(More) thoughts on visualization and memorization

Here is my current progress on remembering the Sor D major...got all the way through it :)

The only time I have ever visualized the fretboard is when trying to fall asleep - doing 6-string scales in your head is much better than counting sheep! Even though it's my understanding that visualization is an important part of memorization for guitarists (and other musicians), it's not something that I've ever thought I could do.  Sometimes I can't even remember how to start a piece until I pick up the guitar, and then my fingers do that muscle memory thing (AKA context-dependent memory).

However, I recently started to work on a piece for orchestra (see below) - all single line melody but in just about every position on the fretboard between 2nd and 14th, the way our conductor has it arranged.  I concluded I would actually have to learn the piece (as opposed reading along after familiarizing myself with it beforehand) because of all the shifts (for more info on shifting, check out Zane's excellent lesson here!).

So after I replaced the strings on my guitar  - again - (what is it with those handmade strings still not staying in tune 10 days later??), instead of torturing myself with the out-of-tune guitar I was idly perusing the sheet music for the orchestra piece.   And I found myself visualizing where it would be played on the fretboard.   I don't know if it it's because it's a single, uncomplicated melody line, or because I've spent a lot of time trying to fall asleep with scales recently (!) but it didn't seem nearly as impossible as it has the few other times I've tried, and failed, to do this. Of course I was just doing what I do with the scales, figuring out the positions of the notes, ignoring the right hand and left hand fingering.  But If I have those it wouldn't be a large step to repeating the process without looking at the music. 

And maybe that's the key - make it super-simple to start with then add what you need later -  maybe the reason I've not been able to do it is because I've been trying to do too much at one time - pieces that are too hard, memorizing everything at once.  Instead maybe it needs to be digested in small chunks.  It could in fact be a stepwise process - I might need a lot of steps, but not so many compared with a hundred partially correct repetitions perhaps!

So this is my draft plan for the orchestra piece this week (maybe in sections, not the whole thing at once).

1. With Guitar... ( I did this already, so will be starting on #2)
- Work out where to play it on the guitar with the score and mark in positions and fingerings
- Read it through with the guitar until it's "familiar"

2. Without Guitar...
- Read score trying to remember positions on fretboard.
- Remove score and visualize notes and positions.

3. With Guitar
- Read score playing silently with LH trying to remember, i.e. adding kinesthetic memory to the visual memory in 1.
- Remove guitar and visualize playing the piece with the left hand, remove score and repeat.

4. With Guitar
- Try playing piece from memory.  Work our RH fingering/issues.  Mark them on the score.
- Remove guitar and visualize playing piece both hands using score.

5. Visualize piece - no guitar, no score.


I'm a little hazy on the steps that might be needed, but have a suspicion I might need all of these and then some ;) I'll update when I've had some practice at it, and believe me, I will be practicing because we have to rehearse it next week!

 Stay tuned (groan)!