A study of the methods of memorizing employedby piano students at the University of Arizona

Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic)

Authors Stabile, Blaise Joseph, 1922-

Publisher The University of Arizona.

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A STUDY OF THE METHODS OF MEMORIZING

EMPLOYED BY HAND STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

B la ise J F 'S ta b l le

' )A T h esis

su b m itted to th e f a c u l ty o f th e

Department cf Music Education

in p a r t i a l f u l f i l lm e n t o f th e

req u irem en ts f o r th e degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

in th e G raduate C o lleg e , U n iv e rs ity o f A rizona

1951

Approved / £ f 7

/9<r/

; ACKNOWLEDGHfflHTS

' The w r i t e r w ishes to ex p ress h is a p p re c ia t io n

to P ro fe s s o r H a r tle y D. Snyder, the d i r e c to r of th i s

the s i s f o r h is in v a lu a b le ad v ice and gu idance du rin g

i t s p r e p a r a t io n , to A s s is ta n t P ro fe s s o r Lyle M* Young

and to a l l th e p iano te a c h e rs and p iano s tu d e n ts of

the U n iv e r s ity of A rizona who p a r t ic ip a te d in making

t h i s th e s i s p o ss ib le # .

219160

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PageCHAPTER I .............................................

a . In tro d u c tio n . . . . . . . . . . .b . S ta tem en t o f the problemc . Method of g a th e r in g d a tad . O rg a n iza tio n o f th e r e p o r t ............................... 11

CHAPTER I I ................................................................. 12P ro c esse s o f M usical Memory Based

on R e la ted L i te r a tu r e

CHAPTER I I I ............................................................................... 23P re s e n ta t io n of Data O btained

from th e In te rv ie w

chapter I?. . . . . ; . . .a . Summary . ...................................................................... 52b . C onclusions and recom m endations ................... 55

BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................. 60

APPENDIX 62V

) h)

M

L IST OF TABLES

TABLE I - a ................ ......................................................... .C la s s i f i c a t io n o f a l l s tu d e n ts accord ing to method of m emorizing em ployed, showing frequency d i s t r ib u t io n in each of the m easures of memory a b i l i t y

TABLE I - b ........................... .............................................. .C la s s i f i c a t io n of a l l s tu d e n ts acco rd in g to method of memorizing em ployed, showing the frequency d i s t r i b u t io n a f t e r the two ran k in g s ( s tu d e n t 's and t e a c h e r 's ) were averaged

TABLE I l - a ....................... .................................................Frequency d i s t r ib u t io n of the groups using the e s s e n t i a l MA p lu s o n e , tw o, or th re e o th e r methods o f memorizing acco rd ing to the s tu d e n t 's own rank ing

TABLE I l - b ........................................................................Frequency d i s t r i b u t io n o f the groups using the e s s e n t i a l MA com bination p lus one , two o r th re e o th e r methods of memorizing acco rd in g to the te a c h e r 's rank ing of the s tu d e n t 's a b i l i t y

TABLE I I - c ......... ............. •................ ...............................Frequency d i s t r i b u t io n of the groups u sing the e s s e n t i a l MA com bination p lu s one , two o r th re e o th e r methods o f memorizing acco rd ing to the average rank ing of the s tu d e n t 's a b i l i t y

TABLE I l l - a ....................... ........... .................Frequency d i s t r i b u t io n o f a l l s tu d e n ts who used v is u a l memory, a l l who d id no t use v is u a l memory and the e n t i r e group a c c ­o rd ing to the s tu d e n t 's own rank ing as to a b i l i t y

Page28

30

32

33

34

3 6

TABLE I l l - b ....................................................................Frequency d i s t r i b u t io n o f a l l s tu d e n ts who used v is u a l memory, a l l who did n o t use v is u a l memory and the e n t i r e group acco rd in g to the t e a c h e r ’ s ran k in g of the s tu d e n t ’ s a b i l i t y

TABLE I I I - c ......... ........................ .................................Frequency d i s t r ib u t io n o f a l l s tu d e n ts who used v is u a l memory, a l l who d id no t use v is u a l memory and th e e n t i r e group accord ing to th e ran k in g s averaged from T able I l l - a and IT I-b

TABLE IV-a ................................ .....................................Frequency d i s t r i b u t i o n o f a l l s tu d e n ts who used harm onic a n a l y s i s , a l l who d id no t use harm onic a n a ly s i s , and the e n t i r e group acco rd in g to the s tu d e n t 's own rank ing as to a b i l i t y

TABLE IV-b ......................................................................Frequency d i s t r i b u t io n o f a l l s tu d e n ts who used harm onic a n a l y s i s , a l l who did n o t use harm onic a n a ly s i s , and the e n t i r e group acco rd in g to th e t e a c h e r 's rank ing of the s tu d e n t ’s a b i l i t y

TABLE IV-c ......................... .............................................Frequency d i s t r i b u t io n of a l l s tu d e n ts who used harmonic a n a ly s i s , a l l who did n o t use harmonic a n a ly s i s , and the e n t i r e group acco rd ing to th e t e a c h e r 's ran k in g o f the s tu d e n t 's a b i l i t y

TABLE V-a ...................................................... .................Frequency d i s t r i b u t io n o f a l l s tu d e n ts who used i n t e l l e c t u a l memory, a l l who did n o t , and the e n t i r e group acco rd in g to the s tu d e n t 's own rank ing

TABLE V-b ........................................................................F requency d i s t r i b u t io n o f a l l s tu d e n t 's who used i n t e l l e c t u a l memory, a l l who d id n o t , and the e n t i r e g roup , acco rd ing to the t e a c h e r 's rank ing o f the s tu d e n t 's a b i l i t y

Page37

38

40

41

42

44

4 5

TABLE V-0 ................................ .................................Frequency d i s t r i b u t i o n o f a l l s tu d e n ts who used i n t e l l e c t u a l memory, a l l who d id n o t , and the e n t i r e g roup , acco rd in g to the ran k in g s averaged from th e s tu d e n t’ s and te a c h e r ’ s e s tim a te s

TABLE V l-a ...............................................................D is t r ib u t io n o f s tu d e n ts u sin g the MA e s s e n t i a l , the v i s u a l , harmonic an­a ly s i s , and i n t e l l e c t u a l methods

TABLE VI-b ...............................................................Frequency d i s t r i b u t i o n o f th e groups u s in g the e s s e n t i a l HA p lu s o n e , two or th re e o th e r methods of memorizing acco rd in g to t h e i r s a t i s f a c to r y o r u n s a t is f a c to ry memory su ccess

CHAPTER I

a . In tro d u c tio n

Memorizing m usic has alw ays been a g r e a t concern

among music te a c h e rs and music s tu d e n ts , and th e la c k of

success in memorizing has proved b a f f l in g and d isc o u ra g ­

in g . O b serv a tio n of many piano s tu d e n ts whom th e w r i t e r

has known th roughou t the course of c o lle g e y e a rs in d ic a te d

th a t s e v e ra l th in g s a re m is s in g . Many s tu d e n ts p r a c t ic e

t h e i r p ie c e s fo r long h o u rs , d ev o tin g much tim e to thorough

p r a c t ic in g to overcome problem s o f tech n iq u e b efo re memoriz­

in g . In a tte m p tin g to overcome problem s of techn ique the

s tu d e n t i s c o n s ta n tly in the p ro cess of m em orizing. But

he i s n o t m emorizing c o n sc io u s ly or w i l l f u l l y . .He i s mem?

o r iz in g by means of an au to m atic k in a e s th e t ic p ro c e s s . The

s tu d e n t becomes so absorbed in h is endeavor to overcome

problem s of tech n iq u e th a t a u d ito ry memory i s somewhat

n e g le c te d . The problem o f tech n iq u e compels the s tu d en t

to d i s t r a c t h is a t t e n t io n from l i s t e n i n g to h is own perfo rm ­

an ce . C onsequen tly , th e re i s an in ad eq u a te a p p l ic a t io n of

a l l the p ro c e s se s of m usical memory.

The d e s ire to overcome problem s of tech n iq u e b efo re

m em orizing i s n o t alw ays enough to secu re an adequate form ula

f o r m em orizing. In m emorizing r e p e to ir e p i a n i s t s a re o v e r­

2

whelmed by a s t a t e of u n c e r ta in ty as to how they should mem­

o r iz e . They cannot p lay a s e le c t io n co m p le te ly th rough by

memory and a re unable to le a rn th e reaso n s why. They do n o t

understand what i s a t f a u l t in t h e i r methods o f m em orizing.

C onsequen tly , th e re i s no hope fo r im provem ent. How can

th e se s tu d e n ts improve t h e i r a b i l i t y ? What in t h e i r methods

of memorizing le a d s them a s t r a y ? How m ny methods o f memo —

liz in g a re th e re and which of them a re s u c c e s s fu l?

b . S ta tem en t of the problem

A p rev io u s study by Black was chosen as a b a s is fo r

th i s p re se n t s tu d y . In B la c k ’ s th e s i s the problem s ta te d

was " to f in d ou t what ways of memorizing piano music appear

to be most s u c c e s s fu l in a c tu a l p r a c t i c e . The s o lu t io n

to th i s problem was found u n s a t i s f a c to r y , and B lack suggested

f u r th e r s tudy of th i s problem to u n ea rth more s ig n i f i c a n t

d a ta . A te n ta t iv e h y p o th e s is was g iven by B lack as fo l lo w s :

In memorizing p iano music i t would ap p ear th a t &ny one method shou ld be re in fo rc e d by th e ' employ­ment o f o th e r m ethods, s in c e the few est memory f a i l u r e s Were re p o r te d by those who used a combin­a t io n of m ethods.2

Thus the w r i t e r endeavored to u ndertake the work of

t h i s problem . The o b je c t in mind was to f in d a d d i t io n a l

d a ta which would e i t h e r r e in fo rc e o r d isp ro v e the d ed u c tio n s

■‘■Frederick L. B l a c k , ' J r . , An I n v e s t ig a t io n of The Methods o f Memorizing Employed By P iano S tu d e n ts , In d ian a S ta te T each e r’s C o lleg e , No. 311, M. A. T h e s is , 1937•

%I b i d . . p . 73.

3

made by B lack . A lso the accum ulation of d a ta from an e n t i r e ly

d i f f e r e n t l y l o c a l i t y would a f fo rd the o p p o rtu n ity to in d ic a te

w hether B la c k 's co n c lu s io n s could be made lo c a l o r g e n e ra l .

Thus the problem o f th i s th e s is i s s ta te d as fo llo w s :

What a re the methods o f m em orizing employed by p iano s tu d e n ts

a t the U n iv e rs ity o f A rizona and which of them ap p ear most

s u c c e s s fu l?

c . Method o f g a th e r in g d a ta

The method o f g a th e r in g d a ta fo r th i s p re se n t study

was s im ila r , to B la c k 's s tu d y ex cep t th a t the q u e s tio n n a ire

was s u b s t i tu te d by the in te rv ie w . R e a liz in g the shortcom ings

of the q u e s tio n n a ire method th e w r i te r b e lie v e d th e in te rv ie w

would p rov ide b e t t e r o p p o r tu n ity f o r accu racy o f in fo rm a tio n

in g a th e r in g d a ta . The study of an in d iv id u a l 's method o f

m em orizing a t the piano would be b e t t e r n o tic e d th ro u g h th e

in te rv ie w .

A ll p iano s tu d e n ts under p r iv a te I n s t r u c t io n a t the

U n iv e r s i ty o f A rizona d u rin g sp r in g sem ester o f 1951 were

in te rv ie w e d . Each s tu d e n t was In te rv iew e d p r iv a te ly . More

than h a l f were a t work in t h e i r p r a c t ic e rooms a t th e School

o f Music when they were in te rv ie w e d . O thers had to be con­

ta c te d a t t h e i r homes and in between c la s s hours*

A model in te rv ie w was c o n s tru c te d c o n ta in in g a l l

p e r t in e n t q u e s tio n s on m em orizing p iano m usic. (A sample o f

t h i s in te rv ie w can be found in th e A ppenidx.) A ll q u e s tio n s

4

in t h i s in te rv ie w o r ig in a te d from p rev io u s l i t e r a t u r e r e la te d

to th i s f i e l d o f 's tu d y .

There were two main purposes f o r t h i s in te rv ie w . One

was to f in d ou t what methods o f m emorizing were employed by

p iano s tu d e n ts a t the U n iv ers ity o f A rizona . The o th e r was

to f in d ou t w hich o f th e se methods appear s u c c e s s fu l . In

o rd e r to determ ine what methods were s u c c e s s fu l i t was n ec­

e s s a ry to e s tim a te the s tu d e n t ’s a b i l i t y to mem orize. A b i l i ty

to memorize was e s tim a te d by means o f a rank ing system which

fo llo w s :

A b i l i ty to memorize Rankingra p id ly ..................................... If a i r l y r a p id ............................ 2a v e ra g e ...................................... 3f a i r l y slow . . . . . . . . . . . . 4slow .............................................. 5

Both th e s tu d e n t and h is p iano in s t r u c to r were asked $0

approxim ate the s tu d e n t ’ s a b i l i t y to memorize acco rd in g to

th i s rank ing system . The two ran k in g s were then compared

w ith an average of the two as a t h i r d means o f e s tim a tin g

the s tu d e n t’ s a b i l i t y .

Q uestion number one o f th e in te rv ie w concerned m otor

memory. The s tu d e n t was asked w hether o r n o t he p layed a

p iece r e p e t i t i o u s ly u n t i l i t became a u to m a tic a lly m em orized.

Because o f th e f a c to r of economy of time in memorizing m u sic ,

t h i s has f re q u e n tly been th e o b je c t o f much s p e c u la t io n . The

common p r a c t ic e of memorizing music th ro u g h m echanical re a d in g

t r i a l s a t the p iano has been found in f e r i o r to immediate key­

5

board m em orizing .^ In a a e r ie s o f ex p erim en ts designed to

answ er w hether o r nd t m e h r e p e t i t i o n o f a s i t u a t i o n produces

le a r n in g , Thorndike n l s o found th a t r e p e t i t io n s alone der n o t

produce dependable l e a r n in g . * 2

Q uestions two and th re e o f t h i s in te rv ie w w ere d ev ised

to f in d o u t w hether the s tu d e n t depended on v i s u a l memory

when p lay in g from memory.

Q uestion fo u r was based on a u d i to ry memory. Each s tu ­

d en t was ex p ec ted to answer MYesn . The purpose o f t h i s ques­

t io n was m erely to judge from th e s tu d e n t 's response the

e x te n t to w hich e a r memory was being u t i l i z e d .

In q u es tio n number f iv e the s tu d e n t r e l a t e d w h eth e r

o r no t harm onic a n a ly s is had been a p p lie d in m em orizing.

