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Should I memorize anything?
I’m coming up on 6 months of playing, but I don’t have any songs or licks or anything like that memorized. So, if someone asked me the infamous “play something for me” I would have nothing off the top of my head.
I feel that I’ve learned a lot over these 6 months and I can play things but only if I’m looking at tabs and after giving it a few tries.
At this point, would it be beneficial for me to have a few things up my sleeve to play, or perhaps work harder on my improv? This also makes me realize that my improv skills are really weak, as I would not feel confident that I could improv something at this point and have it sound good.
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7 Replies
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Hi Neal,
It’s not unusual to not have a song memorised after 6 months of playing, but if you want to learn some, you could always check Ultimate Guitar website for some tabs of the songs you would like to try out.
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Yes, NW7 I have the same issue and I have been a TACer for about 13 months. About the only song I could play for quite awhile was horse with no name and I already new the lyrics (almost). Now I have learned an additional two songs without having the chord sheet, Angel from Montgomery and Ventura Highway. I learned the first one 11 months after I joined TAC. I get on the VOM’s every week and some of those guys play with there eyes closed. So I have been motivated to learn songs without looking. It is fun because I can look at the fretboard if I need to without losing my place. So, it is up to you, when you are ready, try and learn one by heart.
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For me, I learn best through playing songs…theory has a place but resonates better with me when I have a real life example to chew over. I have some songs memorised but also have a book where I have them written out and I’ll pop the song on my speakers and bash along 🙂
Find your favourite artist and look through their catalogue – I bet they have a couple of tunes that will be 4, max 5 chords and take it from there. So much fun!
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Hey NW7 I had this same realisation recently. I got very good at playing and reading tabs but never really retained anything as I trying to play without the tab the skills were there but I need the tabs to prompt me even after practicing a piece hundreds of times. I’m working on this now and treating it as a learned skill. Like you said playing with your eyes closed has really helped with this and trying not to be reliant on the tabs also trying to recognise patterns with the sound and putting them together rather than learning single notes is proving helpful for big chunks.
I’ve learnt about 5 songs now after not knowing any after about 7 months of playing. I’d love to hear anyone else’s tips for learning to memorise songs
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Another realisation /tip I worked out recently. Tony talks about getting rid of distractions when trying to learn something new and difficult. the brain/sub conscience seeks comfort in doing something easier/safer. I think sometimes I do this with the sheet music it’s my distraction. my goal is to learn the music but I find it difficult so resort to looking back at the tab. I’ve recognised this behaviour and trying to use it to my advantage so set a timer and set aside time to try play something I’m learning without looking at the tab. Hope this makes sense/ helps. I still find memorising very difficult but looking forward to getting better at it.
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Hi, @NW7! Nothing makes me clam up and forget everything I know like someone saying “play something for me!”
I have never been a great memorizer, so I play off of tabs or chord sheets a lot. And I’m hopeless when it comes to memorizing lyrics. In the last few months, I’ve started using software on my computer and iPad to help organize the music. That way I always have it on hand and it’s easy to pull up the music and play off of it.
If you look at professional orchestral musicians, they play off of sheet music the vast majority of the time and the conductor works off the score. Even if they all have it mostly committed to memory, they have the music there as a reminder. No shame in it!
To me, it’s more fun to use reminders, and I play to have fun. 🙂
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@NW7 it’s a double edged sword for sure…. Yes it’s great to be able to grab a guitar at the music store, or in front of your friends, and just “play something”. So maybe try for 1 or 2 of your favorite songs to have as “back pocket” songs that you can play with your eyes closed.
That said, I have found that I only have the mental storage capacity for about 10-12 memorized songs…. Everyone likely has their own limits on that, but there will be a limit to how much you can keep playable from your back pocket. So there’s nothing wrong with playing off of some music or a song sheet (lyrics with chord names above the words). Being able to sight read, or just play from a peice of paper is a very very good tool to have in your toolbox too.
One year for Christmas I took my old battered Christmas song book to the acoustic room at the guitar store and just sat there and played it through cover to cover a few times. It was kind of awesome and I got alot of nice comments. One person said they thought it was piped in music until they passed right next to me and saw me playing. One of my happiest guitar memories, hahaha
So I’d give it a try to learn one or 2 songs, but honestly do whatever helps you to play and have fun at it.
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