Slowly But Surely, Part 2: Memorization

Video 2 LISZT, Fountain of the Villa d'Este

As I continued to think about the idea of practicing slowly, I began to wonder about the relationship it also has to memorization, and how Rachmaninoff’s ideas might have been carried out by some of his students. I did a bit of research, and made an interesting discovery.

For one, the great American pianist Ruth Slenczynska, who just turned 100 years old this year and is known to be the last living student of Rachmaninoff, believes in this policy of slow practicing as well, and has even written an article about it, in which she discusses slow playing as a means of helping one to memorize a piece saying: “Pianists over the age of 18 particularly need to have a memorizing technique to use when they become serious about learning difficult music.”

In memorizing she therefore recommends as a first step reading a new piece slowly ten times all the way through, first with the right hand alone, and then with the left hand alone.

She then suggests that once you are ready for a two-handed reading you should take plenty of time to make absolutely certain your two hands coordinate seamlessly, and as one becomes more familiar with the work he can then gradually increase the speed.

Slow practicing, as well as slow playing, according to Slenczynska, not only trains the hands, it also trains the mind.  “Divide and conquer” she says, is the best way to successfully learn any work, large or small.

As you can see from this short video, I have included some of these same ideas in my current practice sessions of Liszt’s “The Fountains of the Villa d’Este.”

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