Q uestion s ix concerned i n t e l l e c t u a l memory. T h is item

n e c e s s i ta te d some e x p la n a tio n to e l im in a te co n fu sio n between

harm onic a n a ly s is and i n t e l l e c t u a l memory. In the s tu d y by

B lack , harm onic a n a ly s is and i n t e l l e c t u a l memory were in c lu d ed

a s one s in g le memory p ro cess under the c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of

" I n t e l l e c t u a l Memory". However, the w r i te r f e l t j u s t i f i e d

i n c l a s s i f y in g th e two p ro c e sse s as s e p a ra te d i s t i n c t c a te ­

g o r ie s . This s e p a ra te c l a s s i f i c a t i o n was based on the f a c t

t h a t many s tu d e n ts have had no t r a in in g in th e o ry , and th e r e ­

fo re would be unable to an a ly ze h a rm o n ic a lly . Y et th e se

l& race Rubin-R abson, "S tu d ie s in The Psychology o f M emorizing P iano M usic", Jo u rn a l o f E d u c a tio n a l P sy cho logy . A p r i l IQ4 0 , p . 111. '

2I b i d . , p . 111 .

6

same s tu d e n ts w e re . in o lin e d to em phasize t h e i r I n t e l l e c t u a l

concep ts by s tu d y in g the m usic seay from th e piano* As

f u r th e r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of t h i s s e p a ra te p ro ce ss o f m em orizing

i n t e l l e c t u a l l y an experim en t by Rabson i s summarized a s

fo l lo w s :

Of th e s e v e ra l te ch n iq u e s examined in sea rch o f an adequate form ula f o r memorizing none y ie ld e d such marked r e s u l t s as th e a n a ly t ic a l" s tu d y o f the m a te r ia l p re lim in a ry to keyboard c o m p le tio n .. .*

S ince the I n t e l l e c t u a l concep ts a re b e t t e r apprehended when f r e e from th e e x ig e n c ie s o f main­ta in in g smooth and rhy thm ic flow in perfo rm ance, s i l e n t s tu d y and a n a ly s is must p recede keyboard p r a c t i c e .

Q uestion seven w ith re g a rd to th e whole o r p a r t

method re q u ire d much i n t e r p r e t a t i o n by the in te rv ie w e r .

Many s tu d e n ts were n o t aw are o f w hich method th ey em ployed.

The d e c is io n to in c lu d e t h i s item in the in te rv ie w was due

to e v id e n t d isag reem en t concern ing the r e l a t i v e e f f ic ie n c y

o f the p a r t and whole m ethods. 0 ,B rien summarized a r e p o r t

on p a r t and whole methods in th e m em orization o f music s t a t ­

in g th a t the p a r t method was more econom ical s in c e th e re

was d e f in i t e sav ing o f tim e ran g in g from tw e n ty -f iv e p e r

c e n t to s ix t y - f iv e p e r c e n t in th e u t i l i z a t i o n o f t h i s m ethod.

In th e so u n d le ss m em orization of music ( v is u a l memory) th e

p a r t method was d e f in i t e ly s u p e r io r in economy of tim e .

N e ith e r whole no r p a r t method was fav o red when a l l th e r e s u l t s

-klraoe Rubin-Rabson, "S tu d ie s in The Psychology of M emorizing P iano M usic", Jo u rn a l o f E d u c a tio n a l P sycho logy . Volume 3 2 , January 1941 , p .1 0 2 .

7

of th e experim ent in a u d i to ry ( d ic ta t io n ) memory was c o n s id ­

e re d . Where th e k ln a e a th e t ic memory was p redom inan t, m o to r

memory of music by the p a r t method was accom plished w ith a

sav ing o f tim e ran g in g from t h i r t y - f i v e p e r c e n t to s i x t y

f iv e p e r cent*

In i n t e r p r e t in g the d a ta o f t h i s s tu d y th e re i s e v i ­

dence th a t in the m em orization o f music in v o lv in g a u d i to ry ,

v is u a l and m otor c a p a c i t ie s th e p a r t method o f mem orizing

i s more econom ical,

In one o f Rabson*s ex p erim en ts th e re was rea so n to

b e l ie v e th a t a group o f m usic s tu d e n ts o f d iv e rs e c a p a b i l i ­

t i e s could most p r o f i t a b ly be ad v ised to work in as sm a ll

u n i ts as th e y in d iv id u a l ly f in d s a t i s f a c t o r y • R e su lts

in d ic a te d th a t " a b i l i t y to work co m fo rtab ly w ith l a r g e r

u n i t s i s s p e c i f i c to the more capab le s u b je c ts and so

becomes a c r i t e r i o n tow ard w hich to s t r iv e * "

Q uestion e ig h t concerned the use o f m emorizing each

hand s e p a r a te ly . I t was in c lu d e d in t h i s in te rv ie w because

th e re has been c o n s id e ra b le d is tu rb a n c e caused by th e in a d ­

equacy of th e p re p a ra t io n o f th e l e f t hand* This becomes

p a in fu l ly ap p a ren t in p u b lic perform ance when em o tio n a l con­

d i t io n s a l t e r somewhat th e ba lance o f a t te n t io n * Rabson

I d y r i l C. O 'B rien . P a r t and Whole Methods In The M em orization o f M usic. Departm ent o f P sycho logy , M aritim e Academy o f M usic, H a lifa x , N. S. Canada*

Zorace Rubin-R abson, "S tu d ie s in The Psychology o f M emorizing Plano M usic". Jo u rn a l o f E d u c a tio n a l P sy ch o lo g y . Volume 31, Septem ber 1940, pp. 466- 476*

8

r e p o r ts th a t "a p a t te r n of r ig h t-h a n d e d c u l tu re combined w ith

th e g r e a te r a u d i b i l i t y of h ig h e r as a g a in s t low er to n es have

o p e ra ted to s t r e s s th e em phasis and t r a in in g of th e r ig h t

hand in p iano s tu d y .

An o p p o s ite p o in t o f view i s tak en by Brown in h e r

f in d in g s th a t the ’hands to g e th e r ’ method of le a rn in g was

more e f f i c i e n t in bo th speed and t r i a l s th an th e ’hands

s e p a r a te ' m ethod. The 'h an d s s e p a ra te ' method was p ro g re s ­

s iv e ly i n e f f i c i e n t owing to th e f a c t th a t th e music f o r each

hand became p a r t i a l l y memorized which m i l i ta te d a g a in s t t h e i r

com bination . P le a su re in le a rn in g was more in ev idence in

the 'h an d s to g e th e r ' m ethod.^

Rabson concluded in a n o th e r s tudy th a t u n i l a t e r a l

t r i a l s p re lim in a ry to co o rd in a ted t r i a l s o p e ra te to produce

g r e a te r s t a b i l i t y and c l a r i t y in the le a rn in g o f p iano m a te r ia l ,

even though th i s s u p e r io r i ty i s no t ap p a re n t in the number of

t r i a l s re q u ire d e i t h e r f o r le a rn in g o r r e le a rn in g .^

Q uestion number n in e was in ten d ed to re v e a l w hether, ■ >

or n o t the s tu d e n t developed a s o - c a l l e d " s tu t t e r in g h a b i t .

M atthay p o in t s 'o u t th a t p la y in g * a r ig h t no te im m ediately a f t e r

a wrong no te w i l l tend to Im press a wrong sequence in the mem-

^Grace Rubln-Rabson, "S tu d ie s in The Psychology of M emorizing P iano M usic", Jo u rn a l of E d u c a tio n a l P sy ch o lo g y . Volume 30, May 1939, PP- 321-345. -

ZRoberta 17. Brown, "The R e la tio n Between Two Methods of L earn ing P iano M usic", Jo u rn a l o f E d u ca tio n a l P sycho logy , June 1928. “ ; ~ ^

3Graoe R ubin-R absonr. "S tu d ie s in .The Psychology of M emorizing P iano M usic", Jo u rn a l of E d u ca tio n a l P sy ch o lo g y , Volume 3 1 , September 1940, p . 490-4761 ™— _

9

ory p ro c e s s . The v ery n ex t time th e sequence w i l l be p layed

w ith a r e p e t i t i o n of th e b lu n d e r fo llow ed by the c o r re c t io n *

To overcome t h i s stum bling f a u l t M atthey su g g e s ts t h a t one

shou ld move a c ro s s th e e n t i r e su c c e ss io n o f sounds in the

ph rase from beg inn ing to end u n t i l the r i g h t no te i s le a rn e d

in the sequence*^

Item te n w ith re g a rd to w orry ing d u rin g perform ance

was in s e r te d to p rep a re the s tu d e n t f o r th e n ex t q u es tio n *

As in d ic a te d by B lack i t would be d i f f i c u l t f o r m ost s tu d e n ts

to remember w hether a memory f a i l u r e had occured f r e q u e n t ly ,2

o c c a s io n a lly o r seldom . Thus i t was hoped th a t t h i s q u e s tio n

would h e lp th e s tu d e n t to r e c a l l h is p a s t perform ances by mem­

o ry .

M atthay b e l ie v e s t h a t t r y in g to r e c a l l the th in g ahead

w i l l in e v i ta b ly d e s tro y the s e q u e n tia l a c t io n o f memory. This

can be avoided by th in k in g on ly of the music which i s being

played a t th e moment. C o n tin u ity i s broken down th e moment

th e re i s doubt about what w i l l fo llow * T rying to r e c a l l th e

n ex t no te w i l l be f a t a l in th a t i t w i l l d is r u p t the p re v io u s ly3

made s e q u e n t ia l memory ways o r c h a n n e ls .

I l l u s t r a t i n g th i s p o in t o f th e course of memory being stopped by o n e’s t r y in g to remember the n ex t th in g : a t one o f our p r iv a te c o n c e r t m eetings one

^Tobias M atthay . On Memorizing and P lay in g From Memory, Oxford U n iv e r s ity P r e s s , Amen llouae . Warwick S quare , E .C .4 ,P . 8 .

F re d e r ic k L. B lack , J r . , An I n v e s t ig a t io n o f The Methods o f Memorizing Employed by P iano S tu d e n ts , In d ian a S ta te T each er’ s C o lleg e , No. 311, M. A. T h e s is , 1937.

^Tobias M atthay , On M emorizing and P lay in g From Memoryr Oxford U n iv e rs ity P r e s s , Amen House, Warwick S q u are , S . 0 . 4 , p ,12 .

1 0

of the p erfo rm ers broke down a f t e r p la y in g about 16 bars* She th en s t a r t e d ag a in and broke down a f t e r p la y in g e ig h t b a r s . A f te r she t r i e d , and ag a in stopped h e r s e l f , a f t e r fo u r b a rs now. F in a l ly a f t e r b e ing urged to p la y a g a in , she was ab le to p lay the f i r s t fo u r n o te s ! I then p u lle d h e r to g e th e r by speak ing to h e r from th e aud ience say in g : "Do n o t t r y to remember, but j u s t th in k the m usic, and l e t the music tak e you a lo n g ." She th en s t a r t e d once more and q u ite s u c c e s s fu l ly p layed th e same l i t t l e P u rc e l l p ie c e to the end , w ith o u t h e s i ta t io n *She had been p re v e n tin g the n a tu r a l m em ory-action o f h e r m ind, and s to p p in g i t by ask ing h e r s e l f : "What i s th e n ex t n o te ? " 1

M atthay concludes from t h i s ty p ic a l ex p e rien ce th a t

i f m u sica l co n n ec tio n o r a s s o c ia t io n s have been p ro p e r ly

l in k e d , we can s t im u la te them in to a c t io n only by fo cu sin g

a t t e n t io n on the p o in t engaged a t each moment du ring the

perform ance of th e p ie c e . Each item su g g e s ts th e fo llo w in g

one. L e tt in g the mind th in k o f som ething ahead w i l l d e s tro y2

th e s e q u e n tia l au to m atic a c t io n .

R estin g a f t e r le a r n in g ’''was in c lu d ed in q u es tio n tw e lv e ,

As re p o r te d by Munn r e s t in g a f t e r m em orizing i s a psycho log­

i c a l p r in c ip le of e f f i c i e n t le a rn in g w hich a id s r e te n t io n .^

In q u e s tio n th i r t e e n the s tu d e n t was asked to r a te

h im se lf as to h is a b i l i t y in m em orizing. T h is was done

acco rd in g to the ran k in g system m entioned above.

^Tobias M atthay , On Memorizing and P lay in g From Memory. Oxford U n iv e rs ity P r e s s , Amen House, Warwick S q u are , E .C .4 ,p . l2

; i b i d . , p . 13 .^Norman L. Munn, P sycho logy . B oston: Houghton M if f l in

Company, 194b, p , 165•^Throughout t h i s s tu d y le a rn in g w i l l be used i n t e r - -

changeably w ith m em orizing s in c e even a t i t s in c e p tio n le a r n ­in g i s d ir e c te d tow ard immediate memorising*

1 1

Q uestion fo u rte e n 'was in ten d ed no t only to d isc o v e r

what number o f s tu d e n ts were r e a l l y g e t t in g a id from t h e i r

te a c h e rs in the memorizing p ro cess bu t a ls o to be ab le to

compare what methods were being ta u g h t each s tu d e n t and the

degree o f frequency of th e v a r io u s m ethods»

The l a s t q u e s tio n co n ta in ed the v a r io u s ty p es o f

methods on which the s u b je c t was found to depend* T his

q u es tio n was f i l l e d in by the w r i t e r a f t e r th e in fo rm a tio n

to a l l p rev io u s q u e s tio n s had been answered*

d* O rg a n iza tio n o f the r e p o r t

C hapter two o f t h i s .r e p o r t in c lu d e s a review of the

p ro c e sse s o f m usical memory based on p re v io u s l i t e r a t u r e

r e la te d to th i s f i e l d o f s tu d y . Five d i s t i n c t p ro ce sse s

of m usica l memory were found p o ss ib le . They a re c l a s s i f i e d

a s : motor memory, a u d ito ry memory, v is u a l memory, harm onic

a n a ly s is , and in te l le c tu a l .m e m o ry .

C hapter th re e c o n ta in s the p re s e n ta t io n of d a ta

o b ta in ed from the in te rv iew * A t o t a l number o f s e v e n ty -s ix

p iano s tu d e n ts were in te rv iew ed d u rin g sp r in g sem este r of

1951 a t the U n iv e rs ity of A rizo n aTs School o f Music* T ables

one th ro u g h s ix r e p o r t the methods of memorizing employed

by p iano s tu d e n ts as w e ll as the s tu d e n t 's a b i l i t y to mem­

o rize*

C hap ter fo u r i s devoted to the summary, co n c lu s io n s

and recom m endations r e s u l t in g from t h i s in v e s t ig a t io n .

