Response to Scott's memorization video: Read the description below for the research answers I found. скачать в хорошем качестве

Response to Scott's memorization video: Read the description below for the research answers I found.

Yesterday, something happened during my whistle practice that honestly surprised me — and then, later that same day, I watched Scott Schade’s newest video, which turned out to be about exactly the same topic. So, of course, I had to dig into the research a bit. Here’s what happened: My instructor, Ben Walker, encouraged me to record myself so I could monitor finger height, pinky position, and hand shape. So I set my iPhone on the music stand and started working through Scale Exercise #1. I was reading the notation, watching my fingers out of the corner of my eye, and thinking about all the little technical adjustments I’ve been working on. And then I realized something funny: I had just played the first two lines flawlessly… of a different exercise. Without noticing, I had slipped into Finger Articulation Pattern #1, simply because I’ve practiced that one so that my hands, breath, and ear defaulted to it automatically. That moment stopped me in my tracks. Over the last few months, my practice has been focused on: • scales • finger articulation exercises • etudes • three memorized tunes • and several tunes I’m still reading from notation At first, it was slow and messy. I had to relearn how to read notation after decades away. I had to fix ghosting issues (big hands + laying my fingers flat + too much air courtesy of my didgeridoo lungs). And I had to separate the habits that helped me from the ones that hurt me. But recently, something new has been happening: I’ll be reading music and suddenly realize my mind has wandered — maybe thinking about a conversation with Brenda or dinner plans — yet I’m still playing two or three lines nearly perfectly. Not because I’m distracted. But because a different part of my brain is starting to take over. That’s when I watched Scott’s latest video. Perfect timing. So I looked into the science behind what was happening, and it turns out this is actually a textbook part of learning an instrument, especially for adults. Here’s the simplified version of what I found: 1. My brain is shifting from “conscious learning” to “automatic learning.” This comes from Fitts & Posner’s stages of motor learning. Early on, everything requires deliberate thought. Later, the brain starts linking movements into meaningful “chunks.” That’s what happened when I accidentally played the wrong exercise perfectly — my motor memory kicked in. 2. I’m building “motor chunks,” the foundation of musical fluency. Musicians don’t memorize individual finger movements. They memorize patterns — scale shapes, articulation sequences, transitions. I defaulted to the pattern I had reinforced the most. 3. I’m beginning to read patterns rather than individual notes. Skilled musicians see shapes, not single pitches. The brain automatically recognizes phrases, contours, and intervals. 4. I’m using spaced repetition without realizing it. Multiple short sessions a day, spread across weeks — mixing exercises and tunes — is the gold standard for long-term memory. 5. And — this is the most encouraging part — I’m beginning to “think in music.” The fundamentals are settling in. My brain is offloading technical work to procedural memory — the same system that lets us type or drive without thinking about every micro-movement. And that means memorizing tunes without sheet music will someday feel a lot more natural than it did a few months ago. So that strange moment where I played the wrong exercise flawlessly? It turns out it wasn’t a mistake at all. It was a milestone. If you’re an adult learner wondering why your brain sometimes wanders while your fingers keep doing the right thing, that’s actually the system working as intended. Thanks to Scott for the perfectly timed video that pushed me to look deeper into the research, and thanks to Ben for the recording idea. This journey has been full of surprises… but this was a good one. Happy whistling! 🎶