Memorization

One of the things I continue to be told is that I have to memorize my music. I have always struggled with that. I have put in untold hours to memorize chords and lyrics for a one hour show, only to start forgetting them a few short weeks after the run finished. But in order for me to really be successful as a dueling pianist, I need to memorize hundreds of songs. It has always amazed me at the sheer breadth of material these guys know without any music or lyrics to remind them. So I began hunting for help with memory training. I found this one school called The School of Phenomenal Memory (PMemory.com) that makes all sorts of fantastic claims, but it somehow involves learning an alpha-numeric code, that you need to really integrate into your mind in order to quickly access it, sort of like learning shorthand, and only after you master this code, can you utilize it to help with the memorization process. I don't have a problem going through all that work, if I can be assured that it is a legitimate system, but I couldn't find any truly independent reviews or analysis of this School or method, but I did find that they had a couple of unresolved complaints with the BBB. And I gathered from those complaints that their "No Time Limit, No Questions Asked Money-back Guarantee" did indeed have Questions Asked, and apparently not answered satisfactorily. Moving along, I did, however find a cool website called www.memory-key.com which has a lot of different articles and resources for cognitive strategies and memory improvement. Now back my practicing. Was it Leroy Brown that learned a lesson 'bout messin' with the wife of a jealous man, or was it simply Leroy that learned the lesson 'bout messin'? I can't remember. Dammit!

Back from Bush Country

I spent a full week in Texas, first visiting my family in Dallas/Ft Worth, then down to Austin for a visit with my friend J, and then back up to Dallas to spend some time with friends. I performed 3 times in Texas, all unexpectedly: Once at a Dueling piano bar in Austin, and then at a private party where I was the featured entertainment, and finally I was asked to put together a 30 min Cabaret spot at a bar in Dallas. It was fun to do that kind of music for such an appreciative crowd.

Now I'm back from Texas, and have spent an enjoyable week with my music, meditation and friends here in NYC. I've been busy learning some of the songs I heard in Texas that I will need for my reportoire for the Dueling Pianos act. Many of my friends in Vietnam have sent me Happy Lunar New Year greetings and I've gotten a couple of wonderfully long emails from friends abroad. I'll close this blog entry with some text found on a Vietnamese travel agency website regarding their "SuperDong boat":

"We assures the punctuality in departure time. Here, aboard the boat, guests will have the good sensation of living in a warm and spacious home for its harmonious interior decoration and with all the entertainments such as watching movies, enjoying snacks, light meal in the friendly and pleasant atmosphere of the boat staff. Smart steward and stewardess are ready to serve guests by their courteous manners. And with SuperDong boat, clients gill get more excitement during the voyages across the sea to make a conquest the immense Ocean. The will be healthy and fine when leaving the wharf to welcome a new day with the bright sunshines as desired."

Incidentally, this mighty "ocean voyage" is actually a 20-minute ferry crossing to an offshore island.