Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Do New Pieces Affect Previously Known Pieces?

I've been using Sudnow's Method since late April, and have Misty down well, and As Time Goes By down almost as well. I recently started Someone To Watch Over Me, and almost have it "under my fingers".

However, I've noticed when learning Someone To Watch Over Me that sometimes I start to make a fair number of mistakes on Misty and ATGB.

I'm wondering whether this may be due to one (or both) of two reasons:

1) As I learn more songs, it's harder to remember the old ones, i.e. my brain gets "filled up" (I hope not after just two songs).

2) When new songs have chords similar to, but slightly different, from those in already known songs, this causes me to get "confused" on the old songs, because the chords are similar but not quite the same.

What do you more experienced players think? Or is there possibly another reason, e.g. this is typical and indicative of the need to practice previously-known songs more? Or, does one just have "bad days" where nothing seems to go right (although it's two days in a row for me!).

Thanks in advance for your help.

Joe

Hi Joe,

This happens to me often. I think everything you said it exactly right!! I find the harder the new piece, the more time and concentration I have to put into it and the more likely it is for older pieces to require more frequent "review." You'll get lots of great advice here but I think you'll find that it's pretty common.

Oh yeah, I get that too. Get a bit angry at myself sometimes, for forgetting a much simpler song I could play before, but I just practise it and I get it again. Sometimes it's quite alarming - a piece I played fine the day before, I just have total memory lapse! It's nothing to worry about...I hope!

I get that too Joe. I also sometimes get confused in the same song when chords are similar. Also, when there is a different chord someplace, but it depends on which time through the chorus it is as to which chord to play. But it straightens out eventually.

As long as you play through each song at least once a day, then you'll make it more solid under your fingers. You have to pay attention when you're playing it though. No day dreaming allowed.

Thanks to everyone for their helpful replies. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who experiences this problem!

Joe

It do, and at all levels. My most recent experience was with the Brahms G minor Rhapsody (79.2). The staccato section close to the beginning is in about two parts, with various differences in accidentals although the motif is identical. I regularly confused the two, ending the first part with the cadence of the second, and worse! Only way I solved it was to memorize.

in psychology there is a theory that states learning something new equals forgetting or gettng mixed up with previously learned material.
it's called retroactive forgetting or something.
and there is substational evidence to back it up.
you're just normal like everyone else in that respect.