Song retention - any tips on how to remember songs?

[Geek99]

I have trouble with this as I play infrequently and have little practice time

Listen to it until you're sick of it then split it into sections so it doesn't seem such a huge task is my advice

[BigRedX]

Play, play and play some more. For me it's all about repeating what I do until I can play it without needing to think about what I am doing. It's very obvious that for me repetition is the key, because the parts that take the longest to stick are those that only occur one or two times in the song and not the main parts that repeat over and over.

Also if you are learning covers by playing along to the original, stop doing that as soon as you can. The recorded track acts as too much of a crutch and because it never goes wrong you can get away with not knowing the song properly because the music acts as a prompt. Of course once you are doing the song with the rest of your band, it only takes one other member to not know it properly either and the whole thing falls apart.

[discreet]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1451748677' post='2943064']
Also if you are learning covers by playing along to the original, stop doing that as soon as you can. The recorded track acts as too much of a crutch and because it never goes wrong you can get away with not knowing the song properly because the music acts as a prompt. Of course once you are doing the song with the rest of your band, it only takes one other member to not know it properly either and the whole thing falls apart.
[/quote]

This is (another) problem I have with covers bands - other members not learning their parts sufficiently well. I do learn covers by playing along to the original, but I record my bass line and listen to it in isolation to make sure it's up to scratch. But as far as other members not knowing the song properly goes, there's not much you can do about that apart from trying to find a band that consists of good people who know their stuff. This is rare (and yet another problem I have with covers bands), but is great when it happens.

[tonyquipment]

Make a YouTube playlist of tracks that you know how to play

Useful to have

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1451752162' post='2943115']
This is (another) problem I have with covers bands - other members not learning their parts sufficiently well.
[/quote]

I've mostly been in bands where people were good enough that this wasn't an issue but there have been exceptions. In one band the keyboardist seemed to lack the ability and/or motivation to do this properly so it got to point where I would also transcribe all the keyboard parts of new songs and give him a chord chart. Was very good ear training/transcription practice but a bit of a pain.

Edited January 2, 2016 by bassman7755

[BottomE]

[quote name='grumpyguts' timestamp='1451728026' post='2942738']
However.. Trying to get For Once In My Life sorted; currently more than my brain can take.
[/quote]
haha - been there! Now i can play it in my sleep.

I get a lot of mileage out of running through the song internally. Before i go to sleep i run through the song in my head and visualise myself playing it. Works for me. In 2 bands with about 5 hours worth of material stored up in my head and believe me, i have a terrible memory for everything else but this seems to be effective.

[discreet]

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1451823140' post='2943647']
...I get a lot of mileage out of running through the song internally. I run through the song in my head and visualise myself playing it. Works for me.
[/quote]

+1. I listen to the song closely quite a few times before even picking up a bass. You can't listen properly if your fiddling around tuning, finding which key it's in, trying to jump straight into it, etc etc. You need to pay attention!

Edited January 3, 2016 by discreet

[lojo]

I write index cards with structures on, these may or may not contain chords , but I make it as simple as possible , verses , choruses, 1/2 verses, odd bars , breaks etc , I find then it's easy to see in my mind.

For me the chords / lines are the easiest parts to remember , but the structure is the hardest

[Japhet]

Read up a bit about Learning Styles. We all learn differently. Some people are auditory learners and listening is their preferred method. Myself, I am a visual learner so writing down chords, structure, riffs etc. helps the information to stick because I can visualise what I have written down. Kinesthetic learners like to be on the move so walking whilst processing information helps. Males tend to be kinesthetic learners. It's a fascinating subject.

[Musashimonkey]

[quote name='Japhet' timestamp='1451831106' post='2943753']
Read up a bit about Learning Styles. We all learn differently. Some people are auditory learners and listening is their preferred method. Myself, I am a visual learner so writing down chords, structure, riffs etc. helps the information to stick because I can visualise what I have written down. Kinesthetic learners like to be on the move so walking whilst processing information helps. Males tend to be kinesthetic learners. It's a fascinating subject.
[/quote]

Definitely an interesting read, and conceptually works for some. But a lot of the research into this has now been debunked, and has generally fallen out of favour. I feel the best approach to learning, visual, auditory or kinaesthetic depends more on the subject to be learnt rather than the individual.