Playing on Accordion by Heart

​Remembering is part of the learning process. When we were children, we learned some concepts, such as the multiplication table, the table of elements and historical facts through memorization. The same applies to learning to play the accordion and other musical instruments. Here we have to remember the names of the notes, the position of each note on the staff, finding each note on the keyboard, and other concepts of music.

Memory plays an important role when playing music. Musicians, both amateurs and professionals believe that memorizing a musical work has its advantages

Of course, remembering the piece without prior training is almost impossible. It requires thorough training, consisting of memory and then playing in the small fragments of memory work. Once you have saved any musical phrase in your memory, you can more easily focus on technique. Memorization works on memory and is convenient for the fact that you are at any time, in any event, able to play without the sheet. This is very important for an accordion player. Therefore, include in your practice some exercises for the development of memory.​

Memorization of musical pieces improves coordination and finger dexterity and strengthens and puts in place the wrist. No longer distracted by the musical text, you pay more attention to technology and nuances. Memorizing a musical piece perfectly develops auditory memory. If for some reason you play wrongly during the performance, thanks to a developed auditory memory and a large preliminary work on memorizing the piece by heart, you will quickly find the correct position of the fingers and will play again without difficulty.

Of course, playing by heart has its advantages but also some disadvantages. Let’s talk about the shortcomings. Human memory is especially individual. Each of us learns at different speeds and levels. Some students may remember large pieces of the musical text. Another need to practice small fragments multiple times, followed by a painful connection of memorized material into a whole musical piece.

Some students are lost, worried, nervous, begin to stray, and eventually cease to play, if they are without a sheet in front of them. In addition, if the student is not able to see the musical text, he is often distracted, and sometimes simply can not focus on the playing. Hence – the mistakes, self-doubt, the performance deterioration.