Musical memory and musical analysis: strategies for the memorization of selected tonal piano compositions

English: Memorization plays an integral part of musical perfromance practice, especially as it is generally expected of pianists to memorize works for public performance. Since music is a temporal phenomenon, it relies completely on our ability to store and relate information relating to music. Yet despite this prominence of musical memory, certain hiatuses remain within the existing literature on the topic. Although some authors emphasize the importance of musical analysis, a clear explication of its importance and role in the memorization process is lacking, and strategies for the development of effective memorization are not adequately outlined. The study therefore proposes that specific focus areas and principles of analysis, combined with the organization and logic of music, will complement and promote the functioning of the musical memory system. With regard to the analysis of tonal music and to analytical orientation, the study draws on the ideas of Heinrich Schenker, especially his notion of tonal music as a system of internal coherence which allows the analyst to understand its distinguishing features, transformation of ideas, and the logic of its motivic activity. This study thus investigates literature on memory, musical memory and musical analysis to find common ground for the development of analytical strategies for memorization. These strategies propose an interactive system of analytical acts and focuses based on the association or relation of material within a composition. The analytical strategies range from the classification of material to the uncovering of compositional design and logic through analytical interpretation. The application and functionality of these strategies are illustrated in four analytical case studies involving four selected tonal piano compositions from the 18th and 19th centuries. The strategies not only demonstrate the compatibility and cross-fertilisation of analytical and memory processes, but also enable performers to comprehend a composition in terms of its coherent structural content, its distinguishing tonal features, as well as its design and logic. In so doing, effective and reliable memorization is ensured.