CHAPTER I I

PROCESSES OF MUSICAL K3.I0RY BASED ON RELATED LITERATURE

V e r if ia b le and a u th o r i t a t i v e memory te c h n iq u e s do

n o t e x i s t . At b e s t te a c h e rs and s tu d e n ts have been f o r ­

tu n a te enough to d is c o v e r them . On th e o th e r hand, re g a rd ­

l e s s o f t a l e n t many s tu d e n ts a re handicapped by an igno rance

o f m em orizing te c h n iq u e s . What th e se te ch n iq u e s a re i s th e

scope o f t h i s study*

P sy c h o lo g is ts have done much th rough en d le ss exper­

im e n ta tio n to u n ea rth some p r in c ip le s and laws of le a r n in g .

For th i s reaso n i t has been deemed b e s t to p re s e n t w hatever

d a ta m ight be a v a i la b le in o rd e r to make th i s s tu d y as ob­

je c t iv e a s p o s s ib le , Munn s t a t e s th a t memory t r a in in g i s

s u c c e s s fu l to the degree th a t i t makes f o r more e f f i c i e n t

le a r n in g . I t does n o t develop a "memory" f a c u l ty . Sheer

m em orizing o f som ething w ith th e id e a th a t i t w i l l improve: 1

memory, a s e x e rc is e im proves a m uscle, i s a w aste o f tim e .

Of the p r in c ip le s o f e f f i c i e n t le a rn in g w hich a id r e te n t io n

Munn in c lu d e s the fo llo w in g :

1 , In te n d in g to le a r n2 . Paying c lo se a t t e n t io n 3* U sing imageryA. A sso c ia tin g the new w ith th e o ld 5 , U sing rhythm

~ 7 iNorman L. Munn, Psy ch o lo g y . B oston : Boughton M if f l inCompany, 1946, p , 164.

1 3

6 . D is t r ib u t in g p r a c t io e7 . R e c it in g w h ile le a rn in g8 . R e s tin g a f t e r som ething h as been le a rn e d9 . G e ttin g a survey o f th e whole b e fo re s t a r t in g

to le a rn by whole o r p a r t method

Munn s t a t e s t h a t anybody who le a rn s to use th e se

p r in c ip le s w i l l improve h is "memory*, b u t whenever he f a i l s

to ap p ly them h is memory w i l l be no b e t t e r than before."*"

W ith a very h ig h degree o f d i s s im i l a r i t y (as between

m em orizing words and s in g in g ) , th e re is r e l a t i v e l y l i t t l e

f o r g e t t in g . With a h ig h degree o f s im i l a r i t y (a s between

memorizing a l i s t of words and m em orizing a n o th e r l i s t o f2w o rd s), th e re i s u s u a lly a la rg e degree o f f o r g e t t i n g .

T his p r in c ip le of f o r g e t t in g m ight i n f e r a s o lu t io n to th e

problem o f f o r g e t t in g in m u sica l perfo rm ance . I t i s known

th a t the n e u ra l t r a c e s o f p re v io u s ex p e rien ce grow f a i n t e r

w ith a la p se o f tim e . However, i t i s by no means c e r ta in

th a t la p se of t im e , as such, cau ses f o r g e t t in g . I t i s much

more l i k e l y th a t o th e r a c t i v i t i e s which occur w ith in th e

in t e r v a l weaken n e u ra l t r a c e s and make us f o r g e t . In o th e r

w ords, tim e may be an im p o rtan t f a c to r in f o r g e t t in g m erely e

because of th e a c t i v i t i e s which occur in tim e . Numerous

experim en ts have shown, in f a c t , th a t r e l a t i v e i n a c t i v i t y

fo llo w in g a c q u is i t io n d e c re a se s f o r g e t t in g .^

Recent e x te n s iv e in v e s t ig a t io n shows th a t r e te n t io n

* ^Norman L. Munn. Psychology". B oston : Houghton M if f l inCompany. 1946, p . 164 .

; i b i d . , p . 163 .3T b Id . . p . 162 .

14

la b e t t e r when a r e s t p e r io d I s In te rp o la te d Im m ediately

a f t e r le a r n in g . In a ty p ic a l ex p e rim en t, two e q u iv a le n t

g roups memorized the same l i s t of words ( th i s was c a l le d

L is t A )« One group (ex p e rim en ta l) th en le a rn e d a n o th e r

l i s t ( t h i s was c a l le d L is t B )♦ W hile they w ere doing t h i s ,

the c o n tro l group r e s te d , perhaps by s in g in g o r t e l l i n g

s t o r i e s so as to p rev en t r e h e a r s a l of L is t A. A fte r the

ex p e rim en ta l group had le a rn e d L is t B, both groups r e c a l le d

a l l they cou ld of L is t A . The r e c a l l sco re f o r the ex p e r­

im en ta l group was much low er than th a t fo r the c o n tro l group*

Thus le a rn in g L is t B appeared to o b l i t e r a t e , to some e x t e n t ,

the n e u ra l t r a c e s produced in th e le a rn in g of L is t A.*

W ith in c lo se agreem ent of the above o b se rv a tio n

M atthay s t a t e s th e re i s no doubt th a t p e r s i s t e n t use of

memory du ring one p a r t i c u l a r p r a c t ic e s e s s io n w i l l r e s u l t

in f a t ig u e . F requen t and s h o r t e x e rc is e s r a th e r th an o v e r-

e x e rc is in g a t one tim e of th e memory a p t i tu d e s w i l l prove2more e f f e c t i v e .

W ith in s ig h t o r u n d e rs ta n d in g , r e te n t io n i s b e t t e r .

For exam ple, c o lle g e s tu d e n ts le a rn e d v a r io u s p u zz les e i t h e r

by memorizing th e s o lu t io n o r by m em orizing the p r in c ip le s

in v o lv e d . The m a jo r ity o f th o se who memorized w ith o u t under­

s ta n d in g the p r in c ip le s e x h ib ite d marked and ra p id f o r g e t t in g

w ith in a m onth. On the o th e r hand , most of th o se who le a rn e d

~ iNorman L, Munn. P sychology . B oston: Houghton M if f l inCompany. 1946, p . 103.

2Tobias M atthay , On Memorizing and P lay in g From Memory Oxford U n iv e r s i ty P re s s , Amen h o u se , Warwick sq u a re , ib'.0.4 , p*3*

1 5

the p r in c ip le s had alm ost p e r f e c t r e te n t io n when te s te d

l a t e r a t i n t e r v a l s up to one month.*

McGeogh su g g e s ts t h a t s t r e s s should be on grouping th e

m u sica l m a te r ia ls in to p a t te r n s , r e p e t i t i o n s , t r a n s p o s i t io n , .

chord l i n e s , and th e l i k e . Grouping and o rg a n iz a tio n o f the

m a te r ia l w hether i t be m ean ingfu l o r a t the moment unmeaning­

f u l , a re the d e c is iv e f a c to r s in the le a rn in g and m em orizing 2p ro c e s s .

Rabson a ttem p ted to d isc o v e r w hether e x tra s t r e s s on

the a n a ly t i c a l p re -s tu d y of the music from the sco re sh e e t

would prove more e f f i c i e n t th an by a llo w in g s tu d e n ts to be

haphazard in m em orizing. Four methods of memorizing p iano

music were compared f o r t h e i r r e l a t i v e e f f i c ie n c y . In o n e ,

the a n a ly s is of th e music was p rep a red by th e ex p e rim en te r;

in th e o th e r m ethod, th e a n a ly s is o f th e music was p repared

by the s u b je c t . The t h i r d method re q u ire d no a n a ly t i c a l

p re -s tu d y to le a rn in g a t th e keyboard . The fo u r th method

was to t e s t the v a lu e o f f a m i l i a r i t y W ith the m u sica l m at­

e r i a l by h e a rin g i t b e fo re le a rn in g i t by any of th e o th e r

m ethods. To c l a r i f y t h i s methodology by the ex p e rim en te r,

a l i s t i n g of th e fo u r methods w i l l fo llo w :

a . Study o f th e sco re w ith th e a id of a g iven o u t l in e .

b . Study o f the sco re w ith the p ro d u c tio n of th e s u b je c t 's own o u t l i n e .

* ^Norman L. Munn. P sycho logy .. B oston: Houghton M if f l inCompany. 1946 , p.. 161.

23". McGeogh, "E xperim ental S tu d ie s of Memory", R o b in so n 's R eadings in G enera l P sy ch o lo g y . U n iv e r s i ty o f Chicago P re s s , 1929, p . 329.

16

c» Learillng a t th e keyboard w ith no p re lim in a ry study p e r io d

d , A h ea rin g o f fo u r r e p e t i t io n s o f the com position w h ile re ad in g the s c o r e , p reced in g each o f th e th re e above m ethods1

Both methods a and b showed marked s u p e r io r i ty o ver

method c In which the a n a ly t i c a l p re -s tu d y p e rio d was om itted#

Rabson r e p o r ts as an a d d i t io n a l o b se rv a tio n th a t the s tu d e n t

showed annoyance and i r r i t a t i o n under method o . I t was a ls o

n o ted th a t w ith methods a and b the keyboard r e n d i t io n seemed

to be f irm e r and le s s s u b je c t to e r r o r than under method c#

Even in e x p e r t and in e x p e rien c ed a n a ly s is showed up v ery much

b e t t e r th an none a t a l l ; "S ince p r a c t i c a l l y no r e la t io n s h ip

e x i s t s between p iano ex p e rien ce and le a r n in g , ex p e rien ce in

p lay in g does not im ply th a t memorizing o f new m a te r ia l w i l l

be quickened in d i r e c t r a t i o to th e amount o f such e x p e r­

ie n c e , "■ " ■.......

W inslow 's r e p o r t on m u sica l memory s t r e s s e s the need

f o r co o rd in a te d developm ent o f a u d i to ry , v is u a l and k in a e s -

th e t lo a s s o c ia t io n s which in s u re the r e c a l l o f the m u slea l

item s as th ey appear in d e f in i t e and f ix e d sequence in th e

m usica l s c o re . To r e c a l l and r e t a i n the music w ith o u t s tim ­

u lu s from th e p r in te d page, one must see i t , h e a r i t , and

f e e l i t th ro u g h o u t the neuro -m useu lar sy stem . T his p ro cess

i s o b v io u sly a v o lu n ta ry one and b a a ie a l ly dependent upon

^Sraoe R ubln-kabsbn. A rch ives o f P sycho logy . R. S . Woodworth, E d i to r , No. 220 , Mew York, November 1937, pp#18-44 ,

2I b l d . , p , 41 .

17

1the w i l l , d® a i n and in te n t to m em orize.

In co n fo rm ity w ith t h i s M att hay a s s e r t s th a t th e -

a c t io n o f p la y in g from memory i s au to m atic w hereas th e

p ro cess o f com m itting to memory i s more o r l e s s c o n sc io u s ly 2w i l l f u l .

S im ila r ly , 'E rskine s t a t e s t h a t th e p o s s i b i l i t y o f

d i s c ip l in in g a w i l l power w hich a llo w s no la x n ess n o r l a z i ­

n ess i s one o f the f a c to r s r e q u ire d f o r a m u sica l memory *

The power o f the w i l l i s th e fo u n d a tio n upon w hich a l l

memory work r e s t s , W illpow er d i s c ip l in e s th e c o n c e n tra tio n

which d i r e c t s u n d ers tan d in g o f th e m a te r ia l . M a te r ia l

understood i s known and on ly the known i s capab le of b e in g 3

r e c o l le c te d .

Winslow, e x p la in s f u r t h e r th a t memory work i s n o t

som ething to be added a f t e r the music has been presum ably

le a rn e d . I t i s n o t a s e p a ra te o r f i n a l p ro c e s s ; b u t an

in te g r a l p a r t of the t o t a l a c t o f m u sica l l e a r n in g • I t i s

n o t d en ied th a t one can le a rn a p ie c e "by h e a r t" a f t e r so

many r e p e t i t i o n s th a t th e f in g e r s f a l l a u to m a tic a lly in to

the r ig h t p la c e s a t the r i g h t tim e . But th a t would be

m ere ly develop ing a "m otor" o r " f in g e r " memory and a ch a in

o f m echanical resp o n ses which can very r e a d i ly f a l l to

* ^R obert W. W inslow, "The Psychology of M usical Memory", Music E d u ca to r? s J o u rn a l . January 1949, p p , 15 -1 6 ............ ^T obias M atthey . On Memorizing and P la y in g From Memory.

Oxford U n iv e rs ity P r e s s , Amen H ouse, Warwick S quare , E .u .4 , p . 7l , /M artha E r s k in e , Harmonic A nalysis As An Aid To Memo­

r iz in g P iano R e p e to i re , U n iv e rs ity o f A riz o n a , M. M. T h e s is , 1942, p . 71 .

18

p ie c e s i f any l in k shou ld b re a k . T his person has m astered

the k in a e s th e t io a s p e c ts o f th e memory p ro c e s s , but u n fo r­

tu n a te ly has no t c u l t iv a te d a u d ito ry ( " in n e r h e a rin g " ) o r' '. - ?■. ; 1

v is u a l im agery o f the muaio *

P robab ly a u d i to ry im agery i s the most n e g le c te d a s p e c t

o r memory w ork. The le a r n e r m ust have a c le a r a u ra l-m e n ta l

p ic tu re of how th e music shou ld sound* Rabson su g g es ts th a t

a u d ito ry im agery as a b a s ic a id in music le a rn in g needs f u r -2 .

th e ? in v e s t ig a t io n . In th e same manner B lack concludes in

h is s tudy th a t in c re a s e d s t r e s s o f e a r t r a in in g in sch o o l

music i n s t r u c t io n should a s s i s t in develop ing a r e l i a b le-3 . . . .

m u sica l memory.

As an a id to m em orizing p iano r e p e t o i r e , E rak ine' ' . - - - • ' : - " ■ -

b e l ie v e s th a t harm onic a n a ly s is i s too o f te n n eg lec ted *

Developing m usica l memory i s dependent on th re e f a c t o r s .

F i r s t , a b i l i t y to memorize i s improved by use o f o rg a n iz ­

a t io n and meaning of th e m u sica l m a te r ia l by i n s i s t e n t d a i ly

harmonic a n a ly s i s . By an ex tended p e rio d in which m en ta l

im p ressio n s a re deepened, th i s f i r s t f a c to r i s accom plished .

Second, the a b i l i t y to memorize i s improved by in c re a s in g

e f f o r t o f c o n c e n tr a t io n . The th i r d f a c t o r , as a lre a d y men-

iR o b e rt Vf. W inslow, "The Psychology of M usical Memory", Music E d u c a to r 's J o u rn a l , January 1949, pp. 15 -1 6 .

