How I memorize piano music | Jocelyn Swigger | TEDxGettysburgCollege

Music and science: one and the same? Concert pianist Jocelyn Swigger illustrates the behind-the-scenes process of memorizing at the piano, revealing surprising parallels between practicing music and science.
Jocelyn Swigger is Associate Professor of Music at the Sunderman Conservatory of Gettysburg College. She has also taught at Fort Lewis College, the Hochstein Music School, and in Paraguay on a Fulbright grant, and played as accompanist for the Manhattan School of Music, the Castleman Quartet Program, the Boys Choir of Harlem, and the Juilliard School. She holds undergraduate degrees from Oberlin College and Oberlin Conservatory, and master’s and doctoral degrees from the Eastman School of Music. Her principal piano teachers are Rebecca Penneys and Evelyne Brancart.

She is a Con Brio Recordings Artist. Her current projects are learning all of Chopin’s etudes and incorporating improvisation into her concert performances. More information at: jocelynswigger.com
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@iluvanime4ever]

"First you cry, then you look for patterns" THIS i always do

[@suzannemahalanobis3308]

iluvanime4ever 9

[@sauravbasu8805]

iluvanime4ever There must be a deeper meaning found in this statement. Can anyone explain what is that ?

[@therealong]

+saurav basu One *cries* because at first a piece might seem impossible to learn to play it. Though, if one really has to learn it, the more one works on it, the easier it becomes to play it. And along the way it will reveal *patterns* (or some mnemonic systems here and there) that would have facilitated the learning if discovered earlier. Does that help?

[@kbeetles]

Alternatively - you cry - and give up?

[@BarackObamaJedi]

not to mention that the indications say "con bravura", which could be interpreted as "with courage"

[@lmao4707]

i love how this video is almost all based off of chopin

[@tonybobay6276]

You know, man. Chopin, is dope, fam

[@sabrinaschantz]

Brendan B Meanie

[@leosullivan9228]

"Chopin" means "royalties-free art" in Capitalism, tubers

[@user-ec6kt2fg7m]

Girls love themselves some Chopin!

[@user-ec6kt2fg7m]

Vegetables and Depression Okay, I believe you.

[@mralcina8726]

if you are wondering what pieces she used as examples: Chopin op. 25 no. 11 Chopin op. 10 no. 5 Chopin op. 10 no. 1 Chopin op. 25 no. 5 Chopin op. 10 no. 2 Basically half the etudes he wrote

[@viggos.n.5864]

Op10 No3

[@viggos.n.5864]

Op25 no3

[@waitwhatisthat9394]

No u.

[@user-dq6bd5nt5t]

That is five of the 24 that he wrote. 5/24

[@kasajizo8963]

Just under a fifth actually

[@Awesomeplace1]

"You can see that this is fairly easy" *Recognizes the first measure of Winter Wind* Heh I know what you're trying to do

[@gabrielgan369]

Lol same, I got fooled once (when I first listened to the piece), not going to be fooled again

[@vladislavdosin765]

Yeah, it's a trap

[@fedecan770]

Hhahah indeed

[@jackie9492]

musicians : woah what a nice talk non musicians : what have I just watched

[@TommyElijahCabelloReal]

I'm a trumpet player and I was slightly confused. I understood the rhythms, but we read pitches differently then piano.

[@totally_not_a_bot]

@@TommyElijahCabelloReal How do your fingerings change? Do they repeat at all between partials? How do your partials change? Are there any motifs to pay attention to? Things like her, "It's the same thing but shifted down." That's the general idea of it. Patterns, structures, sounds.

[@TommyElijahCabelloReal]

@@totally_not_a_bot we just follow a pattern that repeats every octave with a few exceptions that will change. The higher D's are first valve, and the lower D is first and third valve. However a B natural is 2nd valve everywhere you play it. What determines the octave you play in is the speed of the air as you buzz. But for ideal tuning, your buzzing should perfectly match the note you're wanting to play

[@frankfeldman6657]

Correction-actual musicians know this woman is a no-talent fraud.

[@sifridbassoon]

