Tusen tack, Andreas, for adding practice and disposition to this discussion.
Both muscle memory and musical memory can, in my experience, work both ways: I remember once having to play some modern piece (not my specialty) and while practicing, the music somehow put itself really securely into my muscle memory, to be reproduced quite accurately as I wanted it to be reproduced. Conversely, I have (as probably everyone) a few pieces from my early days, that have implanted themselves so jerkily in my muscle memory that every time I want to perform them I have to sit down with the score and re-practice them in order to get rid of my old habits.
Musical memory can work in exactly these two fashions as well; sloppy or precise. [Which derails me to mention Arthur Rubinstein, who claimed that he memorized the visual image of the score (and thus mentally sight-read while playing). Being a good (musical) memorizer I have no idea how that would work...]
Playing from memory is, in my view, a matter of natural disposition. Some people take much more easily to it than others. During my very early attempts, it was virtually impossible for me _not_ to play from memory no matter what people said (and believe me, they did say...). So for me, I admit, the mid-80s harpsichord guru's nonchalance about playing by heart was decidedly unhelpful; I should have been given methods to develop my skills instead of being shrugged at. Imagine my astonishment when I recently read through the examination requirements at the Mozarteum in Salzburg: apparently, harpsichord students there are required to perform their recitals from memory.
It is good to realize in this discussion that the benefits of memorizing have been treated in contradictory ways throughout the history of piano playing and -pedagogy. Modern knee-jerk value judgments are most of the time influenced by what we've heard from others, and don't really reflect which of the two - playing from the music, or playing from memory - is actually "better" ("better" for whom, too. For the performer or for the audiences?). People like Liszt either improvised or, as frequently reported, played their stuff from the music, instead of looking at those "stupid keys". It may well be (that's my theory) that the modern pianist's nemesis - the requirement to play everything from memory - has its origins in the wish to look like one is improvising even if one played actual pieces.
Tilman
On Sat, 6 Nov 2010 03:26:18 -0500, Andreas Edlund <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>There is certainly no right and wrong when it comes to playing by heart, I don't question that.
>
>In response to Heinrich C. Kuhn, I would like to add that I believe that how the performance will be depends on HOW it was memorized - percentage of "muscle memory" vs "brain cell storage". I generally feel freer to communicate with the situation and the composition without music on the stand, but in cases when I want to extemporize and improvise more, keeping the page in front of me makes me more daring in my excursions. Kind of easier to get back on track.
>
>Btw, I am one of those who prefer not to use music stand from acoustical reasons. I'd rather put the music flat on top of the jackrail.
>
>Andreas.
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