- *Orace Rubin-R abson, "Psychology of Memorizing M usic", Jo u rn a l o f E d u c a tio n a l P sycho logy . Volume 31, A p r i l 1 9 4 0 ,p .44.

^ F red e rick L. B lack , J r . 7 "In v e s t ig a t io n of The Methods Of M emorizing Employed by P iano S tu d e n ts ." In d ian a S ta te T ea ch e r ' s C o lleg e , No. 311, M. A. T h e s is , p . 5b.

19

tio n o d above. I s th e p o s s i b i l i t y of d is c ip l in in g the w i l l ­pow er,^ 1 : \ - - : : : " • r-j-. L J :%

. A ccording to Hibsoii le a rn in g ' may be s a id to e x i s t

on ly when the m a te r ia l has been m ean in g fu lly memorized*

Since r e te n t iv e n e s s depends la r g e ly in the s t r e n g th of th e

im p ress io n s made d u rin g th e f i r s t a tte m p ts to m aste r a com­

p o s i t io n , th e w i l l to memorize a t once i s im portan t* T h is

demands an in te n s i t y o f a t t e n t io n a lm ost never ach iev ed when

the memorizing i s superim posed a s a s e p a ra te and d i s t i n c t

fu n c tio n * ^

McGeogh sums up the r e s u l t s of ah in v e s t ig a t io n in to

r e l a t i v e e f f i c i e n c i e s o f massed and d i s t r ib u t e d le a r n in g ,

s t a t in g th a t ’’some form o f d i s t r i b u t i o n i s alw ays s u p e r io r

to massed p r a c t i c e s . I t h o ld s v i r t u a l l y f o r a l l ex p e rim en ta l

te ch n iq u es and f o r a l l s u b je c ts and m a te r ia ls .* ^

An experim ent by Rabson was designed to r e t e s t th e

long e s ta b l i s h e d s u p e r io r i ty o f d i s t r ib u t e d over massed

p r a c t i c e . For e v a lu a tin g the advantage o f b r in g in g th e

le a rn in g to smooth memorized perform ance a t one s e s s io n as

compared w ith d i s t r i b u t in g the p r a c t ic e on the same o r the

fo llo w in g day , the ex p e rim en ta l s i t u a t i o n was k ep t a s n e a r ly

•^Mkrtha I r s k l n e . Harmonic A n a ly s is As An Aid To Memof^ i z in s P iano R e p e to ire . U n iv e r s i ty o f A rizo n a , M. M. T h e s is ,19427 p . 42 . ~ . - - - .

ZGrace Rubin-Rabson, "Psychology o f Memorizing M usic", Jo u rn a l o f E d u c a tio n a l P sycho logy . Volume,3 1 , A pr!1 1 940 ,p ,41•

3J. McGeogh, "E xperim en tal S tu d ie s of Memory", R o b in so n 's R eadings in G eneral P sycho logy . U n iv e rs ity o f Chicago P r e s s ,1929*

20

as p o s s ib le l ik e a tru e le a rn in g ' s i t u a t i o n , O th e r p ie ce s '

were in te r p o la te d between p r a c t ic e p e rio d s In o rd e r to more

n e a r ly approxim ate the d a i ly p r a c t ic e r o u t in e , s in c e few

s tu d e n ts confine t h e i r d a i ly p r a c t ic e to the s tu d y o f one

co m p o sitio n . The r e s u l t s o f th i s experim ent showed th a t

the number o f e r r o r s made in t r a n s c r ib in g th e m a te r ia l

from memory a f t e r r e le a r n in g in d ic a te d no g r e a te r v iv id n e ss

o f a c c u ra c y . The advantage o f d i s t r ib u t e d p r a c t ic e was

found to be in v e rs e ly r e l a t e d to the a b i l i t y o f th e s u b je c t .

D is tr ib u te d p r a c t ic e was recommended fo r l e s s a b le l e a r n e r s .

F or more a b le le a r n e r s e i t h e r approach would be p ro d u c tiv e .

A t e n ta t iv e h y p o th e s is was su g g ested in e x p la n a tio n of th e

s u p e r io r i ty of d i s t r ib u t e d p r a c t i c e i

The i n t r i n s i c p a t te r n s and g roup ings o f the m usica l s t r u c tu re a re r e a d i ly p e rce iv ed by the ab le l e a r n e r s . For the l e s s a b l e , th e se p a t te r n s p ro b ab ly emerge from the g e n e ra l background on ly when they a re " re -s e e n " a second time in a new s i t u a t i o n . S ince i t i s the ap p e r­c e p tio n o f th e se p a t te r n s w hich makes fo r r e a l o r lo g ­i c a l le a r n in g , any p rocedure w hich r e - r e p r e s e n ts th e m a te r ia l in a new s i t u a t io n r e g a rd le s s of th e time I n te r v a l between the p r e s e n ta t io n , w i l l be more e f f i c ­ie n t than one th a t does n o t . l

To review the fo reg o in g r e p o r t s , th e r e f o r e , the

main problem f o r the l e a r n e r i s to e s t a b l i s h a c l e a r and mean­

in g f u l com prehension o f the m usic to be mem orized. T his type

o f le a rn in g must a r i s e ou t of a co nscious e f f o r t by the

" " iG raoe H ubln-Rabson, "Psychology o f M emorizing P iano M usic", Jo u rn a l Of E d u ca tio n a l P sycho logy , Volume 31, A p r i l 1 941, p . 45 . . .

21

s tu d e n t to m enorlae a s e l e c t io n . The music austt be o rg an ized

in to m ean ingfu l u n i t s and t i e inner d e t a i l s o f t l e i e :u n i t s

m ust be an a ly zed and le a rn e d . The le a r n e r must reco g n ize

the In h e re n t r e la t io n s h ip s w ith in the m usica l s t r i c t u r e , such

as t o n a l i t y , rhy thm ic p a t te r n s end f ig u r e s , *@16dic c d n to u r ,

ch o rd a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s , r e p e t i t i o n s , c o n t r a s t s , dynamic e f f e c t s ,

and o th e r e lem en ts of the s c o re . In f a c t he must know th e

music in ev ery d e t a i l to memorize i t f u l l y . He must see i t ,

h ea r i t ; and f e e l i t c l e a r ly a t any time a f t e r the p r in te d

page i s l a id a s id e . Music w hich has been s a t i s f a c t o r i l y

memorized h as been th o ro u g h ly le a rn e d .

Memory work r e q u i r e s r e g u la r and c a r e f u l guidance

from com petent te a c h e rs who know the psychology o f le a r n in g .

I t i s f u t i l e and m ost d isc o u ra g in g to th e s tu d e n t to g e t

th e all-too-oom m on ass ig n m en t, "memorize the n ex t th re e p ag e s ,

o r th e n e x t s e c t io n , fo r n ex t w eek", w ith o u t being guided in

the complex p ro cess which l i e s ahead*

Numerous a s s o c ia t io n s shou ld be e s ta b l i s h e d from th e

m usic , r e l a t in g i t to p i c t u r e s , moods, c o lo r s , w ords, n a r r a ­

t i o n , e t c . A lso a s s o c ia t io n and com parison o f one rhy thm ic ,

m e lo d ic , o r harmonic p a t t e r n , p ro g re s s io n , o r s e c t io n w ith

an o th e r may b e ,v a lu a b le in b u ild in g memory c lu e s , l i n k s , and

c o n n e c tio n s . M ental images of the p r in te d pages (p h o to g rap h ic

memory) , a u r a l im p ressio n s ( remembering how th e music shou ld

so u n d ), k ln a e s th e t ic memory (m otor-m uscular " f e e l " o f how the

music shou ld be ex ecu ted ) - a l l o f th e se sen so ry f a c u l t i e s

2 2

prov ide in v a lu a b le a s s o c ia t io n s . Memory f a i l u r e s a re r e ­

la te d to th e number o f a s s o c ia t io n s and r e la t io n s h ip s w hich

have been c u l t i v a t e d . f When ohe a s s o c ia t io n la p s e s , o th e rs

w i l l sp u r the memory on; b u t when a s s o c ia t io n s a re l im ite d

m erely to " f in g e r* memory o r p h o to g rap h ic memory o r o th e r

m echanical p ro c e s se s the p erfo rm er has l i t t l e re s e rv e when

em ergencies a r i s e .

To know how to mem orize, one must le a r n th e m usic ,

n o t as u n re la te d n o te s and sym bols, but as c l e a r ly under­

stood rh y th m ic , m elo d ic , harm onic and s t r u c t u r a l d es ig n s

and m eaningfu l u n i t s . One must le a rn how to a c t iv a te and

in te g r a te th e b as ic memory p ro c e s s e s , such a s , motor memory,

v is u a l memory, a u d i to ry memory, harm onic: a n a ly s is and I n t e l - -

l e c tu a l memory. :

PRESENTATION OF DATA OBTAINED FROM

THE INTERVIEW

Of the t o t a l number o f se v e n ty -n in e s tu d e n ts who

were ta k in g p r iv a te p ian o le s s o n s d u rin g th e sp r in g sem este r

o f 1951, a l l were in te rv ie w e d . However, tow ard th e l a t t e r

p a r t o f the sem ester th re e s tu d e n ts out of th e t o t a l number

had w ithdraw n from t h e i r p iano c o u rse . For t h i s reaso n

th e i r re s p e c tiv e te a c h e rs were unable to rank the s tu d e n ts

as to t h e i r a b i l i t y in m em orizing, e s p e c ia l ly s in c e th ey

were a l l th re e new s tu d e n ts a t th e U n iv e r s i ty ’s School o f

M usic. Thus i t became n ecessa ry to e lim in a te th e se th re e

in te rv ie w s s in c e they would n o t be v a l id w ith o u t the te a c h e r ’ s

rank ing o f th e s tu d e n t ’ s a b i l i t y . C onsequently th i s th e s i s

was made p o s s ib le by a t o t a l number of s e v e n ty - s ix s tu d e n ts

who were in te rv ie w e d . r

There were f iv e p o s s ib le ways o f memorizing w hich

the s tu d e n t m ight in d ic a te he u sed . They were m oto r, a u d ito ry

v i s u a l , harm onic a n a ly s i s , and i n t e l l e c t u a l memory. O bviously ,

no s tu d e n t could be found who d id n o t employ motor and aud­

i to r y m ethods. M emorizing p iano music w ithou t a sense of

touch (motor memory) would be analogous to m emorizing v o ca l

m usic w ith o u t a v o ic e . L ikew ise , i t i s absu rd to ex p ec t

24

any s tu d e n t to memorize p iano music w ith o u t the a id of h is

sense o f h ea rin g (a u d ito ry memory). T herefo re the s m a lle s t

p o s s ib le com bination o f m ethods employed f o r memorizing was

the com bination o f th ese two e s s e n t i a l s , m otor and a u d i to ry '

memory♦ "• ' ' ' • ' : ' ' = '' - ' • - ' 1

I t would seem lo g ic a l a ls o th a t v i s u a l memory would

have to be in c lu d ed in th i s group o f e s s e n t i a l s s in c e one

would have to read the m usic w ith th e eye b e fo re p lay in g #

This would be c e r t a in i f s tu d e n ts would use t h e i r sense of

see in g even a f t e r the com position i s memorized. U n fo rtu n ­

a te ly , t h i s i s n o t the "case w ith many s tu d e n ts . Some o f the

in te rv ie w e e s became in d ig n a n t when the w r i t e r in q u ire d as

to w hether o r n o t they had to depend on the v is u a l memdry

of th e p r in te d page . They were a b s o lu te ly c e r t a in th a t th e re

was no v is u a l r e c a l l o f th e p r in te d page o r o f the movement

o f t h e i r hands on the keyboard , f o r th e y were d ec id ed ly

a g a in s t the idea#

About halfw ay th rough the in te rv ie w s a l i t t l e o b se r­

v a tio n among one of th e s u b je c ts f i n a l l y b rought ou t some...

e x p la n a tio n f o r memorizing w ith o u t the a id o f v is u a l memory.

This p a r t i c u l a r s tu d e n t was p a r t i a l l y b lin d w ith h ig h myopia#

When asked w hether o r n o t he depended upon th e v is u a l memory

of th e p r in te d n o te s o r the movement of h is h ands, the s tu ­

dent r e p l ie d th a t he could n o t , due to h is myopic c o n d it io n .

He s ta te d t h a t h is te a c h e r o f te n d ic ta te d th e com position in

p a r t s . A lthough i t was n o t planned in the model in te rv ie w .

2 5

the w r i t e r asked t h i s s tu d e n t i f he would l ik e to dem onstra te

by perfo rm ing a s e le c t io n by memory. The s u b je c t became

q u ite p le a se d upon th is re que s t . and v; i th o u t he s i t a t ion p laye d

th re e r a th e r d i f f i c u l t s e le c t io n s co m p le te ly by memory w ith "

out s t u t t e r i n g o r showing s ig n s o f u n e a s in e s s . Due to t h i s

ex p erien ce the w r i t e r became convinced th a t w ith o u t a doubt

i t i s q u ite p o s s ib le to memorize w ith o u t th e a i d o f v is u a l

memory . ; . , - , ■ ■ ; - ■ . •:

Hence i t was in f e r r e d th a t th e re a re two in d is p e n s a b le

methods of m em orizing, m otor and auditory-# Then th e re a re

e ig h t p o s s ib le com binations o f m ethods. They a re a s fo llo w s :

1 . m otor and a u d ito ry (a b b re v ia tio n -■ MA)2 . m otor, a u d ito ry and v is u a l (MAV)3 • m oto r, a u d i to ry , v i s u a l and harmonic a n a ly s is

(MATH)4 . m o to r, a u d i to ry , v i s u a l , harm onic a n a ly s i s ,

and i n t e l l e c t u a l (MAVHI)5 . m otor, a u d i to ry , v i s u a l , and I n t e l l e c t u a l .

(MAVI)6 . m o to r, a u d i to ry , harm onic a n a ly s i s , and

i n t e l l e c t u a l (MAHI)...............7 . m otor, a u d i to ry , and i n t e l l e c t u a l (MAI) .......8 . m otor, a u d i to ry , and harm onic a n a ly s is (MAH)

In o rd e r to g e t a b e t t e r p ic tu re as to t h e i r a b i l i t y

in m em o riz in g ,th ree m easures o f e s t im a tio n were u sed . F i r s t ,

th e s tu d e n t was asked to ran k h is own a b i l i t y on th e b a s is o f

one to f i v e . Second, a l l the p ian o te a c h e rs a t the U n iv e r s i ty

o f A rizo n a ’ s School of Music w ere asked to e s tim a te each

s tu d e n t ’ s a b i l i t y acco rd in g to the same s c a le . T h ird , a

m easure was tak en as to the s tu d e n t ’s a b i l i t y by means o f

av e ra g in g th e t e a c h e r ’ s and s tu d e n t ’ s e s t im a te s .

