General Music Chat

The situation i'm in is i need to learn 25 songs by spring. My approach is to listen to the song to the point of learning the melody of the song, Second start putting the chorus to memory them learn the verses by reading them last. I've listen to one song over and over again to learn it and i've listen to all the songs together. I haven't found a sure fire way to learn a new song. But if i'm playing the guitar on a song it seems to come to me faster. No i'm not playing on all songs.
Does this forum community have any suggestion of ways to learn a new song. Thanks Shawn

If you're learning covers, it isn't that hard. If you have a good vocabulary of chords, it's best. If not, you can go o/l to those tab & lyric sites. Listen to it a lot, and emulate what you hear until you feel confident enough to do it in your own style.

I think i have to like a song before i can learn it and i hope the 25 your trying to learn are some of your favorites.also 25 songs sounds a little ambitious to learn in a few weeks if not months if your a part timer like most of us. i tried to do 20 in 99 when i tried doing a country gig and it took about 4 months before i could play em all without screwing up too bad we learned the best thing to do was to make the song our own with a change here and there and not try to do em just like the artist. it shows off what you have and most people never notice

I would have to say what ever works for you just try not to stuck on that one hard lick in the beginning. I have always veiwed this like cramming for a test and taking a timed test, If you don't have the answer at first skip ahead and work on the next part.
The hardest thing for me has always been memorizing the song structure and lyrics if you sing try memorizing the first word of every verse.
The first thing I do is get organized, and memorize melodies have all your song recordings in the order you are going to learn them, this will save you a lot of time. I will make small notations in a chord book or note book which key the song is in, what the chord progressions are and then song structure; does the song start on the 1 chord if not which one, example; intro how many measures, 1st verse how many measures, first chorus ?, 2cd verse ?, 2cd chorus ?, solo ? bridge ? and so on. The one thing about writting everything down is that you don't want to get hooked on your notes but it helps in the begining.
Repetition is the only thing that will get these songs memorized and most of all don't overwhelm yourself learn the songs a few at a time and when working on the really hard ones take little bitty bites!

A lot of people struggle with this. All I can say is take the CD or whatever your music is on, and play it CONSTANTLY. Also set it on Shuffle, I've found that helps in some ways. Whether you're in your house, on the computer, or driving; have that CD on! Keep singing along with it and you'll have it all memorized in no time.

Errr... I found this one out from a drummer of all people:
For singing, learn it in blocks. Verse1, Verse2, etc. First off memorize the melody, which shouldnt be that hard considering it is usually one melody that repeats on verse sections, and one on chorus.
Anyways... to the point:
Use a key, like the first word or two words of a verse and associate all of the lyrics in that section with it.
Continue on that way for the other parts of the song.
Then if you have to, you can have little cards sitting nearby that read like:
- Well she was
- Well she looked
- Well my heart
- Whoa we

... assigned with the appropriate section if you need it. V1, V2, etc.

(Yes, im goofy)

The situation i'm in is i need to learn 25 songs by spring. My approach is to listen to the song to the point of learning the melody of the song, Second start putting the chorus to memory them learn the verses by reading them last. I've listen to one song over and over again to learn it and i've listen to all the songs together. I haven't found a sure fire way to learn a new song. But if i'm playing the guitar on a song it seems to come to me faster. No i'm not playing on all songs.
Does this forum community have any suggestion of ways to learn a new song. Thanks Shawn

I'm using a loop to learn songs right now. I have no idea what its' like trying to cram 25 songs, but I do know that having to reach over to the rewind button everytime you need to hear that part again is time consuming. Instead, I grab the first 2 measures, give or take, and then run the loop as I play along until I know the part well, then I move on to the next part. As you go, you can go back to the cd and play along up to where you're at and see how well you're able to attach the parts together to help keep the entire context in perspective.

Also, I remember from somewhere that learning is accelerated when you concentrate hard for 15 minutes on what you're doing, then take a short break doing something else, then go back and do it again for another 15 minutes. Something about the break and coming back to it reinforces it in your mind quicker.

My 2 cents.
ST

Yeah, your goal is to learn 4-5 songs a week. I'd cut that back a lil bit, cuz it is a bit of a stretch to expect that from yourself, esp if you're just starting out.

Hell, I've been at this for over 35 years, & I won't push the guys in the band to learn more than 3 new songs a week. I've done more than that, but there are always gonna be a cpl holes in your learning that'll come out if you aren't real lucky.

You're better off trading off with a band. In other words, the other guys hafta learn a few that you DO know, while you're working on the stuff that they know. Everyone gets better that way, & you won't be overwhelmed.

Anyway you do it, I wish ya the best of luck.

