charic Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 I'm currently playing in a metal band and as usual my biggest problem is trying to remember the songs. I can play the majority just fine now but I still feel like a bit of an idiot having the score printed out infront of me. I need to get away from the sheets. Tips please Quote
steve-soar Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Get the songs into a set and play it over and over again. Then rearrange the songs and see how you go. Practice makes better. Quote
lettsguitars Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 practice. learn the lyrics too. when i try and remember lyrics, writing them down once will do the trick. maybe sit down and write the tabs out. i don't normally struggle with guitar and bass apart from solos which i tend to forget even exist until i notice everyone giving me the daggers. Quote
charic Posted January 31, 2011 Author Posted January 31, 2011 Not a bad idea about trying to write them out again. That may work... The songs don't have a finalised set of lyrics yet so that wont work The problem I have is Im originally a keyboard player (yeah i know) and trained to sight read. So I'm used to doing that. Ill try rearranging the songs. Unfortunately for me theyre quite complex but that comes with the territory or proggish metal I guess... Quote
wateroftyne Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Burn the sheets. You'll remember the parts quick enough. I'm only half-joking. Quote
charic Posted January 31, 2011 Author Posted January 31, 2011 I keep trying to put them away but I just draw blanks at really annoying moments. Occassionally its made me come up with a part I like though Quote
Clarky Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Its a good question and one I struggle with as I have a very poor memory for a song from one or two plays. I found the Tascam Bass Trainer really good for learning, when the songs were already recorded as demos (as was the case in my punk and - prior to that - metal bands). Otherwise perhaps try recording a practice and playing bass along to a playback? I also have to write out the riffs and the structure (A, B, A, C, A, B etc) on a bit of paper for them to sink in. It does click after repetition though I have always found. Quote
Hot Tub Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 I tend to remember patterns, rather than whole songs. When I've got the first pattern going, it's (usually) fairly obvious where the next pattern is going to be... Dunno if that makes any sense at all, but I hope it might be helpful in some small way. Quote
niceguyhomer Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 I have to play songs at least 20 times for it to sink in. When I can play it 6 times on the trot with no mistakes, then it's there forever. Quote
KK Jale Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 I sympathise. I've recently learned 30 songs for a new band, and it's the first time I've broken the habit. Actually, I do have a tiny cheat-sheet... but all it's got are the song titles, the keys and a sign for whether it's me straight in on the intro or not, just in case of total mental breakdown. But I haven't glanced at it the last three times. Back in the day I used to have a piece of A4 paper crammed with hieroglyphics for each tune... v ch v ch solo on 1 break v3 2xch and so on. Trouble is, it's addictive. And unnecessary. Human beings are amazingly good at remembering music... if you trust yourself. Simplify the sheets drastically. Do two gigs, then chuck them. You'll be fine. Quote
Gust0o Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Yeah, I remember patterns too and build muscle memory around them. I'd recommend recording your songs - which should be reasonable easy, given the prevalence of smart phones. Then just structure your practice around a combination of play along to the the drums and guitar of the track and working on your notes. Works fine for me. I then know what I should be doing; and what the band will be doing around me. Quote
slobluesine Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 [quote name='lettsguitars' post='1109939' date='Jan 31 2011, 07:45 PM']practice. learn the lyrics too. when i try and remember lyrics, writing them down once will do the trick. maybe sit down and write the tabs out. i don't normally struggle with guitar and bass apart from solos which i tend to forget even exist until i notice everyone giving me the daggers.[/quote] +1, learning the lyrics is a real help Quote
Pete Academy Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 If i have to learn a song I play it a few times to get it into my head. I then usually learn the root chord changes, then add the fills. If there are a lot of chords, I learn everything by patterns on the fretboard. For instance, in our set we do Deacon Blues, which has a lot of changes. I couldn't tell you the chords, as I just learn the bass part as linear patterns. Does this make sense? Works for me. Quote
Doddy Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 With one of my regular bands my first few gigs were reading the charts as I was only depping and the drummer/MD had written out pretty much everything. As it got a more regular I did a couple with my stand just out of view so that I could have a quick glance at any hairy moments,and then on one gig I just never set my stand up,and haven't used the charts since-unless a new number is being added,in which case everyone will be reading it anyway,because we don't rehearse. Quote
