Simplifying the complex: Developing a new method for memorising post-tonal piano music
Lead Research Organisation:
Birmingham City University
Department Name: ADM Birmingham Conservatoire
Abstract
There is a gap in music performance, education and psychology in terms of memorisation training for post-tonal piano music. Although the repertoire spans over 100 years, pedagogues and professionals still lack effective tools for developing this skill. This project aims to test and develop further a successful self-experimentation technique devised to address this problem. The resulting method could have a significant impact for musicians at all levels.
Performing from memory is an expected ability of Western classical musicians (Chaffin et al., 1997). However, the lack of specific training for effective memorisation strategies (Hallam, 1997; Li, 2007), can trigger performance anxiety in students and professionals (Chaffin et al., 2002; Ginsborg, 2004). The complexity of post-tonal repertoire worsens this challenge, prompting even world-class musicians to perform from the score (Jonasson et al., 2016), hampering the effectiveness of the performance (Williamon, 1999; Ginsbory, 2004).
Performing from memory is an expected ability of Western classical musicians (Chaffin et al., 1997). However, the lack of specific training for effective memorisation strategies (Hallam, 1997; Li, 2007), can trigger performance anxiety in students and professionals (Chaffin et al., 2002; Ginsborg, 2004). The complexity of post-tonal repertoire worsens this challenge, prompting even world-class musicians to perform from the score (Jonasson et al., 2016), hampering the effectiveness of the performance (Williamon, 1999; Ginsbory, 2004).
Publications
Farré Rozada, L.
(2021)
Così fan simmetria
in Temporada d'òpera 2021-2022 dels Amics del Liceu
Farré Rozada, L.
(2020)
Des de Babilònia fins a l'actualitat. Les matemàtiques de les escales musicals [From Babylon to the present day. The mathematics of musical scales]
in Butlletí de la Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer
Farré Rozada, L.
(2022)
El código Messiaen [Messiaen's Code]
in Platea Magazine
Farré Rozada, L.
(2020)
La matemàtica artística d'Escher i Ligeti [The artistic mathematics of Escher and Ligeti]
in SCM/Notícies (Societat Catalana de Matemàtiques)
| Title | CD release - Nimbus (2021) |
| Description | Second album by Laura Farré Rozada, and the second conceptual part of debut album The French Reverie (2018). This completes a tribute to the French piano repertoire of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and specifically to the figure of the composer Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992). The album explores the creative and conceptual possibilities of water, featuring works by Maurice Ravel, Pierre Jodlowski, Toru Takemitsu, Dai Fujikura, Unsuk Chin, Anna Þorvaldsdóttir, Josep Maria Guix and Yixuan Zhao. Includes the world-premiere recordings of Guix's Drizzle Draft, Fujikura's Frozen Heat and Zhao's Still Life. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | Nimbus (2021, Seed Music) was sponsored by 190 patrons from 25 countries across the 5 continents. It has been awarded 11 prizes in the USA (Los Angeles, San Diego, New York) and Spain, including the Premi Talent Cambra 2021. It was also nominated as Best Classical & Contemporary Album at Premis Enderrock 2022. Full list of awards received for this album available here: https://www.laurafarrerozada.com/bio All reviews available at: https://www.laurafarrerozada.com/nimbus |
| URL | https://seedmusic.eu/album/laura-farre-rozada-nimbus/ |
| Title | Commissioned Piano Concerto: 'La flor de l'atzavara' (2020), by Catalan composer Feliu Gasull (b.1959) |
| Description | For the purpose of a self-case study on memorisation of post-tonal piano music, the 30-min Piano Concerto 'La flor de l'atzavara' (2020) was commissioned from Catalan contemporary classical composer Feliu Gasull (b.1959). This is in four movements and the score shall be published in the upcoming months by Ficta Edicions (Spain). |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Impact | Beyond its implications in developing further a novel memorisation method for post-tonal piano music, this has had an enormous positive impact on Catalan Contemporary Classical music scene, which is not a very active neither big scene. It also contributed to expanding current repertoire for Piano (soloist) and Chamber Orchestra, which is scarce. |
| URL | https://www.ficta.cat/ca/141-feliu-gasull |
| Title | Commissioned Piano Concerto: 'Tautening skies' (2022), by British composer Angela Elizabeth Slater (b.1989) |
| Description | For the purpose of a self-case study on memorisation of post-tonal piano music, the 30-min Piano Concerto 'Tautening skies' (2022) was commissioned from British contemporary classical composer Angela Elizabeth Slater (b.1989). This is in three movements and the score shall be published soon by Composers Edition (UK). |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Beyond its implications in developing further a novel memorisation method for post-tonal piano music, this has had an enormous positive impact on promoting a living British female composer in an important commissioning engagement. Since the performers from the orchestra and its conductor were recent graduates or students of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, the project also provided an opportunity for emerging musicians in working with new music. |