Listen to the songs over and over and over and over . . .
. . . until you're sick of hearing them.
Cause once you're sick of them - you know them.
If you just know how the song goes - that's 50% of it.
.
Practice is easier when you're positive about how it's supposed to sound, eh?
And then practice song after song for no more than 15 - 20 minutes each.
.
Why?
.
A good point was brought up about learning.
If you practice a song 3 times for 10 minutes, you will learn a lot faster than practicing that same song for 30 minutes.
Why?
Because, as you form a new memory, your brain leaves a residue of chemicals from one neuron to the next. But a solid connection takes time.
It takes time for the axon/synapse/dendrite connection to 'set,' so to speak. Kinda like glue hardening . . .
A physical pathway between brain cells conducts more readily than a chemical trace of loose molecules.
By the way - one good whack on the head before the connection is set - and it's gone.
Give it time to 'set.'
Not sure how long the optimum waiting period is, but I've had good luck with as short a period as 1 hour.
Once this 'wire' hardens between brain cells, it makes it easier to bring the engram (memory ) back.
Each time you use that same pathway, it grows slightly bigger in diameter, and conducts a bigger charge. In other words - it's easier to remember.
The bigger an electrical charge reaching the next neuron, the better your chances of it branching out with several more axons, looking for other brain cells to hook up with. And thus reenfore the new memory even further.
.
Another thing:
If you're in the process of learning, and you hit a mental block, it's best to switch to some other task for a period of time.
That's because you've used up your supply of neurotransmitters on the specific Axons/memories you're using.
In other words - the specific area of memory you are working with is literally exausted; depleted of the necessary chemicals.
.
At that time, that will be one of the hardest things for you to remember, and you'll find yourself easily distracted.
.
Here's the biology/brain chemistry behind it:
An electrical charge coming out of one brain cell's axon (output) does not connect directly to the dendrite (input) of the next brain cell.
Something has to cross they synapse (gap betweem axon and dendrite).
.
The synapse does NOT conduct electricity.
.
The signal travels out down the axon and hits the end, where the synapse is.
The electrical charge releases a bunch of stored up molecules there in the axon. These are called neurotransmitters.
These neurotransmitters flood the synapse. When they reach the input side of the dendrite a fraction of a second later, they cause the dendrite to release an electrical charge, which propogates up the dendrite to the next neuron.
The more of the neurotransmitters are released - the less there are.
Once the neurotransmitters are depleted - nothing can cross the gap.
The neurotransmitters must be replenished.
Or: you'll hit a mental block. And have a hard time remembering.
.
I believe the main constituent of the neurotransmitters is choline, - or was it acetycholine?
Anyway - this can be found in Vitamine 'B' supplements . . .
.
Geez - 2 glasses of wine, and I'm lecturing.
Sorry about that. Hope someone found it interesting, anyway . . .
- Professor RhythmMan

Holy Crap...You got it made... I had to learn about 30 tunes in 2 weeks... for a gig that was already set up by the band.... Only had 2 rehearsals with the band and the venue turned out awesome... made out pretty well that night also $$$ due to the curiousity seekers from my original fan base!

I'm fortunate the Lord blessed me with a good ear. I have often had to teach parts to other band members...guitar parts to the gutarist, drum parts to the drummer etc. Being a bassist helps I think. Most songs aren't that complicated...4 or 5 chords usually. If you can nail down the different chords within a song first, you've conquered most of the song right there. Take notes. The rest will come over time. Playing them live with the rest of your band accelerates the learnig curve tremendously. Don't worry about nuance at first. Everybody plays songs in their own style and the best way to find your own style is to not imitate the style of others. I once learned 50 songs over the course of one weekend, and then took that knowlege out on the road. I wasn't very proficient, but after a couple of weeks I was pretty tight. If it's learning lyrics that gives you problems, I can't really offer any advice. I don't know all the lyrics to 90% of the songs I play on a regular basis.

I can't add too much to what people have already said. A learning method I use is to practice something right before going to sleep at night. For some reason that works much better for me.

Speaking of sleep -
If you're like me, and you take a long time to fall asleep at night- you can practice songs in your mind, lying in bed.
And you will improve.
Visualize the guitar fretboard, and your finger positions.
Believe it or not - even without playing - you can improve your guitar playing skills.
But - caution - if you don't 'see' your fingers in the exact locations they belong - this can work against you.
You must visualize yourself playing the song perfectly.
It does work.
The Russions started using this sleep-practice method a few decades ago, for the olympics.
Several experiments in this county verified the veracity of this . . .
Apparently your subconscious mind doesn't care if you practive mentally or physically - it just takes it all in and files it away . . .

Hello from England,
It is easy for me as I only have to learn my own songs... to me playing covers now feels like going hunting for deer in a valley where you know no deer ever come... like a waste of time! I mean that for me at 52, the years ahead are considerably fewer than the years behind, and there isn't enough time left to do anything other than get on and speak or sing my own words!

Having said that, I do find it quite a chore learning my own words... I do this thing where I change my mind about the order of things... and in a verse or line I see a better way to say it, or just a single word change... on my next run through as I get to this verse, I can feel two versions looming up in front of me and my false teeth start to jabber a bit!

I have to see a picture of each verse in my mind... with a little mental recording of the action that goes through it; so if you can at least be muttering about the right thing at the right time; and not be singing the verse: " I guess you what's on my mind, I'm gonna go and bollocks to you this time!" When two verses back you sang: "I've gone to Spain you cheating wife, I'll see you in another life!"
Or that kind of thing!

That would be it for me then: get a mental layout of the action or geography of the song, but if it hasn't got a definable layout it is clearly a crap song about nothing; in which case don't sing it in the first place!
Mark D Phillips..................

I recently had to learn covers and originals, 30 for one band in about 1 month, and another 10 for my other band the same month.

It was really taking the time to go over and over them, one at a time, and keep coming back to each individual song day after day- It was especially hard because many songs I had to transcribe from piano and write lead guitar parts for them. I did have some tab and sheet music to work with, so it wasn't learning everything by ear - And that's the key, using tabs (and most of them are not very accurate) to get your bearings and figure out a few notes here and there is fine, even necessary at times.

In the end, all the hard work paid off, we did the show (the 30 songs) and pulled it off with very few hitches, none fatal.

There is no secret to make things easy, you really just have to work you ass off.