{"id":57510,"date":"2019-08-09T03:00:10","date_gmt":"2019-08-09T10:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/?p=57510"},"modified":"2022-08-02T04:08:07","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T11:08:07","slug":"cycle-guitar-pieces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Never Forget Another Piece of Music"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Wouldn\u2019t it be nice to never forget another piece of music? And wouldn\u2019t it be great for our practices to always feel new and engaging?<\/p>\n<p>Instead of \u201ctwo steps forward, one step back\u201d, why can\u2019t we keep the \u201ctwo steps forward\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s sad when we lose the hard work we\u2019ve done to learn music. We learn it then forget it. But what if we could keep that piece polished and ready to play anytime?<\/p>\n<p class=\"centerc\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uIFYT6BAkYE?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;autohide=1\" width=\"700\" height=\"393\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">?<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Common Problems when Learning New Music<\/h2>\n<p>Eventually, new music gets old. It\u2019s exciting and novel for a time. But then, the glows wears off. The honeymoon is over. And in comes the urge to start something new.<\/p>\n<p>To get a piece up to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/polish-performance-level\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">highest level<\/a> takes time. By the time we get it there, we\u2019ll know it inside out. We\u2019ll have done work on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/fine-details-classical-guitar-polish-perfect\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">every little detail<\/a>. And while this can be enjoyable work, we also crave freshness.<\/p>\n<p>The goal is to start new music, keeping the joy alive and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/motivation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">motivation<\/a> pumping. And we also want to maintain and preserve the hard work we\u2019ve done with the current and previous pieces.<\/p>\n<p>When we want to move on, the current piece may be in one of a number of different phases\u2026.<\/p>\n<h3>Not every part is up to performance level<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/guitar-string-finger-names\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">We know the notes<\/a>, but we can\u2019t get through the whole piece at our desired level. Some parts feel easy, others not so much.<\/p>\n<p>Some parts are as close to perfect as we can envision. Others still need technical or musical work.<\/p>\n<h3>We get tired of the tune<\/h3>\n<p>Here the work is not done, but we\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/keep-music-exciting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sick of it<\/a>. Like the fifteenth chocolate, we no longer enjoy it like we used to. We don\u2019t dislike it, we\u2019re just over it.<\/p>\n<h3>The piece is ready for performance, and we\u2019re ready for something new<\/h3>\n<p>And here we\u2019ve mastered the piece, and have it at our top <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/shaky-hands-guitar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">performance<\/a> level. Our work is done for the moment. We don\u2019t know where else to go with the piece, and we feel it \u201cfinished\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>After all this work, it feels like a waste of time to continue practicing it daily. We suspect we would be better challenged and engaged with a new piece of music.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">One Good Solution: Cycle Pieces In and Out of Guitar Practice<\/h2>\n<p>For each of the above scenarios, we are ready to start a new piece. Meanwhile, we want to keep the current piece alive and maintained.<\/p>\n<p>The way to do this is to leave it for a time, then return.<\/p>\n<p>Easier said than done\u2026<\/p>\n<p>What often happens is this: We leave, and by the time we return, the piece is no longer where it was. We don\u2019t remember certain sections. Problems we solved earlier have become problems again.<\/p>\n<p>We grow disheartened, and call it a loss.<\/p>\n<p>So we we stay focused on our new piece, until it also falls into this same pattern. The result is that we have practiced for years, but can\u2019t play many pieces.<\/p>\n<p>We have a pile of <a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/music\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sheet music<\/a>, but can only play the one on top.<\/p>\n<p>How do we set a piece down without abandoning it completely? How can we safely and securely move between pieces and keep our practice fresh and exciting?<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">The Fine Points: How to Successfully Leave and Come Back<\/h2>\n<p>There is a method of cycling in and out of pieces that allows us to keep our enthusiasm while also managing the work.<\/p>\n<p>If we wait too long before returning to a previous piece, we lose our good work. If we come back too soon, we don\u2019t enjoy it as we could.<\/p>\n<h3>Timing is Everything<\/h3>\n<p>When we first set a piece down, we need to return to it very frequently. If we were practicing it daily, we can begin skipping a day.<\/p>\n<p>After a few days of this, we can practice it every three days. Then every four.<\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t have to be all or nothing. We can use \u201cspaced repetition\u201d to increase the time between practices.<\/p>\n<p>This is the theory behind <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Leitner_system\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Leitner Boxes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.ankiweb.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anki<\/a>, and other learning systems.<\/p>\n<p>Over the course of a month, we can space our practices to a week, two, or more.<\/p>\n<p>Important: At some point, we may find we can\u2019t remember the piece, or some element has declined. In this case, we should increase the frequency for a short time. Afterward, we can continue to space practices further apart.<\/p>\n<h3>Set Expectations for Revisiting Pieces<\/h3>\n<p>But what should we do when we revisit pieces? How should we practice them?<\/p>\n<p>We could play through the pieces when we revisit them, top to bottom. Or we could plan the practice methods we\u2019ll use.<\/p>\n<p>For one piece, we may use slow practice. For another, we may use dotted rhythms or speed bursts. We may work the entire piece, or just the tricky spots.<\/p>\n<p>If we plan in advance how we\u2019ll practice, we\u2019ll be more effective with the small time we have. Our practices will build our overall skills. Instead of just <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/how-to-maintain-classical-guitar-repertoire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">maintaining our repertoire<\/a>, we\u2019ll grow and improve &#8211; both in the piece, and for our others.