FINGER MEMORY!! that concept has sunk more piano recitals than north Atlantic icebergs. The belief that if you just practice and practice (and practice...), your brain will chunk it together and store it permanently as a memory about how to move arm and finger muscles. In some situations, endless repetition works (the old story of Czerny playing scales and arpeggios while reading a book). And for some people, finger/physical memory enables them to play hard concertos and long concerts without any problems. But for me (and I expect lots of other pianists) relying on finger memory is DANGEROUS! For one thing, it is one directional. If something breaks my concentration, how do I start over? I only "know" how to start from the beginning. If I'm in measure 105 and something goes wrong, and I can't remember how to continue to measure 106, how do I start again from measure 100 (assuming measure 100 is a logical place to start from)? I can't - I can only go back to measure 1 and start over. My teacher my sophomore year taught me to memorize visually. She told me to go to the library with the music and look at a measure and memorize the notes and rhythms for that measure. Then go to the next measure. Eventually, I knew the score well enough that I could have written it out on paper. Unfortunately, this process is hard and time consuming (at least for me), but it has saved me from many possible disasters. Notice that none of this saves you from having to put in the practice time and repetition to work out the technical issues, so there will always be a good bit of muscle memory as well. A second piece of wisdom from my instructor: work out a piece from the back to the front. That way from the first beat of the first measure, you are always going from less confident to more confident. As you get closer to the end, it's a piece o' cake.

[@Bellabella-bf4ut]

sifridbassoon I totally agree! My brother and many of my friends all rely on finger memory but I’ve always had problems with this method. It just never worked for me. I could use it, but just as you said, it’s directional and I could only use it unintentionally when I zone out and my fingers just kept on moving, but the moment my attention snaps back, I have no memory of what was going on when I was out and never remember where I stopped. What my teacher did to help me was make me memorize all the left hand chords. I had to be able to play the harmony/left hand independently in any style; dotted, even, slowly, fast, staccato, legato, etc. This made sure that my left hand the stabilizing hand will be completely ingrained into my mind. I couldn’t rely on muscle memory and I had to know exactly what notes it had, or at least what chord notes it had. That way my left hand was my ultimate safety net when playing. My right hand could mess up, but since my left hand was stable and could play independently from the right, I could continue playing with no difficulty as my right hand, while able to play independently from the left, was wired to play with the left hand and could catch on fairly quickly.

[@hanmadison179]

sifridbassoon Finger memory has screwed me over so many times 🗿

[@JennsCorner777]

By memorizing at different points like counting. I'm sure you can count by twos and tens and can count from 20 to 100 right? Gotta break it down into smaller chunks and memorize those bits.

[@markrobinson8254]

brilliant ,well written , and correct

[@TheGuggo]

There is no such thing as “muscle memory”. There is analyzing, understanding, assimilation and recreation. Those that don’t know about this process come up with the low level, oversimplified term “muscle memory”.

[@IftheShewfits]

Not sure why the camera angle changed every time she started to play to obscure her hands. Really wish I could have seen her play the "one eared llama." :(

[@Transition333]

IftheShew Fits That was EXACTLY my complaint. It’s so important to SEE, accurately, the shape of her “supported thumb”.

[@dangeroussneeze66]

who’s bright idea was it not to film her hands

[@mevebelanger]

Right? 😂

[@arroyobaby38]

Marcus Morales -LMAO 😂

[@NinaadDas]

Either Incompetent stage director, Or, Production Limitation.

[@GaadhiMahendra]

😂😂

[@RimantasLiubertas]

@@mevebelanger Left too.

[@TheDarrylJohnsonShow]

The way she explained "how to read music" was quite brilliant

[@TheZenytram]

is more like, how to be a musician.

[@dreamwoodsbutterfly]

I enjoyed this immensely. As a 52 yr old who has just started learning to play the piano, I can tell you there are patterns and I already feel more comfortable playing when I see them and know to get ready for them. Learning anything new is never easy, but I'm here to say it is easily done!

[@helenchelmicka3028]

Snap! That's awesome you're learning at 52! So many people say "Oh I'm too old for that now" - really inspirational. Hope I'm as bad-ass as you when I'm older Teri :)

[@zeromailss]

Teri Franklin Damn I'm still teen and I already feel too old to learn playing piano from zero some of my friend who play instrument including piano usually start at grade school and now they are already really good which made me lose confident

[@Chimoochi]

MeowAlien, If I may offer some encouragement to you. One of the great mistakes we make in life is when we compare ourselves to others. Please don't. If you feel you have a passion and desire to play a musical instrument...do it! Allow your friends to be the resources you go to when you have questions or need help. I started piano lessons at 55 years old; I'm now 57. It has been the best experience ever! I wish I could turn the clock back and start over, but I can't. That won't stop me from enjoying this wonderful instrument and the experience. I will tell you, it is difficult at times. After all, you are learning another language, the language of music. Just keep thinking and looking long term. Invest in yourself and enjoy the journey that God has designed uniquely for you. Don't look at others. The more you practice and play, the more you will learn and the more confidence you will build. Blessings!

