How do you learn a new song?

[Ekulati]

Hmm...I listen to how the song goes, then I play it.

 

[Ggaa]

I'd learn the bones of the songs first then work on any distinctive tone/attack.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

How I learn:
1.Listen to the song a few times without the bass in my hands.
2. Write down the basic changes.
3. Pick out the easiest passages and get them under my fingers.
4. If there is a signature lick, get that down.
5. Take a flyer at playing all the way through, no stopping for mistakes.
6. Work on the mistakes. Sometimes I'm not hearing everything in which case:
7. YooToob to the rescue!
8. Get the whole tune sorted, and wash, repeat, wash repeat, etc.
9. Play it with the band, because that's where I find out whether I've really got it.

Let me stipulate that I do not recommend learning this way. It's just how I do it.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Hello mates!

Every time I learn a new song or actually most of the time I practice I do it with the tone all the way open and I use bridge pick up, that way I notice any buzz or miss fretting. It allows me to master a peace of song perfectly and that works for me! Once I play the song with the proper tone or pick up, it sounds great.

But there are some song, more specifically Jamiroquai's songs, that are hard to learn, and I notice that at it's standard tempo with the proper tone an pick up, that is a mellow sound that characterizes Paul Turner , I can perform well but with open tone I still hear buzz or missfreting... not precise playing, I dont know if you get the idea.
So I strive to get it right! But then I think " if I am gonna play this song with the tone closed, with a mellow and deep sound that will hide these imperfections, why wasting time trying to master it the other way??"

so the question here is , What do you say I should do?

Should I learn a song using the tone that I will play it or keep using my old method?

Thanks!!

I don’t think refining proper technique while learning songs is a great idea. I’d spend more time working on the technique you are going to need to play a song first.

The second thing is record and review your practice sessions. This will tell you in no uncertain terms what areas you need to clean up. There is no way you can remember every note you play and how well you played it.

If you have your technique cleaned up, it’s doesn’t matter what your tone setting I when playing a new song.

 

[Andy Marshman]

my tone is never wide open. I get zero pleasure from that; to me it goes against the concept of playing a bass instrument. So, I'll learn, practice and gig using the same tone throughout - the one that's my preference. People never tell me that they like my playing but not the tone.

 

[Cave Puppy]

Tone while learning a song is of no concern to me. I’ll even learn a song unplugged. If I want to tweak a pedal I’ll use at a show, I’ll dial it in, but, like I said, tone while learning is of no concern, so long as it’s somewhat pleasant to listen to. I just need to LEARN THE SONG. Tone decisions are made subjectively every day, and what you think works when learning a song may not be what is right for when you actually perform it.

 

[micguy]

i play church gigs, with a wide range of different styles, so what my right hand is doing can be very different song to song. Practice at home is mostly (time wise) about getting the chord structure in my head so I don't have to think when I get to the gig. I'm also figuring out what bass, what technique, and what settings on my pedalboard will work to get what I think I'll need at the gig.

At the gig, all of that is subject to review - once I hear what everyone is playing and singing, I adapt as necessary.

 

[Ostie]

I put the vinyl record on the turntable and drop the needle over and over in the same spot…..wait, that was forty years ago…..

 

[RGerhart]

If I'm not in a time crunch and have plenty of time to learn the tune, I play the tune a couple of times through headphones and just listen. Then, I get the key center of the tune, note any time/tempo changes if applicable, then sit down with my bass and learn it note-for-note, notating it with standard notation in Sibelius. I usually have a pretty close approximation to the original's tone dialed in, but if it's not 100%, no big deal.

After I have the tune notated, I usually play through it a few times and make sure my notation is correct and fix anything that is out of place. If everything is copacetic, I export it as a .pdf file and save it on my iPad.

 

[Cristo]

An interesting aspect of this thread is that there have been about as many different ways of learning a song as there have been responses.

Although there might well be different things that could improve the quality and speed of learning for each of us, we are all so different that there is no one size fits all answer.

