Musical memory and methods of its development. Formation and development of musical memory

Memory problems, and in particular problems musical memory For several centuries, they have been the focus of attention of many scientists, dramatic actors, directors, musicians of all specialties, and teachers. On the one hand, musical memory has already been studied quite thoroughly and you can safely use and apply the recommendations and advice proposed in previously published works and articles. On the other hand, the problem remains!

Over the last century, the main aspects of memory work have been formulated, a huge number of recommendations and advice have been given, but how can all this experience be effectively applied separately to each individual? There is a good statement about this by I. Hoffman: “No rule or advice given to one can suit anyone else unless it passes through the sieve of his own mind and undergoes such changes in this process that will make it suitable for the given case.” . The problem is that there is no ready-made recipe for memorizing specifically for each individual musician. piece of music. There is no clear answer to this question. Everyone is individual, and therefore each musician should be able to find solutions related to memory problems for himself and apply them in practice, based on individual psychological qualities.

Musical memory- ability to recognize and reproduce musical material. Musical recognition is essential for meaningful music perception. A necessary condition for musical memory is sufficient development of musical ear. An important place in musical memory is occupied by auditory memory (one of the types of figurative memory associated with the imprinting, preservation and reproduction of auditory images) and emotional memory (memory for emotionally charged events). When playing music, a significant role is also played by motor memory (memorizing a sequence of movements), visual (memorizing a musical text) and verbal-logical memory, with the help of which the logic of the structure of a musical work is memorized.

B. Teplov established that in persons with highly developed “inner hearing”, not only the emergence of auditory ideas occurs only after visual perception, but direct “hearing with the eyes”, i.e. transformation of visual perception of musical text into visual-auditory perception. The musical text itself begins to be experienced by them in an auditory way.

It is also known that the process of learning a piece of music from memory in pedagogical practice is left without proper guidance from the teacher. This leads to the fact that the student is left with this problem alone, and solves it to the best of his strength and capabilities and, often, in the same way - repeated repetition with constant looking at the musical text, with the hope that in the next When you play something back, it will remain in your memory. Naturally, a sustainable positive result cannot be ensured in this way.

The relevance of the work is due to the key role of musical memory in performing activities.

In the process of writing the work, the target setting determined a number of tasks:

1) explain the natural laws of memory (define musical memory, consider the meaning of memory, and associations. Describe the types of musical memory, basic processes and mechanisms).

2) reveal the significance of the complexity of musical memory and the main methods of its development.

3) offer effective technique learning a piece of music for students and students.

So, what is memory, what are the characteristics of memory processes, what are the main types of musical memory? And in fact, what are the methods for the most effective memorization of a piece of music and the development of musical memory that can be recommended for performing musicians who, due to the specifics of their activity, need to memorize a lot?

1. Musical memory

1.1. Main types of musical memory

When memorizing a piece of music, we use motor, emotional, visual, auditory and logical types of memory. Depending on individual abilities, each musician will rely on a more convenient type of memory.

According to A. Alekseev, “musical memory is a synthetic concept, including auditory, motor, logical, visual and other types of memory.” In his opinion, it is necessary “for a pianist to develop at least three types of memory - auditory, which serves as the basis for successful work in any field musical art, logical - related to understanding the content of the work, the patterns of development of the composer's thoughts, and motor - extremely important for the instrumentalist."

This point of view was also shared by S. Savshinsky, who believed that “the pianist’s memory is complex - it is auditory, visual, and muscular-playing.”

The English researcher of problems of musical memory L. MacKinnon also believes that “musical memory as some kind of special type memory does not exist. What is commonly understood as musical memory is in reality a co-operation of the different kinds of memory which every normal person possesses - the memory of the ear, the eye, the touch and the movement." According to the researcher, “in the process of learning by heart, at least three types of memory must cooperate: auditory, tactile and motor. Visual memory, usually associated with them, only complements, to one degree or another, this peculiar quartet.”

By now in theory musical performance The point of view has been established that the most reliable form of performance memory is the unity of auditory and motor components.

B. Teplov, speaking about musical memory, considered the auditory and motor components to be the main ones. He considered all other types of musical memory valuable, but auxiliary. The auditory component in musical memory is the leading one. But, said B. Teplov, “it is quite possible, and, unfortunately, even widespread, purely motor memorization of music played on the piano. Piano pedagogy must develop connections between auditory ideas and piano movements that are as close and deep as the connections between auditory ideas and vocal motor skills.”

Modern methodologists attach great importance to the preliminary analysis of a musical work, as a result of which active memorization of the material occurs. The importance and effectiveness of this memorization method has been proven in the works of both domestic and foreign researchers. Thus, the American psychologist G. Whipple, in his experiments, compared the productivity of various methods of memorizing music on the piano, which differed from each other in that in one case, before studying a musical composition on the piano, a preliminary analysis was carried out, in the other, no analysis was applied. At the same time, the time for memorization in both groups of subjects was the same.

G. Whipple came to the conclusion that “the method in which periods of analytical study were used before direct practical work on the instrument showed significant superiority over the method in which the period of analytical study was omitted. These differences are so significant that they clearly prove the advantage analytical methods before unsystematic practice, not only for the group of students participating in the experiment, but also for all other student pianists.” According to G. Whipple, “these methods will be of great help in increasing the efficiency of memorization by heart... For the majority of students, analytical study of music gave a significant improvement in the memorization process compared to immediate practical work behind the instrument."

Another psychologist, G. Rebson, came to a similar conclusion, who previously trained his subjects to understand the structure and mutual relationship of all parts of the material, as well as the tonal plan of a musical work. As the researcher noted, “without studying the structure of the material, memorizing it comes down to acquiring purely technical skills, which themselves depend on countless andlong training sessions."

According to L. MacKinnon, “the method of analyzing and establishing conscious associations is the only reliable one for memorizing music... Only what is consciously noted can be recalled later of one’s own free will.”

A. Cortot held a similar point of view on the problem under consideration. “Work on memorization should be entirely reasonable and should be facilitated by auxiliary moments in accordance with the characteristic features of the work, its structure and expressive means».

The German teacher K. Martinsen, discussing the processes of memorizing a piece of music, spoke about “constructive memory,” meaning by this the performer’s ability to understand well all the smallest details of the thing being learned, their isolation and the ability to put them together.

The importance of an analytical approach to working on artistic workThis is also emphasized in the works of Russian musicians and teachers. The following statement by S.E. is indicative in this regard. Feinberg: “It is usually argued that the essence of music is emotional impact. This approach narrows the scope of musical existence and necessarily requires both expansion and clarification. Does music only express feelings? Music is primarily characterized by logic. No matter how we define music, we will always find in it a sequence of deeply conditioned sounds. And this conditionality is akin to the activity of consciousness that we call logic.”

Understanding a work is very important for remembering it, because the processes of understanding are used as memorization techniques. The action of memorizing information is first formed as a cognitive action, which is then used as a method of voluntary memorization. The condition for improving memory processes is the formation of understanding processes as specially organized mental actions. This work is the initial stage of the development of arbitrary logical memory.

1.2. Techniques for learning by heart

In modern psychology, actions to memorize text are divided into three groups: semantic grouping, identifying semantic reference points and correlation processes. In accordance with these principles, in the work of V.I. Mutzmacher “Improving musical memory in the process of learning to play the piano”, methods for learning a piece of music by heart were developed.

Semantic grouping. The essence of the technique, as the author points out, is to divide the work into individual fragments, episodes, each of which represents a logically completed semantic unit of musical material. Therefore, the method of semantic grouping can rightfully be called the method of semantic division... Semantic units represent not only large parts, such as exposition, development, recapitulation, but also those included in them - such as the main, secondary, final parts. Meaningful memorization, carried out in accordance with each element of the musical form, must proceed from the particular to the whole, through the gradual integration of smaller parts into larger ones.

In case of forgetting during performance, memory is accessedto strong points, which are like the switch for the next series of performing movements. However, premature “remembering” of support points may have a negative impact on freedom of execution. Using the technique of semantic grouping justifies itself in the initial stages of learning a thing. After it has already been learned, you should pay attention first of all to the transfer of the holistic artistic image works. As L. MacKinnon so aptly put it, “The first stage of work is to force yourself to do certain things; the latter is to not prevent things from happening on their own.”