[@dianesheats3296]

MeowAlien にゃあエイリアン Let me encourage you to go ahead and start. I was one of those who began as a small child and my progress was very slow, although I didn't realize it at the time. Later my brother started taking piano lessons when he was about 9 and I was 12. He caught up to me in about a year and I was very upset that I took all those years to learn what he learned very quickly. A few years ago my friend who was in her 20s started taking piano lessons and I was shocked at how fast she learned. So my lesson learned was that an adult brain may be far more able to learn quickly then a child's brain. My friend in her 20s probably learned 4 times faster than my brother who was 9. Those are just small examples, but I guarantee that if you try, it won't be as hard as you think! And if you try for a few months and decide it's too hard, you can just quit and there's no harm done. :)

[@prawinrai628]

MeowAlien にゃあエイリアン dude just imagine u and ur friends r both good at playing piano but that doesn't mean that ur friends will get more popularity​ than u...There r many professional musicians in this world BUT not all of them r popular because they maybe lacking something that most music listeners want.. like someone said here 'Never think about others'..U should always try to focus on things u want to focus on and forgetting about what others might think... remember everyone starts from somewhere.

[@rjwade00]

As a data analyst, this explanation is beautiful. I've always wanted to learn the piano, but it has been so daunting. This approach will allow me to utilize and sharpen my analytic skills while having fun! I can't say how happy this video has made me.

[@birdlives2000]

Just don't ever neglect good old fashioned practice. There is no substitute for it. If you are logical kind of person then you might be drawn to focusing on the theory side of music as some "hidden secret" that will get you good at your instrument. But there are no secrets, just practice.

[@rjwade00]

I'm about a month into playing now, and you were exactly right: there have been periods when I've just been conceptualizing rather than actually playing. Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it!

[@helen6017]

Bobby Wade b

[@ArgentumEmperio]

Now that its about another month later, how have things turned out for yer'? Quite curious about it! ^^

[@monstrositizen]

hey bobby...how about uploading your practical lesson...

[@satiethetutor3337]

I' find the question "how do you remember all those notes in that piano piece" similar to "how do you remember all those letters in that poem". patterns occur at the phrase level and higher.

[@dylannguyen4045]

This lady has just explained every single experience I have had learning, memorize, and performing music at an advanced level. It's crazy how relatable this video is for me.

[@noahjohnson3889]

Ha. Made me smile to see her use the winter wind etude as an example. Probably the most contrasting piece between opening statement and concclusion.

[@rainbowfox1934]

Brilliant analysis of multidimensional memorization of sheet music. Thank you. I will watch it again... and again.

[@herrshlomoshlmmutzenstein2241]

And then there are people who play be ear and cant read any sheet music

[@an4contre]

Myself when I started playing piano lol But since the teacher always told me LOOK AT THE SCORE, YOU ARE NOT LOOKING AT THE SCORE!, well, what choice did I have other than to learn to read? I'm still bad at sight-reading, though...

[@ffggddss]

I've long believed that it is of utmost importance to hone *both* skills to their maximum level. They are highly synergistic! I first learned to read the sheets from an early age, in piano lessons. Then when I went away to college, I picked up guitar, and rather than learn a whole new, cryptic notation (guitar-tablature), I learned to work out songs by ear. Then, returning to piano later in life, I applied my ear-learning skills to that instrument, and it has made a lot of things much easier.

[@ffggddss]

I actually learned quite a lot from my teacher. As a kid, taking lessons, that is.

[@vermillian1000]

I W A N T T O P E R I S H yes my friend plays by ear 👂🏼 but is more talented than me who can kinda read music 😂

[@ludwigvanbeethoven7192]

People who, "play by ear," are overlooked and pushed aside. You don't know or understand the piano unless you know all aspects of it, which includes reading music. You could never play Liszt's Mazeppa by ear... When people tell me they play by ear, I turn..... my ears..... off....

[@2inchfromtheground]

every time I start a new chopin etude I think "why am I doing this" then a few hours later I think "oh yeah! so I can hear it the way I want it played! " and it is quiet satisfying I must say, especially when I can't find a recording I enjoy all the way through

[@j3ffn4v4rr0]

Great point! I've not mastered the piano by any means...but I personally love the way I play Satie, even ham-handedly...and I totally cringe at some more professional interpretations.

[@leosullivan9228]

seriously, Gieseking, Novaes, Horowitz, Berezovsky - never saw you coming

[@syourke3]

I’m trying to memorize some Chopin nocturnes right now. I find it helpful to study the harmony relations with the focus on the left hand. The melody line is easy enough to remember - it’s the left hand that describes the chords and the harmonic progressions that are most difficult. Studying the left hand carefully, measure by measure, is helping me to not just endorse the piece but to understand it musically. It’s a bit like studying chess opening lines. If you take the time to really understand why the opening moves make sense, you’ll have a much stronger grasp of the opening than if you merely memorize a series of moves. It’s one thing to memorize a piece of music, it’s another to really learn it. Learning requires analysis.

[@ezra6094]

I grinned when I saw the first measure of Winter Wind

[@johnmeye]

One of my favorite TED talks of all time. Thank you!!

