Why Memorize?
By Philip Johnston

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		What would be great for pianists would be a helmet with a HUD display like pilots have. You could see the music virtually superimposed over the piano keys, and watch everything at once...

So why go to the trouble of memorising? There are several good reasons.

1. You can watch your hands whenever you need to.

Watching your hands is not an essential part of piano playing (apart from anything else, there are plenty of blind pianists!), but it can sometimes make your life a lot easier. For example, if your hand has to jump a long way, or has to find an unusually configured chord, it is much safer to look before you leap. Otherwise you can be in for some surprises when you land.

Unfortunately, while you are snatching that quick look at your hands, you cannot be watching the music at the same time. So at the very least, you need to memorise that section.

What would be great for pianists would be a helmet with a HUD display like pilots have. You could see the music virtually superimposed over the piano keys, and watch everything at once...and then launch heat seeking missiles at key signatures with more than four flats...

Until that time comes, memorise the sections of your pieces in which you have to supervise your hands.

2. You can really listen to what you are doing.

Free from the distraction of decoding notes, you can listen with greater attentiveness to the sounds you are making. It is the reason that you will sometimes see concert pianists staring far off into the distance when they are playing. To be able to fine tune your playing so that every note is the most meaningful and beautiful it can be means that you have to listen very hard to every note, and that is much easier to do if you are not trying to read at the same time (it can be hard enough to do when you are trying to play at the same time!).

Ok, I'm half convinced. But I need some more reasons!