Puzzles, Sudokus, Crosswords, Memorizing … Huh?

By Richard Oakden

NOTE: This article was written prior to the onslaught of the conronavirus pandemic. If social distancing and staying home are still in effect, memorization may be a welcome, new and useful personal activity during times of isolation.

My first attempt at training my memory was provided by Akela, our Wolf Cub pack leader, who showed us Kim’s Game, a display of fifteen or so small items sitting on a tray under a towel. He removed the towel and we Cubs had thirty seconds to silently study the items. They were then covered, and we were to write down all the items we could remember. Quite a challenge for young boys! Next came Mother’s advice for how to learn my French vocabulary words: use a piece of brown paper bag and write out the words until you knew them. That was all the direct instruction on memory training that I can remember ever receiving – none in high school, none in university, and none on the job.

Recently, while reading Anthony Glise’s* text, Classical Guitar Pedagogy: A Handbook for Teachers, I was stunned to discover straightforward and useful directions for how to memorize! Just what I needed to fight the dreaded late-in-life onslaught of memory loss! At least, that was my first thought. After trying the techniques, and expanding them a little, I realized that memorization could be a challenging, enjoyable and rewarding activity, and one especially useful for seniors! It is low-to-no cost, doable anywhere and anytime, and requires no special coaching, clothing or equipment – great for all budgets and activity levels. Couch potatoes can excel at this! So, if you have tried puzzle books, Sudokus, or crosswords, read on and consider another way to exercise and retain the powers of your brain!

Preliminary steps, include: • Determine a set time each day (if possible) for this new, cerebral activity: same time and place is best. Keep your material there, too. • Find a copy or two of a short first item you want to memorize. You can use a photocopy, your cellphone, iPad, tablet or laptop to store your copy. Or, go oldschool and use a book or a hand-written copy. • Keep one copy at your usual place for memorization and use the other wherever and whenever you like. Examples: A limerick. Your

SIN number. Your bank card number. A Psalm. A prayer. A poem or song. • Begin with a small goal. Start with just one long number or a short verse or stanza.

Use the following “overlapping strategy” to memorize your piece: it is simple and direct. 1. Repeat the first section or line from your piece, out loud to yourself, seven times or more until you feel you have ‘got it’. If it is a long first line or number, divide it into sections. 2. Repeat the next section or line, out loud to yourself, seven times or more, until you ‘get it’. 3. Now put the two together - repeat both parts, sections or lines, out loud, seven times or more.

4. Select the next section or line and repeat aloud seven times or more, as before. Then, add another section or line. 5. Repeat this ‘overlapping’ process until you have completed the entire number, verse or stanza. 6. Say aloud the complete number, verse or stanza.

Repeat, yes, seven times. 7. If you are working on a longer poem or song, do not go back to the beginning for each repetition. Work at the current verse or the last two or three, depending on what you feel you need. 8. Continue adding lines, verses etc. until you have finished your piece.

It is important to mentally rehearse when away from your printed copy. For example, try to recall and repeat the passage when you have muted the TV during a commercial, or when doing the dishes, or when out for a walk, sitting somewhere waiting, or when counting sheep doesn’t work. If you become ‘stuck’ on a word or section, check that later in the printed copy.

Study tips to consider. • Note your own capacity and take it easy. Are you comfortable memorizing two, four, six or more lines per day? • Look carefully for meaning, alliteration, cadence and phrasing: these become ‘triggers’ to help with recall. • Break down difficult passages to shorter phrases and work on them separately. • There won’t be a test on this next week! Take your time, feel confident before adding new lines or verses. Appreciate your successes! • Repetition is your friend when memorizing. The more times you test your recall, the more accurate you will become. And, yes, repeating sections at least seven times is your goal. • Repeating aloud quietly increases your ability to recall. You can also just ‘think it through’ with equal benefits. • As you practice, use your ‘mind’s eye’ to try to visualize key words and lines from your target pieces. • Consider sharing your memory task with a spouse, partner or friend. Then you may also enjoy helping each other to memorize – it isn’t a contest, just a shared, enjoyable challenge.

As we age, some of us become more reflective and appreciative of the nuances of written expression. That type of appreciation is part of the personal pleasure you may obtain from memorizing a passage that has importance to you or that you simply enjoy. Plus, you will really feel like you have accomplished something! So, what comes next: “The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed …” 

*Glise, A. (1997). Classical Guitar Pedagogy: A Handbook for Teachers. St. Joseph, Montana: Mel Bay Publications, pp 90.