Pranay, Week 14: How Music Improved My Memory

Sixty-seven. That's the number of songs I've memorized throughout my years of playing the violin.

You may think that the hardest part of playing the violin is the sharp strings pressing against ur fingers or the wood piercing into your shoulder. At the beginning of my instrumental career, I was certain that holding the bow properly was one of the most difficult things I would ever have to learn. Now, it comes to me like drinking water or brushing my teeth. Memorizing the notes of all the songs I've had to learn is the hardest thing I've had to do as I learned the violin.

When I began playing, I was focused on the fundamentals, simply learning the different notes and their positions across the strings. Even after years of learning the violin, I still was not close to learning a song due to my teacher's emphas
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is on perfection. It was only in my fourth year that my teacher finally began teaching me my first song. I was quick to reach for my music book, containing the notes of the song so that I could play along with my teacher. However, she asked me to play along with her simply by listening to what she was playing. It was then that I realized that even though I knew every fundamental of the violin, I was not in tune with the music I was playing. My teacher gave me two weeks to memorize the song. At first, I tried to simply memorize the notes, but it did not work because I either messed up the length of the notes or the speed at which I was playing. I purchased an app that functions as an audio box in the background and began playing it with. With this method, I was able to memorized not only the notes but the correct movements, speed, and length. 

For the past three years, I've learned and memorized countless songs. Overtime, I noticed that memorizing songs for the violin helped my overall memory. I found myself taking less time to learn new vocabulary, and I also made a greater effort to not only memorize but also understand. It was through my journey of learning the violin that my memory also improved.

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  1. Danial HashemiApril 17, 2024 at 9:33 AM

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  2. Danial HashemiApril 17, 2024 at 9:34 AM

    Hi Pranay,
    Firstly, the start of your blog captured my attention because of the vast number of songs you have mastered over your time practicing the violin. Continuing your blog with a generalization of what people view as the hardest part of practicing violin to be helped emphasize violin’s impact on your memory because of the massive number of notes you have to memorize which most people do not know about.

    Your story about learning your first song was relatable to me because I went through a similar realization when I used to practice karate as a kid. Being forced to memorize a lengthy sequence of movements and attacks for my test, I could not bring myself to remember each movement and would mess up consistently during practice. Instead, when I focused on executing my movements and flowing them together, I eventually got the sequence down and performed well in front of my peers.

    I completely agree with your view on memorization. Understanding the applications of concepts helps me much more than short-term memorization I forget after a few days. Because of this, I feel schools should prioritize teaching students mastery of concepts rather than have them memorize terms they will forget soon after.

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