Maximizing Musical Memory with Priming

By Caileen Wan

PART 1: WHAT IS NONDECLARATIVE MEMORY?

We use nondeclarative memory every day. Also known as implicit memory, nondeclarative memory is characterized by the lack of active recall. For example, an advanced musician can easily play a scale with very little thought. They don’t have to remember where to place their fingers, how to hold their instrument, or what notes are in the scale. Their memories are retrieved unconsciously, and are relatively stronger than declarative memories. It’s easy to forget where your last three public performances were, but it’s nearly impossible to forget how to hold and play an instrument if you’ve trained extensively.

Like declarative memory, nondeclarative memory is first encoded in the temporal lobe (hippocampus, amygdala, and surrounding cortical areas) of the brain. These memories are then consolidated mainly in two brain structures. First, the basal ganglia, which contributes to emotion, reward processing, habit formation, movement and learning (Queensland Brain Institute 2016). Second, the cerebellum, which is responsible for fine motor movements (Queensland Brain Institute 2016). Other related brain structures include the amygdala (emotional and reward processing), the neocortex (high-level cognition), and striatum (motor control and reward processing) (Nestor 2004).

In all these areas, memories are stored by the strengthening of synapses, which are the basis of memory (Queensland Brain Institute 2016). Synapses are connections between neurons, the cells that make up our brain. When you form new thoughts or connections, new synapses are created. When you repeatedly recall a topic, related synapses are strengthened. When you don’t think about an event for a long time, related synapses are weakened and can eventually be eliminated, which is why you forget things. This entire process is known as synaptic plasticity. 

Interestingly, amnesia (memory loss) doesn’t affect nondeclarative memory (Nestor 2004). People with memory loss still retain their memory of how to walk or how to write — they can still retrieve unconscious memories. Instead, amnesia affects declarative memory: the ability to recall facts, information, or events, as described in the previous blog post. 

PART 2: HOW DO YOU IMPROVE YOUR MUSICAL MEMORY?

As mentioned earlier, nondeclarative memories are stronger than declarative memories. They’re easier to remember, and they’re also harder to lose. Therefore, learning how to control the rate at which you memorize things implicitly is incredibly powerful, because it allows you to build long-lasting skills more efficiently!

So how do you actually improve it? In the rest of this post, I’ll be explaining a powerful method to improve nondeclarative memory known as priming.

Priming refers to the act of exposing yourself to a subject before you learn it, leading to more efficient learning. You may have seen this term in academic settings — a lot of students are encouraged to read lecture notes or skim textbooks before learning about that specific content in class. 

Specifically, priming refers to a difference in how information is perceived when a person has previous exposure. Information is either perceived more quickly, or it’s perceived more accurately (Tartaglia, Mongillo, & Brunel, 2015). A popular example is as follows: “suppose that line drawings of a dog, hammer, and airplane are presented in succession, with the instruction to name each item as quickly as possible. Typically, about 800 ms are needed to produce each name aloud. If in a later test these same pictures are presented intermixed with new drawings, the new drawings will still require about 800 ms to name, but now the dog, hammer, and airplane are named about 100 ms more quickly” (Nestor 2004). 

This phenomenon occurs even if the person doesn’t recall previous exposure to the stimulus (Nestor 2004); therefore, it’s clear that priming is rooted in nondeclarative memory. 

This knowledge is extremely applicable to music playing, and can help speed up your learning process. For example, my favorite way to use priming is by listening to recordings! Before I actually begin diving into a piece, I listen to as many recordings as I can. I take notes in my score about different musicians’ interpretations, fingerings, and bowings. Even when I’m not taking notes, I’m trying to ingrain the piece into my memory. 

After listening to so many recordings, I learn and memorize the piece much faster. Using my notes from other musicians’ performances, I have a clearer idea of how I should play the piece, which allows me to target specific spots in my practice and spend less time trying to come up with my own musical ideas. Additionally, because I’ve listened to the piece so much, I’ve basically already memorized it. This strategy is immensely helpful if your memory still feels shaky and you have a performance or competition coming up soon. If you prime yourself by listening to the piece as much as possible, your practice will become much more efficient, and you’ll also be able to memorize the piece much faster. 

Additionally, don’t just listen to recordings of pieces you’re currently playing. Listen to as many classical music recordings as possible! You never know what you might learn in the future — there are so many amazing options in the classical music repertoire, and I encourage you to listen to as many as possible! Even if the last time you listened to a recording of a piece was years ago, the memory of listening to the piece will still prime you when you actually learn to play it on your instrument. 

Don’t just dive into learning a piece right away — try to build a habit of priming yourself before you learn any piece. The more you know beforehand, the faster you can learn now!

Citations

1. Queensland Brain Institute. (2016b, December 2). How are memories formed? The University of Queensland. https://qbi.uq.edu.au/memory/how-are-memories-formed

2. Queensland Brain Institute. (2016c, December 2). Where are memories stored in the brain? The University of Queensland. https://qbi.uq.edu.au/memory/where-are-memories-stored

3. Nestor, P. J. (2004). DISORDERS OF MEMORY. Neurology and Clinical Neuroscience, 43–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-03354-1.50008-0

4. Tartaglia, E. M., Mongillo, G., & Brunel, N. (2015). On the relationship between persistent delay activity, repetition enhancement and priming. Frontiers in Psychology, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01590

5. Pavlov’s Dogs Experiment & Pavlovian Conditioning Response. (2024, February 2). Retrieved February 24, 2026, from Simply Psychology website: https://www.simplypsychology.org/pavlov.html