26

T ab les I - a and I -b were c o n s tru c te d to g ive the d a ta

on a l l the above m entioned $ d i n t i . C a re fu l1s tu d y O f th e s§

ta b le s w i l l make posslb l® >a c h a p le t# u Jd 4 rs ta n d in g ' of some

o f the most s ig h i f l e a n t d a ta which were o b ta in e d from th i s

in te rv ie w ;

The l e t t e r s a c ro s s the to p o f th e ta b le s in d ic a te the

g roup ings o f the s tu d e n ts acco rd in g to the p a r t i c u l a r combin­

a t io n of methods w hich were being u se d ; T hus, the column

headed MA in d ic a te s th a t th e numbers in t h a t column re p re s e n t

the number o f s tu d e n ts who used th i s com bination alone e The

column headed MAV in d ic a te s th a t the s tu d e n ts c l a s s i f i e d in

th a t column used a com bination o f m otor, v i s u a l and a u d i to ry

memory. The o th e r columns a re s im i la r ly in d ic a te d *

In Table I - a , the f re q u e n c ie s a re l i s t e d fo r the 1

s tu d e n ts in each c l a s s i f i c a t i o n , acco rd in g to how the s tu ­

d en ts ranked t h e i r memory a b i l i t y , how th ey were ranked by

t h e i r t e a c h e r s , and a s to t h e i r s ta te m e n ts o f how f re q u e n tly

th ey s u f fe re d the em barrassm ent o f having t h e i r memory f a i l

them when p la y in g in p u b lic*

The extrem e r i g h t hand column g iv e s th e f re q u e n c ie s

f o r th e t o t a l d is t r ib u t io n *

The number o f s tu d e n ts using a com bination o f two

methods alone was f o u r te e n . This was ap p ro x im a te ly e ig h te e n

p e r cen t o f th e to ta l*

The number of s tu d e n ts who were u s in g a com bination

o f th re e methods was th i r ty - tw o . This was ap p ro x im a te ly

fo r ty - tw o p er f@nt o f the t o t a l .

The number o f a tu d e n ts w h o were u sin g a com bination

of fo u r methods was tw en ty -o n e . This was ap p ro x im ate ly

tw e n ty -e ig h t p e r c e n t o f the to ta l*

The number o f s tu d e n ts who re p o r te d u s in g a l l f iv e

o f th e p o s s ib le methods were n in e s tu d e n ts . T h is was approx­

im a te ly tw elve p e r cen t o f th e to ta l*

S tu d en ts who were in te rv iew ed tended to use a combin­

a t io n of th re e m ethods, m ain ly th a t which in c lu d ed v is u a l

memory, This was the w e l l known m o to r -a u d ito ry -v is u a l com­

b in a t io n . T his c o n tra s te d s tro n g ly w ith th e f in d in g s in

B la c k 's s tu d y . B la c k 's s tu d y re p o r te d on ly e ig h t ou t of

one-hundred and f o r ty s tu d e n ts using t h i s MAY co m b in a tio n ,

which was ap p ro x im ate ly s ix p e r cen t a s compared w ith f o r ty -

two p e r ce n t in t h i s p re s e n t s tu d y ,

A stu d y o f the t o t a l frequency column on the r i g h t

shows th a t the s tu d e n ts ranked them selves r a th e r h ig h in

re g a rd to memory a b i l i t y . A lthough "3" was th e ran k to be

g iven f o r averag e a p t i tu d e fo r m em orizing, the number o f

ca ses in the ran k in g of " 2" exceeds t h a t f o r the average

and i s g r e a te r than th e t o t a l f o r th e two lo w es t ra n k in g s .

When th e te a c h e rs ranked the s tu d e n ts , th e m a jo rity

o f ca se s were g iven a ran k in g o f "3 " . They g e n e ra l ly gave

the s tu d e n ts h ig h e r ran k in g s s in c e th e number o f ca se s w ith

a rank ing o f " l " exceeds the number of c a se s in the s tu d e n t 's

e s t im a te s . In the m a jo r i ty o f c a s e s , however, th e re was

TABLE I - a2 8

CLASSIFICATION OF ALL STUDENTS ACCORDING TO METHOD OF MEMORIZING EMPLOYED, SHOWING FRE­QUENCY DISTRIBUTION IN EACH OF THE MEASURES

OF MEMORY ABILITY

: method used MA MAV

MAH

MAT

MAVH

MAT I

MAHI

MAHVI

t o t a l :

: s tu d e n t’ s : ov m 1 1 3 1 3 2 2 12 r: ran k in g : as to 2 6 i i 1 6 1 3 2 30 :: a b i l i t y

3 6 6 3 5 1 4 25 :

4 3 1 4 !

5 1 4■ ;

5 :•

: t o t a l 14 27 4 1 14 4 3 9 76 :

1 3 7 1 4 1 l 3 20 :

: te ach e r* s 2 3 9 1 1 3 1 l 2 21 :: ran k in g :o f 3 7 3 1 6 1 l 4 25 :*: s tu d e n t ’s l a b i l i t y 4 i

;4

:1 6 i

5 2: 1 1 4 ' :

: t o t a l 14 27 4 1 14 4 3 7 76 :

: frequency s 8 8 3 1 8 3 3 4 38 !:o f:memory 0 4 9 1 4 3 21 :: f a i l u r e

F 2 10 2 1 2 17 :

: t o t a l 14 27 4 1 14 4 3 9 76 i

M - m otor memory

A - a u d ito ry memory

V - v is u a l memory

H - harm onic a n a ly s is

I - i n t e l l e c t u a l memory

S - seldom

0 - o c c a s io n a lly

F - f r e q u e n tly

29

c lo se agreem ent between s tu d e n t and te a c h e r e s tim a te s of

m em orizing a b i l i t y .

The mean and th e median were worked ou t in o rd e r to

have m easures o f c e n t r a l tendency w hich would p e rm it th e

com parison o f d a ta on d i f f e r e n t p o in ts . The mean f o r th e

t o t a l d i s t r ib u t io n acco rd in g to s tu d e n t ran k in g s was 2 . 4 7 *

The median was 2 .3 6 . In the t e a c h e r ’s ran k in g o f s tu d e n t ’s

a b i l i t y to memorize the mean was 2.38 and th e median was 2 . 64*

In T ab le I - b th e two e s tim a te s ( te a c h e r ’s and s tu d e n t ’ s

r a n k in g 's ) of Table I were averaged and condensed in to one

s in g le c h a r t in o rd e r to o b ta in a f a i r ra n k in g . The m a n f o r

the t o t a l d i s t r i b u t io n acco rd in g to t h i s c h a r t was 2 .4 1 . The

median was 2 .0 6 . T h is ta b le a l s o shows how su c c e s s fu l the

s tu d e n ts were as to t h e i r ra n k in g s , acco rd in g to each o f th e

e ig h t p o s s ib le com bination o f m ethods. Those who used th e

MAVH com bination ranked h ig h e s t w ith a mean o f 2 .01 and a

median of 1.75 a s compared w ith the mean o f 2 .4 1 and median

of 2 .06 f o r th e t o t a l d i s t r i b u t i o n . A study o f t h i s c h a r t

w i l l in d lc a te t h a t th e b e s t ran k in g s were re p o r te d by those

who used a com bination of fo u r o r f iv e m ethods. I t w i l l

a ls o in d ic a te t h a t th o se who used the i n t e l l e c t u a l method

in t h e i r com bination scheme o f th re e methods ranked among

the h ig h e s t .

A word o f e x p la n a tio n m ight h e lp to make c le a r what

i s meant g e n e ra l ly by h ig h e r and low er in th e d is c u s s io n of

TABLE I - b

CLASSIFICATION OF ALL STUDENTS ACCORDING TO METHOD OF MEMORIZING EMPLOYED, SHOWING THE FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION AFTER THE TWO RANK­

INGS (STUDENT’S AND TEACHER’ S) WEREAVERAGED

:method :used

MA MAV

MA : MA H : I

“n nVH

T ™VI

MAHI

MAHVI

t o t a l : :

: 1 1 2. i

1 i 2■ • :7 :

: 1 .5 2 3: •

5 i 1:

12 :

: 2 1 7 1 i!

2: i:

1 1:

14 .......1

: 2 .5 4 4 1 2 1 1 3i

16 :

1 3 4 5 2i

3 1 3:

18 :

S 3 .5i

2: i

2: - :: ' ! • :

4 :

*: 4 1::

: 4 .5 4• ' :

4

: 5 :: :

0 :

: t o t a l 14 27 4 1 U 4■ i

3s "

9■ :

76 :

:mean 2 .50 2 .61 2.62•;

2 .005 '2.01 2.00 2.00 2 .27

:2 .4 1 :

:median 2.50 2 .13 2.75 2 .00 J jlZ I 2.00 2 .00 2.25:

2 .06 :

31

of t a b l e s . S ince "1" r e p re s e n ts the h ig h e s t rank ing and "5*

the lo w est ra n k in g , the c lo s e r to *1” th e f ig u re w hich re p ­

r e s e n ts th e m easure o f c e n t r a l tendency i s , th e h ig h e r i s

the measure of th a t group*

T ab les I l - a , I l - b and I I - c show the d i s t r i b u t io n a c —

cording to w hether th e s tu d e n ts used the MA method a lo n e or

in com bination w ith one o th e r m ethod, two o th e r methods o r

a l l f iv e methods of memorizing* A study o f th e mean and

median which i s g iv en f o r each column shows th a t in the s t u —

dent ran k in g s o f Table I l - a th e e s tim a te d a b i l i t y to memorize

ro se h ig h e s t among those who used the MA method w ith two

o th e r methods# They w ere a ls o above the eve rage f o r the

whole group* Those who used the MA method w ith on ly one

o th e r method were th e lo w es t and below the average f o r th e

whole group*

In the T e a c h e r 's ra n k in g s , Table I l - b , the e s tim a te d

a b i l i t y to memorize ro se h ig h e s t among th o se who used a l l

f iv e methods* They were above the average mean and median f o r

the whole group* Those who used the MA method alone were the

lo w est and they were below th e average f o r th e whole group*

In the averaged r a n k in g s , Table I I - c , th e e s tim a ted

a b i l i t y to memorize ro se h ig h e s t among th o se who used th e MA

method w ith two o th e r m ethods. They were above the average

mean and m edian f o r th e whole g ro u p . The d if fe re n c e between

the o th e r th re e groups was so sm a ll th a t th e median f o r those

who used a l l f iv e methods was low er and th e mean h ig h e r th an

TABLE I I ~ a

FBE^JENCy DISTRIBUTION OF THE GROUPS USING THE ESSENTIAL MA PLUS ONE, TWO, OR THRU OTHER METH­ODS OF MEMORIZING ACOORDING TO THE STUDENTS OWN

RANKING

: ran k io g

.•......... ,.....

:a l l who used : a l l who used th e two o n ly : MA p lu s one

(MA) : more method

a l l who used : a l l s t o t a l i MA p lu s $#0 f iv e ? ; more methods : m ethods: :

: 1:

1 ____ : 4' ' ■ V "5 ' “* *w*%z***''- ̂TP | f T « - 4|F ' % ■ - 0"

5 : 2 : 12 :

: 2 ..... 6 ......... : 12 10 : 2 : 30 :

s 3 6 : 9 6 : 4 : 25 :

: 4t ■

0 : 3' f ̂# 5 • . '*= " "5 H ' ̂ ̂' • JK - " - 30 • » . • „ ... 0̂.

..- -...0 ..-... -..... : .......1 ......... : 4 :

: 5:

....... 1 ................• 4 .: ; :

0 : : 5 :

: t o t a l;

1A- • v 32. - f , . ,jg. 1 .r. , .. . ... ,

21 . . } S_. 1 76 :

:mean 2 .57 : 2 .7 2 ..................f*' -■-* * j 0 ’ ' ̂̂ " " 0' ' *» - - • j|2 .05 : 2 .44 :2 .4 7 :

:m «diaa:

2*'5© : 2 .50 2.05 : 2 .63 :2 .3 6 :

TABLE I l - a

FRBQErSHOr D ISTH Iim O S 0? THE GROUPS USING THE ESSENTIAL MA PLUS ONE, TWO, OR THREE OTHER METH­ODS OF MEMORIZING ACCORDING TO THE STUDENTS OWN -

• 0 ‘ 0 • * * • « « <

: ran k in g : a l l who used : a l l »h© uaed: ; : th e two o n ly : MA p lu s one: : (MA) : more method •

‘ ■ • s # *a l l who need : a l l : t o t a l iMA p lu s two z f iv e s i

• more methods z m ethods: :i : ; :

5 z 2 z 12 z: r ■ ■ : ................s 2 ; 6 : 12

...............................Z I s10 z 2 z 30 z

: : : , z- : :

: : : . : :J iJljjl % ■ ■ -• ̂ i t

: s s0 z 1 z A :

t . z :« 5 s i z A

: z z0 s z 5 z

: : :2 t o t a l * 14 *' - 32 * -.

z z z.........21 ............. • 9 t 76 2

: : zsiaean : 2 .5 7 s 2 .7 2

z z :2 .05 s 2.AA Z2.A7 :

: : ::m edian : 2 .5 0 : 2 .5 0

z z z2 .05 s 2 .63 Z2.36 s

TABLE I l - b

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF THE GROUPS USING THE ESSENTIAL MA COMBDIATION PLUS ONE, TWO OR THREE OTHER METHODS OF MEMORIZING ACCORDING TO THE

TEACHER'S RANKING OF THE STUDENT'S ABILITY

: ran k in g s a l l mho used the two o n ly

(MA)

a l l mho used MA p lu s one o th e r method

a l l mho used MA p lu s tmo o th e r methods

a l lf iv emethods

t o t a l :

: 1 3 8, 6 3 20 :

: 2 3 11 . . 5 _________ 2 21 :

: 3 7 6 8 4 25 :

: 4 1 .. .........4 ... 1 — - 6 s

__5, 0 3; : " ■

.....1 __________■ : _■i

4 *

: t o t a l 14 32 21 : 9 76 ;

: mean 2.43 2 .47 1: i

i 2 .33 r 2 .11i :2 .3 8 :

: median 3.07: :

2.22 : 2 .4 0 : 2 .0 0 2*54 i

w

TABLE I I - c

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF THE GROUPS USING THE . ESSENTIAL MA COMBINATION PLUS ONE, TV/O , OR THREE OTHER METHODS OF'MEMORIZING ACCORDING TO THE

AVERAGE RANKING OF THE STUDENT’S ABILITY

rank ings MAgroup

: : :MA p lu s one : MA p lu s two : a l l f i v e : t o t a lo th e r m ethods: o th e r methods : m ethods::

1 ' 1■» . » *► • • * " i _

2 : 2 : 2 : 7

1 .5 2: i :

