I have a brilliant former student named Brendan Cohn-Sheehy with whom I consult on my music and the brain research. Brendan is an amazing musician. At his high school senior recital he played the opening clarinet glissando for Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the orchestra. Then he put down his clarinet and played the rest of the piece (about 25 minutes) on the piano, from memory. (Of course I was in tears throughout the whole performance.) After graduation he studied neuroscience and music at UC Berkeley. While he still plays the piano, he is in medical school pursuing a joint PhD in Neuroscience with an MD in Neurology. This kid has got it going on!
I was wondering if you have an answer to the question of, “Why could I play this piece of music yesterday, but today I’m making so many mistakes?” Assuming it’s not fatigue or an emotional problem or any other external distractions, what causes the brain to suddenly forget one day? I’m guessing this is unanswerable, but I’m wondering if you have any insights.
In memory literature this would fall in the realm of “consolidation,” the part of memory processing that involves the mind deciding which items to preserve or forget after a memory has initially been “encoded.” It’s not an instantaneous thing.Many researchers agree that more sleep means more consolidation, so an extra night seems to do the trick. One phenomenon you may have noticed in your own practice (as I’ve noticed in mine) is that if a piece doesn’t feel so good one day, the very next day it may play very well. That could be explained by an optimal period of time for the brain to put the pieces together, so to speak. I would tell that person to trying playing it an extra day later and see if that does it for them.
As I wrote in my TIPS FOR STUDENTS page on my website,
Sleep helps the brain to consolidate (organize and store) new skills.
Aimee’s comment from yesterday also bears this out:
Today, after a good night sleep, I went back to the piano and lo and behold, I actually played my Etude by Chopin in F minor, without mistakes. It’s funny how, when I visualize the piece before going to sleep, how much I remember the next day.
Wow, you actually did some research and got some very meaningful answers. It indeed did the trick. Again today I saw significant improvement, after sleeping on it. Thanks so very much Gaili, for all the extra work you are doing. Aimee Marie krol
Hi Aimee- That’s really great! These types of issues are so interesting to me. It’s so great when we can find answers to some of our challenges.
Brennan is so smart!! Totally explains why some things become second nature to learn while others are more difficult to remember in the short term.
Yes, I’m lucky to have him as a consultant!
Thanks Brennan. I love what you have to say, Aimee
Thanks, glad I could be of help. The memory literature is fascinating, and we’re lucky to have Gaili apply it directly to help everyone learn piano! – Brendan
Thanks Brendan! Good luck in med school 🙂
Glad I could help. Many thanks to Gaili for teaching us piano the right way!
good luck in med school Brendan, Aimee