[@beckym8245]

I have just started playing a few months ago at age 50 alongside my 10 year old son. I watch him have his one to one lessons and go home and practise what he is taught. We're both going to do grade 1 together in a few months. Wish us luck!

[@victoriairias7703]

omgsh that is soo amazing !! yes is never too late to start learning

[@chmd22]

Any update?

[@beckym8245]

@@chmd22 nah, I sucked at piano. I couldn't separate my left hand from my right.

[@chmd22]

@@beckym8245 Thanks for the reply, and sorry to hear, but then again, there's plenty of other things to do, so maybe not sorry. FWIW, I find hand independence difficult too. I sometimes feel like my brain is going to explode while trying, until it clicks, and it's suddenly a little easier. I'm an early beginner though, doing easy pieces, and I can't imagine playing with the kind of skill this lady demonstrates.

[@navinkrishnan9419]

Whoever’s reading this, I hope something really wonderful happens to you today!

[@kaosstraxx4119]

Thanks, thats my Wish for you, too

[@RockinTheDub]

Navin Kumar - thanks but I’m almost positive I failed my exam today

[@Pamchan23]

Jocelyn, thank you so much for this explanation and analysis. I used to practice the same piece many many times in order to get the music into muscle memory, and played in autopilot mode. It worked by chance but didn't last for long. With this analysis, it combines the power from both sides of the brain. This video shows me an in-depth way to learn, understand and analyse the music. At the same time, lots of practice is essential.

[@sylvielmna]

I have picked up these things over years of practice - it's so great to see them all laid out so clearly!

[@lmao4707]

WHEN SHE STARTED PLAYING CHOPIN YEET

[@BlogiandDogi]

@@ravenoptima YEET!

[@mikelincoln8395]

I love the piano, I Have never consciously had to think about memorizing anything I enjoy playing.

[@tkkrystle]

What a great presentation, thank you Jocelyn for a beautiful demonstration!

[@svenfocus]

As someone who struggles with not only with written music, but with written text, this talk is very encouraging. It illustrates that even a very accomplished musician uses techniques very similar to my own to bypass my perceived inadequacies. Thank you Jocelyn, you've helped one more budding pianist.

[@quickfingers7062]

“Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots... ...Of practice” So relatable

[@marcop.2606]

As I started to learn how to play piano I became excellent in science receiving the best marks possible!:)

[@christopherzimmer]

Absolutely phenomenal! Beautifully organized and presented. Clearly Jocelyn can “think in music”!! ❤

[@17244852]

I'm just a (very late) beginner but this is exactly what I do when I am given a piece of music to learn. Look for repeats, look for patterns that shift, look for the movement of the tune, simplify the tune. But you do it so beautifully. Thank you so much.

[@thepianoplayer416]

Musicians would tell you it is very easy / there is nothing to it sort of thing. But if you get down to learning, memorizing pieces is 1 thing, getting your hands to play properly take a while to master. Looks easy when a pro does it. Learning the notes is 1 thing, making a piece flow is musically takes time. There are people who love to listen to music and would rather collect CDs than sit down for hours to work on a piece by Mozart, Liszt or Chopin.

[@cuminfoglight5880]

It's so much easier to play it on your phone then to find the nearest piano that's in tune

[@planetyam6044]

if you don't like the view, you are in the wrong road.

[@prawinrai628]

Truman Fogler lol !

[@NoferTrunions]

The terrible irony: the piano is the most encountered instrument and usually the most abysmally tuned. I remember playing recitals at woman's clubs and cutting my fingers on the broken ivories not to mention the tune....

[@benjammin6692]

Yes.....

[@aaditeyap.srawat8574]

Her method of learning piano is coincidentally similar to mastering a programming language. WOW!

[@HoshiAzul]

Really? How so? I'm thinking of learning to program, so I would really appreciate if you tell me in what way it is similar.

[@MarcoPolux]

WOW! Loved this video. It is an insight of the thought process of someone who reads real fast music....

[@DemetriusFuller]

Still watching - this is SO good. GREAT simple, Feynman-like analogies and explanations. Coo-Doze.

[@frauic]

Tedx Talks, you need to close-up shots of her finger movement too!