3 : 7 : : 12

2 1: : :

9 : ___ 3 : 1 : H

2.5 A 5 : 4 : 3 : 16

3 4: : :

7 : 4........ : ...3 : 18

3 ,5 2: . r ; :

2 : : 2 ■<: i 4

4. . : :

: 1 .. ....... : 1

4 .5- : : :

4 : : 4

5: : 2

■ ■ /;■ ■ ■ • : ■ : 0t o t a l 14

2 2. ̂ 32 ____ : . 2 1 : . 9 : 76

mean Z.50-^. 2 .5 9 - — 2 ? . 12___ J 2 .2 8 „. j 2 .4 1median 2 .50 2 .1 5 . I 1 .75 1 2 .25 1 2 .0 6

those who used the MA w ith one o th e r m ethod, The median f o r

th e MA group was th e lo w e s t. A lthough the mean was on ly n ex t

to th e low est f o r t h i s s e c t io n , i t was below the average f o r

the whole group* s .. , . . .»• .: *

In o rd e r to e v a lu a te the su ccess o f th e use o f each of: ̂ — : : ■

th e f iv e m ethods, i t was n ec e ssa ry to determ ine the d i s t r i t u i ­

t io n of a l l th e groups which in c lu d ed one c e r t a i n ; method as ■ . ' : ; ; : , • ' ■ =

opposed to the d i s t r i b u t i o n fo r the r e m in in g g ro u p s . Each

group was a ls o compared w ith th e d i s t r ib u t io n ' f o r th e t o t a l

number o f c a s e s . Thus» the d i s t r i b u t io n was in d ic a te d f o r

a l l those who were employing v is u a l memory e i t h e r to g e th e r

w ith th e e s s e n t i a l MA o r in com bination w ith harm onic a n a ly s is

and i n t e l l e c t u a l m ethods. T his d i s t r i b u t io n could th en be. ■ , ; >

compared w ith th e d i e t r l b u t l e a f o r a l l thqee who d id n o t use

v i s u a l memory as p a r t o f t h e i r scheme o f m em orizing, and w ith

the t o t a l d i s t r i b u t i o n . The means and m edians o f th e se groups

formed the b a s is o f com parison*

T ab les I H - a , I I I * b , and I I I - c show how th e s tu d e n ts

who em phasized v is u a l memory e i t h e r to g e th e r w ith the MA o r : i n

com bination w ith o th e r ways of m em orizing s to o d in com parison

w ith th o se who d id n o t use v is u a l memory a t a l l and w ith the>

t o t a l g ro u p . Those who used v is u a l memory, ranked alm ost th e

same a s those who d id n o t , acco rd in g to the s tu d e n t ’ s own

ra n k in g . A ccording to the te a c h e r ’ s e s tim a te o f a b i l i t y to

memorize, th o se who used v is u a l memory ranked h ig h e r than

th o se who d id n o t . They ala© ranked h ig h e r a s compared to

TABLE I l l - a

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF ALL STUDENTS WHO USEDVISUAL MEMORY, ALL WHO DID NOT USE VISUAL MEMORYAND THE ENTIRE GROUP ACCORDING TO THE STUDENT’ S

OWN RANKING AS TO ABILITY

:{ranking:

a l l ytho used v is u a l memory

a l l who d id n o t use v is u a l memory

:t o t a l ot b o th ;

groups :ti: 1 . . : 10 _ . . 2 !5 12 :

: 2 20.... ' ' """ 4

10 30 ;

: 3 16 i 9 25 ;

: 4 :1

........ .....4 ............. .:.......

0 4 :

: 5 ' :: 4 1 . 5 ............I: : : t o t a l

:54 22 . .. 76 :

: mean 2 .48.

2 .4 5 2 #47i «:: median 2 .35 2 .4 0 2 .36 ;

TABLE I l l - b

FHEQOENCr DISTRIBUTION OF ALL STUDENTS WHO USEDVISUAL MEMORY, ALL WHO DID NOT USE VISUAL MEMORYAND THE ENTIRE GROUP ACCORDING TO THE TEACHER'S

RANKING OF THE STUDENT'S ABILITY

: ran k in g a l l who used v is u a l memory

a l l who d id n o t use v is u a l memory

t o t a l o f b o th :g roups :

:: 1 - . 15 .: 5 .......... 20 ::: 2 15 6 21:: 3 16 25 ::: 4 5 6 ...... •

: 5 ’■ ■ - 3 ■ ■-■■■ . ! .............. • ■ 4 :

: t o t a l ...... 54........ . 22 ........... 76 •

: mean 2 .37 2 .4 1 " ... 2 .38 ' :

: median 2 .30 2 .5 0„ i

2 .36 :

- b , s,

■■ r :::

SftBL» I l l - q

■FREqPBNGr; DISTRIBUTION OF all STUDENTS WHO USED VISUAL MELIORY, ALL WHO DID NOT USE VISUAL MEMORY AND THE ENTIRE GROUP ACCORDING TO THE RANKINGS

AVERAGED FROM TABLE I l l - a AND H l - b

:: ran k in g a l l who used

V isu a l memorya l l who d id n o t use v is u a l memory

t o t a l o f bo th : groups :

: 1 6 1 . 7 „ :

s 1 .5 _ 9>

..... . 3 ...• ..........

12 ::: . 2 .....i i ..._ _ 4 ......15 :

: 2 ,5 10 6. :

16 :

: 3 12 ______ 6 .. . j i s ;

: 3 .5 2 2 4 :

: 4 1 _.... .l ....X 11

: 4 .5 4, #

4 :

: 5 ------------------- . .

Tt

0 ::: totaJL ____ 54 L 22

:76 L

: mean 2.44 ..2 .43 . ____ 2 .4 1 :

: median•

1.95 : 2.25•

2 .06 :

39

the t o t a l g ro u p . T hus, the mean f o r th e v is u a l group was

2 .37 f o r the te a c h e r ’ s ran k in g s compared w ith 2 .41 f o r th o se

who d id n o t use v is u a l memory, and 2 .38 f o r the e n t i r e d l s -

t r i b u t i o n . M easured In Table I I I - c , w hich i s an average of« !

1 - * ' ; tthe s tu d e n t 's a b i l i t y e s tim a te d by the s tu d e n t h im se lf and

the te a c h e r , th o se who used ti# * la l memory had an average rank

o f 2 .44 in term s o f th e m ean;compared to 3.43: fo r the group

who d id n o t use v is u a l memory, and 2 .41 f o r th e whole g ro u p .: . . ; ; ; , : . -

The median i s h ig h e r fo r the v is u a l group th a n f o r th e non-

v is u a l group* (

T ables IV -a , IV -b , IV~o # iow ,the d i s t r i b u t i o n of th o se' ' - ■ ' ' " ! ; '

. ' : ’ ■ 'who in c lu d ed harm onic a n a ly s i s in t h e i f scheme o f m em orization

As ranked by th em se lv es ,(T ab le IV -a ) , th e s e s tu d e n ts averaged

b e t t e r than t h e i r fe llo w s tu d e n t# who d id n o t use harmonic a n a l

y s i s , and b e t t e r than th e ;w h o le g ro u p . The mean was 2 .2 6 f o r

th o se who used harmonic a n a ly s i s , 2*61 fo r th o se who d id n o t ,

2 .47 fo r the whole g roup . The m edian was 2 .31 fo r the group

using harmonic a n a ly s is compared w ith 2 . 40- f o r those who d id

n o t , and 2 .36 f o r th e t o t a l d i s t r i b u t i o n . As ranked by t h e i r

te a c h e r s , (Table IV -b ) , th o se s tu d e n ts who employed harm onic

a n a ly s is had a mean average of 2 .3 0 and a median o f 2.07 com­

pared w ith 2 .44 and 2.35 f o r th o se who d id n o t use harmonic

a n a ly s is , and 2 . 38 : and 2 .54 fo r the t o t a l o f a l l c a s e s . When

th e two e s tim a te d ran k in g s were av e rag ed , ( Table T V -c), the

mean and median were even h ig h e r f o r those.w ho used harm onic

a n a ly s i s . They had 2 .25 and 1 .8 9 as compared w ith 2 .51 and

TABLE l Y - a

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF ALL STUDENTS WHO USEDHARMONIC ANALYSIS, ALL WHO DID NOT USE HARMONICANALYSIS, AND THE ENTIRE GROUP ACCORDING TO THE

STUDENT’ S OWN RANKING AS TO ABILITY

:: ran k in g :

a l l who used harmonic a n a ly s is

22

a l l who d id n o t use, h a m o n ls a n a ly s is

:2:

to ta l o fgrottos

:both:

2: 2 2 2: 1 6 J 6 . 2 - 12 . -I-

2 7 8 2: 2 11 19 Is - jo , • . -l i: 2 2 2: 3 12 .2 -»■ * 1 3i ■. *" • ^ : 25 2

: 2 2: 4 i : 3 ■ X- 4 - 2

i : 2 2: 5 ........1______ 0____ __ • 4 ■ t 5 ...» 4 ,.i : : 2 2: t o t a l : 30 2 i t 2

2 2 2: mean 2*26 : 2 2.47 ■ : -..T1S

2 ; 2 2: median : 2 .31 * . 2i ----

TABLE I V -b

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF ALL STUDENTS WHO USEDHARMONIC ANALYSIS, ALL WHO DID NOT USE HARMONIC 'ANALYSIS, AND THE ENTIRE GROUP ACCORDING TO THE

TEACHER’ S RANKING OF STUDENT’ S ABILITY

: rank ing a l l who used :harm onic a n a ly s i s

: ................ :a l l who d id n o t : t o t a l o f bo th :use harm onic a n a ly s i s : g roups . . .:

: 1 9* e~

11 : 20 :

: 2 _ _ 7..__ ________: :

14 ...... ' s 21 :

: 3 12: :

13 : 25 :

i i ■ !! 0: :

6 : 6 ;

: 5 _ s _ 2 „ ii

t___________ 2___ _________ r________4_________ :: ; : ; v '■ -■ f: t o t a l : . 30 : . 4 6 : 76 :

i meanl ' " ' ■» : - ;

2 .3 0 ' : 2 .4 4 . : 2 .38

: median111 1 : 1 : ' i

2 .07 : 2 .3 5 : 2 .5 4 :..'■ J"11 ■ U[IL 111 ”l"" 1 ....... 1 * .....1 11

TAB1,3 IV -c

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF ALL STUDENTS V/HO USED HARMONIC ANALYSIS, ALL WHO DID NOT USE HARMONIC ANALYSIS, AND THE ENTIRE GROUP ACCORDING TO THE RANKINGS AVERAGED FROM THE STUDENT’S AND TEACHERS

ESTIMATION

i :ira n k in g : a l l who used s : harm onic a n a ly s is

a l l who d id not ase harm onic a n a ly s ismCj.. _. .

t o t a l o f bo th : g roans :

: :: 1 : 3 — ____ 4 „ r . . . 7 :: :: 1 .5 : 6

.

12: : • ■ : 2 : 5

/ Tj 9 14 :

: t -i 2 .5 : 7 9 ' r‘ 1

:! 16 i

j : ■ ^: 3 i 8

• : : i 10 : 18 :

: , i : ■ ■ - % ̂ ‘ ' r i 1: 3 .5 : 0 : 4 : 4 :: ' t ... : ; :t 4 . : 1 : “ x : »*1 :: - : - - ; -: 4 .5 : . : : 4

. :4 ■ • * *

: _ : : •: . 5 t :

;0 :. *, e '** * ' * - % . * » W ^

: t o t a l : 30 r 46 iL '._ 76 1 . 4: • : • ! mean : 2 .25 : 2 .5 1 2 .4 1 i

: . :: median : 1 .89 : 2 .7 5

:2 .06 :

4 3

2.75 f o r those ■who did n o t use harmonic a n a ly s i s .

T ab les V -a, V-b, and V-c show th e d i s t r i b u t io n by

ran k acco rd in g to b o th s tu d e n t and te a c h e r judgement and

th e rank ing f o r each case made up of an average o f the

t e a c h e r 's and s tu d e n t 's e s t im a te s f o r those who used i n ­

t e l l e c t u a l memory, th o se who d id n o t , and the t o t a l g ro u p .

Those who d id no t use i n t e l l e c t u a l memory were n o t as

s u c c e s s fu l a s th o se who d id . The mean f o r th e i n t e l l e c t u a l

memory group was 2 .1 8 a g a in s t 2 .54 f o r th o se who d id not

use th a t form o f memory. T h is i s a c co rd in g to the s tu d e n t 's

own rank ing o f memorizing a b i l i t y . The median was 2 .14 fo r

th o se who employed i n t e l l e c t u a l memory, compared w ith 2 ,43

f o r th o se who d id no t* Judged as to a b i l i t y by the te a c h e r s ,

the ones who employed i n t e l l e c t u a l memory ag a in showed up

w e l l , the mean rank ing a s h ig h as 2 .18 and the median 2 .20

a g a in s t a mean o f 2 .4 4 and median of 2 .40 f o r those who d id

n o t r e p o r t u s in g i n t e l l e c t u a l memory. Compared w ith the

mean and median of th e e n t i r e g ro u p , the ones who used in *

t e l l e c t u a l memory had a h ig h e r average rank*

Taking in to c o n s id e ra t io n a l l the p rev io u s t a b l e s ,

the f ig u re s show t h a t th o se who used harm onic a n a ly s is and

i n t e l l e c t u a l memory a s p a r t o f t h e i r m em orizing method had

a h ig h e r average ran k in g acco rd in g to a l l th re e schemes of

m easurem ent. Those who in c lu d ed o n ly the m otor and a u d i to ry

methods in t h e i r scheme f o r m em orizing ranked the lo w e s t.

In ta b u la t in g th e re sp o n se s g iven to the q u e s tio n as

TABLE V~a

FREQUENCY .DISTRIBUTION OF ALL STUDENTS V/HO USEDINTELLECTUAL MEMORY, ALL WHO DID NOT, AND THEENTIRE GROUP ACCORDING- TO THE STUDENT’ S OWN

RANKING

: ran k in g a l l who used a l l ■who d id n o t t o t a l o f bo th :i n t e l l e c t u a l memory use i n t e l l e c t u a l memory _ .. . g ro up s :

: 1 4 8 12 :

: 2 7 23 . . . .30 . .. 1

: 3 _______5 ................ 20 25 :

: 4 1 i: .............. .. 3___ ______ _____ _ _ 4 ...:

: 5 0 5 5 :

: t o t a l 17 ............■.. -5.9 ....... . . '.. ....... 76 :

: mean 2 .18 2 .54 2 .47 :

: median 2.14 1i 2 .43 2 .36 !

