Musical memory and guitar

an investigation based on memorization strategies applied in the study of the work Lesley’s Song by Frederic Hand

Abstract

This communication presents data from a final-year research project in which two memorization strategies were applied to the study of Lesley’s Song, a piece for solo guitar composed by Frederic Hand. The first strategy is based on the concept of Chunking, derived from Miller’s theory (1956), and whose application is discussed by classical guitarist Thomas Viloteau in the book In The Black Box: Techniques of the Classical Guitar (2013). The second is based on the Performance Cues (PCs) of the memorization protocol developed by Chaffin, Imreh, and Crawford (2002). Silva (2020) points out that there is a lack of brazilian literature on the subject of musical memorization and classical guitar practice. This fact is reinforced both in the literature review of this final-year research project, in which most of the references found are international (Boshoff, 2022; Dantas, 2024; Stetson 2017), as well as in the literature review conducted by Silva and Fiorini (2020). This research consists of a case study that sought to explore the following question: What is the impact of applying these memorization strategies on the preparation of the piece “Lesley’s Song” and on the musical development of a classical guitarist in the process of completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Music?