Learning lyrics. I'm struggling.

[Les]

Got a shed load of songs to learn for a new venture where I'm doing about 60% of the singing.

Judicious key changes aplenty and I'm getting there but.....

I'm really struggling to get lyrics to stick in my  head and I'm contemplating buying a "clip to your mic stand"

music stand thingy but I can feel your hatred rising as I type.

Any tips ?

ta

 

Les

[thebigyin]

I was a lead vocalist for many local cover bands in the past....don't use a stand very amateurish....cheat sheets on the floor with opening line or words to each verse/chorus lay on the floor resemble set lists....highlight specific words with yellow highlighter pen they glow under lights will do the trick trust me....start by using this method at rehearsals aswell...your mind only needs prompting the words kick in believe me it's worked for me for many years on and off since late 70's....i have fronted more bands than i have played Bass for....good luck 

[SpondonBassed]

I'm assuming that you've got a start on singing while playing.  It's more than I have so take/reject my advice accordingly;

As a lapsed chorister I'd suggest that you do the repetition thing but only up to the point of reading through twice for each song during a session.  Too many repetitions in one go can slow you to the point of wanting to give up.  If you can, try to do the whole set in one session at the earliest opportunity.  It's hateful to think that after doing the work there are yet more songs to tick off the list.

Make personal associations in your mind with the lyrics so that you have more of a connection to them.  For instance, if you are learning Mustang Sally, picture a horse but with the head of anyone you know called Sally on it.  The more silly the association, the more memorable it is.

From memory, copy the first line of each song, in hand-writing, onto a piece of low-tech paper.  The act of hand-writing the first line (or two or three if needed) made a more lasting imprint on my memory.  The sheet used to go in my pocket.  It was good to know that it was there, like the key to a lock, any time I needed it.  It only got used a few times.

You'll be fine but good luck anyway.

How many songs have you got to learn and when do you aim to perform them?

Is this an indication that there may be a hiatus in the compilation of material for the Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Kebabery?

Do little Smugs get fed-up with being felt all of the time?

[Happy Jack]

I'm in the happy position of finding it easy to remember the words of songs I grew up with, and mainly singing in bands that play those very songs!

On the other hand, ask me to sing something post-1980 and I have the same trouble as Les.

Even when I feel that I have the lyrics down pat at rehearsal, the extra pressure of live performance can throw me so that I need a crutch.

My mic rig includes a personal monitor (previously a Wharfedale WPM-1, now a TC Helicon VoiceSolo). For songs I struggle with I usually stick a Post-It note (or similar) to the monitor so that it's just below my mic, and that will have the first word of each line on it. After a couple of successful performances, I'll replace that with a Post-It with the first word of each verse. When that's going well I can dispense with the reminder.

BUT ... it's crucial that you actually dispose of whatever reminder system you use. Otherwise that temporary crutch will quickly become permanent.

The lead singer in my main band is a good guitar player and an excellent vocalist, far better than me, but he fell into the trap of needing 'lyrical prompts' many years ago. He used to tape them (as sheets of A4 paper) to the back of the PA cab in front of him, but as they grew and grew they got heavier and heavier - I'm not making this up - until even gaffa tape wasn't enough to keep them in place.

So when I upgraded my phone from my old Galaxy Note II (if you're not familiar, it's a big phone roughly half the size of a tablet) I gave it to him. He bought a clip-on holder of some sort and now stores all his 'lyrical prompts' on there instead, which is far neater and more reliable, besides being much more discreet.

What worries me is that many of the songs in our list we have been performing together live on stage for nearly 10 years ... and he still needs that crutch. I don't even sing these songs but I know the lyrics easily well enough to sing them myself without an aid.

[Bolo]

I sing and bass in my originals band, you'd think I could remember the lyrics I write. Without the music I have near zero recollection of the words! It's become part of our writing process that we get the music right first, then I play and mimic sounds to get the melody and rhythm in place. Once I'm confident everything works I'll bring out the poetry and fit it in place.

 

Without the music as my crutch I'd have great difficulty quoting even a single verse of my own material

[SpondonBassed]

1 hour ago, Happy Jack said:

... it's crucial that you actually dispose of whatever reminder system you use. Otherwise that temporary crutch will quickly become permanent...

That's a very good point.  Even my pocket-list is a crutch.

I'd not have gone without that though.  I seldom needed it but when another member of the group asks How does that go again? just before a performance it's helped me not to lose the plot with nerves.

[lurksalot]

1 hour ago, Bolo said:

I sing and bass in my originals band, you'd think I could remember the lyrics I write. Without the music I have near zero recollection of the words! It's become part of our writing process that we get the music right first, then I play and mimic sounds to get the melody and rhythm in place. Once I'm confident everything works I'll bring out the poetry and fit it in place.

 

Without the music as my crutch I'd have great difficulty quoting even a single verse of my own material

I don't actually perform any of my compositions except for the fewest takes it needs to get it recorded , but I'm the same, at a real push I could 'sing' along to a couple of songs but never perform them without reading the lyrics , but I guess as it is never an option to perform them, I lack the motivation to learn them perfectly 

[Les]

Thanks all. I think the 1st line/highlighted prompts thing is the way to go rather than all the lyrics written down. I can see this working.

 

7 hours ago, thebigyin said:

don't use a stand very amateurish

I can feel your hatred r̶i̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶I̶ ̶t̶y̶p̶e̶  bubbling over  

 

7 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

I'm assuming that you've got a start on singing while playing

Yes, pretty much.

 

4 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

Otherwise that temporary crutch will quickly become permanent.

Agreed, this is what I'm trying to avoid.

 

7 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

How many songs have you got to learn and when do you aim to perform them

12-15 depending on how many the guitarist can sing.

 

7 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

Is this an indication that there may be a hiatus in the compilation of material for the Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Kebabery?

Au contraire this will run along side the main kebab hunting band.

[Skybone]

I always found recording the vocal really helped me remember the lyrics.

Record the backing track(s), then overdub the vocal. It really helps when you only concentrate on 1 thing, then you can combine them later.

[atsampson]

Don't know if this works for anyone else, but the approach I use: sing through the song a couple of times with the lyrics in front of you. The next day (while doing the washing up, or in the shower), try singing it from memory from the start - when you get stuck, skip forward to a bit you do remember and keep going. Note the bits that you can't remember. Look those up, and sing through them with the lyrics, paying attention to the transitions into them from the parts you do know. Repeat from "the next day" until it all flows properly.

[tom skool]

I find playing and singing are enough things to be doing at once without adding reading lyrics to the list. I try to run through the song whenever I can whilst driving, cooking or ' working' etc