Any tips on how to remember your songs.

[Doddy]

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1353945755' post='1880059']

But the OP was asking for ideas on how to aid memorising music, not the 'reading or not' debate. You play an awful lot, so must be a pretty efficient learner when you need to with ways of streamlining that process, no?
[/quote]

It wasn't a 'reading or not' answer. The OP said he has to have notes to help him remember the material-I just said that
after playing from a chart once or twice I just go without it,that way you either have to remember it or you get it wrong.
If I've got to learn tunes for a gig,then I can usually remember it after playing it a couple of times.If there is a lot to learn
I'll jot bits down on manuscript,but again I can usually remember them after a couple of play throughs.

[BassBus]

And he's not the only one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Sy_YebyGnc

[Highfox]

[quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1353955031' post='1880247']
And he's not the only one.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Sy_YebyGnc[/media]
[/quote]

Lol. That's just what I need, I'll put it on the Crimbo list.

[rOB]

For me its a combination of 3 things.

1) practice until its second nature.

2) learn the lyrics. To be fair I sing a lot of lead vocals in the current band so I have to but there's no chance I'm going to miss the change from chorus to verse or lose track of which verse we're on.

3) memory jogs (e.g. starter lyrics, which instrument starts the song, how it ends etc) noted on the set next to my mic stand.

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1353954358' post='1880234']
If there is a lot to learn I'll jot bits down on manuscript,but again I can usually remember them after a couple of play throughs.
[/quote]

Fair enough, so I guess you're not someone who's ever needed to analyse their own process of memorisation per se? I'm not a natural at remembering structures etc and certainly not lyrics, I've had to break it up and work out where exactly I fall short. Interestingly though (to me at least) I've found myself getting better at it since I started approaching it more systematically.

[Twigman]

We have around 30 or so songs that we rehearse for live from which we pick our set.
I 'think' I've forgotten most of them until they start playing.
As long as I can remember how to start each song (it helps when someone else starts it) I find that somehow I remember how the song goes while we're playing it.
It can be a little scary to find myself doing this in front of a few hundred paying punters but normally it works out.
Sometimes though I draw a complete blank - not happened for 3 years or so - and that can be scary!

I think practice, practice and more practice is the way to go - it etches the lines indelibily in memory - the other day we palyed a song we'd not played in over 20 years and I got it right first time without preparation. Somethings are just there in the brain and you don't know it.

[Doddy]

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1353955965' post='1880265']
Fair enough, so I guess you're not someone who's ever needed to analyse their own process of memorisation per se?
[/quote]
Not really I haven't. I might listen to the tunes a couple of times without picking up the bass,usually in the car,before
learning them,so I know how it goes.Then it's just a matter of getting it under the fingers.
One thing that I think helps (at least for me) is having some knowledge about chord progression and harmony. Many
songs use similar progressions (I-IV-V, I-VI-II-V etc) and if you can hear and recognise them it makes life a lot easier.

[arthurhenry]

[quote name='bigd1' timestamp='1353930422' post='1879771']
I've never understood the "No Music" unwritten rule that is around popular music. It seems to me it is the only form that thinks you should remember a full set.
I play Tuba in brass bands they would never do a gig without music, so why is it as a rock bass player I'm expected to do this ?

???? BIGd
[/quote]
I've never understood the rule that brass bands and orchestras must use sheet music. Why don't they just learn the songs? Do they really still need the sheet music at the end of a 30 date tour?

[SteveK]

[quote name='arthurhenry' timestamp='1353959376' post='1880306']
I've never understood the rule that brass bands and orchestras must use sheet music. Why don't they just learn the songs? Do they really still need the sheet music at the end of a 30 date tour?
[/quote]
Yeah, that was my first thought.
Then I thought, "Well, maybe they have a larger repertoire, or the band leader might toss in a couple of new tunes at a moments notice".
Then I thought, "Nah, that's cobblers, they're just f***in' lazy...

But then, I've never played in a brass band, so what do I know(?)

Edited November 26, 2012 by SteveK

[JTUK]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1353957469' post='1880284']
..............I might listen to the tunes a couple of times without picking up the bass,usually in the car,before
learning them,so I know how it goes.Then it's just a matter of getting it under the fingers.
One thing that I think helps (at least for me) is having some knowledge about chord progression and harmony. Many
songs use similar progressions (I-IV-V, I-VI-II-V etc) and if you can hear and recognise them it makes life a lot easier.
[/quote]

This ...................is the shortcut to busking a gig but helps out on more regular gigs as well

Once you know the sections of the song, you just need to hear the changes and develop your hearing of the intervals.
Most changes are pretty obvious in terms of bar lenght as well... so this way of sectioning the song means you can have a pretty decent crac\k at it
just from hearing the thing on a radio or some distant reference.

