How do you memorise songs (assuming you have already "worked it out") ?

[Guest bassman7755]

[list=1]
[*]Learn to hum/sing the bassline
[*]Memorise the chord/note names
[*]Memorize the harmony (e.g. I - IV - I - V etc)
[*]Learn the specific string/fret fingering location ("muscle memory")
[*]Rely purely on instinct
[*]other ?
[/list]
Personally I try to do 1 and 2 but still end up with too much reliance for comfort on 3 and 4 (which I consider especially detrimental)

Edited May 14, 2013 by bassman7755

[xilddx]

You mean covers I presume?

I learn by ear, I can usually sing the line. I don't have enough theory to really help me.

Edited May 14, 2013 by xilddx

[JTUK]

I just listen to it a few times to get the essense as far as I am concerned... make notes of where we are going to put the changes
and that is it.
In rehearsal, we see whether it works and is worth pursuing, we talk about the intro to set the tone..the feel/groove we want, and how to finish it.
That gives us the template for everyone to add/embellish what they see fit..

[neepheid]

If I have to learn a pre-existing song - take song into Audacity, bass boost it, then chuck it up an octave. Bass line (an octave higher) verily pings out at you. Learn it up there, then take it back down on the bass.

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1368534999' post='2078081']
If I have to learn a pre-existing song - take song into Audacity, bass boost it, then chuck it up an octave. Bass line (an octave higher) verily pings out at you. Learn it up there, then take it back down on the bass.
[/quote]

I guess I'm refering to how you commit the song to memory rather than the transcription or "working out" process. In other words - what knowledge are you relying on when you come to play it in the band ?.

Edited May 14, 2013 by bassman7755

[steve-bbb]

if it s basic stuff i just listen and my fingers go there - if its something a bit more complex same process but in smaller bite sized chunks

[dougieb]

I pick up a tune quite quickly. I generally listen a few times and work out the bassline and then "play along a whoever!".

[LiamPodmore]

Muscle memory for me, so i'm not sure which category that would fall under. If i start thinking about the notes on stage, that's when i mess up.

Liam

[SpaceChick]

I listen to the song, grab my bass and find the chords changes and roots first... Once I've plotted the roots, then I work out what goes inbetween.

I tend to break it into sections then put it all together.

[xilddx]

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1368535481' post='2078090']
I guess I'm refering to how you commit the song to memory rather than the transcription or "working out" process. In other words - what knowledge are you relying on when you come to play it in the band ?.
[/quote]

So you should change the thread title then.

[KevB]

First job, listen to it and then see if there is a guitarpro file for it. Then take it from there. After that it is mostly memory. Couldnt sight read to save my life and having sheets on stage isn't really the done thing in the sort of bands I play in. I still make mistakes but I'd make even more if I was conciously thinking about the theory behind what I was doing whilst trying to entertain in my own little pole dancing clown-whorish way.

Edited May 14, 2013 by KevB

[JamesBass]

It's a combination of all of them for me, I learn it by ear and improv it out, then once I've got it, I'll write it out and then I'll attempt to play from memory, just by listening and playing it! It works well enough for me

[Dave Vader]

Most songs are pretty formulaic, after a while you just know where it's going to go and you go there all by yourself.
Instinct then

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1368536028' post='2078104']
So you should change the thread title then.
[/quote]

Fair comment - have attempted to do just that.

[xilddx]

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1368537295' post='2078134']
Fair comment - have attempted to do just that.
[/quote]
Cool, much better

And the answer is simple repetition and pattern recognition for me. Knowing the key of the song helps me too, much easier in remembering the fret position of the first note or whatever. I can usually hear the whole song in my head, if I can do that then playing the song with real emotion and expression is easy and a much higher quality performance results.

You realise your poll results may be a bit skewed now?

[tauzero]

Songs used to be pretty easy to learn - to quote Jonathan King, they were verse, chorus, verse, chorus, clever bit, verse, chorus. That's pretty easy to cope with, you just learn the bassline to each bit by repetition, putting in whatever fancy bits seem to work, and then stick them all together, coping with the odd little thing like a double length verse. Nowadays it seems more common for songs to have a constantly-varying structure so you have to learn a more complex structure assembled from smaller building blocks. I find that playing along with something a few times is generally enough but I've got rather slack in knowing what chords I'm playing to so I've got rather too pattern-based for my own liking.

[danthevan]

Most of the stuff we do is pretty old / popular stuff and for years now and whenever I hear a song it's usually the bass I listen to the most, so I know the chord changes / riffs etc in my head, then just sit down, work out the root notes and elaborate as required!

[Left Foot]

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1368535545' post='2078093']
if it s basic stuff i just listen and my fingers go there - if its something a bit more complex same process but in smaller bite sized chunks
[/quote]

^ this

[steve-bbb]

apologies now ive read the thread title correctly .... tape recorder memory

[dlloyd]

It depends on the song. And why I'm learning it/how precious I am about getting it "right".

Most I'll just play a couple of bars on a CD/MP3, then play what I think the original bassist played. Then play the next few bars and do the same. Repeat till I get to the end of the song. Then I'll play the whole song along with the CD and all's well. 10 minutes work.

If I'm learning a bunch of songs for a specific gig, I'll learn a couple of tunes a day, then build up a "set list" of them and play it through with the CD a couple of times a day. Easy.

For more difficult tunes where the bassline is integral to the tune (eg. Rhythm Stick) I'll pop them into Audacity and slow them down a little and maybe loop them, both for transcribing and learning the song. Sometimes I'll watch videos or listen to live recordings (official and bootleg).

I never bother with online tabs... they're invariably wrong.

[dlloyd]

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1368535481' post='2078090']
I guess I'm refering to how you commit the song to memory rather than the transcription or "working out" process. In other words - what knowledge are you relying on when you come to play it in the band ?.
[/quote]

Transcribing and learning are one and the same.

[JTUK]

I am not interested in the notes just the road map of the song, so I'll be working it
as soon as the drums kick in..
At this point I may well retread old ground with regards to what I play or I may have picked up on something different and
am then going to go with that.
If I have to count through sections, I'll do that... but mostly I am looking for trigger points if I need them..
Once I am familiar with the lay-out of the song.. I am looking to play it.. not follow it..

[Twigman]

Cross between muscle memory and instinct.

[sykilz]

I remember the patterns from a self remembered "root" note, i.e chorus may start on A so from E string 5th fret I`d remember the pattern of following notes until another " landmark" . I know this sounds a bit... odd....but I remember numbers and patterns better than the letters of the notes....!!!! Each to their own!!!!

[BILL POSTERS]

[quote name='sykilz' timestamp='1368545689' post='2078320']
I remember the patterns from a self remembered "root" note, i.e chorus may start on A so from E string 5th fret I`d remember the pattern of following notes until another " landmark" . I know this sounds a bit... odd....but I remember numbers and patterns better than the letters of the notes....!!!! Each to their own!!!!
[/quote]

Like this. Just the shapes and patterns. I dont really think about what the notes are.

Then stick it on a disc and play it in the car ( I drive a lot for work) which sticks the arrangement in my head.

Edited May 14, 2013 by BILL POSTERS