Semantic correlation. This technique is based on the use of mental operations to compare with each other some characteristic features of the tonal and harmonic plans, voice guidance, melody, and accompaniment of the work being studied.

If there is a lack of musical theoretical knowledge necessary to analyze a work, it is recommended to pay attention to the simplest elements of musical fabric - intervals, chords, sequences.

Both techniques - semantic grouping and semantic correlation - are especially effective in memorizing works written in tripartite form and sonata allegro form, in which the third part is similar to the first, and the reprise repeats the exposition. At the same time, as V. Mutzmacher correctly notes, “it is important to comprehend and determine what in identical material is completely identical and what is not... Close attention require imitations, varied repetitions, modulating sequences, etc. elements of musical fabric. Referring to G. Kogan, the author emphasizes that “when musical piece learned and “goes” without hesitation, returning to analysis only harms the matter.”

2. BASIC METHODS OF DEVELOPING MUSICAL MEMORY IN MUSIC PEDAGOGY

2.1 Methods of memorization according to I. Hoffman

In our recommendations, we will take as a basis the well-known triad “I see - I hear - I play” and the principles of working on a piece of music proposed by I. Hoffman. These principles are based on various ways work on the work.

1. Working with the text of a work without a tool.At this stage, the process of familiarization and initial memorization of the work is carried out on the basis of careful study of the musical text and representation of the sound using the internal ear. Mental musical perception can be carried out in the following directions - identification and definition:

The main mood of the work;

The means by which it is expressed;

Features of the development of artistic image;

The main idea of ​​the work;

Your own personal meaning in the analyzed work.

A thorough analysis of the text of a work contributes to its subsequent successful memorization. This is how, for example, the teacher of the famous German pianist W. Gieseking K. Leimer “recited” the text of L. Beethoven’s sonata in F minor, op. 2 No. 1: “The Sonata begins with an arpeggiated F minor chord from “C” of the 1st octave to “A-flat” of the second, followed in the second text by a grupeto on “F” of the second octave. Then comes the dominant seventh chord (from G of the first to B-flat of the second octave) with the final notes of the grupeto on G and subsequent repetition from the 2nd to 4th bars, after which the F minor quartet-sex chord and scale descent in eighths to notes "C". In the left hand, the F minor triad is replaced by a dominant seventh chord.

These first 8 bars main topic are easy to understand when thinking about a read text, can and should first be played by heart and then memorized.”

This method of memorization develops musical-auditory and motor perceptions, thinking and visual memory. What is seen must be understood and heard.

There are many known cases, as S. Savshinsky testifies, when a pianist learned a piece only by reading it with his eyes. F. Liszt performed his student’s composition at the concert, having reviewed it just before the performance. They say that I. Hoffmann also learned P. Tchaikovsky’s “Humoresque” during the intermission of the concert and performed it as an encore. S. Bülow, in a letter to R. Wagner, reports that more than once he was forced to learn concert programs in a railway carriage.

Developing the ability to learn a piece of music without an instrument is one of the reserves for growing a musician’s professional skill. Pronouncing a musical text leads to the transfer of external mental actions to the internal plane and to their subsequent necessary “collapse” from a sequential process into a structural, synchronous one, which fits into the consciousness as if simultaneously, immediately, entirely.

2 . Working with the text of a work at the instrument. The first playing of a work after mental acquaintance with it, according to the recommendations of modern methodologists, should be aimed at grasping and understanding its general artistic meaning. Therefore, at this stage they talk about a sketch of the work, for which it must be played at the right pace; in this case, you don’t have to worry about the accuracy of execution. R. Schumann, for example, recommended doing the first plays “from beginning to end.” As he says eastern proverb, “Let the first day of acquaintance become one of a thousand days of long-term friendship.”

After the first acquaintance, a detailed study of the work begins - semantic strong points are identified, difficult places are identified, convenient fingering is set, and unusual performing movements are mastered at a slow pace. At this stage, the awareness of the melodic, harmonic and textural features of the work continues, its tonal-harmonic plan is clarified, within the framework of which the development of the artistic image is carried out. Unceasing brainwork, constantly thinking about what is being played is the key to successfully memorizing a piece by heart. “Only what is well understood is remembered well” - this is the golden rule of didactics, which is equally true for a student trying to remember various historical events and for a musician who is learning a piece of music by heart.

What type of memorization - voluntary (i.e. deliberate, specially oriented) or involuntary (i.e. carried out unintentionally) - is more preferable in learning a piece by heart?

There are no clear answers to this question. According to some musicians (A. Goldenweiser, L. MacKinnon, S. Savshinsky), voluntary memorization based on rational use special mnemonic techniques and rules, careful thinking through what is being learned. According to another point of view, belonging to major performing musicians (G. Neuhaus, K. Igumnov, S. Richter, D. Oistrakh, S. Feinberg), memorization is not a special task of the performer. In the process of working on the artistic content of a work itself, it is remembered without violence to memory. Achieving equally high results, as G. Tsypin notes, with an opposite approach to the matter has a right to exist and ultimately depends on the personal make-up of a particular musician and the individual style of his activity.

Upon closer examination of the individual style of activity of various musicians, attention is drawn to the fact that among those who advocate voluntary memorization, there are many theorists and methodologists who have a pronounced logical orientation of activity and have an analytical mindset. The activity of such people is due to the activation of the left hemisphere of the brain, which in this case is the leading one.

Among those who advocate involuntary memorization, there are more “pure” performing musicians who focus their work primarily on figurative thinking, which is associated with the activity of the right, “artistic” hemisphere.

If the first group of musicians is characterized by the principle expressed in the statement of Professor S. Savshinsky: “In order for memory to work fruitfully, the most important condition is a conscious attitude towards memorization,” then the second group of musicians is characterized by the position expressed in the words of G. Neuhaus: “I... just play the piece until I learn it. If I need to play by heart, I won’t remember it yet, and if I don’t need to play by heart, then I won’t remember.”

Based on the above, two ways can be proposed in the method of learning a piece of music from memory, each of which does not exclude the other. One of these ways is voluntary memorization, in which the work is carefully analyzed in terms of its form, texture, harmonic plan, and finding strong points. In another case, memorization will occur relying on involuntary memory in the process of solving specific problems of searching for the most satisfactory embodiment of an artistic image. By being active during this search, we will involuntarily remember what we need to learn.

One of the pitfalls that many musicians fall into when learning a new piece by heart is memorizing it through repetition. The main load with this method of learning falls on motor memory. But this way of solving the problem, as the famous French pianist Marguerite Long rightly noted, is “a lazy solution of dubious fidelity and, moreover, a waste of precious time.”

In order for the memorization process to proceed most effectively, it is necessary to include in the work the activities of all the musician’s analyzers, namely:

By peering and studying the notes, you can memorize the text visually and then, while playing by heart, imagine it mentally before your eyes;

By listening to the melody, singing it separately with your voice without an instrument, you can memorize the melody by ear;

- by “working out” the texture of the work with your fingers, you can remember it motor-motor;

By marking the reference points of the work during the game, you can connect logical memory, based on memorizing the logic of the development of the harmonic plan.

The higher the sensory, sensory and mental activity in the process of learning a piece, the faster it is learned by heart.

When learning by heart, you should not try to remember the entire piece at once. It is better to first try to remember individual small fragments, because... We already know that “the percentage of retention of memorized material is inversely proportional to the volume of this material.” Therefore, a reasonable dosage of what is being learned must be observed.

There should also be breaks between intense mnemonic work and other activities that require great mental or physical stress. After the musical material has been learned, it is necessary to give it the opportunity to simply “sit down.” During this break, the formed traces are strengthened. If, after mnemonic work, some kind of psychological overload is allowed, then the learned material will be forgotten due to retroactive, i.e. “acting backwards”, braking.

In the same way, when starting to work on a new work, which requires increased attention, it will be difficult to remember it by heart due to the action in this case being proactive, i.e. “acting forward”, braking after doing hard work.