JTUK Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Do whatever you have to do... I listen to the song... and recognise the intervals and then it is buskable....prorbably something like 80 plus % of a standard set is ... I make notes where I have to, otherwise. If you do gigs blind, you get pretty good at picking out what needs to be played...as you need to pick up the drums as well within a bar or so of the start. For something new, I'd had a chart with some changes on it... Quote
xgsjx Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 (edited) Break the song into 8, 16 &/or 32 bar chunks & learn each part as chord sequences & then name them in your head (could be as simple as verse 1, chorus etc). sometimes works for me. Other thing is to write some lyrics & sing along. I don't know all the lyrics to all our songs, but there's key phrases that I take a mental note of for certain parts. Oh, a couple of A4s with some notes on the floor can be useful & no one off stage will see them. Edited January 31, 2011 by xgsjx Quote
Jam Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Do you enjoy the songs? I think that's the key. I've found writing out music holds me back and stops me taking it in... Quote
niceguyhomer Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 [quote name='Pete Academy' post='1110043' date='Jan 31 2011, 08:28 PM']If i have to learn a song I play it a few times to get it into my head. I then usually learn the root chord changes, then add the fills. If there are a lot of chords, I learn everything by patterns on the fretboard. For instance, in our set we do Deacon Blues, which has a lot of changes. I couldn't tell you the chords, as I just learn the bass part as linear patterns. Does this make sense? Works for me.[/quote] I take my hat off to you Pete - learning Steely Dan stuff can be tricky. I'm currently working my way through all the tracks on Aja learning them note for note instead of fudging it like I usually do and it's not easy for me anyway. Quote
bigjohn Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 [quote name='KK Jale' post='1110015' date='Jan 31 2011, 08:17 PM']Actually, I do have a tiny cheat-sheet... but all it's got are the song titles, the keys and a sign for whether it's me straight in on the intro or not, just in case of total mental breakdown. But I haven't glanced at it the last three times.[/quote] I do this. I write on the set list. The key, the first note and when to come in. On songs when in first, I give it a different name that reminds me how the first bar goes, perhaps a sentence with the right meter. Quote
JTUK Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 [quote name='Jam' post='1110330' date='Jan 31 2011, 10:41 PM']Do you enjoy the songs? I think that's the key. I've found writing out music holds me back and stops me taking it in...[/quote] Or it could be all the effort that that song deserves.. a few quick notes...!! I doubt everyone is so keen on every song they have to play. Quote
AttitudeCastle Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Try playing in my 'prog' metal band! (I call it wierdness instrumental noisey metal and its 'my' band haha!) last gig we played opening for a biggher band we played a 40 minute set, which was 3 songs I find repetition of playing and really knowing how the part fits with the other instruments helps. Quote
Cat Burrito Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Depending on well or badly I know songs I've written keys on set lists or written the harder to remember bits on blank postcards I have onstage. I've been with my current band for a while now and although I take the postcards along to gigs they haven't left my bag since October. Quote
charic Posted February 1, 2011 Author Posted February 1, 2011 Thanks for all the great ideas so far guys. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with the problem . I'll try some of these out tomorrow and up going to up the practice regime which has honestly been lacking for the past year or so. Also yes I definately love the music, infact I quite happily listen to it on the way to work. For some examples check out the guitarist site www.soundcloud.co.uk/deeteetwo (i think ) s42b, sands and the divine misanthropy are the tracks were currently using which are on there Quote
paul_5 Posted February 1, 2011 Posted February 1, 2011 Definately learn the lyrics - I find that words serve as 'cues' for 'that bit that comes next' better than counting bars (unless you're playing from a score)... Quote
icastle Posted February 1, 2011 Posted February 1, 2011 A band I play with used to use songsheets for everything until I joined. I was given a folder with all of the songs in it, I took it away, familiarised myself with it and then dumped it - to my mind it looks really cr*p on stage using music stands. At most, I'll have a set list with the key of the song scrawled at the end of it. The way the rest of the guys learned how to do it was harsh but worked - they got rid of their books as well. Nothing focuses you more than having a crutch AND a safety net removed at the same time... Quote
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