| URL | https://composersedition.com/angelaslater/ |
| Title | Commissioned Solo Piano Piece: 'Still life' (2020), by Chinese composer Yixuan Zhao (b.1993) |
| Description | For the purpose of self-experimentation with the formalised novel method for analysis, learning and memorisation 'Conceptual Simplification', the 7-min solo piano piece 'Still life' (2020) was commissioned from Chinese contemporary classical composer Yixuan Zhao (b.1993). |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Impact | Beyond its implications in developing further a novel memorisation method for post-tonal piano music, this has had an enormous positive impact on promoting a living Chinese female composer in an important commissioning engagement. The work was world-premiered in Spain and has been subsequently performed many times in this country, providing a national exposure of this Chinese composer in a foreign country. I also recorded it in my second solo album 'Nimbus', releasing its world-premiere recording. |
| URL | https://youtu.be/71grIXHPecc |
| Title | Commissioned Solo Piano Piece: 'The butterfly effect' (2021), by Israelian-American composer Ofer Ben-Amots (b.1955) |
| Description | For the purpose of a self-case study on memorisation of post-tonal piano music, the 10-min solo piano piece 'The butterfly effect' (2021) was commissioned from Israelian-American contemporary classical composer Ofer Ben-Amots (b.1955). The score has been published by CCC Music Company (USA). |
| Type Of Art | Composition/Score |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | This was an opportunity for collaborating with a living composer on using mathematical theories or concepts (Fibonacci sequence, chaos theory, fractals, butterfly effect) in composition, and what impact this has on musical memorisation. It has also extended existing piano repertoire exploring these issues and the piece has been included in the programmes of my recitals. The piece also motivated an interdisciplinary event on this topic at Colorado College in the USA: https://www.coloradocollege.edu/newsevents/calendar/details.html?EventID=46879&booking=1SEQUENCE:0 |
| URL | https://cccmusiccompany.com/composers/ |
| Title | Pre-concert talk on Gasull's Piano Concerto (Second Performance) |
| Description | 09.02.2021 at 19:30h. Institut d'Estudis Vallencs, Valls (Spain) Pre-concert talk. En forma de flor...La flor de l'atzavara de Feliu Gasull. Jordi Màndoli, Feliu Gasull and Laura Farré Rozada. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | Roundtable and Q&A on Gasull's Piano Concerto with the soloist (me), composer and moderator (Jordi Màndoli). |
| URL | https://cultura.gencat.cat/ca/temes/commemoracions/2020/anyrobertgerhard/detalls/activitat/2021-02-0... |
| Title | Pre-concert talk on Gasull's Piano Concerto (World-premiere) |
| Description | 21.01.2021 at 20h. Auditori 'Eduard Toldrà', Vilanova i la Geltrú (Spain) Pre-concert talk. Parlem de música...La flor de l'atzavara de Feliu Gasull. Speakers: David Puertas, Edmon Colomer, Feliu Gasull and Laura Farré Rozada. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | Roundtable and Q&A on Gasull's Piano Concerto with the soloist (me), composer, conductor (Edmon Colomer) and music promoter (David Puertas). |
| URL | http://www.escenavilanova.cat/programacio/parlem_musica_gener |
| Title | Second performance of Ben-Amots' solo piano piece |
| Description | 04.02.2022 at 19h. Centre Cívic Casa Golferichs, Barcelona (Spain) Solo Recital. Cicle de cant i clàssica de Casa Golferichs Works by Messiaen, Takemitsu, Chin, Ben-Amots, Guix and Ravel. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Sold out. Pre-concert talk and solo recital of post-tonal piano music, including the second performance of Ben-Amots' commissioned solo piano piece. Interview on my research and projects by the same venue: https://youtu.be/BmtwCawFAkk |
| URL | https://www.golferichs.org/programacio-cultural/laura-farre-rozada/ |
| Title | Second performance of Gasull's Piano Concerto |
| Description | 11.02.2021 at 19h. Centre Cultural Municipal, Valls (Spain) Nits de Clàssics. Soloist in Feliu Gasull's Piano Concerto 'La flor de l'atzavara'. Camerata 'Eduard Toldrà'. Edmon Colomer, conductor. Works by Gerhard, Toldrà, Puccini, Mahler and Gasull. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | Second performance of Gasull's Piano Concerto, and solo performance of Robert Gerhard's Piano Impromptus. Piano Concerto's video recording is to be released soon. Also, a future CD recording. |
| URL | https://cultura.gencat.cat/ca/temes/commemoracions/2020/anyrobertgerhard/detalls/activitat/2021-02-1... |
| Title | Second performance of Slater's Piano Concerto |