[@thomasdahl3083]

Basically it's all about Motivation. Find a way to decode it, and another way to memorize it and go for it. We are all different. Personally I prefer the Visual Memory of how my hands look when they grab the chords or span over the tones I'm about to play. First this, then this, then this, etc. 1. Understand it 2. Memorize it 3. Master it

[@MehlindaHeartt]

As a professional harpist and teacher for 40 years, I must say that the way I memorize is by analyzing the chord sequence, look for patterns yes, and muscle memory from repetition. If a person looks at a page and sees only notes you're in trouble, but look at groups, and that group involves the basis of the chord in each bar, ie pieces of a G chord, what inversion is it in, what is the group doing, then the next chord sequence and so on, then A and B sections, repeats etc. When I went to University the best course that taught me the most was 2 years of piano chord progression and theory. I am glad she mentioned this near the end, very good

[@mare4678]

I've been playing the piano since I was 6 yo. So with interruptions it's 26 years by now, and I have never been more thankful for it than these days. It's like a good buddy accompanying me through my life. Such a treasure!

[@improvementTime10.3.17]

13:45 writes out all the chords She writes the Key a particular Bar is in, then for each bar she writes the Chord that theyre a part of, So for example B major 1 chord in Bar 1 then B major 2chord in Bar 2 Remembering hand shapes is apparently easier than knowing how a series of notes look in note form.

[@improvementTime10.3.17]

I can see what you mean, Im not quite sure I understand when you say that having the chord sheets would help with improvising though?

[@improvementTime10.3.17]

superblonde I see what you mean now, by having the chords as whole memorized it does help the pianist be more creative by then knowing oh this chord makes this sound(as you said taking eyes off sheet and focusing on sound) and with that allows the pianist to know okay I wanna get this sound, oh I rm that chord made this sound, and knowing which key ad chord is very simple memorization, from there he can just omit or invert the chord(while getting the similar mood and adding his own flare to it) and over time this builds up and I guess that is experience

[@KiraOhmart]

OMG THEORY MAP IS BEAUTIFUL

[@ymest269daniel9]

Brilliant! Thank you Jocelyn Swigger. Xxx

[@Lynkevmusic]

I've started studying for the abysm dip. this is gold to me, thank you.

[@aditsu]

Haha, I knew what was coming after 3:30 :) Just started learning (well, trying to learn) that etude recently after watching a video of Lang Lang playing it on the street.

[@rafaelmary-rispal6355]

called: "Etude Op25 no11 Winterwind"

[@moozycarrots]

I don't know why no ones talking about 12:00 - the top notes of the right hand are certainly not the top notes of the left hand! In a treble clef, yes, but they're all a 3rd up because it's the bass clef.....

[@luoyisishimisi470]

I mean!!! She had a ooops upside your head moment, didn't she. After hearing what she said and reading the notation, I'm like, I know that ain't what I'm reading there. And I had to look it over again just because of the statement she made. Did she mean to have two treble clefs?

[@moozycarrots]

Luoyisi Shimisi yep I think you’re right, I’ve just realised she’s playing in the upper register. The right hand is identical to the left!

[@gorantornquist7801]

Fantastic talk! Thanks for explaining to me how I actually do remember music!

[@daytonlivingston330]

Whenever I try to explain something in music theory to non-musicians, there's always a Chopin Etude that I can reference that can make the point very simple once they hear it! Great lecture, Jocelyn!

[@trinitronaphthalene]

Chopins’s hand? Chop his hands? Coincidence? I think not

[@derekmartinez1772]

*sees sheet music* Seems simple enough *realizes it's winterwind* welp Good luck

[@VyvienneEaux]

That etude's structure is actually very, very simple and straightforward. If you can learn the notes and remember them (which is very easy because the music alternates between similar chromatic patterns and arpeggiated chords except for a few lines), and practice enough times, I'm sure you will find that Op. 25 no. 11 is easier than you thought it would be. I started learning it about two months ago and mostly practice only while I have a few idle minutes on hand, and I can now play 3/4s of it at full speed with both hands. I had expected on starting that it would take a full year to get this far (since I'm more a music appreciator with a piano habit and less a musician), but due to the simple structure of the piece and the fast runs not requiring any specific technical subskill (unlike, for example, Op. 10 no. 1 or Op 25 no. 6), progress was rapid.

[@2inchfromtheground]

Vivian Tristesse that etude is at ARCT level and is widely considered Chopins most difficult etude and one of his most difficult pieces.

[@2inchfromtheground]

Vivian Tristesse and btw, if a piece that short takes you upwards of 2 months to learn, it is not within your current capability realistically. None of Chopins etudes should take more than a week of dedicated practice

[@VyvienneEaux]