TABLE V -b

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF ALL STUDENTS WHO USED INTELLECTUAL MEMORY, ALL WHO DID NOT, AND THE ENTIRE GROUP, ACCORDING TO THE TEACHER'S RANKING

OF STUDENT’S ABILITY

: ran k in g a l l who d id use i n t e l l e c t u a l memoir

a l l who did no t use i n t e l l e c t u a l memory

t o t a l o f bo th : groups :

: 1 5 15 20 ;

: 2 5 ■**'*••' - • 21 :

: 3 6 25 :

: 4 1 . . . . . 5 . . . . . . _ __:

6 z

: 5 0:

4 :

; t o t a l 17:

76 :z: mean : : : 2*18 ...... 2 .4 4 " ' " ' 2 .3 8 ........... i

: median 2.20 2 .4 0 .......... . 2 .54 t

TABLE V - e

FRiqUBJCY DISTRIBUTION OF ALL STUDENTS WHO USED INTELLECTUAL MEMORY, ALL WHO DID NOT, AND THE ENTIRE GROUP, ACCORDING TO THE RANKINGS AVERAGED

FROM THE STUDENT’ S AND TEACHER'S ESTIMATES

: ran k in g i a l l who d id use a l l who did n o t : t o t a l of bo thi n t e l l e c t u a l memoiy use i n t e l l e c t u a l memory : groups

: 1i## .. - : . 3 ____ _____

:4 : 7

s 1 .5a"

2 10 : 12

: 2### 3 11 : 14

: 2 .5 ## 5 11 : 16 .

: 3 4 # 14 : 18

i 3 .5 a»

4 : _____4

s 4*#

1 : 1 !

: 4 .5 ::: 4 : 4 • S

! 5## I 0 i

: t o t a l # 17 : 59 1 76 i

: mean#: 2.15

:: * 2 .48 : 2 .41 1: i :

: median i -Jf-9?____________ : _2&16 : 2 .0 6 !

4 7

to w hether f a i l u r e m ight b e s t be d e sc rib ed as o ccu rin g s e l ­

dom, o c c a s io n a lly o r f r e q u e n t ly . I t was co n s id ered th a t the

re p ly "seldom ” in d ic a te d the s tu d e n t 's memory was s a t i s ­

fa c to ry , w h ereas , the re p ly " o c c a s io n a lly " o r " f re q u e n tly "

was co n s id ered to mean h is memory was u n s a t i s f a c to r y . The

r e s u l t s o b ta in ed from t h i s q u e s tio n were somewhat co n v in c in g .

Of th e s e v e n ty -s ix in te rv ie w s , t h i r t y - e i g h t s a id th a t t h e i r

memory f a i l e d seldom , and the same number ( t h i r t y - e i g h t ) sa id

th a t t h e i r memory f a i l e d o c c a s io n a lly o r f r e q u e n t ly . T here­

fo re , th e re were as many s tu d e n ts w ith s a t i s f a c to r y memory

su ccess a s th e re were w ith u n s a t i s f a c to ry memory s u c c e s s .

But o f a l l those who used v is u a l memory, s ix te e n had s a t i s ­

f a c to ry memory su ccess and th i r ty - o n e u n s a tis f a c to ry * Of

th o se who ;em ployed‘harm onic a n a ly s is a s one of t h e i r methods

o f m em orizing, the p ro p o rtio n was e ig h te e n to tw e lv e . Those

who used th e i n t e l l e c t u a l m ethod, l in e up e lev en to s i x . In

the ca se of those who used th e two e s s e n t i a l methods (m otor

and a u d ito ry ) w ith o u t th e a id of any o th e r method, e ig h t had

memory f a i l u r e o ccu rin g seldom w h ile s ix s ta te d i t s o ccu r­

rence o c c a s io n a lly o r f r e q u e n t ly . Table VT-a r e p re s e n ts th e s e

f ig u re s showing th a t ap p ro x im ate ly tw o - th ird s of th o se who

used v i s u a l memory in " th e ir memorizing scheme had u n s a t i s ­

f a c to ry memory su c c e s s , t h r e e - f i f t h s o f th o se who used h a r ­

monic a n a ly s is had s a t i s f a c to r y memory s u c c e s s , and approx­

im a te ly tw o - th ird s o f th o se who used i n t e l l e c t u a l memory had

s a t i s f a c to r y memory su c c e ss . The c lo se n e ss o f th e f ig u re s

TABLE V I -6

DISTRIBUTION OF STUDENTS USING THE MA ESSENTIAL METHOD, THE VISUAL, HARMONIC, AND INTELLECTUAL

METHODS

MA v is u a l p lus MA

harm onic a n a ly s is p lus MA

i n t e l l e c t u a l p lu s MA

t o ta l*

s a t i s f a c t o r ymemorysu ccess

8 16 18 11 53

u n s a t i s f a c to r ymemory 6 31 12 6 55su ccess

to t a l* 14 47 30 17 108

* The ex cess t o t a l In t h i s ta b le i s o b v io u sly due to an o v e rlap p in g

number o f s tu d e n ts who employed more th a n th re e m ethods in t h e i r scheme of

m em orizing.

f-03

in the MA column shows no t r e n d . In Table V l-b no o b se rv ­

ab le tre n d I s o b ta in ed when th e se f ig u re s a re grouped as to

w hether the s tu d e n t used tw o, t h r e e , fo u r o r e l l f iv e methods

of m em orizing.

When asked i f th ey had e v e r been ta u g h t s p e c i f ic a l ly ,

how to memorize, f i f t y - e i g h t s tu d e n ts r e p l ie d th a t they had

never been ta u g h t. Of the e ig h te e n s tu d e n ts who r e p l ie d

th a t th ey had d e f in i t e ly been tau g h t how to memorize, a l l

excep t th re e were tau g h t to memorize by harm onic a n a ly s is ,

two by the v is u a l method a lone and one by a u d ito ry method

a lo n e . Nine s tu d e n ts of the f i f t e e n in the harm onic a n a ly ­

s i s group were ta u g h t to combine harmonic a n a ly s is w ith

a u d ito ry memory, one w ith v is u a l memory, one w ith i n t e l l e c ­

tu a l memory, one w ith m otor and a u d i to ry , one w ith m otor and

i n t e l l e c t u a l and one w ith a u d i to ry and i n t e l l e c t u a l .

In t e l l i n g w hether th e s tu d e n t r e s te d o r co n tin u ed to

s tudy a f t e r m em o riz 'ig , t n i r t y - t h r e e r e p l ie d t h a t th ey r e s te d

and f o r ty - th r e e con tinued to s tudy in an o th e r su b je c t bu t in

the same f i e l d , i . e . , m usic. No tren d was in d ic a te d by

the r e s u l t s . The group which had been r e s t in g a f t e r memo­

r iz in g had alm ost as many u n s a t i s f a c to ry memory f a i l u r e s as

s a t i s f a c to r y memory perfo rm ances. (16 u n s a t is f a c to ry and 1?

s a t i s f a c t o r y ) . Of the group which had co n tinued to study

a f t e r m em orizing, th e re were app ro x im ate ly t h r e e - f i f t h s who

had u n s a t is f a c to ry memory w ith tw o - f ir th s , s a t i s f a c to r y mem­

ory su c c e ss . (26 u n s a t is f a c to ry and 18 s a t i s f a c t o r y ) .

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF THE GROUPS USING THE ESSENTIAL MA PLUS ONE, TWO, OR THREE OTHER METH­ODS OF MEMORIZING ACCORDING TO THEIR SATISFACTORY r OR UNSATISFACTORY MEMORY SUCCESS

TABLE V T -b

MA MA p lu s one method

MA p lu s two methods

MA p lu s th re e methods

t o t a l :

: s a t i s f a c to r y :memory : su ccess

8 11 14 4

:

37 :

•

r u n s a t i s f a c t -:o ry memory : su ccess

6 20 7 6 39 :

: t o t a l 14 31 21 10 76 I

51

R egarding th e q u e s tio n o f whole and p a r t m e th o d s,th e

r e s u l t s gave very l i t t l e ev idence of s u p e r io r i ty by any one

method# There w ere f o r ty - th r e e s tu d e n ts u sin g th e p e r t method

o f which tw e n ty -th re e had s a t i s f a c to r y memory su ccess and

tw enty u n s a t i s f a c to r y , e ig h te e n s tu d e n ts u sin g the whole

method of which e ig h t had s a t i s f a c to r y memory su ccess and

te n u n s a t i s f a c to r y , f i f t e e n s tu d e n ts u sing bo th methods o f- • \ V.-.. ■ ■ ■ - ' . ■ ' ■ ■ /- -

which th re e had s a t i s f a c to r y success and tw elve u n s a t i s ­

fac to ry #

W ith r e s p e c t to the q u e s tio n o f u n i l a t e r a l and b i ­

l a t e r a l methods of m em orizing, the tendency was somewhat

marked in fav o r of the fo rm e r. The f ig u re s showed th a t of

tw e n ty -f iv e s tu d e n ts who employed m em orizing w ith each hand

s e p a ra te ly , s ix te e n had s a t i s f a c to r y memory su ccess and nine

u n s a t is f a c to ry * Of the f i f ty - o n e s tu d e n ts who d id not employ

m em orization of each hand s e p a r a te ly , n in e te e n had s a t i s f a c t ­

o ry memory su ccess and th i r ty - tw o u n s a t i s f a c to r y .

In answer to the q u e s tio n o f s t u t t e r i n g , t h e r e s u l t s

showed th a t th e re were th i r ty - s e v e n s tu d e n ts who were n o t in

the h a b i t o f p lay in g a r ig h t no te im m ediately a f t e r a wrong

n o te . T h ir ty -o n e of th ese s tu d e n ts had s a t i s f a c to r y memory

su ccess and s ix u n s a t i s f a c to r y . Of th e th i r ty - n in e s tu d e n ts

who in d ic a te d s t u t t e r i n g , th e re were f i f t e e n w ith s a t i s f a c to r y

memory su ccess and tw en ty -fo u r w ith u n s a t i s f a c t o r y memory

s u c c e s s .

■ • ’ • -

CHAPTER IV

a * Summary

In Chapter One the problem sta ted was to f in d out

what methods of memorizing were employed by piano students

at the U n iv ers ity of A rizona’ s School o f Music during spring

sem ester of 1951, and which o f these methods o f memorizing

wra s u c c e s s fu l . The in terv iew was used as a means o f gath­

er in g data*

Chapter Two acknowledged the p ro cesses of m usical

memory as based on previous rep orts in th is f i e l d o f study*

In terp re ta tio n o f th is r e la te d l ite r a tu r e in d ica ted that i t

would be p o ss ib le to c la s s i f y the p rocesses of m usical mem­

ory in to the fo llo w in g c a te g o r ie s : motor memory, auditory

memory, v is u a l memory, harmonic a n a ly s is , and in t e l le c t u a l

memory» In a d d it io n , sev era l in feren ces were made w ith re*

gard to fo r g e tt in g in m usical performance* They were based

on such problems as: u n ila te r a l and b i la t e r a l lea rn in g ,

re s t in g a f te r memorizing, whole and part methods, and s t u t ­

tering during performance* On the su b ject o f u n ila te r a l and

b ila t e r a l le a r n in g , some disagreem ent was m anifested when

various reports were compared. In terp o la ted r e s t p eriod s

when memorizing was in ferred as b e tte r than p e r s is te n t use

of the memory by continous study a t the piano* The act o f

53

unrestrained s tu tte r in g a t the piano during p ra c tic e s e s ­

sions was b e liev ed conducive to s im ila r s tu t te r in g during

subsequent performancea. Concerning the problem o f whole

and part methods, no d e f in ite procedure was recommended.

Chapter Three presented the det# obtained from the

in terv iew . Attem pting to answer the q u estion s g iven in the

in trod u ction and in the statem ent of the problem o f Chapter

one, ta b le s one through s ix were con stru cted . As a r e su lt

of th is in v e s t ig a t io n the fo llo w in g statem ents were sub­

m itted:

The number o f stud en ts using a com bination o f two

methods alone was fo u r teen . This was approxim ately e igh teen

per cen t o f the t o t a l number o f s e v e n ty -s ix s tu d en ts .

The number of stud en ts using a combination o f three

methods was th ir ty -tw o . This was approxim ately forty-tw o

per cent o f the t o t a l .

The number of stud en ts who were u sin g a com bination

of four methods was tw enty-one. This was approxim ately

tw en ty-eigh t per cent of the t o t a l .

The number of stud en ts who were using f iv e methods o f

memorizing were nine stu d en ts . This was approxim ately tw elve

per cent o f the t o t a l .

Students who Were Interview ed tended to use a combin­

a tio n of three methods, mainly that which included v is u a l

memory.

Students who used a combination o f four or f iv e

$4

methods reported the b est rankings* I t v.as a ls o In d icated

th a t those stud en ts who used the in t e l le c t u a l method In

th e ir combination scheme of three methods ranked h ighest*

Those stu d en ts who used two methods a lo n e , namely,

motor and auditory methods, ranked low est*

Those students who used harmonic a n a ly s is in th e ir -

scheme o f memorizing averaged considerably h igher than th e ir. . . . • , . . : '

fe llo w stud en ts who did not use harmonic a n a ly sis*

Students who employed in t e l le c t u a l memory in th e ir

scheme o f memorization ware com paratively h igher in th e ir

average ranking than those who did not use in t e l l e c t u a l

memory*

The few est memory fa i lu r e s were reported by stud en ts

who employed harmonic a n a ly s is and in t e l l e c t u a l memory in

th e ir scheme o f memorizing*

There were more memory fa i lu r e s among those stud en ts

who used v is u a l memory than those who did not*

Of the to ta l number o f se v e n ty -s ix s tu d en ts , f i f t y -

e ig h t re p lied th a t they had never been taught how to memor­

i z e , Of the e ig h teen stud en ts who r e p lie d th at they had

d e f in i t e ly been taught how to memorize, a l l except three

were taught to memorize by harmonic a n a ly sis*

The r e s u lt s were sanewhab convincing in answer to

questions regarding the p sy ch o lo g ica l laws o f lea rn in g ,

such a s: whole and part methods, r e s t a f te r le a rn in g ,

u n ila te r a l and b i la t e r a l le a rn in g . Concerning the problem

55

of whole and part m ethods, the f ig u r e s gave no evidence o f

su p er io r ity of any one method. As' fa r as i t was p o ss ib le to

denote from t h is r e p o r t , r e s t a f te r lea rn in g had no p o s it iv e

advantage over the group who did not r e s t . However, there

was a s l ig h t ly h igher degree of s a t is fa c to r y memory among

the group that rested a g a in st those who did not r e s t . The

r e s u lts w ith regard to the question of u n ila te r a l and b i la t ­

e r a l learn in g were somewhat in favor of the u n ila te r a l method,

sin ce i t had a g rea ter degree of s a t is fa c to r y memory than the

b ila t e r a l method.