| Description | 12.11.2022 at 14h. CBSO Centre, Birmingham (UK) Soloist in Angela Elizabeth Slater's 'Tautening skies' Piano Concerto. RBC Symphony Orchestra. Yannick Mayaud, conductor. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Sold out. Pre-concert talk and the second performance of Slater's Piano Concerto and other orchestral works written by this composer. Also, a recording session is to be released in the upcoming months as a commercial CD. Video-recording is to be released soon. The concert was attended by notable scholars based at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and other high education institutions in London and the West Midlands. |
| Title | Third performance of Ben-Amots' solo piano piece |
| Description | 15.09.2022 at 20h. Civivox Condestable, Pamplona-Iruña (Spain) NAK Festival: Del Mito al Logos. Works by Jodlowski, Chin, Guix, Ben-Amots, Manoury, Lang, Fujikura and Zhao. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Sold out. Pre-concert talk and solo recital of post-tonal piano music, including the second performance of Ben-Amots' commissioned solo piano piece. Video-recording of Ben-Amots' solo piano piece: https://youtu.be/Wclq0w5kP1o |
| URL | https://nakfestival.com/15_09_22-concierto-laura-farre/ |
| Title | World-premiere of Ben-Amots' solo piano piece |
| Description | 03.12.2021 at 19h. Centre Cívic Matas i Ramis, Barcelona (Spain) Solo Recital. Pianissimo: 88 tecles amb història. A la recerca de noves sonoritats: de l'Impressionisme a la Contemporània Works by Messiaen, Takemitsu, Chin, Ben-Amots, Guix and Ravel. World-premiere of Ofer Ben-Amots' 'The Butterfly Effect - To Laura Farré Rozada'. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | Pre-concert talk and solo recital of post-tonal piano music, including the world-premiere of Ben-Amots' commissioned solo piano piece. |
| URL | https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/ccivics/matasiramis/p/42385 |
| Title | World-premiere of Gasull's Piano Concerto |
| Description | 07.02.2021 at 19h. Auditori 'Eduard Toldrà', Vilanova i la Geltrú (Spain) Soloist in Feliu Gasull's Piano Concerto (World-Premiere). Camerata 'Eduard Toldrà'. Edmon Colomer, conductor. Works by Gerhard, Toldrà, Puccini, Mahler and Gasull. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | World-premiere of Gasull's Piano Concerto, and solo performance of Robert Gerhard's Piano Impromptus. Piano Concerto's video recordings: 1st mov: https://youtu.be/6qUaBrcUYq8 2nd mov: https://youtu.be/zuferpjuj6Y 3rd mov: https://youtu.be/eiGVRNjgbQ0 4th mov: https://youtu.be/lij1H9l4Klk |
| URL | http://escenavilanova.cat/camerata_eduard_toldra |
| Title | World-premiere of Slater's Piano Concerto |
| Description | 04.11.2022 at 19:30h. Bradshaw Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham (UK) Frontiers Series. Soloist in Angela Elizabeth Slater's 'Tautening skies' Piano Concerto (World-Premiere). RBC Symphony Orchestra. Yannick Mayaud, conductor. Works by Slater, Wallen, Carwithen and Bernstein. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | World-premiere of Slater's Piano Concerto, and solo performance of Robert Gerhard's Piano Impromptus. Piano Concerto's video recording is to be released soon. Review of the premiere on International Piano Magazine (December 2022 issue). |
| URL | https://www.bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire/events-calendar/rbc-symphony-orchestra-041122-2 |
| Description | Partnership with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) |
| Organisation | Birmingham Contemporary Music Group |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | I was the soloist in Angela Elizabeth Slater's Piano Concerto and I offered them the opportunity for them to collaborate with this composer. I also carried out several roles in organising such collaboration, its performance and recording session. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Associating with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) partly made possible the commission of Angela Elizabeth Slater's Piano Concerto for my PhD, the second performance of it at the CBSO Centre, and its live recording session to be released as a commercial CD in the upcoming months. |
| Impact | The final test of the effectiveness in practice (performance from memory of the Piano Concerto) of the novel method of memorisation formalised with my PhD thesis. Also, contributed to Birmingham's and UK's contemporary music scene. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Dissemination of doctoral research on national and international press |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Dissemination of doctoral research on national and international press. Details provided in the websites below: Television: https://www.laurafarrerozada.com/television Radio: https://www.laurafarrerozada.com/radio Printed press: https://www.laurafarrerozada.com/press-1 Online press: https://www.laurafarrerozada.com/online-press Others: https://www.laurafarrerozada.com/others |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020,2021,2022,2023 |
