"I have to memorize it?!?"

You may already be hearing grumblings at home about how students are required to memorize the pieces that they will be performing at our Spring Recital, but you might not know why we're putting you and your kids through this "torture."

The practice of memorizing music for performance began during the Romantic Era (1820-1900) when Nicolo Paganini, Franz Liszt, and Clara Schumann were touring around Europe performing. Before that time, performers often used music in concerts and recitals, partly due to the fact that they didn't typically have very much time beforehand to prepare. New music was written and performed so quickly that memorizing it all in a short amount of time wasn't realistic or expected. But beginning in the Romantic Era, music was written and prepared for more slowly, because composers were often writing "art for art's sake" instead of for a quick paycheck.

  Listen to Paganini's music

Nicolo Paganini (1782-1840), one of the greatest violinists of all time, spent most of his adult life on tour performing his own compositions and those of other composers. His ingenuity and skill developed the way the violin was played and the music that was written for it. And he performed most of his music from memory.

  Listen to Franz Liszt's music

Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was quite the lady's man and rock star in his day. He was one of the greatest pianists in history and also quite a sensational performer. Ladies would often swoon and faint during his concerts (picture Beatlemania in the '50s).  In his youth, he saw Paganini perform and wanted to be the pianist version of Paganini. Liszt wrote his own pieces, but also transcribed many classic pieces by other composers for piano... and he performed most of his concerts from memory.

Listen to Clara Schumann's music

Clara Schumann (1819-1896) was one classy lady. The wife of famous composer Robert Schumann, she was also a renowned concert pianist.  She liked to perform the works of famous composers before her like Bach and Mozart, her husband’s compositions, and those of her close friend Johannes Brahms. After her husband Robert died, she concertized throughout Europe and ended her career as a celebrated piano teacher. She taught her students to play all their solo piece from memory so they would perform better.

These famous musicians changed the way music was performed. Other musicians wanted to emulate them and began memorizing their pieces as well, until the tradition of memorizing solo music became commonplace. Today, we musicians spend a lot of time memorizing our solo music in order to perform it better. 


Here are some of the practical benefits of memorizing music:

·      Better note accuracy

·      Better expressiveness and artistry

·      Better ability to engage with the audience

·      Faster speed

·      Comfort performing at the drop of a hat

·      Develops performance skills under pressure than can translate easily to presentations, job interviews, public speaking, and many other aspects of non-musical life

So if your kids are complaining about memorizing music, feel free to blame Paganini, Liszt or Schumann, but their performances really will be significantly better once the music is safely stored in their memories.