The question of s tu t te r in g showed r e s u lt s in favor of

the n o n -stu tter in g group, s in ce i t had e ig h ty -fo u r per cent

s a t is fa c to r y memory su ccess as compared to th ir ty -e ig h t per

cent s a t is fa c to r y memory su ccess with those who s tu tte r e d .

b . Conclusions and recommendations

The r e s u lts o f th is in v e s t ig a t io n proved that the use

of motor and auditory memory alone did not in d ica te a s a t i s ­

fa cto ry scheme of memorizing. In f a c t , the ease and r e l ia ­

b i l i t y of memorizing increased according to the number of

methods used. This was in d ica ted in the h igher rankings

obtained by those students who employed a combination of

four and f iv e methods o f memorizing, p a r t ic u la r ly those

schemes of memorizing which in c lu d ed .harmonic a n a ly s is and

the in t e l le c t u a l method.

56

In view of th is con clusion i t is recommended that

students should u t i l i z e every p o ss ib le method when memo­

r iz in g a t the piano to insure adequacy of preparation .

Any tra in in g in music theory should be advantageous i f the

student a llow s i t to operate through harmonic a n a ly s is in

the memorizing p ro cess . S im ila r ly , stud en ts should make

numerous a s so c ia t io n s when memorizing music by use o f

in t e l le c t u a l con cepts. A sso c ia tio n and comparison of one

rhythmic, m elodic or chordal pattern or fig u re w ith another

would be valuable in b u ild in g memory c lu e s , lin k s and connec­

t io n s . Memorizing by use of harmonic a n a ly s is and in t e l le c t u a l

memory should re in fo rce the employment of other methods.

Since there were more memory f a i lu r e s among those

students who employed v is u a l memory than those who did n o t,

i t might be im plied that v is u a l memory i s the le a s t e s s e n t ia l

method o f memorizing. I t should be noted, however, th at

v is u a l memory was included in the scheme of memorising o f a l l

those who employed the f iv e p o ss ib le methods. This would

In d ica te that the su cc essfu ln e ss o f v is u a l memory depended

on the Increase o f the number of methods used.

Students were not p a r t ic u la r ly conscious of how they

were supposed to memorize. This was in d ica ted by the fa c t

that f i f t y - e ig h t stu d en ts r e p lie d that th ey had never been

taught how to memorize. P ro v is io n should be made fo r

5 7

regular and ca r e fu l guidance of piano students when memo­

r iz in g at the p iano. A c le a r and meaningful comprehension

of the memorizing process should be e s ta b lish ed by the piano

teacner in order to secure a more adequate formula of re ten ­

t io n during m usical performance. At the same tim e, t h is

learn in g must a r ise out o f a conscious e f fo r t by the student

to memorize a s e le c t io n . I t i s f u t i l e and d iscouraging to

the teacher when the student who i s taught how to memorize,

makes no attempt to p ra ctice according to in s tr u c t io n s .

In the teach ing procedure, students should be taught

to memorize im m ediately. Memory work i s not something to

be added a f te r the music has been presumably learn ed . I t

i s not a separate or f in a l p ro cess, but an in te g r a l part

of the to ta l act o f m usical le a rn in g . T echnical d i f f i c u l t i e s

can be overcome more e a s i ly through a conscious and w i l l f u l

p ro cess. In beginning a new p iece a student does not have

to overcome the tech n ica l d i f f i c u l t y of knowing the notes

by p laying the p iece through r e p e t i t io u s ly . This w i l l on ly

r e su lt in an autom atic motor memory, and would tend to cause

more memory fa i lu r e s the moment a wrong note i s played sin ce the

autom atic system i s broken. The student should be taught

to memorize a s e le c t io n w ith an understanding of a l l i t s

p a rts . The music can be organized in to meaningful u n its

and the inner d e ta i ls of th ese u n its must be analyzed and

learned . M usical th inking i s not done in n o te s , bars and

5*

m easures, but in f ig u r es and p a ttern s. These may be rhythmic

and m elodic f ig u r e s , or harmonic p a ttern s. The a b i l i t y to

memorize th is way should be c u lt iv a te d from the beginning,

w ith e a s ie r p ie c e s . Once the h ab it i s formed, th is system

of memorizing can be ap p licab le to more d i f f i c u l t m usic.

In in te r p r e ta t in g the r e s u lt s in answer to the question

of u n ila te r a l and b i la t e r a l lea rn in g , i t was found that

students who memorized w ith each nand sep a ra te ly had a higher

degree of s a t is fa c to r y memory. However, th is does not imply

that the u n ila te r a l method should be used throughout the

t o ta l memorization scheme. O bviously, no student could mem­

or ize a s e le c t io n w ith each hand sep a ra te ly w ithout ev en tu a lly

using th e ir hands to g eth er . N ev erth e less , i t was ev ident th a t

u n ila te r a l learn in g proved more h e lp fu l in securing a greater

degree o f memory su cc ess . T herefore, i t i s recommended that

students be concerned prim arily w ith the u n ila te r a l method,

e s p e c ia lly in the more d i f f i c u l t passages.

As was Indicated in t h is research , th ere was d e f in i t e ly

a h igher percentage of s a t is fa c to r y memory success among the

n o n -stu tte r in g group of s tu d en ts . Therefore, i t i s recommended

that stu d en ts be taught never to correct a mistake by p laying

a r ig h t note immediate]y a f te r the wrong one. This w i l l tend

to impress a wrong sequence in the stu d en t’ s memory, and the

very next time the sequence w i l l be played with a r e p e t it io n

of the blunder fo llow ed by the co rrec tio n . This i s the cause

5 9

o f s tu tte r in g and stum bling. To overcome th is stum bling

fa u lt one must move across the en tire su ccession o f sounds

in the phrase from beginning to end u n t i l the r igh t note

i s learned in the sequence.

No d e f in ite trend was in d icated by those students

who rested a f te r memorizing'as compared w ith those who did

not r e s t . Also the f ig u r e s concerning the whole and part

methods of memorizing gave n o :evidence of su p e r io r ity of

any one method. T herefore, i t i s fu rth er recommended that

research should be undertaken in subsequent in v e s t ig a t io n s

fo r the purpose of com piling added p ertin en t data. C o llec tin g

a d d itio n a l o b jec tiv e data on the problem of memorizing would

fu rn ish fu rth er con clusions regarding memorizing a t the p iano.

219160

60

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Munn, Norman L . , P sychology. Boston: Houghton M iff lin Company 1946, pp. x v i i i -4-497.

M atthay , T o b ias , On M emorizing and P lay in g From Memory.London, V.T-1 : Oxford U n iv e rs ity P r e s s , Amen House, Warwick S q u a re , B. 0 . 4 .

McGeogh, J . , "E xperim en tal S tu d ie s of Memory” , RobinsorfsReadings In G eneral P sycho logy» Chicago: U n iv e rs ity o f Chicago P re s s , 1929.

THESES

Black, Frederick L . , J r . , An In v estig a tio n of The Methods of Memorizing Employed by Piano S tu d en ts. Terre Haute: Indiana State T eacher's C o lle g e ,M . A. T h e s is , number 311, 1937.

E rsk in e, Martha, Harmonic A n a lysis As an Aid to MemorizingPiano R ep eto lre . Tucson: U n iv ers ity of A rizona, M. M. T h e s is , 1942.

PERIODICALS

Brown, Roberta W ., "R elation Between Two Methods o f Learning Piano Music” , Journal o f Experim ental P sychology, volume 16, June 1933, PP* 435-441.

O’B rie n , C y r il C . , "P a r t and Whole Methods in the Memoriza­t io n of M usic", Jo u rn a l of E d u ca tio n a l P sycho logy , volume 34, December 1943, PP* 552-560.

Rabson, Grace Rubin, "S tu d ie s in th e Psychology of Memo­r iz in g P iano M usic" , Jo u rn a l of E d u ca tio n a l P sycho logy : I . "A Comparison of the U n i la te r a l and th e C oord inated A pproaches", volume 30, May 1939, pp. 321-345; I I . "A Comparison of Massed and D is tr ib u te d P r a c t ic e " , volume 31, A p r i l 1940, pp . 270-284; I I I ." A Comparison of th e Whole and th e P a r t A pproach", volume 31, Septem ber 1940, pp. 460-476.

Rabaon, Grace R ubin, "The In flu e n c e o f A n a ly tic a l P re Study in M emorizing P iano M usic” , A rch ives of Psycho lo g y . R, S . Woodworth, E d i to r , number 22u, New York, November 1937*

Winslow, R obert W., "Psychology of M usical Memory", Music E d u c a to r 's J o u r n a l , volume 35* January 1949, p p . 15 -16 ,

62

APPENDIX

The a c tu a l q u e s tio n s co n ta in e d In the in te rv ie w were

as fo llo w s :

1 . As a ru le does th e s tu d e n t memorize im m ediately o r does he w ait u n t i l th e f in g e r s become a u to m a tic .( e n te r "yes" i f th e s tu d e n t memorizes im m edia te ly ; a l l o th e rs e n te r "no "). This q u es tio n i s based on m otor memory: 1 . e . sense of key touch o r sense o f p lace and movement from n o te to note*

2 . Does th e s tu d e n t depend on r e c a l l in g the p r in te d page w hile p la y in g from memory, ("y es" o r " n o " ) .This q u e s tio n i s based on v is u a l memory; i . e . an eye memory o f th e p r in te d p ag e•

3* Does th e s tu d e n t depend on a v i s u a l memory o f the movement of h i s hands. ( "yes" o r " n o " ) . This q u es tio n i s a ls o based on v is u a l memory; i . e . an eye memory o f th e keyboard p ro g re ss io n s and combin­a t io n s .

4 . Does the s tu d e n t h ea r the sounds f i r s t m e n ta lly and then t r a n s l a t e s them to the keyboard?Does the s tu d e n t l i s t e n to the d e t a i l s o f the m usic? Away from the p iano does the s tu d e n t t r y to h e a r a p iece m e n ta l ly , remembering how th e music sounds? (answ er "y es" to th i s q u e s tio n i f the s tu d e n t in d i ­c a te s the employment o f any one of the th re e m ethods)* This q u e s tio n i s based on a u d ito ry memory; 1 . e . sound im agery .

3* When memorizing does the s tu d e n t an a ly ze the music h a rm o n ica lly ? ("y es" o r " n o " ) . This q u e s tio n i s based on harm onic a n a ly s i s .

6 . Does th e s tu d e n t s tudy the m usic away from the key­board ; i . e . , s tu d y the sco re as to i t s m usica l s t r u c tu r e and a l l i t s d e t a i l s ? ( "yes" o r "no" )*This q u e s tio n i s based on I n t e l l e c t u a l memory; i . e* s tu d y in g the m usic in ev e ry d e t a i l ; rh y th m !e p a t t e r n s and f i g u r e s , m elodic c o n to u r , r e p e t i t i o n o f p a t te r n s and p h r a s e s , c o n t r a s t s , dynamic e f f e c t , e t c .

S 3

?• Does th e s tu d e n t memorize by the whole o r p a r t method o r both? ( e n te r "whole* method i f a p ie ce i s p lay ed from beginning to end w ith o u t s to p p in g , and i f a t no tim e a re r e p e t i t i o n s o f d i f f i c u l t m easures made in any of the le a r n in g . E n te r "part® i f d p ie ce i s memorized by b a r s , l i n e s , p ag es , e t c » E n te r "b o th " i f the s tu d e n t employs bo th m ethods; 1 . e . , g e t t in g a survey o f the whole before s t a r t i n g to le a r n by whole o r p a r t m ethod)*

8» Does th e s tu d e n t e v e r memorize each hand s e p a ra te ly ?("yes" or " n o " ) .

9* When making a m is tak e w i l l th e s tu d e n t p la y a r ig h t n o te a f t e r a wrong no te o r go back to the b eg in n in g of the p h ra se . T h is does n o t re v iv e i t s e l f v ery e a s i ly in th e s tu d e n t’ s co n sc io u sn e ss , s in c e most s tu d e n t ’ s a re no t s e l f - c r i t i c a l enough to observe how they c o r r e c t t h e i r m is ta k e s , ( e n te r "y es" i f the s tu d e n t makes the c o r re c ­t io n by p la y in g a r ig h t no te a f t e r a wrong n o te ; "no" i f th e s tu d e n t goes back to the beg inn ing of the p h ra s e ) . This q u es tio n was designed to t e l l w hether o r n o t the s tu d e n t is s tu t te r in g *

10* When perform ing in p u b lic from memory does the s tu d e n t f in d h im se lf th in k in g ahead , w orry ing abou t what comes in the nex t s e c t io n , ("y e s" o r "no" ) . This q u e s tio n r e f e r s to M atthay’ s th eo ry about b reak in g the m u sica l sequence,

11, When p la y in g in p u b lic from memory (w hether in r e c i t a l s o r p iano f i n a l s ) has the s tu d e n t’ s memory ev e r f a i l e d ? ("y es" o r " n o " ) . Has th i s been f r e q u e n t . o c c a s io n a l ly , o r seldom? This q u e s tio n used to e s tim a te a b i l i t y to memorize.

12 . Does the s tu d e n t r e s t a f t e r m em orizing o r does he con­tin u e to stu d y in the same f i e l d im m ediately a f te rw a rd s? ( e n te r " r e s t " i f s tu d e n t r e s t s a f t e r m emorizing o r con­t in u e s to study in an o th e r f i e l d . E n te r "s tu d y " i f s tu d e n t co n tin u es to p r a c t ic e o r s tu d y in the same f i e l d ) . T h is q u es tio n i s based on recom m endations f o r in t e r p o l ­a te d r e s t p e r io d s .

13* Have the s tu d e n t r a te h im se lf as to a b i l i t y in m em orizing. RAPID FAIRLY RAPID AVERAGE FAIRLY SLOW SLOW

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

14* Has th e s tu d e n t ev er been ta u g h t how to memorize?Which method o r methods have been ta u g h t as most dependable?

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15e Which method o r methods does the s tu d e n t depend on: m otor - sense o f to u ch ; memorize by p la y in g th ro u g h

r e p e t i t i o u s l y ,v is u a l - memory o f th e p r in te d page, o f th e keyboard

p ro g re ss io n s and co m b in a tio n s. a u d ito ry - remembering how the music should sound; h e a r ­

ing the sounds and t r a n s l a t i n g them to th e keyboard .

harm onic - an a ly z in g by chord p h ra se s ; a to p ic a l o u t l in e of the m u sica l s t r u c t u r e .

i n t e l l e c t u a l - an a ly z in g by thorough s tudy of a l l d e t a i l s ;a d e ta i le d o u tl in e of the m u sica l s t r u c tu r e .