Doing the dep - tips to learn songs quickly, please!

[JimBobTTD]

Backstory:

I learnt yesterday that the drummer in my blues band has decided he cannot continue and has dropped out. I was not enjoying it very much - the drummer and I were tight, but the other three were just waiting for their solos in each song, we felt - but I am still a bit bummed out. But it gives me the chance to join a band without keyboards and, ideally, with guitarists who are just as talented [i]players[/i] but much better [i]musicians[/i].

So I popped an ad on a local Facebook page and have been contacted by a band. They are in need of a bassist who can play on Saturday, 13th Feb. Yep...not even two weeks away.

They play hardcore/grind/punk etc and the gig will consist of 20 songs of about a minute each. I have played thrash/death metal before, so this is not too far from what I have done previously, but it is twice as fast, twice as relentless and still a bit foreign...especially as I have been playing blues for the last two years.

Lord have mercy upon me...I said that I would consider standing in for the gig. I now need to learn 20 songs in 13 days. They will be sending over the tab in Guitar Pro (which I do not have...) and mp3s of the songs they plan to play.

I said that I would do my best and will try and learn the tracks, but I could not promise anything.

My more experienced friends here: any tips on learning songs quickly?

[Wonky2]

Listen to them, A lot.
Punk/ thrash isnt a genre i have ever played and id expect 1 minute songs are quick and despite speed, fairly basic.

Original music is a challenge at short notice but the approach should be basic.... Learn the verse, learn the chorus and bridge....write down the arrangement ,make note of any extended sections, lead breaks, repeat refrain or the like. Write out the set list with notes. The key, time sig...
If you break it down from whole songs to (typically) these few sections your only ever really playing a few bars at a time and switching through each section throughout the arrangment. If you know the verse and its repeated, its not like you have to learn that bit twice, your just playing the same as you played before. (In basic terms)

Spend an evenening just listening to each track and making the above notes..... Play it over and over. It helps to have the words and sing along.......
Play along with it.

10 days, You'll be right enough.
See if you can persaude them to have a run through before the gig, if not possible with full band at least pin down the guitarist and singer for an evening session.

[Geek99]

Tuxguitar will read guitar pro and is free

Edited January 31, 2016 by Geek99

[rjs1909]

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1454273491' post='2968185']
Tuxguitar will read guitar pro and is free
[/quote]

Was about to suggest the same. Excellent program

[hubrad]

[quote name='Wonky2' timestamp='1454272548' post='2968171']
Listen to them, A lot.

[/quote]

This^^
I usually play the next gig's material on random for as long as possible, wherever I go. For me, it's on my phone plugged into the car stereo. You might use a walkman or whatever. I sometimes drive the missus nuts by playing it at home; sometimes she really likes the tracks ('you're playing with this guy? He's really good!')
I rarely get round to actually playing the bass along with the listening, but by the time of the gig/rehearsal (do push for one of these) I'll have the shape of the songs in my head, so the actual key doesn't entirely matter. How many times have we done gigs where the singer says 'Oh, I don't sing it in that key any more; that was just on the album'?
Enjoy!

[alyctes]

Start at the end of each song and learn phrase by phrase back towards the beginning. That way you're always going towards a bit you know, and you don't learn the start really well and the rest not so well.

[JimBobTTD]

Excellent help so far. Thank you so very much!

It seems that they have someone who may be able to stand in, so I don't know whether I shall play or not. But I don't see a downside in sitting down and working out a load of tracks, so there really is nowt to lose. Or am I being weird?

[Froggy]

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1454330497' post='2968594']
Start at the end of each song and learn phrase by phrase back towards the beginning. That way you're always going towards a bit you know, and you don't learn the start really well and the rest not so well.
[/quote]

Although I'm nowhere near good enough to dep, this is how I learn songs too. It works for anything that you do in a sequence, I was taught to use it when learning the 31 jo kata in aikido. Only way I could get it right! For songs I do it bar by bar.

[RhysP]

[quote name='JimBobTTD' timestamp='1454333941' post='2968640']
Excellent help so far. Thank you so very much!

It seems that they have someone who may be able to stand in, so I don't know whether I shall play or not. But I don't see a downside in sitting down and working out a load of tracks, so there really is nowt to lose. Or am I being weird?
[/quote]

If what you say about their set is correct then it's only about 20 minutes of music in total, which isn't very much.

[keefbaker]

Another thing. If they're after the sound I think they'll be after, practise your downpicking as much as you can. But yeah, listen to them loads, while listening imagine you're playing them and what the fingering is. Stuff like that.