3. Work on a work without text (play by heart).In the process of performing a piece by heart, it is further strengthened in memory - auditory, motor, logical. Associations that the performer resorts to to find greater expressiveness in performance also provide great assistance in memorization.

Involving poetic associations to activate the aesthetic sense is a long-standing tradition in musical performance.

Poetic images, paintings, associations taken both from life and from other works of art are well activated when setting tasks like: “It’s as if in this music...”. The combination of audible sounds with extra-musical images and ideas that have a similar poetic basis awakens emotional memory, which is said to be stronger than the memory of reason.

Here are some of A.T.'s remarks. Rubinstein, addressed to his students to awaken their creative imagination:

• the beginning of Schumann’s “Fantasy”: “This first thought must be pronounced, recited, as if you were addressing all of humanity, the whole world...”;
• duet from “Don Giovanni” by Mozart - Liszt: “You have turned Zerlina into a dramatic person. You have to play naively, but you act as if it were Donna Anna. It should sound fun and passionate at the same time, all at the same time

Light and playful." A. Rubinstein played an excerpt from the duet, imitating the coquetry of a village girl not only with sounds, but also with his facial expressions. “Here she raised her eyes to him, and now she looked down. No, you have - socialite, and here is a peasant woman in white stockings.”

Undoubtedly, a piece learned in such a way that the content of the music is linked to a wide range of associations will not only be more expressively performed, but also more firmly assimilated.

When a piece has already been learned by heart, it needs regular repetitions to be consolidated in memory. Just as a forest road, when not driven on for a long time, becomes overgrown with weeds and bushes, so neural traces, unique memory paths, are blurred and forgotten under the influence of new life experiences. “All other things being equal,” L. Zankov pointed out, “an increase in the number of repetitions leads to better memorization.” But "beyond certain limits, increasing the number of repetitions does not improve memory... Fewer repetitions... may produce better results than many more repetitions under other conditions."

Repeating material countless times for better memorization is reminiscent of “cramming” in nature, which is unconditionally condemned by modern didactics, both in general and in music pedagogy. Endless mechanistic repetitions hinder the development of a musician, limit his repertoire, and dull artistic perception. Therefore, the work of a musician of any specialty turns out to be most fruitful when, as I. Hoffman noted, “it is performed with complete mental concentration, and the latter can be maintained only for a certain time. In studies, the quantitative side is important only in combination with the qualitative.”

As studies by Soviet and foreign psychologists show, repetition of learned material is effective when it includes something new, and not a simple restoration of what has already happened. It is always necessary to introduce at least some element of novelty into each repetition - either in sensations, or in associations, or in technical techniques.

V. Mutzmacher in his work recommends, when repeating, to establish new, previously unnoticed connections, dependencies between parts of the work, melody and accompaniment, various characteristic elements of texture and harmony. To do this, it is necessary to develop the ability to independently, without the help of a teacher, apply existing musical theoretical knowledge in practice. The variety of impressions and actions performed during the repetition of musical material helps to maintain attention for a long time.

The ability to look at the old in a new way each time, to highlight in it what has not yet been highlighted, to find what has not yet been found - such work on a thing is akin to the eye and ear of a man in love who finds all this in the object that interests him without much difficulty. Therefore, good memorization always, in one way or another, turns out to be a product of the artist-performer’s “falling in love” with it.

The speed and strength of memorization are also related to the rational distribution of repetitions over time. According to S.I. Savshinsky, “memorization distributed over a number of days will give longer memorization than persistent memorization in one step. In the end, it turns out to be more economical: you can learn a piece in one day, but it is hardly forgotten the next day.”

Therefore, it is better to spread the repetition over several days. The most effective is an unequal distribution of repetitions, when more time and repetitions are allocated to the first study or repetition technique than to subsequent study techniques. educational material. The best memorization results, as studies show, occur when repeating material every other day. It is not recommended to take too long breaks when memorizing - in this case it may turn into a new memorization.

“Test” playing by heart in many cases is accompanied by inaccuracies and errors, which, as V. Mutzmacher quite correctly emphasizes, “require increased auditory control, concentrated attention, and concentrated will from the student. All this is necessary to record the mistakes made... Special attention require places to “join” individual passages and episodes. Practice shows that often a student cannot play the entire piece by heart, while he knows each of its parts separately from memory quite well.”

Even when a work has been well learned by heart, methodologists recommend not to part with the musical text, looking for new semantic connections in it, delving into every turn of the composer’s thought. Repetition of notes should regularly alternate with playing by heart.

Playing at a slow pace is of great benefit for memorizing a piece, which should not be neglected even by students with a good memory. This helps, as the Bulgarian methodologist A. Stoyanov points out, “to refresh musical ideas, to understand everything that could have escaped the control of consciousness over time.”

4. Work without an instrument and without notes.According to A. Stoyanov, with whom one cannot but agree, a musician of any specialty “can only be convinced that he really remembered a given work when he, the musician, is able to reconstruct it mentally, trace its development exactly in accordance with the text, without looking at the notes, and clearly realize its smallest constituent elements».

This is the most difficult way of working on a work, and it was not for nothing that I. Hoffmann spoke about its complexity and “tiringness” in mental terms. However, by alternating mentally playing a piece without an instrument with actually playing an instrument, a student can achieve extremely strong memorization of the piece.

In the process of this method of work, what psychologists call a simultaneous image is formed in the mind, in which temporal relationships are translated into spatial ones. Whole line We find thoughts on this matter in the work of B. Teplov “Psychology of musical abilities.”

Thus, W. Mozart in one of his letters says that he can spiritually survey a work written by him with one glance, like beautiful picture or person. He can hear this work in his imagination not sequentially, how it will sound later, but all at once. “The best thing,” concludes W. Mozart, “is to listen to it all at once.”

Similar thoughts were expressed by K. Weber. “The inner ear has an amazing ability to grasp and embrace entire musical structures... This hearing allows you to simultaneously hear entire periods, even entire pieces.”

According to K. Martinsen, “before the first sound is extracted, the general image of the work already lives in the performer. Even before the first sound, the performer feels the first part of the sonata as a general complex, and he also feels it as a general complex. internal structure the remaining parts... Based on the general image, every detail of performing creativity is directed by the master.”

G. Shchapov also speaks about the ability to mentally grasp the content of music as a whole: “During performance, he (the performer) must have in his mind, on all the most important aspects, some synthesized summary of what he has already played, and at the same time, as it were, some extremely compressed summary of what he has already played. what remains to be played.” According to the Hungarian musician S. Kovacs, he has for the most part the “general image” and the beginning of the play are remembered. Kovacs also reports that the best musicians, whom he asked about the “general image” of a thing, represent the “whole of the piece” mainly spatially. S. Kovacs himself imagined the play as a kind of dissected architectonics, and its parts - auditory-motor.

Mental repetitions of a piece develop concentration on auditory images, which is so necessary during public performance, enhance the expressiveness of the game, and deepen the understanding of the musical composition. Anyone who masters these working methods perfectly is truly the happiest musician!

Development of musical and auditoryMemory is also aided by:

Constantly learning by heart new prose, poetic and musical works;

Connecting other analyzers to the learning process, for example, associating the material being learned with different colors, movements, visual images;

Activation of motivation for personal significance and the need for memorization;

Selecting various melodies by ear on a musical instrument.

Visual developmentExercises that can help improve memory include:

Look at several at once various items, close your eyes and list them according to your mental image;

Drawing from memory of familiar people or objects;

Drawing from memory paintings by famous artists and comparing them with the original;

Restoring a complete image of a person or situation based on one detail, followed by drawing. For example, to restore the image of the noblewoman Morozova based on one of her raised hands.

To develop emotional memory:

Pick up an object associated with the memory of a previously experienced situation, and with its help remember other objects from the same situation. For these purposes, many people take pebbles, shells and various kinds of souvenirs from their vacation spots. Visual images, lighting, smells and sensations in the body should be remembered and revived. Take a pose and make several physical movements that were performed in the recalled situation;

Convey various emotions with lines and colors using abstract painting - sadness, elation, a state of anticipation, etc.

