Musical Memory

[slapfunk987]

Hey all you bass players. Just wondering out of curiosity, how many songs/basslines have you memorized and can play the entire song note for note??? You probably wont have an exact number but a rough estimate is fine.. Post how long you have been playing bass for as well...

I always think about how professionals memorize all those songs in their career and the songs they grew up playing. I always wonder if they forget songs they have learned...

Anyway post your "stats."

[genericusername]

Been playing for about 14 months now, or thereabout. I probably only know 5-10 songs note for note, but I think I know 50+ where I know most of the song except for one tiny bit (for example, I don't know how to play the verse in Master of Puppets).

I'm sure people forget how to play a song they haven't played for years, but I'd reckon it comes back pretty easy.

[BassChuck]

I'm not sure how many songs I have memorized. Probably 75-100, but if you were sitting here with me now, I'm sure I could play or even think of the title of more than a handful. BUT.... in a playing situation, it would all come back to me pretty fast. A lot of the memory stuff is dependent on reaction to musical setting.

[CauliColin]

Originally Posted by BassChuck

I'm not sure how many songs I have memorized. Probably 75-100, but if you were sitting here with me now, I'm sure I could play or even think of the title of more than a handful. BUT.... in a playing situation, it would all come back to me pretty fast. A lot of the memory stuff is dependent on reaction to musical setting.

More or less, but not as many songs in my case.

[DWBass]

I've been playing about 40 years and I probably have memorized or at least am familiar with and can play off the cuff, 1000 + tunes. Maybe more! I'm from the camp of learning and memorizing songs and putting them in the song bank. I am constantly frustrated by musicians who always say, "I need to know what songs are we working on for this gig?" We may end up calling out some other songs and they have forgotten them!

[Mybikeisblack]

I've learned maybe 15 covers, but 25+ originals. Those are the hardest to remember

[IAmTheWalrus]

I know probably about ten or fifteen or so covers note for note and none of my originals have been set in stone/fully arranged yet so I guess those don't count. Having said that I can only play about seven or eight of those covers at the drop of a hat. The others I can remember after a play-through or two

[jmattbassplaya]

I don't really memorize tunes anymore. I just listen to them, figure out the key, get a sense of the groove, take note of anything important, and will reproduce it off of that. I've noticed that learning tunes note-for-note is really not needed and that you can get by with just the basic idea most of the time.

[adivin]

Learning songs and then not remembering them is a source of frustration for me. Some stick and some don't.

[James Judson]

Note for note??? 0

With charts??? Thousands

With 5 line staff??? Millions

By ear??? All of 'em.

My brain is to small to learn/memorize any song. Gimme my cheat sheets (approx 2000) and I'm ready to go. Gimme your song list and youtube and I'll take a few days. Let me see fingers (guitar or keyboards) and I'll play whatever ya got. Gimme a drummer and dynamics will be killer.

[ksandvik]

Originally Posted by James Judson

Note for note??? 0

With charts??? Thousands

With 5 line staff??? Millions

By ear??? All of 'em.

My brain is to small to learn/memorize any song. Gimme my cheat sheets (approx 2000) and I'm ready to go. Gimme your song list and youtube and I'll take a few days. Let me see fingers (guitar or keyboards) and I'll play whatever ya got. Gimme a drummer and dynamics will be killer.

I like this response. That's how professionals should work.

[DWBass]

Let me add that while I may learn them note for note (or as best as I can), I may not play them note for note but I'm usually pretty close though.

[prd004]

I've probably forgotten more songs than I know. But when ever someone mentions a song, I'm the first one to break out in a riff.

I could probably play, up to spec, in any band I've ever been in with one rehearsal. But my memory isn't quite what it used to be!

[Fassa Albrecht]

I can play about 50 or so songs all the way through, mostly Rush or Level 42 stuff.

But to be fair, my long-term interest in jazz music means that learning songs note-for-note is pointless. Firstly, no two bands play songs the same, and generally there's many different versions of songs flying about, and there's no point in learning the wrong one when you can simply improv it.

I can still play some 300 or so worship songs using the Survivor chord sheets, as well as a number of Hillsong and other worship group songs.

[msb3671]

Originally Posted by Mybikeisblack

I've learned maybe 15 covers, but 25+ originals. Those are the hardest to remember

Interesting! I find it the other way around. I've forgotten as many covers as I've learned, but can still play originals from the 80s.

[seanm]

I doubt there are any songs I can play note for note since even if I learn them note for note (which is rare),
I generally don't play them that way.

My memory is pretty bad, so I can probably play 200 or so rock songs from memory. Really not that many, two cover bands puts you at 100 to 120 songs.

[Kwesi]

I forget songs just about the minute I stop practicing them with the exception of a few (probably less than 10). I pick stuff up pretty quick though. Gimmie a chord chart and good music will be made though.

[Jinro]

12.5

I usually play while reading chord sheets and I can't play by ear yet.

[jabsys]

Originally Posted by Kwesi

I forget songs just about the minute I stop practicing them with the exception of a few (probably less than 10).

I'm the same, without practising regularly I'll have forgotten a song in days but it only takes me a few plays through to pick it back up again.

I've currently got 38 songs I can play note for note perfectly, yesterday it was 36, next week it could be 50. Give me a chord sheet and I'll generally work something out, which is how I'd rather play.

[rtslinger]

75-100 maybe more we have 66 songs on the set list and I know a ton of songs that we do not perform. 40+ years of playing you learn a ton of songs