An Approach to Memory Problems in Guitar Performance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7203/LEEME.23.9781Keywords:
Memory, Guitar, Musical Interpretation, Practice.
Abstract
Guitarists usually play from memory. Therefore, it becomes an important competence to be developed by guitar students. Nevertheless, this topic seems not to have been studied in a systematic way. The present study approaches the cognitive processes developed by guitarists when memorizing music. It was carried out a qualitative analysis of data obtained from a discussion forum, in which participated six guitar students. In order to organize the results, it was taken into account the topic classification used in systematic studies on memory and music performance carried out by Chaffin and colleagues. In this study it’s observed that guitarists combine different types of memory, that they don’t rely much on automatic memorization and, therefore, they make a wide use of conceptual memory. This is reflected in the importance attached to the formal and harmonic structure of a piece and its use to organize the practice. It’s also observed a tendency to work simultaneously on technical aspects and interpretive aspects. This last seems to lead to a sort of specialization of the hands: conscious attention to technical issues is focused on the left hand, but attention to the right hand is paid from an interpretive point of view.
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