# Memorization techinique?



## ltgp

Hello, I' didn't want to start a new topic for the folowing question, so I'm writing in here...

At my university I have a exam where, we are played a selection of 10 songs (in the first subject it goes about Beethoven's sonatas(24 of them) and in the second it goes about music form the era of greek to 1750a.d so it ends with songs of bach(60+ songs).) 
Does anyone know a technique how to remember a specific song, I've been searching the net and couldn't find any help.
btw, I'm studiing musicology.

Thank you for your help


----------



## Rasa

Play the themes on the piano until you know them.


----------



## Krummhorn

Indeed ... it's called "memorization" ... that is something you cannot learn off the internet ... you have to play those pieces repeatedly in order to memorize them. 

One would also think, being in a musicology class that one would know that classical works for piano are not "songs" ... they are "pieces" or "compositions". "Songs" are sung ... "pieces" are played . But we have iTunes to thank for naming classical music as 'songs' ...


----------



## Norse

The way I interpret this, you are supposed to recognize pieces you hear and not play them yourself. In that case; is your problem to recognize and differentiate all the pieces musically, or is it more about relating pieces to names and numbers?

In the first case, I think you just have to listen alot (probably no need to listen to entire pieces), do what Rasa says, and maybe look at the scores too, just to have another 'hook' to put things on. In the other case, association will be incredibly important (as it usually is when it comes to memory). I'm a little too tired to come up with specifics, but you simply have to work on finding ways to associate what you're hearing with the name/composer etc. Looking at scores can give you a visual association with title etc, at least.

I've studied musicology too, and I've got to say that sounds like a strange exam. Even if the course is only about Beethoven sonatas, it's a little peculiar. But guess there are different pedagogical traditions around the world.


----------



## Lukecash12

Simply make the pieces memorable. Internalize the piece and what it's doing, what it's about. If aren't interested in the music, have enough passion to think hard about every piece, then you won't be able to remember music. I'd suggest you find recordings you like, study the themes, maybe find a way to look at the autograph score. So long as you feed and facilitate fascination in yourself, you'll be able to remember the music.


----------



## Guest

You say a specific song meaning one so I think what Norse says is correct either you have a musical brain or you don't if you do you will remember after hearing it a couple or so times, if you don't it's going to be an uphill battle.


----------



## Meaghan

When I was taking my first music history class and we had listening quizzes, something that helped me identify the pieces was if I studied by notating the rhythms and melodic contour of main themes (not the exact notes, as I hadn't mastered melodic dictation yet) in my notebook while I listened. When I wrote down approximations of particularly recognizable parts, the physical act of writing them down helped me remember them better.


----------

