Your techniques for learning songs?

[IC]

Specifically on piano, but I guess it can really apply to anything.

Anyways, I find I'm pretty slow at it. My fingers are physically capable of playing a lot of them, it's more the memorization I need to work on.

So what kind of approaches do you guys take?

Memorizing chorus/verse seperately?

In small (two to eight measure) chunks?

Do you just run through the whole thing several times until you got it down pat?

Any exercises, techniques or something I'm not thinking of?

Whatever comes to mind, post it here!

[BenHarris]

Usually I look over the tab (or write out what I figured out) and play along with the song as I read it. Eventually I try it without the tab and try my best to play the song without looking. If I use that method I can get a song down pat.

It helps if you like the song you're trying to play =)

[Chavous]

I look at the tab/sheet music, listen to the song, and that's about it....I can memorize a song in about 15 minutes, if not less, mostly thanks to marching band.

[IC]

I look at the tab/sheet music, listen to the song, and that's about it....I can memorize a song in about 15 minutes, if not less, mostly thanks to marching band.

Aye, but muscle memory enters into the equation as well.

[seanv]

Specifically on piano, but I guess it can really apply to anything.

Anyways, I find I'm pretty slow at it. My fingers are physically capable of playing a lot of them, it's more the memorization I need to work on.

So what kind of approaches do you guys take?

memorizing chorus/verse seperately?

In small (two to eight measure) chunks?

Do you just run through the whole thing several times util you got it down pat?

Any exercises, techniques or something I'm not thinking o?

Whatever comes to mind, post it here!

What I do, if a song is easy enough for me to sight-read it, I just play it over and over again. If it's too hard for that, well, I learn it in chunks first until I have enough memory to be able to play it while reading it, and then I play it over and over again until I don't need the sheet music.

Ummm...I learned a cool technique for memorizing lists and poems....it might apply to music....

you memorize the first line first, then play through to the second line, and memorize the second line WITH the first, and then the third WITH the 2nd and 1st, and so on. Typically it means you know the first part of the song/list/poem better than any other part but it works surprisingly fast, and sticks for a while.

[IC]

Specifically on piano, but I guess it can really apply to anything.

Anyways, I find I'm pretty slow at it. My fingers are physically capable of playing a lot of them, it's more the memorization I need to work on.

So what kind of approaches do you guys take?

memorizing chorus/verse seperately?

In small (two to eight measure) chunks?

Do you just run through the whole thing several times util you got it down pat?

Any exercises, techniques or something I'm not thinking o?

Whatever comes to mind, post it here!

What I do, if a song is easy enough for me to sight-read it, I just play it over and over again. If it's too hard for that, well, I learn it in chunks first until I have enough memory to be able to play it while reading it, and then I play it over and over again until I don't need the sheet music.

Ummm...I learned a cool technique for memorizing lists and poems....it might apply to music....

you memorize the first line first, then play through to the second line, and memorize the second line WITH the first, and then the third WITH the 2nd and 1st, and so on. Typically it means you know the first part of the song/list/poem better than any other part but it works surprisingly fast, and sticks for a while.

How dare you tarnish my double-spaced splendor!

But yeah, I used to do that technique for memorizing speeches and what not, though I don't think I've ever applied it to music. Worth a shot, I say!

[OverCoat]

I can second seanv's method

[chokst~1.bat]

How

dare

you

tarnish

my

double-

spaced

splendor!

Fixed.

[IC]

How

dare

you

tarnish

my

double-

spaced

splendor!

Fixed.

Genius.

Or should I say...

G

e

nevermind...

[Yoozer]

Listen and don't do anything. Repeat 4-5 times or so. Then play the harder/more complex parts at lower speed (Winamp PaceMaker plugin). I do this occasionally for songs I'm not trying to get figure out, too.

[Sixto]

Listen and don't do anything. Repeat 4-5 times or so.

This is pretty much what I do. I pick out the chords while I'm listening and depending and then I'll try to figure out the melody or the main riff. Then I just play it over and over until I have it down perfect. Usually takes a good hour or so to learn just one song. (Dream Theater songs take like a week. )

[Malcos]

I usually do it all by ear; I figure out the root chord first then go from that. Most of the time the melody flows from the chord structure, so by remembering that you're half-way there.

I always end up learning the chorus first, easiest to commit to memory.

[_SHO_]

I reckon it all depends on what kind of learner you are. You either learn better by visual stimulation (Tabs & sheet music), audio stimulation (working it out by ear, like me) or Kinaethetic stimualtion (hands on, work it out by playin it or sequencing it as you feel).

I work best by listening to it.

I try to get a MIDI file of the song, if it's available, and bring it into Anvil Studio (Freeware!). Then i am able to isolate different parts and listen to them, seeing how they work together. This program is also good if you like to look at the piano roll or sheet notation to work it out.

My thoughts.