“Memorization” is in quotes because the goal of studying is not to memorize a piece of music like you memorize a sequence of random numbers…
The real goal is to understand a piece intimately… by tapping into all aspects of the music: sight, sound, thought, action, and emotion… thus absorbing its patterns and essence into your eyes, ears, brain, muscles, heart, and soul.
I struggled greatly with “memorization”… until I realized that my problem was not “memorization” at all. The problem was that I never truly learned the piece in the first place. And I didn’t truly learn it because I never truly studied it. This is true for all of us with “memory” problems.
The cure for a “memory problem” is not to practice “memorizing”, but to study-practice more effectively. In other words, if you want to remember something… make it memorable!