It’s funny how things on the Internet meld into each other.
I was talking on Facebook with Fabeku Fatunmise about the late Etta James, which led to a search of the soundtrack for Rain Man (in which she performs “At Last”). This led me to read about the late Kim Peek. That connected me to savants. Then I read about the Suzuki Method.
I was taught violin, using the Suzuki Method, from ages 5-10. Now, I am in no way a savant, but I do think that the Suzuki Method was a really cool way for me to learn violin as a kid. I don’t know whether it contributed to my ability to memorize music, but memorization is a key component of the method. I still memorize music these days when I play the piano, but unlike savants, in most instances, I read it first and then memorize it so that eventually I don’t need the music in order to play a piece. Repeated exposure to songs helps cement it in my brain.
I still have bits and pieces of music in my head that I learned on the violin.