[JimBobTTD]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1454334252' post='2968646']
If what you say about their set is correct then it's only about 20 minutes of music in total, which isn't very much.
[/quote]

Yep - this is what I thought before I accepted the challenge. Otherwise, 20 songs in under two weeks is impossible. Still, the songs may not be too technical in and of themselves, but it is still 20 different tracks.

[JimBobTTD]

[quote name='keefbaker' timestamp='1454339510' post='2968700']
Another thing. If they're after the sound I think they'll be after, practise your downpicking as much as you can. But yeah, listen to them loads, while listening imagine you're playing them and what the fingering is. Stuff like that.
[/quote]

Yep. I've not played with a plectrum much for the last 15 years or so...this will be the real challenge.

[JTUK]

I think if you know the song you can busk it easily but you are going to have to fashion a method that works for you..
Do it and then you'll see how far short..or not you are.
You'll never know otherwise.

[gapiro]

Here is my DEAD EASY organsation tool for learning songs

Listen to them all a few times.
Split them down into 3 categories - Easy/Medium/Hard
Use trello or something similar to track your list of songs ( I just set this up in about 2 minutes - [url="https://trello.com/b/yppn6J2D"]https://trello.com/b/yppn6J2D[/url] Try it , it is fantastic).
As you learn each song (starting with hardest first) move accross left to right. Leave notes on what is causing issues so when you come back to it, you can see. It will make you realise how much progress you make.

Other tips:
Don't spend more than 10 minutes at any one time on any one song.
Look for common chord progressions - is it circles of fifths ? etc

Edited February 2, 2016 by gapiro

[Wonky2]

[quote name='JimBobTTD' timestamp='1454333941' post='2968640']
Excellent help so far. Thank you so very much!

It seems that they have someone who may be able to stand in, so I don't know whether I shall play or not. But I don't see a downside in sitting down and working out a load of tracks, so there really is nowt to lose. Or am I being weird?
[/quote]

Not at all, take the challenge of learning under pressure regardless of the gig. It will help you understand how to go about learning songs quickly and may serve you well the next time the opportunity arises..... You can learn about deconstructing songs and nite writing, that in itself is a great tool...

So consider the opportunity as a lesson in which you are both student and teacher....

Wonky

[JimBobTTD]

Fab. Thanks again for the tips, kind folks.

I suppose I shall mostly disappear for the rest of this week and the next while I learn these songs.

Please keep posting tips and tricks for future readers/next time I accept such a Herculean challenge/when I have a few moments.

Thanks again!

[Guest bassman7755]

What I do once I've learned a song properly is work out a condensed version which has every different riff, chord progression and break just once and often at an accelerated pace. Most songs I can get down to an average of about 20 seconds or so of actual different playing and a whole set to around 5 minutes. I'll pick up the bass and run through this just before I load up for the gig and its very confidence building to know that you've played at least the basics of everything your going to play (at least) once that day already.

Edited February 3, 2016 by bassman7755

[12stringbassist]

Open each mp3 and write out the chord sequence while you are listening.
Note breaks, vamps, verses, choruses. Study them.
Print them out big for on the day.
Play along with the tracks until you have them off.

[JimBobTTD]

Done.

I listened to the tracks again and again...as often as I could, really. After a while, I felt that I knew the songs. The downside, though, was that the guitar and bass were a bit low in the mix.

I played through them using the sheet music as may times as necessary until I felt that I knew the tracks well enough to play along to the mp3s of them. Some tracks, for some reason, I just could not grasp. For these, I deconstructed them - writing out the structure, chord changes etc - and that helped me understand them a lot better.

Week 1: met up Wednesday and Saturday for full-band practice.
Week 2: met up Monday with the whole band, Friday with the guitarist and drummer (playing along unplugged in the drummer's flat while he kept the beat with a keyboard) and Saturday for a final run-through with the whole band before heading off to the gig.

All in all, I learnt all but two of the 19 tracks, but didn't play one more as I didn't feel comfortable with it. It felt very strange to stand on stage and not play...but it would have felt worse to fluff up everything. The music was very challenging; I have come from a fairly straightforward rock/metal background where everything was in 4/4. This band's music was incredibly fast and had lots of time changes. This is what threw me in the beginning...I could play the notes but kept being thrown off by the timing.