2.2. Methods of memorization according to V. Mutzmacher

One of current problems in the learning process - the speed of memorizing musical material. It is important for all types of student activities. The ability to quickly learn a piece by heart becomes a serious problem in a lesson where time is limited. Memorizing a piece is usually carried out in two ways: either from the particular to the whole, or from the whole to the particular. In the first case, a work or a fragment from it is memorized from beginning to end in separate passages, gradually each subsequent passage is added to the previous one learned earlier. But you can teach it another way: first, all the material is analyzed, certain phrases and sentences are isolated, their similarities and differences are established, and a diagram of their distribution in the melody is drawn up. Phrases are learned separately. The volume of these phrases is most often small, so they are remembered faster than sentences.

In practice, the first method of learning is most often used. Is he rational?

The solution to one of the most important problems in music education - revealing the artistic content of a work - is based on auditory analysis of the material. By memorizing a piece from the particular to the whole, we can make a holistic analysis of the musical material only after memorizing the entire piece. Only then does the assimilation of the play as a work of art begin in essence. Therefore, in practice, we can conditionally distinguish two stages of working on a play: the stage of learning by heart and the stage artistic comprehension works, as if polishing it.

By learning a piece in the second way - from the whole to the parts, we simultaneously reveal its content. Developing the ability to reveal the content of a simple work that is accessible to them will help them penetrate deeper into the music and when getting acquainted with more complex works. This means that learning a piece while simultaneously analyzing it will becontribute to the development of students' musical perception skills and the expansion of their general musical horizons. Developing the skill of memorization by breaking down a whole into its component elements will help fulfill a variety of musical learning tasks. Students will become familiar with phrasing, elements of rhythm, the modal system, etc. At the stage of learning a piece by heart, we not only use lesson time more productively, but also directly solve the main problem of musical education - the problem of perceiving the artistic content of a musical work.

By learning the play in the first way - from the particular to the whole, we move away from directly solving this problem. In this case, there is a fear that work on the play will be formal.

Quickly learning a piece by heart allows you tonot only is it more efficient to use lesson time, but also to retain the play in memory in the future. The decisive significance, as the outstanding psychologist A. Smirnov points out, is not the result of memorization itself, but mental activity during the memorization process. Based on this, memorizing from the whole to the parts is completely justified; the melody is not just remembered, but remembered as an artistically meaningful piece of music.

In addition to the above, learning from the whole to the parts allows you to use logical techniques when memorizing. The use of mnemonic techniques contributes to faster, more accurate memorization of the piece, and its more durable retention in memory.

As a mnemonic device, we used the method of grouping musical material. When forming a skill, logical memorization using the grouping method, two stages are identified:

The ability to isolate certain phrases in a play, compare them, group them, that is, mastering the methods of grouping musical material, is a cognitive process;

The ability to use the results of such an analysis in order to remember a given grouping is a mnemonic device.

Our goal is to show how the method of grouping musical material is formed and used in practice. In the future, we will pay attention to this, although the assimilation of grouping as a method of memorization is only a particular aspect, and of course, it is also an acquaintance with the analysis of a musical work as a whole.

The specificity of the perception of musical material is that people with a trained ear simultaneously hear several lines: rhythm, pitch, timbre, etc. The emotional impression while listening to a piece of music seems to be put together from many musical components. In the learning process, you have to analyze one line at a time, then another, etc. This technique is used to isolate and group certain rhythmic, pitch, etc. structures.

In parallel with solving the particular problem of teaching how to quickly memorize a melody using the grouping method, the teacher necessarily sets the main goal - revealing the content of the work, penetrating into its musical fabric for the most complete and profound understanding by students of the essence of the music itself.

As experimental studies have shown, the analysis of musical material from whole to parts and the use of the grouping method as a memorization technique successfully influence the effectiveness of the learning process.

The strength of memory is positively influenced by the actions that we perform with the material we are studying. It is known that when learning something difficult by heart musical text Technically complex passages are remembered better than simpler sequences. Such passages have to be repeated many times, and the fingering has to be thought through, as a result of which the difficult text makes deeper traces in the memory.

From experiments conducted by A. Smirnov, it follows that the more diverse actions we can take with the material we are learning, the greater our chances of remembering it faster.

The main methods of memorization in modern psychology are considered to be those that are associated with understanding the information being memorized, finding a certain sequence and logic in it, identifying semantic units that carry the main semantic load, and establishing intergroup connections.

Drawing up a plan for what you are learning has great potential for memorization. This clarifies the structure of the text and allows you to cover it all at once and in its entirety. The plan divides the material into pieces and fragments, each of which is recommended to come up with its own name reflecting its content. Further, through the names of the parts, it is recommended to link all the material into a single chain of associations. It is recommended to combine individual thoughts and sentences into larger semantic units. The process of memorizing by enlarged units is easier than by fractional and single ones.

To activate memorization, psychologists recommend activating figurative memory, which is associated with memory for various sensations. People who memorize text well include in the memorization process the activities of not only the main analyzer, but also others.

Great opportunities for memorization are provided by memorization methods associated with preliminary autogenic immersion. This is a state that I. Pavlov called “phase,” i.e., located in an intermediate phase between sleep and wakefulness. In this state, strong stimuli cause a weak reaction, and weak ones, for example, a word, cause a strong reaction. Therefore, the text perceived while in the paradoxical phase is remembered much better and to a greater extent than in the usual state of wakefulness. Experiments in this area conducted by the Bulgarian scientist A. Lozanov gave a new direction in teaching, called suggestive pedagogy.

But stronger memorization can also be achieved under the opposite version of the conditions - with interference that forces the student to concentrate more strongly on his learning. As a result of this, a stronger focus of excitation is created in the brain and the resulting conditioned connections become stronger.

2.3. Development of musical memory: summary of recommendations

We are naturally interested in the method of memorization that a musician should use. Memorization must precede memorization. Carefully play out the piece from the notes until you feel confident that you have mastered the piece, that you know it. This usually comes before technical mastery of the piece. Then check what is imprinted in your memory. Trial execution: there will be some inaccuracies. Sometimes it may happen that you have to select something by ear, play “in your own words,” that is, not entirely accurately. You have to be aware of this: “I played wrong here! I’ll clarify in due time.” So play until the moment when the memory fails so much that performance process will stop. Without looking at the notes, try to find a new fulcrum in your memory and play again from the new place until the next stop, etc.

Perform this test several times in a row. Usually the second or third check reveals that the memory has captured larger pieces of music than were able to be played the first time. Having established what you managed to remember and what requires further work, and be sure to clarify from the notes what was played “in your own words,” return to carefully studying the work from the notes, but do not try, at all costs, to “memorize” the passages, not amenable to direct memorization. (Hoffman recommends doing this away from the piano. Start playing only after a few hours.)

After several days of classes, you can perform a new check. There is no doubt that during this time, memorization has greatly advanced (sometimes even in cases where the piece was not played in the interval). If much has not yet been remembered, then there is still no need to force special memorization. It will be necessary to move on to this when only individual episodes and elements of texture remain outside of memory.

Let everyone look for those analogies that help him.

It is important that there are no mechanical repetitions of what has already been found. In each repetition let there be a new understanding and something new in the character and technique of execution. There is no need to be afraid that not everything tried will turn out for the better. Even if something has to be rejected the next day, it will still serve as a new connection in the memory, and thereby contribute to memorization. Knowledge of “wrong”, “wrong” is also knowledge!

The fear that inaccuracies made during the first plays are imprinted, and subsequently, as they say, “cannot be cut out with an ax,” I consider unfounded. If this were really the case, then the mistakes that are inevitable in the first period of mastering any skill would clog the memory so much that development, which requires overcoming one’s “yesterday,” would be almost impossible. In reality, the new, realized as correct, good, giving emotional satisfaction, is thereby consolidated and at the same time serves as a brake on the erroneous and rejected.

Some patterns can be discerned in what exactly is remembered more easily and quickly, and what is remembered more slowly and with difficulty: the places that most interested us, as well as those to which more attention and time were given during work, remain in memory. These will be topics, the most expressive and structurally designed episodes, as well as technically difficult moments that required a lot of effort in the work.

It is more difficult to capture connecting music, transitions, modulations, echoes and details of accompaniment.