| URL | https://www.laurafarrerozada.com/press |
| Description | Lectures, lecture-recitals and recitals of post-tonal music and mathematics. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Lectures, lecture-recitals and recitals of post-tonal music and mathematics in the UK, Spain, USA, Canada, Chile, Argentina and Singapore. Further information is detailed at: Events: https://www.laurafarrerozada.com/events Music & Mathematics: https://www.laurafarrerozada.com/music-mathematics |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020,2021,2022,2023 |
| URL | http://www.laurafarrerozada.com |
| Description | Radio collaboration - Spanish National Radio |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | 20-min weekly and monthly collaborations at the radio shows 'De Pe a Pa' (RNE) and 'Sinfonía de la mañana' (Radio Clásica) at Spanish National Radio. I was in charge of the scripts and presenting. In these, I disseminated connections between music and mathematics, which is the context in which my own research (and concretely the developed memorising method) is based. All episodes are listed here: https://www.laurafarrerozada.com/presenting And here the official sites of the shows... 'De Pe a Pa': https://www.rtve.es/play/audios/las-mananas-de-rne-con-pepa-fernandez/ 'Sinfonía de la mañana': https://www.rtve.es/play/audios/sinfonia-de-la-manana/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021,2022,2023 |
| URL | https://www.laurafarrerozada.com/presenting |
| Description | Radio show - Catalan National Radio |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | 32 episodes of the weekly 1-hour radio show 'La cinta de Möbius' at Catalan National Radio (Catalunya Música). I was in charge of the scripts, presenting, direction and production of the show, in which I disseminated connections between music and mathematics, which is the context in which my own research (and concretely the developed memorising method) is based. For each episode, I invited as a guest a notably emerging or established Catalan musician. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| URL | https://www.ccma.cat/catradio/la-cinta-de-mobius/ |
| Description | Radio show - Spanish National Radio |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | 13 episodes of the weekly 1-hour radio show 'Musimáticas' at Spanish National Radio (Radio Clásica). I was in charge of the scripts, presenting, direction and production of the show, in which I disseminated connections between music and mathematics, which is the context in which my own research (and concretely the developed memorising method) is based. Each episode had as a theme a historical or living female scientist. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.rtve.es/play/audios/musimaticas/ |
| Description | Research Relays - Midlands4Cities Research Festival 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of my PhD research up to date. 13-14.07.2020: Midlands4Cities Research Festival 2020, West Midlands, UK. Research Relays. 'Practice-Based Research: Developing Memorisation Strategies for Post-Tonal Music'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Research Relays - Midlands4Cities Research Festival 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of my PhD research up to date. 07-09.06.2021: Midlands4Cities Research Festival 2021, West Midlands, UK. Research Relays. 'Testing Conceptual Simplification in Music Performance: A Pilot Study'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | TiMP Symposium 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 03.12.2019: TiMP Symposium 2019, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham City University, UK. Technology in Musical Performance Study Group, member of the organising committee. Presenters involved were national and international. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://timp.integra.io/ |
| Description | Unpublished conference paper - CMMB/UPC |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | 23.10.2020: Conservatori Municipal de Música de Barcelona-Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Música amb Enginy. 'The Musical Mathematics of Pythagoras: Historicity or Myth?'. I was the keynote speaker. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://upcommons.upc.edu/handle/2117/360753 |
| Description | Unpublished conference paper - Ciencia en acción |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 28-29.09.2021: Ciencia en Acción XXII, Atarfe (Granada), Spain. Inaugural Conference. 'How Symmetrical Can Music Be?'. I was the keynote speaker. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://cienciaenaccion.org/ |
| Description | Unpublished conference paper - University of Toronto |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of my PhD research up to date. 05-07.03.2021: University of Toronto Graduate Music Conference, Toronto, Canada. Lecture-recital. 'Testing a New Memorisation Method for Post-Tonal Piano Music'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.uoftgradmusicconference.com/schedule |