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Greetings Teachers,

I did a quick search on this and couldn't really find what I was looking for. I'm at best an intermediate player just getting back to lessons after many decades away from the piano.

I've no knowledge of music theory and also suffer from a kind of visual deficit in that I can't picture things, in this case of course, notes on a page.

The only method I have at the moment is to memorizes a piece almost by accident, that is just as a consequence of practicing something over an over. After a while, my fingers just learn where to go..

But in addition to being a slow process, it's also very easy to make mistakes this way. I find that no matter how many times I play a piece, I'm still prone to moments of suddenly feeling lost. I usually have to start at the beginning of a previous section to get myself back on track.

Any tips on a more effective method given my limitations? Advice would be most sincerely appreciated..Rightly or wrongly, it seems to me that a piece of music isn't truly "mine" until I can play it by heart...

Many advance thanks,
CG

I teach my students to use aural memory to guide their memorization. I find this to be the most reliable.

I recommend singing the piece away from the piano (easier with some music than others of course).

Then sing along with your playing. It gives you a focus that is aural rather than mechanical.

This is only one tool for learning memorization.

I usually end up having to memorize which notes sections begin on. Otherwise, I go by the shape of the music, which I get both aurally and visually.