Particular care is required for varied repetitions of music, similar but differently modulating sequences and sonata reprises, in which themes found in the exposition are presented in different keys, with different details, with different modulations. Such cases must be analyzed and recorded not only musically, but also conceptually, that is, by telling them to yourself.

So, in cases where work is being done on memorizing a piece of quite a large volume and uneven in difficulty for memorization, you should first play it in its entirety, or, in any case, in large pieces, and only then complete the learning of the unsuccessful one. L. Nikolaev taught a slightly different method. He advised “limiting yourself to a piece that fits into your memory without much difficulty... When it is learned, a new, equally easily digestible piece is added to it, etc.” This method is also certainly justified. You need to listen to the properties of your memory and choose the method that will be more productive.

I will also dwell on an issue that is usually not addressed in the practice of a pianist. It is customary to repeat something learned many times in a row until it is remembered.

Psychologists' experiments on memorizing literary texts indicate that it is more advisable to distribute repetition over several work sessions throughout the day. My experience confirms the data of psychologists.

It should be added that memorization distributed over a number of days gives longer-term memorization than persistent memorization in one go. In the end, it turns out to be more economical: you can learn a piece in one day, but it is also forgotten almost the next day.”

During the student years, “fast” memory often leads to disaster: having easily memorized the pitch and rhythmic side of the music, the musician begins to play the piece by heart even before delving into the meaning and expressive meaning of the composer’s performance remarks, and often without even noticing them. Needless to say, this results in impoverishment and often distortion performed work. Therefore, A. Rubinstein believed that “one should not play a piece by heart too early, so as not to somehow miss an important nuance”

However, in contradiction with A. Rubinstein, many authoritative pianists and teachers believe that learning by heart is where one should begin to master a piece of music.

There is no single answer to the question of at what stage of working on a work one should learn it by heart. The answer depends both on the stage of development of the performer and on his individual properties, in particular, on what type of memory he has the strongest. The faster a piece is remembered, the better, of course. But, knowing it by heart, all subsequent work on it should be carried out with the notes in front of your eyes, and always thoughtfully delve into the musical text.

Learning by memory should never be left to the fingers alone. No matter how reliably you master this composition, fingers deprived of conscious control can easily sin. Such automatic play is quickly disrupted by some unforeseen reason. Muscular motor memory, no matter how strong it is, is not the key to confident performance without notes. Such performance can only be achieved with the coordinated participation of all types of memory: auditory, visual, analytical, motor. The importance of the latter should not be underestimated. It is especially important in fast passages, in intricate polyphonic places, when it is impossible or difficult to carefully follow every sound and all the details of the voice.

Memorization should always be done consciously. Before starting this work, the musical composition must be completely clear for performance, as an integral work with a certain ideological and emotional content and with all its musical and technical details. This is impossible without careful analysis.

Such an analysis presupposes a certain knowledge of musical theoretical disciplines. But even when the student is deprived of them or when they are meager, he should not begin to memorize them before he has become oriented in the range of his possibilities regarding the structure of the essay.

Any premature memorization, before the performer has fully understood the composition and mastered it technically, always has an effect: the student runs the risk of solidifying in his mind, along with the exact moments, all the errors made.

It is useful to memorize in parts: first, one small, relatively complete passage, then add a second, third, etc. to it.

Another important condition for reliable memorization is learning at a slow pace.

G. Neuhaus advises, when working on a piece, to play it “slowly, with all the shades (as if looking through a magnifying glass).”

Playing slowly is especially beneficial when learning from memory. No matter how strong a student's musical memory is, he cannot skip the stage of a slow memory exercise. Only then will his memory accurately and firmly grasp all the musical and technical elements of the composition. It is useful, even after a piece has been played many times at the prescribed tempo, to practice from time to time at a slow tempo. This helps to refresh musical ideas, to clarify everything that may have escaped the control of consciousness over time.

When the composition was not played for a long time and it is possible that some details have been forgotten, you should also turn to a slow pace to regain your former confidence. You should always reconstruct a piece with the notes in front of your eyes.

For confident memorization and in general for the development of musical memory, the benefits of mental performance are especially great. It can be carried out in two ways: the student looks at the notes and hears how the composition sounds in all its details, or imagines it mentally, without looking at the notes. The second turns out to be more difficult for many, since it involves greater musicality and requires greater efforts of consciousness and will.

Establishing “reference points” for memory, for example, the beginning of a phrase or period, the appearance of a new key, an important moment in the development of a composition, helps with confident memorization and reduces the risk of getting lost due to any random errors or omission of some details. Memory reference points are very useful in concert performance, especially for pianists who tend to get nervous in front of an audience.

There are various ways to check how and how reliable this essay learned from memory. One of them: the performer begins the composition from various places, no matter where. Another way is to suddenly stop playing, take your hands off the keyboard, then visualize exactly what comes next and continue playing.

The most reliable, but at the same time the most difficult, means of checking is to rewrite the work from memory without the help of a tool. Such a check can be resorted to after all other methods have been tested.

There are people with exceptional musical memory who memorize a piece of music even in the process of learning it. There are students who, already in their first lesson, bring by heart everything that is assigned to them. Very often, however, despite the exceptionality of their memory, such persons forget this or that place, even in works that they have studied for a long time. The reason lies in the fact that they, trusting their innate memory, did not take the trouble to consciously memorize the essay and work at a slow pace.

A good musical memory is not yet a guarantee of confident memorization and performance. Only then can you be convinced that you really remember a given work when you are able to reconstruct it mentally, trace its development exactly in accordance with the text, without looking at the notes, and clearly recognize in yourself its smallest constituent elements. We can safely say that errors in public performance are due much less to embarrassment and anxiety, which are often referred to, than to an incorrect approach to learning from memory.

The development of musical memory requires no less systematic care. Here we need to proceed from a proven pedagogical principle: from simple to complex, from less to more. It would be unwise to set tasks for memory that are beyond its capabilities. It is natural to start with works of a homophonic nature, with a simple structure, and gradually move towards more complex works with a varied melody, more frequent harmonic changes, etc.

The first tasks should be modest in size - you can start with very tiny plays or, if the composition is longer, with one or several periods. Only by following this path can musical memory be prepared for complex tasks.

CONCLUSION

Musical memory is a complex set of different types of memory, but two of them - auditory and motor - are the most important for it. Logical methods of memorization, such as semantic grouping and semantic correlation, improve retention and can be strongly recommended to young musicians wishing to advance in this direction. However, reliance on voluntary or involuntary memory may also depend on the thinking characteristics of the performing musician, the predominance of mental or artistic origin. Different stages of work require different approaches to memorization, and I. Hoffmann’s well-known formula relating to methods of learning a piece of music can serve as a good guideline in the work.

Proper distribution of repetitions during the learning process, when reasonable breaks are taken and attention is paid to the active nature of repetition, also contributes to success.

Achieving special memorization strength is characterized by highly qualified musicians by translating the temporal relationships of a musical work into spatial ones. The possibility of this level of memorization is ensured by repeated playing of a piece of music in the mind, at the level of musical-auditory ideas.

It is important to create a favorable psychological environment for the student’s studies, find words of support for new creative endeavors, and treat them with sympathy and warmth.

In the process of education, it is important to teach how to rely on intuition, rather than on reason, to understand oneself and the world. Because big discoveries are often made intuitively, thanks to inspiration and insight.

