"Finger Memory" rescues "Brain Memory"!

[GAS Man]

That's what I've decided to call it.

 

Been working on my Paul Pigat Rockabilly DVD. The lessons I've covered so far are simple enough, but they depend on quick alternate picking and quick changes to alternate note progressions.

 

So you're going along playing first measure, and repeat, then second measure, then when you're coming back to the root progression, I forget to take the alternate variation of the progression. Why? The brain went to sleep instead of paying attention to the turn coming in the road, so I plowed straight ahead over and over into the same first root progression. Missed the turn again!

 

Now after days of playing the same note progressions and variations over and over, and at varied speeds, the fingers are memorizing where to go.

 

Now the brain can sleep away, but the fingers have learned the path.

 

I find it amazing.

 

How do they do that?

 

Before I'd have trouble keeping the brain focused on reminding the fingers about the upcoming turns, now the brain can shut down and the fingers are on auto-pilot.

 

I mean, this isn't necessarily any new phenomena to me, but it is a conundrum.

[flying_high]

its the same way you move and think...its done at a subconscious level.

[pretaanluxis]

I find there's lots of songs I can play, but if I have to show someone how to play them, I can't remember the chords or notes.

The hand is quicker than the eye(and brain sometimes!)

[Trader]

Originally posted by pretaanluxis I find there's lots of songs I can play, but if I have to show someone how to play them, I can't remember the chords or notes. The hand is quicker than the eye(and brain sometimes!)

 

 

+1 Yup, ain't that the truth.

[GAS Man]

A professor once told me they believe short term memory is "electrical" and long term memory is "chemical".

Absolutely makes sense. It's like trying to remember a telephone number someone just told you. You keep repeating it over and over in your mind so you won't forget it. But if someone asks you your phone number, it's there. Coded in.

I'd bet the storage location also moves in the brain. Probably these guitar passages find a more "autonomic" storage area. I also think the more you study new pieces, the quicker the long term memory area opens up to taking in new stuff.

[rischwa]

In cognitive psychology there is a distinction between the declarative memory and procedural memory.
The declarative memory is used for storing facts like 2+3=5 it contains what we usually call knowledge, which can be easily verbalized and has to be consciously "retrieved". The procedural memory is the memory for skills, or the "how to do ..." knowledge, like riding a bike, which usually is subconscious and can't be easily verbalized.
So what you do when starting to learn is to memorize/learn the facts (first play that, then that ...) and "store" it in the declarative memory. When you play it, you have to consciously think about the stuff you are doing and have to do a lot of "memory retrieval". The more you practice, the more of the whole movement becomes internalized(expression for the transformation of declarative to procedural knowledge) which results in less memory retrieval and less parts needed to be conscious when playing.