The gig went well. As always, the sound tech did his best, but I had a hard time hearing myself or the singer. I had to play off the drums the whole time - which is what I normally do - but I had to play the song in my head to keep up with the changes as I could not hear any of my cues; as such, I made a few minor mistakes. To make matters worse, their previous bassist showed up; this threw me off a little bit. He was drunk and still a bit sore from being sacked, it seems, and gave a few backhanded compliments ("you were ok", "you did ok but it missed the magic touch I brought to the band") and said some less pleasant things. But he mellowed and became a little less dickish after a bit. He was a little loud in his criticism of the next band, too. He was booted because he did not want to come to practice (he lived about 2 hours away, so I understand) but I would not be surprised if there were other reasons involved.

The crowd were great and the other bands were really full of compliments, which meant a lot. It was a good night - we, as grindcore, are too punk for metal but too metal for punk, but we mostly fit in with the other two bands on the bill: a punk/hardcore/screamo group and a punk/funk/fusion band.

Success, I think. I would gladly join them again for other gigs if they cannot find a bassist in time. A huge thanks to all here for tips and tricks - these will come in handy for learning tracks (even at a more leisurely pace) that I can use later.

I played my 5-string P with flats (and a chrome pickup cover!) through my DHA VT-1 pedal cranked for max distortion that went into a Boss DI and then into the house's backline, which was a Hughes and Kettner 100w combo.

[kevin_lindsay]

I had a last minute dep a couple of weeks ago. I only had a couple of hours to load my car and listen to the songs before heading to the gig.

My friend Paul Turner texted this piece of advice for me:

"Oh no. Bit of advice... Lock any particular lines but then just jam along with every tune moving straight on to next without dwelling on anything. Your brain will be locked in and your ears will do the rest on the gig. If you have 2min per song then don't exceed. Any you know write the key and move on."

[hubrad]

[quote name='JimBobTTD' timestamp='1455448217' post='2979105']
Done.

I listened to the tracks again and again...as often as I could, really. After a while, I felt that I knew the songs. The downside, though, was that the guitar and bass were a bit low in the mix.

I played through them using the sheet music as may times as necessary until I felt that I knew the tracks well enough to play along to the mp3s of them. Some tracks, for some reason, I just could not grasp. For these, I deconstructed them - writing out the structure, chord changes etc - and that helped me understand them a lot better.

Week 1: met up Wednesday and Saturday for full-band practice.
Week 2: met up Monday with the whole band, Friday with the guitarist and drummer (playing along unplugged in the drummer's flat while he kept the beat with a keyboard) and Saturday for a final run-through with the whole band before heading off to the gig.

All in all, I learnt all but two of the 19 tracks, but didn't play one more as I didn't feel comfortable with it. It felt very strange to stand on stage and not play...but it would have felt worse to fluff up everything. The music was very challenging; I have come from a fairly straightforward rock/metal background where everything was in 4/4. This band's music was incredibly fast and had lots of time changes. This is what threw me in the beginning...I could play the notes but kept being thrown off by the timing.

The gig went well. As always, the sound tech did his best, but I had a hard time hearing myself or the singer. I had to play off the drums the whole time - which is what I normally do - but I had to play the song in my head to keep up with the changes as I could not hear any of my cues; as such, I made a few minor mistakes. To make matters worse, their previous bassist showed up; this threw me off a little bit. He was drunk and still a bit sore from being sacked, it seems, and gave a few backhanded compliments ("you were ok", "you did ok but it missed the magic touch I brought to the band") and said some less pleasant things. But he mellowed and became a little less dickish after a bit. He was a little loud in his criticism of the next band, too. He was booted because he did not want to come to practice (he lived about 2 hours away, so I understand) but I would not be surprised if there were other reasons involved.

The crowd were great and the other bands were really full of compliments, which meant a lot. It was a good night - we, as grindcore, are too punk for metal but too metal for punk, but we mostly fit in with the other two bands on the bill: a punk/hardcore/screamo group and a punk/funk/fusion band.

Success, I think. I would gladly join them again for other gigs if they cannot find a bassist in time. A huge thanks to all here for tips and tricks - these will come in handy for learning tracks (even at a more leisurely pace) that I can use later.

I played my 5-string P with flats (and a chrome pickup cover!) through my DHA VT-1 pedal cranked for max distortion that went into a Boss DI and then into the house's backline, which was a Hughes and Kettner 100w combo.
[/quote]
Nicely done, by the sound of it - you enjoyed it, everyone else without an agenda enjoyed it, so win/win!
I bet you get more gigs out of it, either with the same band or others.