LIST OF REFERENCES USED

1. Akimova G. Memory for five. - E.: “U-factory”, 2006. - 263 p.
2. Apraksina O.A. Musical education at school. Issue 11. – M.: “Music”, 1976. – 136 p.
3. Arden D.B. Memory development for dummies. – M.: “Williams”, 2006. – 351 p.
4. Buzan T. Improve your memory. - M.: “Potpourri”, 2003. - 219 p.
5. Vygotsky L.S. Pedagogical psychology.. – M.: “AST”, 2005. – 671 p.
6. Golubovskaya N.I. Article “The work of a pianist” from the book “Dialogues. Selected articles". - St. Petersburg, 2012. - 219 p.
7. Dal V.I. Dictionary living Great Russian language. – M.: “White City”, 2005. – 639 p.
8. James W. Scientific foundations of psychology.. – M.: “Harvest”, 2003. – 528 p.
9. Kogan G.M. At the gates of mastery: Psychological prerequisites for success in pianistic work. 3rd, add. ed. – M.: Music, 1969. – 351 p.
10. Luria A.R. Lectures on general psychology. - St. Petersburg: “Peter”, 2011. – 320 p.
11. Mutsmacher V.I. Improving musical memory in the process of learning to play the piano. - M.: “Music”. 2009. – 185 p.
12. Nemov R.S. Psychology Book 1 - M.: “Enlightenment”, 2013. – 267 p.
13. Petrushin V.I. Musical psychology. - M.: “Humanitarian Publishing Center”, 1997. – 384 p.
14. Petrushin V.I. Psychology and pedagogy of artistic creativity. - M.: “Academic Project”, 2006. – 490 p.
15. Pugach Yu.K. Memory development. System of receptions. – Krasnodar, 2010.– 267 p.
16. Selchenok K.V. Psychology of artistic creativity. - M.: “Harvest”, 2005. – 752 p.
17. Sergeev B. Secrets of memory. - R-on-D.: “Phoenix”, 2006. – 300 p.
18. Stern V. Psychology of early childhood. - M.: “Harvest”. 2003. – 400 p.
19. Taras A.E. Psychology of music and musical abilities. - M.: “AST”, 2005. – 720 p.
20. Khoroshevsky N.I. How to remember in order to remember. - R-on-D.: “Phoenix”, 2004. – 252 p.

Memory processes

Memorization- this is a memory process through which traces are imprinted, new elements of sensations, perceptions, thoughts or experiences are introduced into the system of associative connections. The basis of memorization is the connection of the material with the meaning into one whole. The establishment of semantic connections is the result of the work of thinking on the content of the memorized material.

Storage- the process of accumulating material in the memory structure, including its processing and assimilation. Saving experience makes it possible for a person to learn, develop his perceptual (internal assessments, perception of the world) processes, thinking and speech.

Playback- the process of updating elements of past experience (images, thoughts, feelings, movements). A simple form of reproduction is recognition - recognition of a perceived object or phenomenon as already known from past experience, establishing similarities between the object and its image in memory. If difficulties arise during the playback process, then the process continues recollection . Selection of elements needed from the point of view of the required task. The information reproduced is not an exact copy what is imprinted in memory. Information is always transformed and restructured.

Forgetting- loss of the ability to reproduce, and sometimes even recognize, what was previously remembered. Most often we forget what is insignificant. Forgetting can be partial (reproduction is incomplete or with an error) and complete (impossibility of reproduction and recognition).

Types of memory

The most general basis for distinguishing different types of memory is the dependence of its characteristics on the characteristics of the activity of memorization and reproduction.

In this case, individual types of memory are distinguished in accordance with three main criteria:

Motor memory- this is the memorization, preservation and reproduction of various movements and their systems. There are people with a pronounced predominance of this type of memory over other types. One psychologist admitted that he was completely unable to reproduce a piece of music in his memory, and could only reproduce an opera he had recently heard as a pantomime. Other people, on the contrary, do not notice their motor memory at all. The great importance of this type of memory is that it serves as the basis for the formation of various practical and work skills, as well as the skills of walking, writing, playing musical instruments, etc. Without memory for movements, we would have to learn to carry out the appropriate actions every time. Usually a sign of good motor memory is a person’s physical dexterity, dexterity in work, high technology playing a musical instrument.

Emotional memory - Memory for emotionally charged events is characterized by the influence of emotions on the mechanisms of memorization and reproduction. It can be stronger than other types of memory: sometimes only a feeling, an impression remains in memory from long-past events. It has been established that events of extreme importance trigger a special mechanism of emotional memory, which records everything that a person experiences in this moment. Recent studies have shown that the hormones adrenaline and norepinephrine are involved in the storage of emotional memories, while they are not involved in the storage of ordinary memories. Thus, emotionally charged memories are stored using a mechanism that is different from that of neutral memories.

Figurative memory- memory for ideas; memorization, preservation and reproduction of images of previously perceived objects and phenomena of reality. Depending on which analyzer takes the greatest part in the perception of the memorized material, figurative memory is divided into visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory and gustatory. If visual and auditory memory, as a rule, are well developed, and play a leading role in the life orientation of all normal people, then tactile, olfactory and gustatory memory, in a certain sense, can be called professional types.

Verbal-logical memory– The content of verbal-logical memory is our thoughts. Thoughts do not exist without language, which is why memory for them is called not just logical, but verbal-logical. Since thoughts can be embodied in various linguistic forms, their reproduction can be oriented towards conveying either only the basic meaning of the material, or its literal verbal design. If in the latter case the material is not subjected to semantic processing at all, then its literal memorization turns out to be no longer logical, but mechanical memorization. (Mechanical memory is memory aimed at remembering elements that are not associated with each other associatively or in a logical and semantic sense.)

Involuntary memory- memory that is not regulated by a specific program and goal. Memorization occurs without volitional efforts on the part of the subject, and the subject does not use any indirect mechanisms and techniques of memorization.

Arbitrary memory– is carried out with the participation of active attention and requires volitional efforts of a person.

Sensory memory– (also called instantaneous) retention for a very short time (usually less than one second) of the products of sensory processing of information entering the senses. Depending on the type of stimuli, iconic memory (vision), echoic memory (hearing) and other types of sensory memory are distinguished. An image that arises as a result of stimulation of receptors by any single impact does not immediately disappear; it continues to exist in the same form in which it appeared, gradually fading within one second for the visual system and much longer for the auditory system. The image continues to appear before the eyes, and the sound continues to sound in the ears, despite the fact that the stimulus has already disappeared.

Short-term memory- retains for a short period of time (on average about 20 s.) a generalized image of the perceived information, its most essential elements. The capacity of short-term memory is on average 7 (±2) units of information and is determined by the amount of information that a person is able to accurately reproduce after a single presentation. By making a conscious effort to repeat the material over and over again, you can retain it in your short-term memory for an indefinite period of time. The most important feature of short-term memory is its selectivity. From instant memory, only that information comes into it that corresponds to the current needs and interests of a person and attracts his increased attention. The physiological mechanism of short-term memory is reverberation electrical activity along closed circuits of neurons.

RAM– designed to store information for a certain, predetermined period of time necessary to perform some action or operation. Information enters short-term memory from sensory or long-term memory, provided that the individual pays active attention to it. The duration of RAM is from several seconds to several days.

Long-term memory- a type of memory in humans and animals, characterized primarily by long-term (sometimes a lifetime) preservation of material after its repeated repetition and reproduction, or due to its bright emotional coloring. The physiological mechanism of long-term memory is called consolidation, and represents both changes in connections between nerve cells and complex biochemical changes in the structure of the cells themselves. One of the primary functions of sleep is the consolidation of information.

Patterns of memory

Ebbinghaus was fascinated by the idea of ​​​​studying “pure” memory - memorization that is not influenced by thinking processes. To do this, they were offered a method of learning meaningless syllables consisting of two consonants and a vowel between them, which do not evoke any semantic associations (for example, bov, gis, loch, etc.).

During the experiments, it was found that after the first error-free repetition of a series of syllables, forgetting proceeds very quickly at first. Already within the first hour, up to 60% of all information received is forgotten; 10 hours after memorization, 35% of what was learned remains in memory. Further, the process of forgetting proceeds slowly and after six days about 20% of the total number of initially learned syllables remains in memory, and the same amount remains in memory after a month.

The conclusions that can be drawn based on this curve are that for effective memorization it is necessary to repeat the memorized material.

Psychologists advise doing several repetitions. Rational repetition mode:

(If there are two days)

first repetition - immediately after finishing reading;

second repetition - 20 minutes after the first repetition;

third repetition - 8 hours after the second;

the fourth repetition - 24 hours after the third.

Laws of memory

MUSICAL MEMORY

“A chord played as freely as you like from the notes does not sound half as free as one played from memory.”

Good musical memory is the rapid memorization of a piece of music, its durable storage and most accurate reproduction even after long term after learning. Mozart, Liszt, Anton Rubinstein, Rachmaninov, Arturo Toscanini had a gigantic musical memory, who could easily retain almost all major musical literature in their memory.

