niceguyhomer Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 I have set myself a project to learn a load of Steely Dan songs and I'm finding it really hard going I'm using the tab off my Guitar Pro programme and the problem isn't learning the notes / structure etc, it's my failing memory. I've been up since 6.30 learning the middle section of Ricky Don't Lose Than Number and yeh, it's not that hard but then I go downstairs and make myself a drink and when I go back to my den 10 minutes later, I can't remember big chunks of what I just learned and have to go over it all again. I wouldn't mind but I must have played it through 20 times What an arse... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaphappygarry Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 Homer, Steely dan stuff is hard. Alot of it is marathon listening, let alone playing. Good luck, your not alone. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 Sorry Homer, it's you. I don't forget what I've learned until the next day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beneath It All Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 [quote name='niceguyhomer' post='61072' date='Sep 16 2007, 10:47 AM']I have set myself a project to learn a load of Steely Dan songs and I'm finding it really hard going I'm using the tab off my Guitar Pro programme and the problem isn't learning the notes / structure etc, it's my failing memory. I've been up since 6.30 learning the middle section of Ricky Don't Lose Than Number and yeh, it's not that hard but then I go downstairs and make myself a drink and when I go back to my den 10 minutes later, I can't remember big chunks of what I just learned and have to go over it all again. I wouldn't mind but I must have played it through 20 times What an arse...[/quote] You sure you're only nipping downstairs for a drink??!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilb Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 Yeah, what sort of drink? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 I find that when I can't remember what I'm playing it's because I'm not really interested in what I'm playing. It's natures way of telling you to get back to Sam and Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnm Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 reminded of this youtube clip............... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZs4pK-aBuE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZs4pK-aBuE[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirkThrust Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 (edited) [quote name='niceguyhomer' post='61072' date='Sep 16 2007, 10:47 AM']I have set myself a project to learn a load of Steely Dan songs and I'm finding it really hard going I'm using the tab off my Guitar Pro programme and the problem isn't learning the notes / structure etc, it's my failing memory. I've been up since 6.30 learning the middle section of Ricky Don't Lose Than Number and yeh, it's not that hard but then I go downstairs and make myself a drink and when I go back to my den 10 minutes later, I can't remember big chunks of what I just learned and have to go over it all again. I wouldn't mind but I must have played it through 20 times What an arse...[/quote] No it's not just you. Stuff takes longer to sink in as you get older. I have exactly the same problem. I'll learn a bassline then take a break and forget it. It's something to do with the chemical processes in the brain. Or maybe your head gets so full of a lifetime of other stuff there just isn't room without unlearning something else first I started learning TaeKwonDo at the ripe old age of 43 and it's been a real struggle. I have to go through stuff over and over again in class and then for hours more at home and then I feel like I'm just scraping through the gradings. Yet the class is full of 16 year olds with blackbelts. They just seem to soak it up effortlessly. Edited September 16, 2007 by PaulMartin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassicinstinct Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 I've been playing Dan stuff live since the late nineties and I STILL get reminded how challenging thw stuff is every time we gig. It's definitely NOT just you. I'm 52, by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niceguyhomer Posted September 17, 2007 Author Share Posted September 17, 2007 [quote name='bassicinstinct' post='61540' date='Sep 17 2007, 10:35 AM']I'm 52, by the way. [/quote] Me too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 [quote name='niceguyhomer' post='61542' date='Sep 17 2007, 10:39 AM']Me too [/quote] Al, Yep, it's the onset of Old Age. At 58, I have the same problem. It takes an age to learn something and quite often have to rely on "crib-sheets" or a couple of gigs. +1 for get back to Sam & Dave, Otis, Wilson Pickett et al. We must have a chat about Liverpool Uni if our paths ever cross...... Stuart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_in_ya_face Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 I've been learning bass for about a year and practice learning various diffrerent tunes but once i've moved on to something else I totally forget how to play something I did two weeks ago and i'm 38.9 years old! I think it's the same part of the memory that forgets to put the toilet seat down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odub Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Well I'm 27 and find it really hard to remember anything, and I've been that way for ever. Always worked around it by avoiding subjects that require much memory and instead can be worked out - Physics and Maths rather than History and languages. Tis one of the things that holds me back with music though, hopefully one day I've be good enough just ot improv everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabootsy Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 i have just joined a covers band and the day after i audtioned the drummer went on holiday for two weeks. He is back to rehearse on Wednesday and we have our first gig the following Wednesday. We have 30 songs to do some easy some not ranging from steelers wheel stuck in the middle to my generation. I