The Musical Memory of Classical Guitarists

Abstract

The main intention of this basic qualitative study was to develop a conceptual understanding of how professional guitarists describe their musical memory, in an attempt to explain what musical memory is from a guitarist’s point of view, the guitarist’s experience of musical memory, and the guitarist’s understanding thereof. I personally struggled with committing sheet music to memory and wanted to investigate how professional guitarists approach this subject, which has not yet been comprehensively studied from a guitarist’s perspective. The problem driving this study was that classical guitarists all use different personal and situational methods and sources to learn how to play without sheet music. The experiences of professional classical guitarists have not been considered in much detail in research, and I was interested in their respective voices and opinions. Classical guitarists do not necessarily agree on which method is best for this, and the process of musical memory does not seem to be properly understood. Data were collected through live online interviews conducted with 12 professional concert guitarists, purposely selected for their impressive musical memory. The data were analysed through coding and by means of the qualitative data-analysis software ATLAS.ti 8. The findings revealed that remembering for the purpose of performing without sheet music is dependent on the quality of the learning processes involved and the understanding thereof. A conceptual model was identified in which the main themes that emerged, Pre-Learning; Active Learning; Performance: preparation, alterations, and learning; Understanding; and Remembering were described and understood. The model includes a continuous, circular process which refers to the learning process post-performance. It centres on how a performer’s understanding changes how the re-learning of musical compositions then takes place. In my quest and investigation to understand musical compositions in more depth or in its entirety, for me personally that led to a stronger, more secure memory of musical compositions and confidence in a performance situation. Now after completion, I am convinced that this study can be beneficial for professional performers, music educators and students of the classical guitar. It can also contribute towards research on musical memory, as it extends the scope of the scholarly literature.