Musical memory “amenable to significant development in the process of special pedagogical influences.”

Types of musical memory

Obviously, we can talk about (1) motor, (2) emotional, (3) visual, (4) auditory and (5) logical memory when we memorize a piece of music. Depending on individual abilities, each musician will rely on a more convenient type of memory.

According to A.D. Alekseev, “musical memory is a synthetic concept, including auditory, motor, logical, visual and other types of memory.” In his opinion, it is necessary “for a pianist to develop at least three types of memory - auditory, which serves as the basis for successful work in any field of musical art, logical - associated with understanding the content of the work, the patterns of development of the composer's thoughts, and motor - extremely important for performer-instrumentalist"

B.M. Teplov, speaking about musical memory, auditory And motor I counted the components in it main . He considered all other types of musical memory valuable, but auxiliary. Auditory component in musical memory is leading . But, said B.M. Teplov, “it is quite possible, and, unfortunately, even widespread, purely motor memorization of music played on the piano”

Development of musical memory

Modern methodologists attach great importance to the development of musical memory to the preliminary analysis of the work, with the help of which active memorization of the material occurs. The importance and effectiveness of this memorization method has been proven in the works of both domestic and foreign researchers.

Thus, the American psychologist G. Whipple, in his experiments, compared the productivity of various methods of memorizing music on the piano, which differed from each other in that in one case, before studying a musical composition on the piano, a preliminary analysis was carried out, in the other, no analysis was applied. At the same time, the time for memorization in both groups of subjects was the same.

An unconditional preference for conscious mental work in the process of memorizing a piece of music runs through all modern methodological recommendations. Thus, according to L. MacKinnon, “the method of analyzing and establishing conscious associations is the only reliable one for memorizing music... Only what is consciously noted can be recalled later of one’s own free will”

In the work of V.I. Mutzmacher “Improving musical memory in the process of learning to play the piano” were developed techniques for learning a piece of music by heart:

Semantic grouping. The essence of the technique, as the author points out, is to divide the work into separate fragments, episodes, each of which represents a logically completed semantic unit of musical material. Therefore, the method of semantic grouping can rightfully be called the method of semantic division... Semantic units represent not only large parts, such as exposition, development, recapitulation, but also those included in them - such as the main, secondary, final parts. Meaningful memorization, carried out in accordance with each element of the musical form, must go from the particular to the whole, through the gradual combination of smaller parts into large ones

Meaningful correlation. This technique is based on the use of mental operations to compare with each other some characteristic features of the tonal and harmonic plans, voice guidance, melody, and accompaniment of the work being studied.

If there is a lack of musical theoretical knowledge necessary to analyze a work, it is recommended to pay attention to the simplest elements of musical fabric - intervals, chords, sequences.

Both techniques - semantic grouping and semantic correlation - are especially effective in memorizing works written in three-part form and sonata allegro form, in which the third part is similar to the first, and the reprise repeats the exposition. At the same time, as V.I. correctly notes. Mutzmacher, “it is important to comprehend and determine what is absolutely identical in identical material and what is not... Imitations, varied repetitions, modulating sequences, etc., elements of the musical fabric require close attention. Referring to G.M. Kogan, the author emphasizes that “when a piece of music has been learned and “goes” without a hitch, returning to analysis only harms the matter.”

Fundamentals of musical psychology Fedorovich Elena Narimanovna

2.6. Musical memory

2.6. Musical memory

The question of whether musical memory is included in the number of musical abilities is solved by modern researchers in different ways. V.I. Petrushin includes memory among the musical cognitive processes. Some consider memory as an individual psychological property of a person, which not only creates opportunities for something, as abilities, but has independent value. We agree with such points of view, but we believe that for the convenience of considering the structure of musical psychology, it is advisable to study musical memory in the range of musical abilities, which is also common in the psychology of musical activity. However, since musical memory is, in addition to an ability, a process that ensures musical learning and musical performance activities, we will consider it in a somewhat broader aspect than other musical abilities.

Memory in a general psychological meaning is the ability to reproduce past experiences, which is one of the main properties of the central nervous system. Memory is expressed in the ability to long-term store information about events in the external world and the body’s reactions to them, as well as repeatedly introduce it into the sphere of consciousness and behavior. The processes of memorization, preservation and reproduction are distinguished, including recognition, recollection and recollection itself. There are voluntary and involuntary memory, direct and indirect, short-term and long-term.

Memory as a property of the nervous system is laid down in the form of a deposit that is inherent in everyone mentally healthy people without exception. All human activity is based on processes related to memory, and differences in memory as an ability are caused not by the presence or absence of a given inclination, but by its qualitative originality and degree of development. In other words, memory can be developed to a very high degree, although the natural predisposition to its development varies from person to person.

Just as human mental and physical activity is based on memory in general, musical activity is based on musical memory, including processes associated with musical education. The lowest level of musical abilities, at which a person is not able to even reproduce the simplest melody, is characterized by its recognition (B. M. Teplov), which is associated with musical ear and memory. Further processes of perception and thinking are based on the accumulation of musical experience through memory. Finally, all musical performing activities and teaching them are based on memory processes: this is memorizing both the musical text itself and all the information necessary for the successful implementation of this activity.

But if the general educational information is acquired on the basis of well-known types of memory, then in relation to memorization, preservation and reproduction of a musical text we speak of musical memory. Is musical memory a special type of memory and what is it?

There is no special musical memory that is fundamentally different from the memory used in other types of activities. Musical memory is a combination of types of memory used in other activities, and its originality lies in the layout and principles of using different types of memory. Musical memory involves:

constructive-logical memory;

emotional-figurative memory;

auditory memory;

visual memory;

motor memory.

IN modern research You can come across the idea that there is a special musical memory, but in the description of its essence the types of memory mentioned above are again listed: in this case we are dealing with the idea that the combination of precisely these types of memory forms musical memory. This essentially does not contradict the statement about the absence of special musical memory, since the list of its constituent components is unchanged.

All these types of memory can appear in various combinations, and the quality of memorization - its longevity, accuracy and strength, as well as the possibility of quick recall - for example, in the situation of a concert performance, may depend on the proportion of use of each of them. Since each person has his own individual combination of predispositions to different types of memory, as a result we can say that everyone’s musical memory is unique. However, there are also general patterns.

The most lasting result comes from memorizing a musical text through constructive-logical memory, often in combination with visual memory. A person who logically (visually-logically) remembers a musical text will remember it for a long time, remember it quickly, and in the situation of a concert performance he will not be afraid of any accidents. Even if something disrupts the error-free performance, the logically learned text will appear in the player’s mind’s eye, and the performance will continue successfully (the maximum trouble is a slight hitch).

The negative side of such memorization is its duration, complexity and cumbersomeness. In order to learn in this way, for example, piano sonata Beethoven, it is necessary to make an effort approximately equal to memorizing a large prose text - a story or a novel. Just as no one teaches prose texts on such a scale, pure logical (visual-logical) memorization of a musical text practically never occurs. Musical text is usually learned in a much easier and even enjoyable way, which musicians call “playing until it’s memorized” (or “until you’re too lazy to turn the pages”). This becomes possible due to the predominant use of auditory memory, almost always in combination with motor memory. This type of memory is called “auditory-motor memory.” Musicians actively use auditory-motor memory for two reasons: first, hearing and motor abilities are essential components of musical ability in general (as opposed to the ability to logical thinking) and, therefore, are inherent to one degree or another in all those professionally involved in music; secondly, auditory and motor memory, by their very nature, “grasp” the text relatively quickly and without significant effort. The activity of auditory memory is determined by the fact that music as an art has a sound nature.

This speed and ease comes at the cost of unreliable memorization and high stage accident rates. Auditory and motor memory, isolated from constructive-logical memory, master the text outside of its active awareness, largely automatically (motor memory in general psychology has a second name: “memory-habit”). The slightest change in the situation, even the simple presence of a teacher, is enough for the auditory-motor complex to collapse. Such memorization is all the more fraught with troubles in the situation of a concert (examination, competitive) performance.

