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I think there's a name for this, but I'm tired and will rely on Cunningham's whatever.
You should've made a flash card and read it out loud after highlighting it
I work in kitchens, and so I have to learn new techniques every so often. One thing that I've found that works REALLY well for me is to have an imaginary student that I'm teaching as I'm learning it myself. It forces me to repeat the things I've learned, but also put them in my own words. I can catch on to techniques much more quickly when I'm doing that.
I’ve mentored people before, and I learned more during that process than during any conferences or seminars.
For years, I bounce things off my cat. She’s learned a lot.
I do this too, not even intentionally, but when something finally clicks I find myself explaining it to myself in my head, in my own words
That last paragraph makes this post seem kind of hypocritical doesn't it? Lol
Maybe? Sorry, I undid my edit, and I probably shouldn’t have. After rereading it, I didn’t think it added anything – are you referring to the personal anecdote from that temp edit, or my original comment?
No need to apologize, I'm only teasing 😛 This is the part I was referring to: "I think there’s a name for this, but I’m tired and will rely on Cunningham’s whatever."
I just thought it was kind of funny you were saying to put more effort into doing things, so to speak, but abruptly ended your post because you were tired.
Oh shit, I also whooshed.
Don't just read the paper, smell & lick it too :)))
But in all seriousness, I'll give it a try. It makes sense to activate more of your brain.
You could chew different flavored sweets too
What if we used 100% of the brain?
Scarlett Johansson did that once and all that happens is you become a USB hard drive.
But when you become a living USB stick, you get to talk to dolphins.
If only we used 100% of our hearts
I'm seeing this post a bit late, but I feel like I have to weigh in slightly, though it's not my research area.
Note that my information extends more to academic studying, don't know if it's quite as true for learning more physical skills.
The main concept for learning is deeper learning. Which basically just means actually using your brain to think about the material. Things like connecting it to other ideas, pondering different implications, that sort of thing.
The reason flashcards work is because you think about what questions you could ask about the material. The reason you write by hand vs type is because it's slower and you have to think about what's more important or how you'd summarise the information.
I believe reading aloud typically works because it forces you to be slower and more deliberate, giving you time to actually process what you're reading.
That said what you've written is helpful and mostly correct, I'm just not so certain about the framing. It could mislead some people into just rewriting notes while reading them out, for example, which is inefficient and not very helpful for learning.
A very easy-to-read source with practical tips:
- Optimizing Learning in College by Putnam et al. (2016) (Look it up on Google scholar for a free pdf)
Also as a final tip, my favourite exam prep technique: do a past paper without having looked at any notes or done any prep. Answer as much as you can just thinking about what you remember. Then go through with notes. It primes your brain for processing and storing the information.
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Sources?
Kinda my own arse?
I raised a full-blown adult, and this is how we did things. He did very well, and played a lot of video games.
I don’t know, but this feels like something so obvious I’d think studies likely show this. If not, I’ll retract. But I’ve seen it work a lot in a bunch of different environments. That’s why I think there should be a name for this. It’s practically a given, but a lot of people don’t seem to know. So YSK.
Kinda my own arse?
Correct.
this feels like something so obvious I’d think studies likely show this
Surprisingly unscientific attitude from a scifi author.
I never claimed anything else. Also, the fi in my scifi is there on purpose. :)
I raised a full-blown adult
You don't look old enough!
I do this for certification exams. Some of the ones I take are open book tests, so I create an index as I read along with the books. By the time I’m done, I basically compiled multiple books into a <30 page document and at the same time internalized what I’ve read. By the time I take the exam, I barely need to open any of the books and just use my index as reference.
Yeah, that’s a good strategy.
Back in the day, open book was really rare, so being able to do closed book exams was crucial.
Your method means it doesn’t matter if it’s closed or open, and you can go above and beyond easily with open book. That’s really cool and what I’d want, too.
No no, disengage entirely. Let chat bots do everything for you. Don't do research, don't try to understand, just copy and paste. /s obviously.
Yup. I horrible memory, but when I do something that engages more senses when i need to remember something, it's more likely to stick.
I sometimes let AI create Turkish flashcards for me... and I just manually retype them for this reason, lol.
And I know AI can sometimes make mistakes, but from my experience, it's not a big deal in language learning, because eventually you will notice it, and who doesn't make mistakes when learning a language anyway?
If you’re assigned something to read, read it aloud to yourself.
This will make me not remember it all when I would have remembered everything just reading
Then read it more than once: in your head, then aloud. That’s still worth doing, because it still engages vision, speech, hearing, etc, even if you must read through silently before this to grok it.
I’d still do this anyhow.
People have different learning characteristics and there isn't a best way that works for everybody. I Happen to be of the type where straight up reading is the best way by far. Anything lecture style takes a ton of extra effort for me to remember anything, and reading out loud or taking notes doesn't do anything for me but complicate my information absorption.
Same here!
The reading out loud tip does worse than nothing for me. On multiple occasions, I've read something out loud to someone else and then had absolutely no idea what I just said. I focus so much on vocalizing the words that I'm diverting power away from the part of my brain that would be processing the meaning of them.
Similar thing for listening to the words without any visual aids - I'm just really not a verbally orientated person at all and do much better when reading/writing the information.
That’s true. This is a slightly broader method, though.
You still start with your ideal method (read it first), then study by augmenting by adding as many senses as possible: read it out loud to yourself, make flash cards for key definitions/concepts, draw concept, etc.
For people who learn best a certain way, this is meant to supplement, not replace.
One of my best highschool teachers taught us this ~25 years ago, basing it on some research his academic wife had done.