That's fine. I'm not a serious pianist. I just really like Chopin's etudes. I don't have a natural talent. I don't have the time to expand my repertoire with compositions I don't feel like playing. When I was 11, I heard Opus 10 no. 12 and fell in love with it. Then, over the course of the next year, I learned it despite having only very basic piano training. This greatly improved my technique and ability to learn difficult pieces. I then quit piano some years later due to circumstances that caused me to fall into a depression. Now I am 21 and I have learned Opus 25 no. 11 as the first piece coming back to piano from a break of over six years. I love the piece so much that I knew I wanted to learn it no matter how long it took. I really don't care that it's clearly beyond my level and that most people would have the humility to believe that they cannot do it. Learning the piece was just something I wanted to casually do during the 15 minutes each day that I was waiting for my tea water to boil, and I'm glad that I didn't let my doubts stop me. I have seen comments by professional pianists that this piece, Opus 25 no 11, took them two or three months to learn on some Internet forums for pianists. Josh Wright, a concert pianist with a youtube channel, learned this piece in two months. Opus 25 no. 12, however, is a piece that I can see someone playing very well within two days. I don't know who you are, but I know of other pianists who do not think Opus 25 no 11 is the hardest of Chopin's etudes. I don't think it is, either. Opus 25 no 6 is generally agreed to be much harder by the people of Quora, because it requires the special technique of "double thirds" trills, which people report taking months to develop. Opus 10 no. 1 is agreed to be much harder. KZbin pianist Paul Barton, his expansive repertoire aside, mentioned that it took him years of steady practice to develop the stretch required. Opus 25 no 11 fits comfortably in my hand with no huge stretches (except for a couple in the left hand, which is very easy compared to the right), has chromatic patterns and arpeggios, repeats large sections, and has mostly similar patterns throughout the piece. So it's easy. Training your body to play it at full speed without mistakes, however, is what takes time. I don't play Opus 25 no 11 well yet to my standards. I can play the right hand alone well at full speed with good clarity and precision. I can play both hands together acceptably well at full speed except for certain sections during which I hesitate quite a lot. But I'm not going to be happy with it until I can record it in one playing. I'm away due to a family emergency and can't practice (no piano or keyboard available), so my progress has been paused at the end of the second month. I think that if someone like me (just a random, unskilled simpleton) can learn a Chopin etude acceptably well within a year with just a few minutes of practice here and there, then it is entirely feasible a professional or serious pianist could learn an etude in just a week, especially if they had already developed the particular skill required.

[@j3y445]

Pirringo Salt Lord Winter wind is quite simple if you find the pattern. Most people freak out at the first "drop". All it is is the chromatic scale alternating C, E, and G.

[@tzmythos]

That was pure magic to watch. I will never be able to do what she does, but it is very exciting to learn how she does it. Thanks.

[@kevlutu]

You have defeated Yourself, before You have even began, just by believing that You CAN'T ! Teach Yourself to say that You CAN and eventually You WILL ! I felt the same way, when I started organ lessons at age 62 and thanks to a couple of very good Teachers now I can. yes 5 years down the road and a lot of time invested in lessons and practice and just sheer WANT too ! But now I can play almost anything I have a mind too, yes there are still some limitations, but that does not scare Me anymore just something new to learn !. God Bless. Kevin

[@titilili88]

This was brillian! Thank you Jocilyn!

[@nazaharin]

Wow ... amazing analysis .. excellent presentation, help me a lots though. Thanks for sharing.

[@Dorlys42]

3:20 When you know what's going to come after...

[@DissertationshelpforU]

It's a thesis explained to me. Theory and practicals. Wonderful.

[@rogerramjet6615]

Excellent talk. It shows the importance of understanding theory for analysing the structure.

[@ysamilk]

Very cool! I kind of figured that out over the years, but it would have been much easier if a teacher had told me that! :D

[@danieljackson3981]

do you know the song at 5:16??? Please, I really want to play that. Thanks

[@ysamilk]

It's Chopin's Etude Op.10 No.9 :)

[@oksanakotyrlo900]

Дьяк

[@Normanskie]

Ha, ha, this is just me as I am dyslexic and have to (can't help it) analyse everything. Dyslexics are not s'posed to be very good with pattern but when I need to remember a number I remember the people that lived on our street and what number they lived at. Hey it works for me.

[@donzi32boats80]

Even though being an absolute beginner, I found her to be a pleasure to watch and listen to. Most of what she was teaching was way over my ability at this stage. That said, bits and pieces I was able to grasp, was icing on the cake.

[@MrBassdog]

This is super awesome. That’s some pretty hard work. Nuff respect !!!!

[@charlesdibben5938]

Having a camera above to show the hands playing would have been so immensely helpful. or at least from behind!

[@johncarpenter624]

In the case in the f minor, where she talks about the extended 5th finger, it would especially have been good to see a top shot.

[@katsu6624]

She practised 40 hours a day, that's her secret. You're welcome my friend.

[@mizopros8765]

Was waiting for this comment

[@wowcool1693]

Ling Ling?

[@psh7193]

I HEAR YOU BUDDY!

[@pianistanton1]

@@wowcool1693 TwoSet

[@politereminder6284]

She also used her knowledge of theory to help her process what she was reading. It's not just one thing.

