# Classical music performance as an exercise in memorization

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-performance-as-an-exercise-in-memorization/1016142>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** music\
**Created:** [March 26, 2025, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-performance-as-an-exercise-in-memorization/1016142 "2025-03-26T15:35:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-performance-as-an-exercise-in-memorization/1016142/41 "2025-03-31T08:58:49Z")

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And that’s the key to understanding modes.

Once you start thinking in terms of intervals and not notes, it all becomes much clearer.

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**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-performance-as-an-exercise-in-memorization/1016142/42 "2025-03-31T18:14:37Z")

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> [@Dinsdale](#):
>
> But way too often, when I’m hammering 1/5s at pace and someone looks at me and says, “Take it!”, I either just play pentatonic arpeggios, or throw up all over myself hunting for that elusive melody. And then afterwards pretend I was making a bunch of jazz-influenced bold choices! 😉

That about describes me…hammering 1/5s at pace, and…something happens.  
I regularly remind my wife when she worries about improvisation two important things:

1. There’s no such thing as a wrong note; you are just “going chromatic”!
2. When you do, in fact, hit the wrong note, you are always a half step away from a good note. Just slide into it and pretend that’s what you intended all along!

I alway imagine doing that with an expression on my face like a cat who did some clumsy move and suddenly starts licking his fur vigorously and acting like that was the plan all along.

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**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-performance-as-an-exercise-in-memorization/1016142/43 "2025-04-02T10:50:08Z")

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> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> From what I understand, from talking to quite a few musicians about this, there comes a point where the instrument becomes essentially an organ of your body and making it do stuff is like talking or walking - this is the muscle memory thing people are referring to, but in practice it can be as natural as singing, where your brain knows the sound you want to make, and the music comes out, but the process of arranging all the machinery isn’t consciously controlled at the detail level.

AIUI, it’s like the way, say, a London taxi driver’s [“Knowledge” develops a particular area in the brain.](https://www.bbc.com/news/health-16086233)

Coincidentally, I’ve just watched a documentary about the musician/broadcaster [Clemmie Burton-Hill](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clemency_Burton-Hill) came back from a severe brain haemorrhage, which included some discussion about how the music-developed parts of the brain might help provide alternative neural pathways to compensate for parts at least of what was lost elsewhere.

> **[New BBC Documentary Follows Violinist Clemency Burton-Hill's Recovery from...](https://theviolinchannel.com/new-bbc-documentary-follows-violinists-recovery-following-brain-haemorrhage/)**
>
> World's Leading Classical Music Platform

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