 

[LowEndThrasher]

I’m a bit of a weirdo with this, but 90% of the time when I learn a new song, I play unplugged. I only like to play plugged in if I know the song, jamming, performing or recording. Every now and then I’ll plug in when learning something new for the small but important intricacies in a song so I can understand how they’re supposed to sound like.

 

[Kevorargh]

I do a lot of listening before I sit down to do a pass through to get the form in my head and to hear the changes. I don't necessarily chart everything out unless it's a crazy difficult song. Then I do work out the tone I want on bass, and practice with the tone I think I will use live - for example, my '80's cover band may try Stray Cat Strut, so I have dialed in a tone on my Ric that may roughly emulate the upright sound, and I practice with that tone. Pay attention to mistakes, look at YouTube videos or Tab if I am not sure I am getting a signature riff down (much better than trusting my ears, I was embarrassed to learn I had been playing Wrathchild wrong for 20+ years!), and keep working til I have it down.

 

[gln1955]

The tone settings on my bass are the last thing I'd think about when learning a new song. Fingering, picking and muting technique, yes, but I won't even know what tone I'll want until I play with the band anyway. Then again, I end up sounding like me, no matter what.

 

[onda'bass]

I listen to it and play it. Simple process

 

[Polfuste]

I learn it by ear, write tabs of it for memory, little by little; without taking care about tone. It depends of the bass i play, electric / acoustic - plugged / unplugged - amp / headphones. Many possibilities with many tones. I'm thinking about tone when i play with the band and plugged.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Hello mates!

Every time I learn a new song or actually most of the time I practice I do it with the tone all the way open and I use bridge pick up, that way I notice any buzz or miss fretting. It allows me to master a peace of song perfectly and that works for me! Once I play the song with the proper tone or pick up, it sounds great.

But there are some song, more specifically Jamiroquai's songs, that are hard to learn, and I notice that at it's standard tempo with the proper tone an pick up, that is a mellow sound that characterizes Paul Turner , I can perform well but with open tone I still hear buzz or missfreting... not precise playing, I dont know if you get the idea.
So I strive to get it right! But then I think " if I am gonna play this song with the tone closed, with a mellow and deep sound that will hide these imperfections, why wasting time trying to master it the other way??"

so the question here is , What do you say I should do?

Should I learn a song using the tone that I will play it or keep using my old method?

Thanks!!

I just learn the song.

 

[LowEndThrasher]

The tone settings on my bass are the last thing I'd think about when learning a new song. Fingering, picking and muting technique, yes, but I won't even know what tone I'll want until I play with the band anyway. Then again, I end up sounding like me, no matter what.

Exactly, tone makes no difference to me. I just want to learn the song. I actually have a bass with dead strings specifically to pick up and play on a whim. I use my other basses with better strings and my amp when I’ve learned my song enough to really make it sound killer. It’s almost like a reward for the hard work I put into learning music. I learn everything by ear so it’s not always the easiest thing in the world.

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

I am starting to delete my tone knobs. I never ever use them on bass.

 

[Auspuff]

Hello mates!

Every time I learn a new song or actually most of the time I practice I do it with the tone all the way open and I use bridge pick up, that way I notice any buzz or miss fretting. It allows me to master a peace of song perfectly and that works for me! Once I play the song with the proper tone or pick up, it sounds great.

But there are some song, more specifically Jamiroquai's songs, that are hard to learn, and I notice that at it's standard tempo with the proper tone an pick up, that is a mellow sound that characterizes Paul Turner , I can perform well but with open tone I still hear buzz or missfreting... not precise playing, I dont know if you get the idea.
So I strive to get it right! But then I think " if I am gonna play this song with the tone closed, with a mellow and deep sound that will hide these imperfections, why wasting time trying to master it the other way??"

so the question here is , What do you say I should do?

Should I learn a song using the tone that I will play it or keep using my old method?

Thanks!!

I always just listened, and applied it.

 

[J-Mags]

At first, if I'm learning it by ear, I'll just use whichever tone allows me to hear both the bass and the recording the best. Once I have the parts down, however sloppily, I'll just focus on the tone that I ultimately want, both in terms of playing and EQ.

Why optimize the tone for a hypothetical situation rather than one you actually anticipate?