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Keep a Running List of Pieces You Learn<\/h2>\n<p>To successfully cycle pieces, it helps to keep a running list of all the pieces we learn. When we start a new piece, we add it to the list.<\/p>\n<p>If we want to be more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/guitar-practice-schedule\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">organized<\/a>, we can even note the date we last practiced each piece. We can plan our week so that each piece gets attention when it needs it.<\/p>\n<p>Doing this allows us to maintain very large repertoires. In time, pieces will need attention only once every month or two. They will remain fresh and polished. And our practice will feel fresh, exciting and alive.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wouldn\u2019t it be nice to never forget another piece of music? And wouldn\u2019t it be great for our practices to always feel new and engaging? Instead of \u201ctwo steps forward, one step back\u201d, why can\u2019t we keep the \u201ctwo steps forward\u201d? It\u2019s sad when we lose the hard work we\u2019ve done to learn music. We learn it then forget it. &#8230; <\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57513,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,434,20],"tags":[505,348],"class_list":["post-57510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-main-content-parent","category-practicing","tag-maintain-repertoire","tag-memory"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.8 (Yoast SEO v25.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Improve your Musical Memory and Maintain Repertoire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Keep every piece of music you learn up to performance level. Maintain your tunes and repertoire for years, so it just gets better.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Never Forget Another Piece of Music\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Keep every piece of music you learn up to performance level. Maintain your tunes and repertoire for years, so it just gets better.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Classical Guitar Shed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ClassicalGuitarShed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-08-09T10:00:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-02T11:08:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/cycle-guitar-pieces-640.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"320\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Allen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@CLguitarshed\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CLguitarshed\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Allen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Improve your Musical Memory and Maintain Repertoire","description":"Keep every piece of music you learn up to performance level. Maintain your tunes and repertoire for years, so it just gets better.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Never Forget Another Piece of Music","og_description":"Keep every piece of music you learn up to performance level. Maintain your tunes and repertoire for years, so it just gets better.","og_url":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/","og_site_name":"Classical Guitar Shed","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ClassicalGuitarShed\/","article_published_time":"2019-08-09T10:00:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-02T11:08:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":320,"url":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/cycle-guitar-pieces-640.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Allen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@CLguitarshed","twitter_site":"@CLguitarshed","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Allen","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/"},"author":{"name":"Allen","@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/#\/schema\/person\/85d09303adb38d43cdedd2033f6b016e"},"headline":"How to Never Forget Another Piece of Music","datePublished":"2019-08-09T10:00:10+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-02T11:08:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/"},"wordCount":989,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/cycle-guitar-pieces-640.jpg","keywords":["maintain-repertoire","memory"],"articleSection":["Articles","Main Content Parent","On Practicing"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/","url":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/","name":"Improve your Musical Memory and Maintain Repertoire","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/cycle-guitar-pieces-640.jpg","datePublished":"2019-08-09T10:00:10+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-02T11:08:07+00:00","description":"Keep every piece of music you learn up to performance level. Maintain your tunes and repertoire for years, so it just gets better.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/cycle-guitar-pieces-640.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/cycle-guitar-pieces-640.jpg","width":640,"height":320,"caption":"remember guitar pieces forever"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/cycle-guitar-pieces\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Never Forget Another Piece of Music"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/","name":"Classical Guitar Shed","description":"Learn Classical Guitar Online with No Guesswork","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/#organization"},"alternateName":"ClassicalGuitarShed","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/#organization","name":"Classical Guitar Shed","url":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/CGS-logo-black-400.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/CGS-logo-black-400.png","width":400,"height":192,"caption":"Classical Guitar Shed"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ClassicalGuitarShed\/","https:\/\/x.com\/CLguitarshed","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/classicalguitarshed\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/classicalguitarshed\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/ClassicalGuitarShed"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/#\/schema\/person\/85d09303adb38d43cdedd2033f6b016e","name":"Allen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd2cda6ac2676c1fa6a476f9338cd2d0c15e585829ea7de118320c6c9a977400?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd2cda6ac2676c1fa6a476f9338cd2d0c15e585829ea7de118320c6c9a977400?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Allen"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com","https:\/\/x.com\/CLguitarshed"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}