Musical memory and musical analysis: strategies for the memorization of selected tonal piano compositions

[摘要] English: Memorization plays an integral part of musical perfromance practice, especiallyas it is generally expected of pianists to memorize works for public performance.Since music is a temporal phenomenon, it relies completely on our ability tostore and relate information relating to music. Yet despite this prominence ofmusical memory, certain hiatuses remain within the existing literature on thetopic. Although some authors emphasize the importance of musical analysis, aclear explication of its importance and role in the memorization process islacking, and strategies for the development of effective memorization are notadequately outlined. The study therefore proposes that specific focus areas andprinciples of analysis, combined with the organization and logic of music, willcomplement and promote the functioning of the musical memory system. Withregard to the analysis of tonal music and to analytical orientation, the studydraws on the ideas of Heinrich Schenker, especially his notion of tonal music as asystem of internal coherence which allows the analyst to understand itsdistinguishing features, transformation of ideas, and the logic of its motivicactivity. This study thus investigates literature on memory, musical memory andmusical analysis to find common ground for the development of analyticalstrategies for memorization. These strategies propose an interactive system ofanalytical acts and focuses based on the association or relation of material withina composition. The analytical strategies range from the classification of materialto the uncovering of compositional design and logic through analyticalinterpretation. The application and functionality of these strategies are illustratedin four analytical case studies involving four selected tonal piano compositionsfrom the 18th and 19th centuries. The strategies not only demonstrate thecompatibility and cross-fertilisation of analytical and memory processes, but alsoenable performers to comprehend a composition in terms of its coherentstructural content, its distinguishing tonal features, as well as its design andlogic. In so doing, effective and reliable memorization is ensured.

[发布机构] University of the Free State