A tip to help you memorize your piano song

Are you having a hard time remembering your piano pieces? If so, here’s a tip I use to help my students accelerate their memorization skills.

Commit to using the same fingering every time you play the song.

Here’s why that works.

When you’re learning a piece on the piano, your brain can only really do one thing at a time. It can either 1) figure out how to play the song, or 2) commit the song to memory.

You cannot memorize a song that you’re still learning how to play.

Yet this is what my students try to force their brains to do when they bring different fingering to their pieces every time they play! They’re causing their brain to figure out how to play the song using whatever random selection of fingers have been given, and then get frustrated when the song never gets easier to play.

I know this because this is how I used to try to learn new music. I self-identified as a creative, and I equated self-expression with a lack of discipline, as though I needed to be able to approach my songs differently each time in order to infuse my heart into them. But as much as I enjoyed the spontaneous approach to my songs, I never really felt I could truly express myself through them because I couldn’t relax into them.

I finally had to admit I couldn’t relax into my music because I never really knew what I was doing. By playing a song differently each time, I was trying to use a communication tool that I had no real control over. I was stuck in survival mode when I played, which might have been an easier way to practice, but wasn’t enjoyable!

So I adjusted my approach to see if slowing down and committing some discipline could help, and I’ve never looked back. Committing to using the same fingering early on made all the difference in how well—and quickly—I could learn my pieces. When I actually knew how to play my songs, it left me more brain power to think about how I wanted to play them. This new level of control has meant everything for my self-expression.

I know ironing out fingering seems boring. I know it feels like it’s going to take a lot more time to learn your pieces this way. But, I promise that if at the beginning you prioritize committing your fingering to muscle memory, you will learn your songs faster than you ever expected.

Good luck!