ReedSqueal
362 posts
Feb 11, 2013
4:04 PM
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Seems like a simple question, and a seemingly simple answer, but not to someone who has never considered it. I think I'd like to take my harp playing and overall musicianship to the next level. So I am looking for recommendations and personal experiences of how you went about learning to memorize and SING complete songs.
Also some recommendations as to which songs you learned and why you chose those particular songs. Say, your top 5.
I was compiling a list of songs that I think I want to start on, and "I'm Ready" (by Muddy) is at the top.
(Yes, I have seen Adams vid on singing, and a handful of other 'how to sing' videos, but wanted some other input on your experiences, especially from a harp players viewpoint.)
(And no, I have no aspirations of earning a living doing it. LOL. Just having [more] fun at blues jams)
Thanks.
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Go ahead and play the blues if it'll make you happy.
-Dan Castellaneta
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SuperBee
901 posts
Feb 11, 2013
5:06 PM
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I do it verse by verse, line by line.
Lyrics I guess I just start at the start. If I'm having trouble, I just learn the first line, that's easy right?
Then it's pretty easy to add the second line, then I've got a pair.
So that's pretty cool, those do things just became one thing, then I learn the next thing.
I just continue that process. It's kinda odd to think about but I think it is actually how the memory works. Learning one thing, then learning something else and putting the two things together so they become one.
Learning musical phrases is much the same process.
You can just programme yourself to remember phrases as easily as one note.
But yeah, with songs I can spend ages farting about getting nowhere until I settle on learning it in this way. I don't always start at the beginning but I notice that when I make the move to learn it from the start I make faster progress.
That seems so obvious I'm a bit embarrassed to post it but really, that's about what there is to it. Methodical repetition.
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Moon Cat
156 posts
Feb 11, 2013
5:40 PM
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I think writing and rewriting them out has helped me. Meow.
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LSC
366 posts
Feb 11, 2013
7:24 PM
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When you went school as a child and were expected to regurgitate words you read them from printed text. Your brain became programed. However, you are getting the lyrics, either from listening to the recording or finding them online, type out your own copy.
Many songs have a story or some progression in the lyrics. If you recognize the story of the song, which you should do anyway to sing with conviction, it helps in remembering what comes next.
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LSC
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GMaj7
182 posts
Feb 11, 2013
7:39 PM
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This is a great post and I hope it continues. I have a really hard time memorizing lyrics but have found the more I do it, the easier the next song becomes. Still hard, though.
I always laugh when I see great performers who know the lyrics to some 30 songs they do and yet still need a taped note on stage with a list of the order they play them...
Thx for a great topic!
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Greg Jones
16:23 Custom Harmonicas
greg@1623customharmonicas.com
1623customharmonicas.com
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BronzeWailer
880 posts
Feb 11, 2013
9:09 PM
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Hand copying is good. I also like memorizing a key word at the start of each verse or focusing on the first line. And if I get stuck, sing something else from another line. No one (usually) notices.
I had a French teacher, Mr Brian Michael Eric White, who always told us to "learn" our speeches, as opposed to "memorizing". If you memorize you can become irreedemably stuck. If you learn the gist of what you are supposed to say, you don't stumble as often and it comes out more naturally. I believe this can be (generally) applied to singing too.
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My YouTube
Last Edited by BronzeWailer on Feb 11, 2013 9:16 PM
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oldwailer
1947 posts
Feb 11, 2013
9:19 PM
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Age seems to have something to do with it--back in the day, when I used to play out as a regular profession, I knew the lyrics to almost 100 songs--no cheat sheets--just a list of the titles on the back of my guitar.
These days, I have to practice like crazy on a new song--just do it over and over until I can do it without thinking--then go through it a few more times to get it down while feeling it.
It's just as I suspected when I was a kid--old people really do get dumber--trouble is, young people ain't near as smart as they think either!
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Oldwailer's Web Site
"Too Pretty for the Blues."
Last Edited by oldwailer on Feb 11, 2013 9:20 PM
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nacoran
6491 posts
Feb 11, 2013
11:04 PM
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My Achilles Heel!
The tricks I've found useful is to look at the structure. Figure out what is chorus and what is verse, and what the pattern of chorus verse is. Then the order of the verses. Usually, once you get the first line of a verse you've got it. In a pinch, rhyme scheme is useful, but since that comes at the end of a line sometimes it doesn't help fast enough to get you started on the beat.
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Nate
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The Iceman
736 posts
Feb 12, 2013
5:47 AM
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One trick I learned a long time ago was to learn the song or a transcribed solo from the back to the front...in other words, start at the end one phrase at a time and work backwards towards the beginning.
This eliminated the phenomenon of getting the start of something memorized solid at the beginning and having it fall apart towards the end.
The logic behind it is that, when memorizing the traditional way, you keep repeating the "front end" of the material over and over as you work your way to the back, so this material is repeated more while the last of the material is touched on a lot less.
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The Iceman
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HTrain
88 posts
Feb 12, 2013
8:26 AM
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Lots of good tips here, many of which I use. I add practising in the car, singing with the song I have and each time I 'miss' a line, After I say the correct line to myself (at least 3x), I hit the rewind button to the beginning and start again. At least this way, there's no harp for other drivers (and you know who) to see.
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