The influence of musical analysis as a strategic tool on undergraduate piano students’ memorisation of a classical sonatina
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Date
2024
Authors
du Preez, Kayme
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
As a normalised notion, professional pianists are often expected to perform recitals from memory, which can increase their performance anxiety. In pursuit of committing the various components of a piece to memory, analytical strategies in particular are beneficial to establishing a secure memory of a piece, as concluded in previous research by Williamon and Valentine (2002), Timperman and Miksza (2019) and Ginsborg (2019), among others. Regarding memorisation strategies, the literature to date has concluded that piano students often refrain from using analytical strategies to facilitate memorisation, despite their positive effects. The limited nature of the existing literature in providing adequate guidance in this regard might explain this phenomenon. Accordingly, this study therefore investigates the influence of musical analysis as a strategic tool on undergraduate piano students’ memorisation of a Classical sonatina as they have experienced it. The aim of the study was to support undergraduate piano students’ memorisation of Classical sonatina movements by means of an analytical strategy based on William Caplin’s theory of formal functions (applied to the Classical sonatina by Edward Jurkowski [2010]). A second aim was to establish the ways in which implementing such a strategy influences their memorisation process – in this case, three undergraduate piano students.
To this end, a collective case study was conducted in which three voluntary undergraduate piano students from two different South African institutions implemented a formulated analytical strategy over a six-week period to facilitate the memorisation of a Classical sonatina movement. The strategy consisted of complementary materials, including an example analysis, a series of videos and a glossary of relevant terms. These materials aimed to demonstrate and explain how concepts specifically related to Caplin’s theory can be implemented practically to facilitate memorisation primarily through structural analytical processes. The data collected through various procedures provided valuable insights into the participants’ experiences. Analysis of the data highlighted the effect that the implementation of the strategy had on their memorisation. It provided insights into their experience and perception of the strategy and revealed how analysis could be used in combination with other strategies to achieve the goal of memorisation of a piece. Overall, the findings reflected positive engagements with structural analysis to facilitate memorisation, to the extent that they will hopefully inspire both the participants and readers to explore further the use of analysis for this purpose.
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Keywords
Piano performance, Memorisation, Components of memory, Structural analysis, New Formenlehre, William Caplin, Theory of formal functions, Inter-thematic fusion, Sonata form, Sonatina, Undergraduate piano students