and the fifth, and the eventual use of hole 8. Although open tonalities give the best sound quality and respond to the diatonic nature of the instrument, shaded tonalities can have a special, contrasting color. 5 Van Hauwe refers here to the interval between the fingerings and , which is smaller than a major second. 17

19 Baroque recorders Optimal (open) Good Non-optimal (shaded) Major 0-12 minor Major minor Major minor minor Major minor Major 0-1 minor 0-12 Major minor Major Major minor Major minor 0-1 Major minor Major minor Major minor 18

20 3 Memory skills 3.1 General information Soloists and chamber music players often perform compositions by heart. The value of performing by memory resides mainly in three aspects: a) Practical reasons (like avoiding page turns or acquiring a better body posture) b) Improvement of the communication between performer and audience, other musicians or a conductor. c) Memorizing a piece implies understanding it well: while memorizing, the performer internalizes not only the structure, but also the expressive qualities of a musical work. The advantages of playing by heart are more obvious in live performances. The absence of music stands and the possibility of establishing visual contact with the player has positive effects in the way the audience perceives the performance. The experiments of Davidson (1993) have demonstrated that visual perception is essential to music making, and that very complex emotional, cognitive and personal information can be transmitted by movement. Aaron Williamon (1999) confronted a group of listeners with four different versions of two movements of Bach s cello suites, played by the same cellist. One of the versions, identified by the majority of the participants as the best in technical and expressive qualities, was played by heart. - How does it work? When learning a piece of music, musicians use three kinds of long-time memory: - Aural: memory of sound (a musician can imagine the forthcoming sounds while playing and evaluate the performance in real time) - Visual: memory of images (like a mental image of the written score) - Kinesthetic: memory of movements Combining these three types of memory helps players to memorize better. Chase & Ericsson (1982) developed a theory about the use of retrieval structures in music performance. According to this theory, our memory stores information in short fragments or information chunks. Performing a certain fragment triggers the recovery of the next information chunk, creating a chain that allows the player to play the piece from beginning to end. Chase and Ericsson point out that performers are able to memorize faster if they are familiar with the style of the work they are studying. Different pieces written in the same style make use of similar patterns. If the performer is familiar with the style, he will recognize them and will be able to memorize the music faster, in the same way that we can easily identify and learn a text written in our native language. If the style is unfamiliar or too complex (like atonal music), the player will have difficulties finding logical structures while memorizing. 19

21 When performing music by heart, different memory layers are active (for example: players must be conscious of the general structure of the piece but also of small details). Chaffin & Imreh (1994) studied the process of a pianist learning the third movement of the Italian Concerto by Bach and noticed seven different memorization layers, organized in three groups: Conceptual organization Non-standard fingerings Technical difficulties Phrasing Dynamics Tempo Emotional expressiveness Reproduction Interpretation Performance The hierarchy changed within the process: at the end, the performer was consciously busy with emotional expressiveness, while the reproduction and interpretation layers had been almost entirely automatized. - How do musicians approach this task? Susan Hallam (1997) interviewed a group of musicians about their memorization techniques. Her conclusion was that professional musicians show two different approaches to memorization: a) Repetition b) Analysis (harmonic, formal, structural, etc.) The combination of both systems is advantageous: repetition helps the storage of aural and kinesthetic information, while analysis contributes to the internalization of patterns, the knowledge of the form and structure of the piece and the storage of visual information. How can musicians develop their memory skills? Aiello & Williamon (2002) suggest that the best way to help students to improve their memory skills is questioning them about the way they memorize pieces, so that they can analyze their own working method and try different things. Improvising on the style of the pieces that must be memorized might help, since it helps to assimilate basic musical patterns. To learn the structure of a piece, Aiello suggests going through the following checklist: -Describe and analyze the macro- and microstructure of the piece. -Where are the landmarks? How do we get to them and out of them? -How are the different sections of the piece linked? -Highlight the most important melodic and rhythmic patterns of the piece and determine their importance. -Get to know the different entrances of the main themes 20

22 -Get to know the harmonic structure (modulations, cadences) -Memorize by logical sections In his detailed study of musical memorization, Rubin-Rabson (1937, 1939, 1940, 1941) gives similar advices: -Analyze the piece before practicing it (to understand the big structure and identify eventual problematic passages) -Distribute practice over time (it is more efficient to have short but regular memorizing sessions) -Rehearse mentally ( listen to the piece in your head and recall the physical sensations of movement you experiment while performing the piece) -Learn in sections 21

23 3.2 Specific aspects of memory skills concerning recorder players The general memorization guidelines suggested by Aiello and Rubin-Rabson, although specifically directed to piano students, are also pertinent for recorder players. Nevertheless, there are specific aspects that deserve some extra attention. The first point to underline is that short but regular practicing sessions will be far more helpful than long, sporadic ones. Learning a piece by heart is much more than being able to recall the information expressed on the original score: it implies storing very detailed structural, technical and expressive information (a few examples: fingerings, tone color differences, the harmonic function of tones, timing, articulation, or the length of final chords). It is important for any performer to combine different kinds of memorization exercises, to stimulate the storage of information in the visual, aural and kinesthetic memory. Some possible memorization strategies are: For the visual memory: a) Mark a few important moments (highlights, or places where you have to pay special attention) with a colored pencil. b) Play the piece (or a specific section) from the score, and immediately after without it, trying to picture it in your mind. For the aural memory: a) Listen to a recording of the piece, to get a general impression. b) Play or sing along with the recording. c) Play the piece a few times. Identify peculiar motives or passages that catch your attention. For the kinesthetic memory: a) Play the piece without blowing into your instrument, concentrating only on your finger movements. b) Try to think through the piece. Listen to it in your head and imagine yourself playing it on your instrument; feel the movements you usually make to produce the music. c) Kinesthetic memory is especially active when learning very complex contemporary music. Some gestures might be so complex that the player will not have time to consciously recall every tone. The memory of movements is then vital to repeat the same gesture efficiently. 22

24 Since the recorder is a melody instrument, players memorizing polyphonic or ensemble pieces tend to learn melodically rather than harmonically, or in terms of imitation and counterpoint with the other parts. Some possible solutions for this are: a) Use the score to make a general analysis of the piece. Pay as much attention to the other parts as to yours: identify their highlights, important motives, themes and entrances. b) Be conscious of the order of events in complicated passages and train yourself to listen to it. For example: Aspasia Nasopoulou (*1972): Rodia = SO 2 H 4 (rev. 2005) c) When you have rests, do not count beats: learn and listen what other parts are playing. Establish an auditory cue for your next entrance. d) Remember the global sound of the piece. e) Be conscious of the harmonic function of your part. 23

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