How does one remember?

[ChuckS]

@reachcast I think this problem happens a lot with everyone. I do the same thing – will work hard at some TAC exercise, get it down, like it a lot and then move onto the next week, etc. 2 weeks later, I can’t even recall the one I worked so hard at and nailed.

I now have an Excel sheet for every TAC exercise with basic info like date, Key, type, running, what is might be used for etc. and a comment field. For ones I really like, I highlight in green (and of course make them a Favorite) , so I can some back to them later if desired. This helps a bit. I have now expanded it to also separately capture these theme weeks which I think really upped the TAC game.

WRT songs, I have another excel file with the 200 or so I would like to learn (: I also suffer from the deer in the headlights look is anyone asks me to play something. Kind of frustrating given all the time I have put in on guitar over the last 3.5 years. So, I also put a list in my phone of 10 or so songs, that I can actually play, so if anyone ever asks me to play something, I can quickly look at that and bingo.

Hope this helps

[albert_d]

@reachcast you pose a great question. And @ChuckS I love you phone playlist suggestion. (Also if you could post your spreadsheet to me that would be a wonderful resource. I’ve thought of doing so too but am too lazy.) in my WOGI each quarter I consider what songs can I actually play. I have little 5 song playlists (almost a medley) with a theme (like train songs or rain songs or love songs) that are in a similar key. I have no longer than 5 songs and sometimes only 3 because no one but me wants to hear that many songs. Since they are in the same key or I play them that way with a capo, they take some of the stage fright away. And since Fretboard Wizard (which I wholeheartedly endorse) the changing key thing has become much less a problem since I think more now with the Nashville number system. Anyway that is one approach.

And to wax on… I see TAC as practice. 10 minutes or they’re about and move on. I see learning songs as another world. If TAC teaches a song (which addition I am loving) I practice the song in the playlist world. I’ve added Brown Eyed Girl, and Hotel California and Landslide to that recently. As such that reduces any frustration with TAC retention since I partition them off. Every performer I know wishes they could recall all the songs they “know”. So this is a great thread. Thanks.

[the-old-coach]

This is a great thread, because I believe we ALL have this issue.

These days, when we maybe see a performer at a one-night appearance somehere- (at a bar or something😎- wherever), most of the time they’ll have their phone or some other device to look at while they are performing. It’s quite common.

I don’t know if they are just looking at the TAB’d song on the screen- but I’m guessing so. I don’t see any problem with something like that, because they aren’t staring at the device, it seems like it’s just there to glance to for a milli-second, to remind them of some weird lyric or one-time chord change.

It doesn’t mean they can’t play and sing– because– they are playing and singing. We came to see them perform— not to see how much they could recall from memory.

Added edit— When I visit VOM’s, it looks like the performers are all pretty-much looking down at something to help them along….. and I think that’s great.

I suppose the reason we all see top entertainers go on for a couple of hours just playing from memory is that they have likely performed those songs, literally, thousands of times.

Anyway, I deal with the same issues. I can work to get a “Daily” under my fingers o the point where I’m satisfied with it…… and then move to next daily and work on it for a bit.

But then, if I go back to the first one and try play it again10-15 minutes later– it’s pretty-much gone…………. and I had just had it “down”. A bit frustrating.

Great thread that I’ll certainly be following-along.

theoldcoach

• This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by  the-old-coach.

[Moose408]

It’s just like anything else you remember what you practice. If I want to remember a song I add it to my practice routine and practice it everyday for at least a month. At that point I should be able to play it from memory. I might occasionally add it back into my practice routine a month later for a day or two just to make sure I still have it.

[HowardM]

I could not agree more with the observations mentioned above. I practice songs daily and have to look at the music sheet the next time I play. If I understand it correctly, the professionals practice hours and hours to memorize the songs. I had a music teacher that would play any song I mentioned and said it was from doing it thousands of times and understanding the chord structure. Thanks for the great discussion and sense of community that we have. Enjoy the journey, everyone.

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

Hi @reachcast just know that you are definitely NOT alone in this regard!! I think the older we get, generally the less storage capacity we retain in the ole cloud brain.

