Does My Child Need to Memorize Their Music?

Your child's recital is coming up. They've practiced their piece approximately 9,472 times. You have personally heard it from every room in your house.

And then comes the question: "Do I have to memorize it?"

The short answer? Not necessarily.

Memorizing music can be a wonderful skill, and for some students it gives them an incredible sense of freedom when they perform. For others, taking away the music stand feels a little like taking away the trapeze artist's safety net, and neither reaction is wrong.

Why Do Musicians Memorize Music Anyway?

There's a long tradition of performing certain types of music from memory—particularly solo piano music. In fact, 19th-century pianist Franz Liszt is often credited with helping popularize the practice of pianists performing entire programs from memory. Eventually, memorization became associated with mastery: If you really know the piece, you shouldn't need the music. But that's not necessarily true.

Professional musicians perform with music in front of them all the time. Orchestral musicians use scores. Chamber musicians frequently use music. Accompanists use music. And today, you'll see plenty of professional musicians using tablets instead of traditional paper scores.

Using music doesn't mean you don't know the piece. And playing from memory doesn't automatically mean you know it better.

There ARE Some Wonderful Benefits to Memorizing

With all of that said, I actually love encouraging students to memorize music when it's appropriate.

Why? Because something interesting happens when you know a piece so well that you don't have to think about what's printed on the page anymore. You can pay attention to other things.

You can listen more carefully to your sound. You can think about dynamics and phrasing. You can watch another musician you're playing with. You can connect with an audience. You may simply feel freer.

And there's a pretty great confidence boost that comes from realizing: "I know this. I can do this without the music."

That's a big accomplishment!

But Memorizing Can Also Add Pressure

Here's where I think we parents have to be careful. A child can know a piece beautifully—and still have a memory slip on stage. Adults do it too (even seasoned performers at their own concert where they’ve played the song since 1983)!

Add an audience, a recital hall, some butterflies in the stomach, and Grandma sitting in the front row holding up her phone...and suddenly a piece your child has played perfectly 100 times at home can temporarily disappear from their brain.

That's not a failure, that's being human.

For some students, memorizing actually makes them more confident. For others, worrying about forgetting the music can overshadow everything else they've worked so hard to accomplish. And if having the music in front of them allows them to relax and give a beautiful, confident performance? As a music teacher and a mom, I’m perfectly happy with that.

Sometimes Memorization IS Required

There are situations where students will need to memorize. Certain auditions, competitions, festivals, examinations, and performance opportunities may require particular repertoire to be performed from memory.  Here at The Music Studio Atlanta, when we do our Destination Performances like at Carnegie, we encourage memorization.

In those cases, learning how to memorize effectively becomes an important musical skill—and it's about much more than playing a piece over and over until your fingers hopefully remember what comes next!

Teachers can help students memorize in sections, understand the structure of the piece, recognize patterns, practice starting from different places, and learn the music in several different ways. Those skills can actually make a student a stronger musician whether they ultimately perform from memory or not.

So...Should Your Child Memorize Their Recital Piece?

Haha, maybe! 

This is one of those wonderful questions where the answer depends on the child. If your child's teacher thinks they're ready and your child is excited about the challenge, go for it. 

If having the music nearby gives them the confidence to walk onto that stage, take a deep breath, and enjoy performing, that's okay too.

At The Music Studio Atlanta, our recitals are about giving students positive performance experiences—not seeing who can survive the most stressful three minutes of their young lives. 😉  We want students to experience that wonderful feeling of working toward something, preparing it, walking onto a stage, and sharing their music with other people.

For one student, success might be performing an entire piece beautifully from memory. For another, success might be getting through their very first recital with their music sitting safely on the stand. Both are worth celebrating!

The Bigger Goal

After a couple decades of teaching, I've learned that children don't all become confident musicians in exactly the same way or on exactly the same timetable, and that's okay. Memorization is a tool, not the finish line.

The bigger goal is helping students become musicians who can read, listen, understand, perform, express themselves, and hopefully develop a relationship with music that lasts for years.

So if your child wants to memorize their piece, encourage them. If their teacher thinks they're ready for the challenge, support them. 

And if they walk onto the stage carrying their music? It’s all good. Because getting up there and sharing their music is already something pretty wonderful.

‍