[@latinkeys1]

This woman is truly a master. Thank you, I did learn from this

[@Rawshella]

Enjoyed learning from you. I think your an incredible teacher as well as pianist.

[@marginalexander2133]

Margin Alexander The key to becoming a great musician is to be a literate one who will have an excellent sense of pitch that will enable you to sing out the score without playing. The rest of us are a mix of partially aural and visual and muscle memory based musicians. Aspiring great musicians must hone in to the concept of knowing perfectly how to hear the music out of a score, then to the technical conecept, which can make one a virtuoso later. Music is like another language with an extra dimension - pitch.

[@nareshrana6819]

Very interesting and knowledgeful video.......The Lady is very energetic and knowledgeful with piano music. I really love this video.........

[@danieljackson3981]

do you know the song at 5:16??? Please, I really want to play that. Thanks

[@connorp2402]

chopin etude op 10 no 9 if you still havent found it out in 9 months :P

[@LuisJimenez-nd2pl]

connorp2402 lol

[@joeydimaggio6429]

Thank you very much for giving me several useful insights with your presentation!

[@jeffh5388]

Outstanding presentation. I appreciate your memory insight - very good.

[@jacksonli9002]

as soon as she started playing that opening theme of 25/11 aka winter wind I died inside

[@user-cj6um3st2w]

So basically, memorize chord progressions and rhythm.

[@douwemusic]

And muscle... And form... And shapes... And distances... And sound, articulations, dynamics, phrasing etc.

[@linsildiedar]

Thank you so much! Trying to develop memory for my poetry... this is great!!!

[@stevehinnenkamp5625]

Patterns are well- know to have made music comprehensible. I think the fine pianist is on to a very valuable way of learning to master keyboard skills. Thank you.

[@alexven92]

For those that don't want to waste their time: it's simple deconstruction of small segments into chords.

[@id-blade]

Made my day! Unfortunately I read your comment after 15 minutes of video... :-(

[@xerus7425]

"waste their time"? If you don't want to "waste your time", then stay off the internet. What even is wasted time? Is it time not spent doing stuff for school which you don't even care for? Time not spent "pursuing your passion"? There is no wasted time.

[@xandercorp6175]

+Xerus All time is spent; not all time is spent well. This is the principle of wasted time.

[@cordeliajosee]

She is showing off alot. Not great instruction at all, b u t she got her air time.

[@fg87fgd]

No.

[@GabsARV]

"This is fairly easy." **Sees first few notes of Winter Wind** Me: "Hold up! What?"

[@Pipe-organ-recordings]

More teachers should give their students structure like this to learn from. Excellent!

[@fuzzybug29]

This is a great presentation! Performing from memory is something I'm trying to work towards. It's very challenging for me because I get so nervous and then it's disastrous because I'm mainly relying on muscle memory. I'm going to try this theory mapping method on something I'm memorizing right now.

[@kasajizo8963]

I don't need to memorize it. Once I've played it a few times, it's engrained in my muscle memory. I'm sure that's the case for most other pianists.

[@somranghar3928]

same but if i stop playing it for around a month or so i forget some parts as i cant read sheet music lol

[@Ryuuuuuk]

Problem for me is that my muscle memory isn't always 100% reliable.

[@DihelsonMendonca]

There´s dozens of ways of memorizing music. There´s not a silver bullet on memorization. Some people memorize by simply looking at the piece of paper away from the piano. Some memorize through practice, some take a simple sight reading to keep it...

[@leosullivan9228]

we use as many processes as we can; being aware of them is also a boon

[@ArabianShalifa]

I loved the ending!

[@valgoldthorpe1377]

This seems crazy to me! I respect the detailed complex analysis of a professional musician, but I personally just remember how my fingers feel and the order they move in, and the sound, occasionally interspersed with a sort of fuzzy sporadic image of where I might be on the page, or what the keyboard looks like. Usually works, if I get stuck I'll look carefully at the music again. My piano teacher is lucky enough to be able to remember a visual image of the music in her head, and just 'plays off the visualised music'.

[@TheSutov]

wonderful: although, at 11:56 the Left hand should be in treble clef...

[@randi1494]

Her: how to memorize music Me: ok this could help Her: plays awesomely ridiculous pieces Me: screw memorization. where’s the video on how to play like that?

[@annarnold2779]

N p 00p0

[@VyvienneEaux]

What I really loved about this lecture is that every single piece she presented was a Chopin Étude (the piece at 7:03 was his Trois Nouvelles Études no. 2, which is less well-known). I'm completely obsessed with Chopin Études and have been since I was about 10 years old.

[@maisey2363]

This skill to read and play two tunes, esp at her level, blows my mind. Mad talent

[@wulver810]

I saw Kll me and st ab... is everything okay?

