How Do I “Actually” Learn Songs?

[JapanAxe]

I may well be the outlier here but over the 46 years that I’ve been playing I’ve taught myself to read and write musical notation. Unless a piece is very simple I tend to make a reasonably accurate transcription and learn it from that. One tip I picked up online was to start at the end and work backwards - that way you’re always moving into more familiar territory.

[Reggaebass]

16 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

I’ve found that when learning songs playing through a compressor helps on this aspect, really helps getting the notes in the right places for the right amount of time.

Nice tip Lozz, I’ll give that a try next time 

[BassTool]

Anyone remember lifting the needle on the record and dropping it back down a bit further back to relisten? 

 

And then a few years later rewinding the C60 cassette over and over?

 

It's got a lot easier these days learning new songs mind 😆

[Reggaebass]

5 minutes ago, BassTool said:

And then a few years later rewinding the C60 cassette over and over

Yeah, I had something like this and big headphones with the coiled lead 😁

[BassTool]

11 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Yeah, I had something like this and big headphones with the coiled lead 😁

How posh is that? A combined play/record button! 😲

[Boodang]

Unless you're learning a modal jazz number most songs will have a key. With a new song I'll play over it by ear to find the root, the one note that feels the tonal centre, then play scales until you find one where all the notes fit (usually diatonic but sometimes altered in some way/ have a chromatic element). Easiest way to start is that it's usually quite obvious if it's basically major or minor in some way. Once you have the key, and the relative major if it's not already that, then apart from incidentals /passing chords, you'll have the structure.

This is how I learn a song, as I find knowing the tonal centre just makes finding the notes so much easier. If you haven't done so, then Rick Beato's (or someone's equivalent) ear training course is worthwhile and will improve your musicianship. 

[EssexBuccaneer]

I use ultimate guitar for their pro-tabs, and often YouTube play-along tabs/lessons. If a piece is too challenging then I’ll simplify it and build up to the ‘proper’ version.

 

I have learned some stuff by ear, starting with root notes and adding my own frills around them. 
 

it works for me.

[nekomatic]

On 04/07/2024 at 18:49, JapanAxe said:

One tip I picked up online was to start at the end and work backwards - that way you’re always moving into more familiar territory.

That’s a really, really good tip!

[Boodang]

On 04/07/2024 at 18:49, JapanAxe said:

One tip I picked up online was to start at the end and work backwards - that way you’re always moving into more familiar territory.

Does it help to play the track backwards?!

[JapanAxe]

35 minutes ago, Boodang said:

Does it help to play the track backwards?!

Never tried it!

[Krysbass]

On 04/07/2024 at 18:05, patrikmarky said:

I’m afraid I’m totally old school .. learn by ear always have ..can’t teach an old dog new tricks ..

Same here.  Maybe I've been lucky, but In over 40 years of playing (mostly covers), I've only ever learned songs by ear, from repeated listening and playing along.  Never had to write anything down.

[Rosie C]

My own experience is being able to play a song, and memorising a song seem to be completely separate skills and tasks. There are tunes that I've played 200+ times from a chart, but I couldn't play a single bar without that chart in front of me. Memorising is something I do line by line, looking away from the page and trying to play from memory. Takes me ages, but once a tune is learned it seems to persist as long as a I have a play through every month or so.

[Franticsmurf]

5 hours ago, Rosie C said:

My own experience is being able to play a song, and memorising a song seem to be completely separate skills and tasks. There are tunes that I've played 200+ times from a chart, but I couldn't play a single bar without that chart in front of me. Memorising is something I do line by line, looking away from the page and trying to play from memory. Takes me ages, but once a tune is learned it seems to persist as long as a I have a play through every month or so.

Yes, I have to play through songs quite regularly (monthly, or thereabouts) to be ready to play with any confidence, although I have found that once the song starts and I've played the first few notes, the rest tends to fall into place with little problem. I guess it's largely a psychological thing for me. 

[Boodang]

3 hours ago, Franticsmurf said:

Yes, I have to play through songs quite regularly (monthly, or thereabouts) to be ready to play with any confidence, although I have found that once the song starts and I've played the first few notes, the rest tends to fall into place with little problem. I guess it's largely a psychological thing for me. 

Going back to my ‘tonal centre’ comment, on my set list I always write the key of the song that way it instantly puts a visual roadmap on the fretboard so if play a wrong note at least it won’t be a bum note! 

[r16ktx]

On 05/07/2024 at 20:12, JapanAxe said:

Never tried it!

I recommend not to. I did once, it was really hard and the rest of the band got annoyed with me.

[Mickyk]

On 20/06/2024 at 08:18, Lozz196 said:

My way of learning put it up on Youtube then try and play along. In general I also look for tabs/playalongs so that any runs or fiddly bits are there in front of me. From there I juts play along repeatedly over a period of days/weeks until I`ve got it. I find that especially when it`s a song that I`m not familiar with I have to do this as I`ve got to learn the song itself, not just how to play the bassline.

Same here.

[miles'tone]

I listen to the song enough times so I know it in my head and can sing or scat the bassline. I'll maybe also write down some notes for myself regarding the form of the tune if needed (not musical notation notes btw)

When I eventually put my hands on my bass it comes easily. 

For me, learning tunes this way really takes away all that frustration of trying to learn both how the tune goes and it's bassline at the same time. 

 

Edited July 13 by miles'tone

[Kitsto]

When I played in a covers band I needed to get up to speed quickly so it was a combination of (a) by ear (b) locating the root note and (c) watching my favourite covers players on YouTube. The band wasn't slavish to the originals so provided my part was OK it didn't have to be exact.

 

Now that I just play for myself (using backing tracks) I like to take time to develop a bass part. I experiment a lot more, feeling my way. I sometimes go back to the songs in the band's set list and try to improve the parts I played back then. It's a lot of fun.

 

I do write the parts out using tabs or just writing down the notes. 

[NoRhino]

This is how I've done it for years but Mark. 

articulates it brilliantly.  He's also a better player than I am. 

 

 

[dmccombe7]

Play along to the song to get a feel for how it goes.

I'll then search for music or tabs if available as a guide. If tricky or difficult i'll use youtube clips.

Start with the intro i'll quickly write it out note for note then move onto the next section usually a verse and so on.

Once i've written it out i'll play it thru completely a few times and then using headphones i'll listen to it again checking against my notes to make sure its written out properly and then i'll neatly write out again on A4 sized paper.

I write it out like that as i find listening to the song is one way of remembering it and writing it out sticks in my head as a back up memory if that makes sense.

By the time i've done all this its fixed in my head.

Dave