The way i heard it was everyone remembers better if they see, hear and speak the information. The whole "i'm a visual learner" thing has no evidence behind it.
Everyone remembers more the more senses they engage.
Yes exactly. I did this with my son when he was young (90s).
This is why I think there’s a name for this – it seems obvious enough for sociologists and psychologists to have looked into it.
How do I do this when learning piano?
Play the piano. Don't just read the music. If youre already playing and reading music, sing. If you're already singing, squeeze your buttocks in time to the music.
Clap some cheeks to the music. Got it
Read sheet music while playing (every time, even if you've memorized it), sing or hum the melody aloud, tap the rhythm out with your non-sostenuto foot.
I’ve played piano for a very long time, and that is complete nonsense.
Elaborate?
i dont know if this is what they intended to say, but ive found that when I exclusively practice with sheet music then look away, I'll completely blank. my brain relies on the constant reminder of what comes next. this might be okay if you plan on playing in an orchestra where you'll always have your sheet music or chart available (which even then.... what happens if theres an issue with a page turn? or the ipad doesn't work?). it DOES NOT work whatsoever if you plan on playing music in any other setting where you won't be able to stare at your music. its as if recalling the music and thinking deeply about it and its structure is an entirely unique sense you develop, and ive found that its mutually exclusive with keeping your eyes on the page.
also, keeping your eyes on the page makes it much harder to improvise, if thats your goal. when youre playing something and it deviates from what's on the page it can be very very disorienting. i might add to this comment as I dwell on it, this is something i care a lot about
i play keys, vocals, upright bass, bass guitar, viola, and guitar for context. played in the context of organized orchestras to bedroom bands to solo performances
Hey that's a great perspective, thanks for sharing. Do you ever regret your reliance on keeping your eyes on the sheet, or wish you could improvise better for example? At what point in your learning did this become an issue for you or people you know?
We're probably approaching this from very different skill perspectives. I think your concerns, though clearly valid, only apply beyond a certain level of mastery. The question I was originally replying to was asking for ways to engage other senses while learning piano, so I assumed perhaps incorrectly that they are not past that point yet. I am a terrible piano player, but I tutor intro to music/piano, so I was giving the tips I use on my tutees. If you still struggle to read music, then I firmly hold that you should always read it while playing, but I will defer to others on tips for people beyond grasping the basics.
agreed, when people are FIRST learning to read sheet music it can be helpful to keep your eyes on the page and learn to associate certain notes on the page with certain finger/hand positions. yes, I regret my reliance on sheet music earlier because now my ear is waaayy behind. i kind of see it like understanding a piece of writing. if someone asks you what the article is about and you have to reference the article directly to answer it then I wouldn't consider that to be truly understanding the article. same with music, if you get asked to play something and you have to read straight off the page then I don't think you "know" the music. you just know how to play it. for some, thats all they need.
if someone is really just looking to be given music and made to play it according to the page then learning to read and play will be all they need. if they want to reach that next level though, like writing music, improvising, playing in a band, playing without your music, being a more dynamic performer, etc. they should learn to know the music.
i appreciate you pointing out the thing about mastery. i dont know that its that I'm "more experienced" though. i think we just have different goals and different instructors. my instructors were always people who were in their 20s who had experience in rock and jazz. i suppose I'm just highlighting the limitations between classical training and being trained with rock and jazz in mind. my goal (and I'd assume the goals of most of your students, if I'm right to assume theyre on the younger end) has always been to be an independent jack of all trades who is capable of writing, performing with other people in an informal environment, and improvising. i think the style of learning ive been describing can be more conducive to that. i would ALSO ALSO argue that it is more difficult and "risky" to teach in that way. you need a deep, practiced understanding of music theory, of your instrument, of the students life and willingness to learn, etc. its far more resource intensive.
ive been writing about this far too long lol I'm gonna cut it off here. i appreciate your perspective, ive admittedly never had a career of teaching people about music, but I have definitely explained things casually to friends and other musicians. i think it would help me to pick up that experience by tutoring on the side at some point.
Completely unrelated answer, but my way of reading better is writing and drawing on the score, specially the parts that are harder to remember or play.
I see many people reading scores from tablets and that won't work for me.
Slightly related to the topic, do an improv or make up harmony for what you're playing. Because that's stimulating your creative brain, which doesn't get a big work out if you're just playing what's written. Btw in baroque times it was standard to play harpsichord and have a proper time for improv/solo. Classical and romantic music killed that trend.
More related to the topic, shake/headbang or the closest thing to moving/dancing you can do while playing. It's going to be challenging next time you play flight of the bumblebee.
Very similar to what my middle school geography teacher told us. It takes consuming knowledge 7 different ways to really cement it into memory.
Great advice. I would suggest as you're reading through whatever material you're trying to understand, there are parts that you don't quite "get it". Try to formulate answerable, isolated questions that would help you "get it" or solidify your understanding and try to answer them by re-reading, finding the relevant parts or doing a bit independent research. In general, creating questions to strengthen your understanding is a great way to make learning more like a game and it prevents your mind from feeling frustrated as it wants to understand everything all at once. You just need to answer that one question and for the most part your brain will handle the rest when it comes down to the bigger picture.
Obviously, you need to strike a balance here.
I've always done this. And I've always aced tests, so, highly recommend.
When did "edit: " become "estimated time of arrival: " ?
ive found this actually just exhausts me to the point that I don't end up learning anything and just become a tad upset. i respond far better to brute repetition with minimal other busy work, like pre-made flash cards or studying with someone else. I also like rereading articles/study materials until I can imperfectly recite them comfortably :)
i know this wasn't necessarily an invitation to anecdotes but i just wanted to make it known that this is NOT universal
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this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2026
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