But also, we tend to remember what we access daily… What has worked for me is to concentrate on just one song. Get it under your fingers. Learn it in your sleep. Play it every day until you have it memorized and can play it without any music or notes. Now it’s considered to be a “Back Pocket Song”. You can play it anywhere there’s you and a guitar, with no warming up or practice required. Then move on to the next song. Every time you achieve another “Back Pocket Song”, put the original music/tabs/song sheet in a binder just for these songs. The trick is to PLAY THROUGH ALL BACK POCKET SONGS ONCE A WEEK. Sorry to shout but the all caps are more for me than for anyone else. If you play through all your memorized songs a few times a month (like my guitar teacher told me to so many times), you will always remember them well enough to play them in the moment. I’ve annoyed myself countless times when I put so much time and effort into learning a song, then it sits on a shelf collecting dust and 3-6 months later when I try to play it I have to rescue it from the rust bucket. (That’s where the notebook comes in handy). It is much easier to learn a song the 2nd time around but it’s still frustrating. So every week or 2, play through all of your back pocket songs!!

Right on the music print out, I pencil in my own notes of all kinds including chord diagrams with the exact left and right hand fingering I used to learn the song. Also it’s very helpful to video yourself playing the song once you’ve mastered it. Just for your own eyes, you don’t have to share it with anyone. It’s a valuable tool for you to remember how you actually mastered all the fretboard dancing and mechanics, if you have to go back and re-learn a song.

Best wishes as you begin your “Back Pocket Song” journey!! Hope this helped a little 🙂

C

[N-lightMike]

Hello @reachcast ;

Lots of good suggestions I’ve read here… for remembering songs.

You see, a song has a chord progression, melody, and lyrics that are fixed. You can “learn” that song. Yeah, but what’s it mean to “learn” it? Turns out, there are at least 3 levels of “learning” a song.

So you can learn to “play” a song, but you haven’t memorized the chord progression, melody or lyrics. This level of learning an accomplished musician no longer has to do. They look at a chord sheet and play the song. Done.

Then, there is playing the song so much that it really starts sounding polished with wonderful nuances. But the “bonus” is, you now can remember the chord progression, melody, and lyrics. This is where it’s easy to “learn” a second time if you don’t play this song for months. In fact, eventually in your guitar journey, you will be able to pull up that song you have “learned” and play it like a pro months later.

And then there is the professional performer, who plays the same songs over and over and over. I’m talking about someone who plays several times a week and plays a whole song list each time. If they have 10 albums of original songs, they still end up feeling like they only have a handful of songs. Yeah, they know those songs like you know the route to your job.

So, obviously, this process is simple to understand and it’s equally simple to figure out what we need to do if we want to “learn” a song, if we want to have that song “polished”, and if we want to “memorize” that song.

But what about the lessons? And what about Howard’s music teacher who said he remembered songs because he’d played them “thousands of times” AND because he “understood the chord structure”?

See, that last little phrase has a world of understanding behind it. You want to remember the lessons? You want to learn and remember songs easier? Learn music theory. Learn the keys, the major scale, and the modes. I mean, learn them till you finally see the patterns that tie all of it together and makes it all so easy to remember because you see those patterns over and over.

MG 😀

[Greg_Weber]

When I learn a song and have it committed to memory, I try to go back and play it every couple of weeks to keep it fresh in my mind. I also save the chord charts for songs that I’ve downloaded from Ultimate-Guitar.com so I can easily go back and refresh my memory if I find the song isn’t as fresh in my memory as it once was. Those are always handy to pull out too at functions if needed.

[Loraine]

@reachcast Good thread. It is a very common problem being able to play on demand and remember chord progression and lyrics, and yes as pointed out in comments above, most of us use printed material in virtual open mics that we might attend. Even at in person open mics many players use printed material to assist. I just had this exact thing happen to me when I went back to visit friends and family in Indiana and Illinois. A friend asked if I would bring my guitar. Knowing that I won’t remember even the first chord, let alone any lyrics, I took a binder with printed chord sheets – didn’t do me any good. As soon as I tried playing, my thoughts got jumbled and I couldn’t play, and I couldn’t get my voice above a whisper. It’s a dream of mine to pull out the guitar and just play unemcumnered – Praxtice, practice, practice. Have your significant other, kids, or a best friend be your audience as you practice.

My thoughts on memorizing songs. To learn and remember a song, break it down. Start with just the chord progression and melody. Play it until you have it memorized (I visualize the paper. It’s like reading tThe chord sheet, but in my head. Once you have this down, add the lyrics. First, make sure you know the lyrics in full before adding them.Break it down by verses and chorus and bridge. Be able to play the 1st verse and vocals before moving forward.

The TAC daily lessons are meant to teach you foundational skills and for practice every day. Whether you remember it or not is not the issue. Even without recall of the material, your mind and muscles paid attention and were taught the material. You will have progressed in your learning.

Hope you’re finding some gems in all the posts.