Some pieces just…resist memorization.
In my experience, the toughest pieces to memorize are not necessarily the most complex, or longest, or difficult. Indeed, it tends to surprise me when an ensemble struggles to put down their music.
For the piece that my ensemble is dueling with at the moment, I think the challenging factor is that it is strophic, with verses that are different in character but not SO different as to be easily contrastable. The singers get them mixed up in their head.
I compare it to a musical tongue twister – just as words get twisted coming out in a tricky phrase, so the music gets twisted because the parts are so similar.
To help them over it, I think there are only a few things I can do.
- Repetition. While my usual impulse is to focus on small sections of a piece in rehearsal, I think an “unmemorizable” requires full runs. Many full runs.
- A story. I am trying to help my singers characterize each section by creating a story they can tell themselves as they sing the piece. If similar musical ideas have different underlying stories, it will get easier to differentiate them.
- Over-the-top conducting. In a similar vein, I am working hard to communicate that story with my conducting. It’s not the most elegant, but I believe it’s effective in cueing them as to what’s happening.
- Confidence in them. I am crystal clear in asserting that I know that they are able to memorize this piece.
Some pieces just…resist memorization. But with effort and strategic work, we can overcome them.