The Singer

How to Memorize

Q: Will it help to write out the words of a song?

A: It will confuse visual memory unless you write them on pages, keeping them in their original position.

Q: When I find a section particularly difficult to retain, either verbally or musically, what should I do?

A: Like an operatic singer, act that portion while you practice: gesture and feeling will help you to remember both music and words. It is helpful also to visualize a scene relevant to the song, and mentally associate the music with a place or happening in the imaginary scene.

Q Is it acceptable to study the vocal part alone when I know the song as a whole?

A: Yes.

The easiest part of most songs is to remember the melody. First, form a first impression of a work as a whole [like its overall shape and mood]. This is important! Then study the vocal part in relation to the background and then finally the melody alone. Singers should really have a sense of who their character is. What do the words mean? What is the story?

A singer should not think of words as separate little entities because then they could be impossible to recall them. This is the same for instrumentalists. Thinking of one note at a time breaks your concentration on the bigger picture and the longer more musical phrase. This can make you freeze, panic and forget. A singer must think about what the words stand for.

This quote is from a book by Lilias Mackinnon called Music By Heart, "Language, like the feeling of time, must become subconscious; and to sing fluently in French, for example it is necessary to reach the stage of thinking in French. It is not surprising that some singers forget, because, relying on a translation far from literal, they are content to reproduce words of which they know neither sense nor pronunciation" [page 93]

Before a performance, one must try to be as relaxed and calm as possible. Try to relax you abdominal muscles and then your shoulders. Try to keep your breathing regular and always breathe according to phrasing of the words. Not until you are absolutely certain of the time should one attempt to sing a phrase as it is written. Time and pitch should be in their place before being embroidered with words. Silence practice should frequently take the place of audible singing.

Good Luck!