Guitar Practice: Intentional Memorization, Performance Cues, and Metacognition

Why effective memorization requires more than repetition—and how to practice with intention.

Memorizing music on the classical guitar doesn’t happen by magic—or by just playing something over and over. It’s a process, and a highly strategic one at that. While much of the available research focuses on pianists, singers, or “instrumentalists” in general, the core insights into how musicians memorize—and how they should memorize—certainly apply to guitarists as well.

Music-making, especially in classical performance, is a complex and highly structured activity. It draws on a range of cognitive, emotional, motivational, and strategic skills (Concina, 2019). Memorizing music plays a central role in this process. It helps performers feel in control, frees them from relying on the written score, and offers an important buffer against stage fright and other emotional challenges (Vieira, 2021). And the real key to successful memorization isn’t just the number of hours spent in the practice room, but how thoughtfully that time is used (Concina, 2019).

A lot of students (almost all from my experience) rely heavily on rote memorization—playing a piece from beginning to end over and over again. It can feel productive, especially when it starts to sound better quickly. But this “holistic approach” often creates a false sense of security, what researchers call an “illusion of competence”. If something goes wrong during performance, a player using this method may have no way to recover except by starting from the beginning (Vieira, 2021). Fortunately, there are better ways to build a more reliable and flexible memory.

One of those ways is breaking the piece into smaller chunks (psychologists actually call it chunking). Working in segments and gradually linking them together as they become more comfortable allows students to focus on specific technical or musical challenges without being overwhelmed by the whole (Vieira, 2021). Another helpful method is mental practice—imagining the sound and feel of the music without physically playing. This kind of practice activates the brain’s visual, auditory, and kinesthetic systems, and when paired with actual playing, it can significantly strengthen memory and understanding (Lim, 1991).

Many musicians also benefit from creating a map of the piece, writing down the structure, harmonic flow, expressive markings, or anything else that feels musically relevant. Mapping helps build mental landmarks, giving players reference points they can return to if their memory slips during performance (Vieira, 2021).

Among the most effective and secure memorization methods is the use of performance cues. These are thoughts or mental reminders that musicians associate with specific moments in the music. Rather than relying on a strict, start-to-finish memory, performance cues allow the performer to access any part of the piece directly, like clicking a mental bookmark (Vieira, 2021). They also offer a way to recover quickly from mistakes, since they help you “jump in” wherever you need to, without relying on a linear chain of memory (Lisboa, 2015).

Performance cues typically fall into three categories. Basic cues are technical markers—things like fingerings, hand positions, chord shapes, or shifts. These are often the first kind of cues a guitarist develops, especially when working through the mechanics of a piece. Then there are interpretive cues, which relate to musical decisions such as phrasing, dynamics, or tone color—how the music is shaped and expressed. Finally, expressive cues focus on emotional intent or feeling. These might involve conveying a mood, bringing out a resolution, or emphasizing a moment of tension (Vieira, 2021).

The key is that these cues aren’t just stumbled upon—they’re formed consciously during practice. A student might start by focusing on fingerings or difficult shifts, but over time, their attention can evolve toward how they want to shape a phrase or express an idea. This development of performance cues helps deepen their understanding of the music and creates a more durable, flexible memory of the piece (Lisboa, 2015). Studies show that musicians who use performance cues can often return to pieces after months of no practice and still play them well, which speaks to their long-term effectiveness (Lisboa, 2015 and Vieira, 2021).

All of this ties into a bigger picture: metacognition. Metacognition is thinking about your thinking. In music learning, it means being aware of how you learn, making plans, monitoring progress, adjusting your approach when needed, and reflecting on what works and what doesn’t. This process of self-regulation—setting goals, tracking your own learning, managing time—is what allows musicians to improve in a more efficient and focused way (Concina, 2019).

Experienced performers tend to be especially good at this. They know how to choose the right strategies, estimate how difficult a task is, adjust their approach, and use their practice time wisely (Concina, 2019). But for students, especially beginners, these skills may not come naturally. Many don’t even realize that thinking about how they’re practicing is a skill in itself. As a result, they may rely on methods that feel familiar but are ultimately inefficient (Concina, 2019 and Vieira, 2021). The encouraging part is that metacognitive skills can be taught, and when students develop them, they become more confident and independent learners.

This has big implications for how we teach. Teachers have a critical role in helping students build metacognitive awareness. That includes talking about what metacognition is, showing students how to plan and evaluate their own learning, and helping them experiment with different strategies to find what works best. Watching how students practice can reveal a lot. Are they organizing their time? Are they aware of what they're working on and why? Tools like practice logs or reflection sheets can be surprisingly effective in helping students stay on track (Concina, 2019).

It also helps when teachers model these skills themselves. By sharing their thought process—why they chose a particular fingering, or how they shape a phrase—teachers show students how to be strategic and reflective in their own work (Concina, 2019). This kind of teaching turns the lesson into more than just technique instruction—it becomes a process of developing the student’s overall musicianship and learning skills.

There’s also something to be said for how the teaching itself is structured. In more traditional, teacher-directed approaches, the teacher sets goals, gives instructions, and provides the tools. This works well when students are learning new concepts or need a clear path forward. In contrast, student-directed learning puts more responsibility on the student, encouraging them to take initiative, ask questions, and make their own decisions with the teacher acting as a guide (Vieira, 2021).

Interestingly, research shows that both of these approaches can help students improve memorization when performance cues are involved, and neither one stands out as dramatically better on its own. That suggests a flexible approach is probably best, giving students more direction when they need it and stepping back as they grow more independent (Vieira, 2021).

Even though most of these findings come from studies on pianists, vocalists, or “instrumentalists” in general, they are entirely relevant to classical guitarists. In fact, one study on piano students—many of whom played another instrument as their primary focus—showed that performance cue strategies helped them understand music in a more layered, meaningful way. Many of them reported that they could apply what they learned to their main instrument, reinforcing the idea that these strategies are transferable (Hallam, 1997).

So, the next time you’re working on a new piece, try looking at it through this lens. Don’t just play it over and over. Ask yourself: What do I notice here? What kind of cue could I plant in this phrase? How might I shape this passage? By thinking about how you’re thinking, you’ll start building a more secure, expressive, and confident musical memory—and that kind of memorization stays with you long after the performance is over.

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Sources:

Eleonora Concina, “The Role of Metacognitive Skills in Music Learning and Performing: Theoretical Features and Educational Implications,” Frontiers in Psychology (2019) 10.

Susan Hallam, “The development of memorisation strategies in musicians: implications for education,” British Journal of Music Education (1997) 14, 87-97.

Serene Lim, and Louis G. Lippman, “Mental Practice and Memorization of Piano Music,” The Journal of General Psychology (1991) 118:1, 21-30.

Tania Lisboa, Roger Chaffin, Alexander P. Demos, “Recording thoughts while memorizing music: a case study,” Frontiers in Psychology (2015) 5.

Brooke N. Macnamara, David Z. Hambrick, and Frederick L. Oswald, “Deliberate Practice and Performance in Music, Games, Sports, Education, and Professions: A Meta-Analysis,” Psychological Science (2014).

Maria Eduarda Lucena Vieira, “Using Performance Cues as a Memorization Strategy with Group Piano Students by Implementing Teacher and Student-Directed Piano Students by Implementing Teacher and Student-Directed Learning Approaches,” (PhD. diss., Louisiana State University, 2021).