A performer who turns only (or predominantly) to auditory-motor memory can put himself in an almost pathological situation: a person who has played a given piece by heart dozens or even hundreds of times, forgets one note or chord at a concert (or does not forget, but simply physically misses the mark). them, which happens often due to excitement), stops and cannot remember a single episode of the work - neither before nor after the stop.

The way out of this situation is usually like this: don't think, but they start hands look for “scraps” of texture, in the hope that the auditory-motor complex will accidentally be restored, and the performance will go further “on its own.” It is not the desired episode that can be restored, but a similar one (for example, an exposition instead of a reprise, and then listeners will be treated to a “tale about a white bull”); and even if the performer accidentally “grabs” the desired phrase, then the smoothness of further performance is ensured only until the next accident, which can happen at any moment. One or more such performances can create a persistent fear of the stage.

This option for memorizing text is usually demonstrated by students with excellent coordination abilities and excellent hearing, that is, objectively the most capable - of course, provided that they are insufficiently qualified pedagogical leadership their training. Individual elements of auditory-motor memorization are more common, and it is more difficult to deal with them than with cases of frankly illiterate operation of musical memory.

In most cases, students, having accepted the teacher’s instructions about memorization methods, including logical comprehension of the musical fabric, begin to work consciously and after a while they discover that they are again playing automatically, “on motor skills” (or this is later discovered by the teacher).

Auditory-motor memory has a certain “aggressiveness”: it literally imposes itself on the performer, and you need to have experience and willpower to force yourself to comprehend the musical fabric.

Most often, the process of learning by heart has a multi-stage structure. Having learned the text and playing it entirely at home, the performer (student) thinks that he knows it by heart, but when performing in the presence of someone (for example, a teacher), he discovers peculiar “blank spots” - episodes in which he does not remember the text. These are, as a rule, those episodes that are learned predominantly by auditory-motor memory, and the “white spots” usually turn out to be the simplest places that are easily grasped by auditory-motor memory. Textually complex episodes are better comprehended (remembered constructively and logically) immediately, otherwise they are difficult to remember.

The further stage of work on learning by heart includes the elimination of blank spots, that is, learning these episodes logically or visually-logically. During the next playback, other unlearned passages appear, etc. By eliminating the blank spots, the student gradually learns logically the entire text, or more precisely, reinforces by double or even triple learning what was once already learned by auditory-motor memory.

Teachers know this paradoxical phenomenon: at the last rehearsal, a student suddenly forgets the very beginning of the piece or its ending. Some even joke that this is a sign of readiness for stage performance. Upon closer examination, this is not such a paradox: the beginning and ending of a work are usually remembered immediately and predominantly auditory-motor; as blank spots in the text are eliminated, the student moves towards reinforcement by logical memory of increasingly simple episodes and, finally, auditory-motor memory fails him in the simplest ones - the beginning and the end; this means that the rest have already been learned.

Of course, the process of memorizing a piece of music has individual characteristics for everyone, but in general there is no doubt that it is based on the interaction of all of the above types of memory, and not only their simultaneous complex action, but the multi-layered reinforcement of one type by another.

The question of the mechanisms of action of emotional-figurative memory in the process of learning a musical text has not yet been sufficiently studied. It is rather close to auditory-motor in terms of the insufficient inclusion of awareness mechanisms (there is even the concept of “auditory-imaginative memory”) and includes the recall of the general emotional and artistic contours of the work, and not the details of the text.

Awareness of the musical fabric of a work in the process of working on it is insurance against forgetting the text on the stage - this was the conclusion reached by L. MacKinnon, the author of the book “Playing by Heart,” widely known in music and performing circles.

Having interrupted her performing career due to breakdowns caused by forgetting the text, MacKinnon began researching the mechanisms of its memorization and came to interesting conclusions. In her opinion, breakdowns occur due to a discrepancy between the degree of awareness of the performer’s work and the performing situation.

During the long preparatory period, the musician, relying on auditory-motor memory, plays with minimal participation of consciousness. During a performance on stage, due to the special responsibility of the moment, he tries to be as fully aware of what is happening as possible, and the text is not entirely present in his mind. Paradoxically, it would be better if the performer treated the performance less responsibly and played “automatically.”

L. MacKinnon suggests “turning” the whole process in the opposite direction: during the preparatory work, be as fully aware of all the details of the text and work on it as possible, and at the time of the speech, on the contrary, rely more on the developed automatism and try not to concentrate attention.

The last part of this advice seems controversial, at least for everyone. As for the first, this is further evidence of the close connection between the type of memory used in the work, the degree of meaningfulness of the work on the work and the result of memorization.

To firmly memorize a musical text and practically eliminate the risk of forgetting it on stage, a mental musical-auditory representation of the entire work, i.e., working without an instrument, is extremely useful.

I. Hoffman divided the work on the work into four stages: 1) at the piano with notes, 2) at the piano without notes, 3) with notes without piano, 4) without piano and without notes. Final stage This is precisely mental playback through musical and auditory representations (while many students consider the work of memorizing the text completed when they are at the second stage - “at the piano without notes”).

However, such playing the entire work requires lengthy special preparation and significant volitional efforts, since without them the internal musical image will be collapsed into the so-called “code” form. For more information about this, see the chapters devoted to the peculiarities of musical thinking and ways to overcome stage anxiety.

In conclusion, we can give examples of how amazing the musical memory of people who are naturally gifted and purposefully developed it can be.

“The conductor must keep the score in his head, and not his head in the score,” these words of the outstanding German pianist and conductor G. von Bülow are used in their practice by many conductors who memorize dozens of symphonic, operatic and choral works. How big this is can only be imagined by opening the symphonic score.

Instrumentalists, unlike conductors, most often perform works by heart, as a result of lengthy work on memorizing them. But not everyone needs such work. There is a well-known case with the young Sergei Rachmaninov, who, having once heard Glazunov’s new symphony from behind the doors, immediately played it all. This was demonstrated at different times by J. S. Bach, W. A. ​​Mozart, L. Beethoven, F. Mendelssohn and other geniuses.

No less interesting is the ability to store a huge repertoire in memory for a long time. Emil Gilels in his youth, by his own admission, allowed himself play as an encore works that he had not repeated for this concert (which means he had not played for several weeks, months or even years). Subsequently, he did not do this, but not because he could not, but because his creative conscience did not allow him to do so. Such storage in memory is not just speculative knowledge, but a possibility at any moment play on stage, including complete motor and emotional preservation.

This and many other examples testify, of course, to amazing natural inclinations - but not only that. Memory abilities can remain largely inactive, or they can be developed through targeted efforts to a very high degree. In relation to musical memory, such efforts mean arbitrary, intentional memorization of musical material based on its understanding and feeling. The less pronounced the inclinations of quick and accurate memorization, the more extensive efforts the student must make - and vice versa. Very gifted musicians can rely on nature and use unintentional memorization to to a greater extent than the averagely gifted and low-talented.

Guided by the principle of purposeful, conscious work on memorizing musical material, each student can independently or with the help of a teacher develop a number of techniques that are most suitable for him to develop his musical memory. It is important, along with the principle of awareness, to adhere to the principle of complexity, that is, participation in the process of learning a work of all types of memory that form musical memory: this will serve as the basis for strong memorization, long-term preservation and rapid restoration in memory and the introduction of musical material into active activity.

Literature

1. Barenboim L.A. Emil Gilels. M., 1990.

2. Gotsdiner A. L. Musical psychology. M.,1993.

3. Kirnarskaya D.K. Musical abilities. M.,2004.

4. Medushevsky V.V. Intonation form of music.M., 1993.

5. McKinnon L. Playing by heart. L., 1967.

6. Neuhaus G. G. About the art of piano playing. M.,1988.

7. Neuhaus G. G. Reflections, memories, diaries.Selected articles. Letters to parents. M., 1982.

8. Petrushin V.I. Musical psychology. M.,1997.

9. Psychology of musical activity: Theory and practice / Ed. G. M. Tsypina. M., 2003.

10. Tarasova K.V. Ontogenesis of musical abilities.M., 1988.

11. Teplov B. M. Psychology of musical abilities.M., 1947.