[@thegreenpianist7683]

Epic winterwind Troll

[@SpanishGuitarSchool]

TRUE...!!!

[@nesslam4832]

AAAAAH CHOPIN

[@nesslam4832]

she loves him so much omg

[@rafaelmary-rispal6355]

YO I swear! hahaha

[@zheyizhu2807]

hahahha

[@rodsalvador3608]

Been trying to learn that Etude for years. Thanks!

[@parule]

She nailed it! 💯

[@lmao4707]

clicked because i saw chopin

[@angtaylor5745]

lmao I saw his hands and instantly clicked xD

[@TommyElijahCabelloReal]

Teacher: The test isn't that hard... The Test: 3:35

[@julianarnold5499]

I experience something very similar on the Horn. When reading something new, I merge groups of notes belonging to the same natural scale (e.g. overtones of F, Bb etc.) which makes fast pieces a ton easier.

[@MyGully1]

Thank you for pointing out what I’ve done when I’m really learning, I look for patterns. Learning with muscle memory is so darn hard with arthritis of any sort, wish I could see more of your hand patterns like the llama (better view) . Thank you so much again for sharing

[@intanpermatasari7779]

Rip when u see such notes "life is miserable and id rather watching netflix"

[@NoferTrunions]

But the real question is how do you memorize Ligeti? Unfortunately, the methods she employs only work up to the early Romantic composers. You can sight read and memorize Beethoven quite nicely using these methods, but when you start dabbling with Rachmaninoff, the patterns are exceedingly complex IF you can make them out. In fact, composed music complexity is increasing geometrically with time. This means it's level of randomness is increasing and from a data processing point of view is getting more and more difficult to compress.

[@liebesleid]

so the pop music we hear today is more geometrically complicated than that of liszt, alkan and beethoven?

[@NoferTrunions]

although a trolling question, I will reply: I'm referring to the most complicated music of the time. Check out Ligeti and tell me if you can tell when someone hits a wrong note.

[@MarcDufresneosorusrex]

;p wutt

[@Imagine727]

Ligeti's thirteenth etude has a fairly clear pattern, as does vertige

[@nc375]

The more time and effort((t+e= energy lmao) you put in a certain composition, you'll facilitate it by going over it again and again; remembering the patterns of where your hands move to. For example, the cadenza in Liebestraum is immensely difficult but it becomes so much easier if you go over the patterns numerous times.

[@GabriellaGStephanie]

I've always believed that both music and science are very closely related. Thank you so much for sharing this explanation.

[@DanielRobertspiano]

Fascinating speech! Thanks for sharing :)

[@snacklepussPSN]

Personally I just practice then play and memorize it and thats it: Dont ask me how but its nothing magical: Perhaps its as simple as hard work paying off with the help of inherited epigenetic memory: Simply put - each note and tone must be familiar yet all must be the most important thing in practice and playing: In saying this - I am extremely obsessed with Guitar and Piano: EXTREMELY: I dont read sheet music either but have grasped the concept: IMO Musical notation - sheet music was a form of great art but now its mostly about over complications of the simplistic on purpose: This creates a perpetual cash for information industry which involves secrecy and a lot of manipulation causing `students` to learn bad habits - which can only be undone once they pay for better lessons: NOTE: The pressed key or touched note comes first and is then written down: No matter what:

[@johncarpenter624]

In Robert Goldsand's lessons we had to be off score before we brought in any piece to play. So we memorized quickly...yet moreover, if we take pains in our playing, we do enough reps of almost anything to establish the synaptic patterns firmly in mind.

[@jennifer86010]

This TEDx Talk is for piano students only, NOT for non-musicians, and even not for non-pianists. Her descriptions and lecture have nothing to do with science. Instead, it is all concerned with the process of her reading musical notation and then applying her reading to physically playing the keyboard. She is a very good reader, and a very good player, with very advanced keyboard technique.

[@leosullivan9228]

I'd agree it's broke; it's all about her playing; the actual info is minimal and screwy

[@LSG101097]

For piano students? Seriously? Any child with 1 year of musical school knows that. This lection have a meaning only for people who is not musician at all and who is interested how does it "works".

[@KillTheAlarm69]

I partly disagree; most pianists/musicians already know a lot of the techniques described, either because teachers taught them or they figured them out on themselves. Beginners who started to delve into more complex repertoire might find this extremely useful. Other people might find it useful as well; she brilliantly describes what sorts of thought processes musician is going through. Efficient memorization of anything but music is analogical

[@ParadiseProjectsGroup]

Yes a great presentation, as a musician and engineer I really related to your presentation. You have helped me understand and cohere much of my experiences in this realm. Very nice job, thank you.

[@mevebelanger]

One if the best I've seen so far. 😲