[endorka]

I prefer to memorise all the songs, simply because I can play them better that way, and I'll enjoy the experience more. Relieved from the need to keep your head stuck in written music, you can concentrate fully on making music and engaging with the other musicians and audience.

No matter how good a reader you are, it still occupies some of your mind to do so... and if it doesn't, you've probably memorised most of it anyway, so you might as well throw the dots away. Soloists in classical music rarely read music during performance, which I think tells us something.

But back to the question, broadly speaking I have three levels of this;

1) Completely memorised set. My favourite, but not always possible due to time constraints.

2) Partially memorised set. Most of the set memorised, but reading for a few tricky and/or unfamiliar tunes. A good compromise.

3) Sight reading if necessary, e.g. last minute depping where charts are available, musical theatre, orchestra, big band.

If you do several gigs/rehearsals with the same group it is possible to move "upwards" through these as your memory of the songs improves, or "backwards" e.g. if you haven't played with them for some time. It can be very easy to become dependent on written music even when you no longer need it though, and the trick is to have the gumption to leave it behind when ready to do so.

On the other hand, if my goal is complete memorising of a set, these days I never go through the phase of writing out cheat sheets, chord charts, or dots, as they just slow the process down. I just make a playlist of songs in the correct order for the set, and play through them all by ear until I have them completely nailed. Do this for an hour or two every day until you have them completely drilled into your head, and it's an amazing experience playing them on a gig!

It's obvious when you think about it; this is the way most of us learned when we were obsessed teenagers, and that's the reason you can pick up the bass and play a song you learned back then without thinking, 20 odd years later. If you don't learn the songs with that level of dedication, you won't remember them for as long.

Jennifer

[SpaceChick]

[quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1353940450' post='1879963']
Just for comparison. The musicians on the Titanic had to remember over 150 songs (not reading sheet music) and were expected to perform any one of them on request from the audience
[/quote]

Blimey, if I'd been in that band I would have been glad of the iceberg!

As for classical musicians, speaking as a former classical oboeist in an orchestra, I can say that whilst you knew the music by heart, I would still follow the music, as could follow the conductor better when I did. It was a safety net I suppose.

Now, I remember my bands set list, but agree, sometimes I need to write the first note or two incase I'm having a thick 5 minutes!!

As for tips.... Practice practice practice until it becomes second nature and your muscle memory knows where it's going.

[bertbass]

I just play it until I remember it. Then learn the lyrics on top of that. I find that learning both helps a lot when it comes to arrangements. Once I've played it live once, it normally stays there and becomes second nature. The problems come when I have to think about it then I forget the lot.

[The Dark Lord]

[quote name='bigd1' timestamp='1353930422' post='1879771'] I've never understood the "No Music" unwritten rule that is around popular music. It seems to me it is the only form that thinks you should remember a full set. I play Tuba in brass bands they would never do a gig without music, so why is it as a rock bass player I'm expected to do this ? ???? BIGd [/quote]

I often wonder the same in reverse. Why do musicians in orchestras and brass bands etc play looking at music all of the time? Don't they know the tunes? Would there be more mojo and expression in their numbers if they just played together in a big ensemble without looking at anything?

[ead]

Sorry, can somebody just remind me what this thread is about please?

[The Dark Lord]

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1353934746' post='1879847']


Yeah I can imagine seeing Van Halen with sheet music and stands onstage
[/quote]
Big +1 to this.

You do see the odd pub band where the singer has a music stand to prompt them with the words. I think it looks nuts.

[Spoombung]

Our stuff is a challenge to memorise; uneven lengths, variations, complexity, etc. the first thing I do is memorise the first 10 seconds or so- that helps trigger the memory for the rest. So run through the whole baseline at home several times then put emphasis on memorising the start of the song. Play just that bit over and over again.

[RhysP]

[quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1353940450' post='1879963']
Just for comparison. The musicians on the Titanic had to remember over 150 songs (not reading sheet music) and were expected to perform any one of them on request from the audience
[/quote]

And a fat lot of f***ing good it did them.............

[Spoombung]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1354030983' post='1881118']
And a fat lot of f***ing good it did them.............
[/quote]

hahahahahaha!

Obvious but still incredibly funny

[Mr Fretbuzz]

Hate to say it but as a newbie I remember songs by the tab numbers..maybe I should have been an accountant :-)