Mapping Music: Some Simple Strategies to Help Students Learn

Journal of Music Teachers National Association: October/November 2006

Author Rebecca Schockly is professor of piano pedagogy at the University of Minnesota and has given lectures about mapping music. I chose her article to report because I believe mapping is one of the most useful and effective teaching and learning tools in music.

Music mapping helps students memorize music more efficiently. According to professor schockly, mapping can be used at any stage of learning, whether for gaining an overview of a piece, or as a practice tool for solving specific problems. I find it very useful for my own practicing and learning because I get more broad sense in analyzing music. The unique ingredient is diagramming the main features of a piece and using this diagram as a "map" for learning the music. I've seen a student from my professor's studio actually used that strategy when she played in repertoire class last year. Memorization was most challenging work for her and she made this "map" with only numbers and words and used it as a score. And it worked!

Professor Schokly says that mapping process can begin as early as the first time they hear a piece or even after playing through it once. Every student is different, so it is crucial for teachers to use their own judgment to decide just what kind of challenge is best for them.
Everyone sees different things in the music and has different ways of remembering them.
So the basic approach can be adapted in many ways to suit individual learning styles and teaching situations. In private setting, more detailed and personalized mapping process can be possible because of its unique learning setting. But it also can work out great in groups because students will bring each of their individualized maps into the class so that the teacher and students will have the window to see and learn each other's learning process.

The author also points out that mapping can reduce the risk of overuse injuries. Working away from the instrument engages the mind more than the muscles, and it can clarify without physical strain the musical structure in the learner's mind. And she also says that mental practice also develops the ability to imagine and recall the sound, feeling or visual experience of playing a piece. A person like myself (with synesthesia) can also use texture, color, even smell to feel and imagine(or visualize) music.

I think it is a very effective teaching tool. Once this technique is learned, students will be able to analyze and memorize music easier. Music simply does not come to our ears and get recorded. It has go through hundreds of repetitive process in order to memorize one piece. Showing the different paths of learning can be gratifying for both students and the teacher.