Is dictating a score from memory a good way to test if the piece is memorized?

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

My RCM ARCT Performer's Piano exam is one week away, and at my last lesson I had trouble memorizing Mozart's Sonata in B-flat major (K 333). As you may know, memorization is compulsory for the ARCT exam. But my teacher told me I keep getting notes wrong, having poor phrasing, missing out on dynamics, and the such. At this rate, I would not get a passing grade on this piece and in turn the rest of the exam. (I paid $700 to register and I don't want all of it to go down the drain!)

So for the past few days I have been reading through the score, in particular the places my teacher has circled because of mistakes. Yesterday, though, my mother brought up a suggestion to help me memorize the piece: dictating the music from memory by writing it note by note on a blank score. This is somewhat like dictation when I took Chinese language lessons (writing down a word when it is spoken by someone else), which my mom has done with me many times over the course of my piano studies. She believes that by having me copy the score from memory and comparing my version with the original, she would be able to identify the parts where I have trouble memorizing and have me emphasize my practices on those parts.

That being said, has anybody tried this suggestion and/or does anybody find it a good way to help me memorize everything in time for next week's exam? Will it actually do any good in preparing me or will it just be a stem for more havoc when it comes to exam time?

manpreet 2 years ago