think they maybe having a laugh but i havent slept or eaten for 3 days and my fingers have worn down to the knuckles its all good fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOD2 Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 I've found the same thing, especially on more complex songes, BUT even when you feel you're forgetting it all some of it is sinking in subliminally. If you keep at it there will come a point when it suddenly clicks unexpectedly. I find this usually happens after a break ( i.e. a day or two) and when I go back i find I can remember more than I'd been expecting. I did have probelms remembering the note sequence in Simple Minds "Waterfront", though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obbm Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 And you think you've got a problem at 52 Homer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Worry not I have issues too (i'm 24). I find I learn songs ok - but forget them easily within a few weeks if I don't play them. At a recent gig I murdered Pantera - Cemetary Gates with some awful bits i'd forgotten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAS Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 +1 Homer. As they say youth is wasted on the young. Wish I'd tried harder when I was 15 and the brain cells were still fresh. I'm sure several years of chemical abuse shortly thereafter didn't help either. I always wanted to learn some of the extended versions of Grateful Dead songs but I have neither the improvisation skills nor the memory to do it now and at 55 I suspect the time is past. My only offering is to try to break it down into manageable chunks, get those really automatic (endless repetition) and then try to stitch them together. Even an old brain works better in the morning - my mother used to make me do my piano practise between 6:30 and 7:30 in the morning (which I really rebelled against in later life) but I suspect that as with many things your elders know best! Very best of luck. Nick S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 [quote name='BOD2' post='61603' date='Sep 17 2007, 12:37 PM']I did have probelms remembering the note sequence in Simple Minds "Waterfront", though [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niceguyhomer Posted September 17, 2007 Author Share Posted September 17, 2007 [quote name='obbm' post='61604' date='Sep 17 2007, 12:38 PM']And you think you've got a problem at 52 Homer.[/quote] You mean it's gonna get worse?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilb Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Can someone remind me what this thread is about.....Ive forgotten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowhand_mike Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 [quote name='NAS' post='61613' date='Sep 17 2007, 12:48 PM']Even an old brain works better in the morning - my mother used to make me do my piano practise between 6:30 and 7:30 in the morning (which I really rebelled against in later life) but I suspect that as with many things your elders know best! Very best of luck. Nick S[/quote] first thing in the morning is definately NOT the best time for me to be playing, would hurt my head too much the other way you could look at it is that some things people find harder than others, i can sometimes pick up a bass line in a couple of practices and others that sound easy take forever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbloke Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 get a pen and paper ad knock yourself up some extra notes to help you remember the parts. I have to remember some shockingly complex parts for my covers band and I find the best way is to break the song down into manageable chunks. Charting out the different sections and adding a few pointers really helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skywalker Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 [quote name='NAS' post='61613' date='Sep 17 2007, 12:48 PM']+1 Homer. As they say youth is wasted on the young. Wish I'd tried harder when I was 15 and the brain cells were still fresh. I'm sure several years of chemical abuse shortly thereafter didn't help either. I always wanted to learn some of the extended versions of Grateful Dead songs but I have neither the improvisation skills nor the memory to do it now and at 55 I suspect the time is past. My only offering is to try to break it down into manageable chunks, get those really automatic (endless repetition) and then try to stitch them together. Even an old brain works better in the morning - my mother used to make me do my piano practise between 6:30 and 7:30 in the morning (which I really rebelled against in later life) but I suspect that as with many things your elders know best! Very best of luck. Nick S[/quote] Hi Nick - How are you?? I find keeping the lead sheets handy and work from them is fine - I don't think anyone would complain if you kept the lead sheets on a music stand and refer to them when you need to, even just as an aid memoire before the start of the song. I have just started doing some dep work with a jazz trio, and find that anything simple (12 bars for example) I can rattle off okay, anything more complicated I read. At 54 I have the same problem as you guys, the old grey matter is not what it used to be. If only I knew then what I know now........................ Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EntropicLqd Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Trying to remember songs that you don't play regularly is really tough. I find stuff just leaks out of my head. Even though I couldn't tell you what the chords were for any of the songs one of the bands I'm in (Back Issue) play I do actually know the songs. I know this because I gigged yesterday with nothing bu the song titles and the first chord of the song and played everything fine. What does bother me these days is that some songs I remember really easily, and others I find really hard. And sometimes the simpler the song the harder I find it to remember. Dunno what that's all about. Maybe I'll eat more fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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