Memorizing for Adults

One of the recurring themes for my adult students is the sheer difficulty of memorizing music. As they age, pianists who once memorized works without a second thought have difficulty in managing those same feats in middle age. The solution for my adult students seems to be developing an organized and systematic approach to memorization, as opposed to the near-instantaneous recall that younger pianists are capable of. Joy Morin has some resources on Color in my Piano that are worth a look:

• 12 Tips for Memorizing Piano Music
• Thoughts on Memorization: A Skill Integral to Piano Playing?
• Practicing, Learning, and Memorizing for Piano Teachers (the diversity of comments are also instructive)

Also take a look at chapters 13-15 in the 31 Days to Better Practicing ebook for my own ideas on the subject.

But there's another thing I've also noticed about older pianists - sight reading gets easier and more natural. Whereas young students generally tend to need poking, prodding, inspiration, and constant reminders to work on their sight reading, older learners often develop this skill without any undue effort. Could it be that the brain as it ages tends to de-emphasize memory accuracy in exchange for better visual processing?