How to Memorize a Song

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Tom Kenaston. I'm a singer/songwriter, pianist, musician living in West Palm Beach, Florida, and also New York City. This clip is going to be how to memorize a song. OK, easy, easy, easy, easy, we've all done it. The first key is repetition. If someone sings you a song, the first time you hear it, obviously you won't be able to sing it back to them, but you listen to it over, and over, and over again. The, the key really is small pieces. Let's say you've never heard the song "Mary had a Little Lamb", and someone sings, "Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb. Mary had a little lamb, his fleece was white as snow", and they said, "sing that back to me". You'd be like, could you start that again, and you want to hear, like a phrase at a time. The same thing with piano music. Let's say somebody throws this at you, and you're studying it for a recital, and you have to learn it. The trick is never, ever, ever try to memorize it from top to bottom, all the way through. Just take it in pieces. Memorize the first measure. What does it feel like in your hands? What direction are the notes going? Can you think of it in groups rather than note, note, note, note, note, note, note? Can you think of it as a phrase? Then learn the next measure, then put those two together. Then learn the third measure, put those tree together. Tiny, tiny little pieces, one bit at a time. Add on, go back, add on, go back, add on, go back. Before you know it, you'll have the whole song memorized and you'll be wowing your friends. This is Tom Kenaston. This has been how to memorize a song."