How do you memorize Songs?

[DWBass]

I listen to them, write them down, play them, play them, play them, play them....

This but I write them down if I need to. I CAN read music but for the music I play, there is rarely sheet music available. I pretty much learn by ear, then play them over and over until it's retained in my muscle/head memory. It was my M.O. growing up. I knew all the songs already when I joined a band.

 

[QweziRider]

Chart with numbers system, then play them over and over, eventually memorized. Unless it's something with important key riffs, then just play them over and over to memorize those runs.

 

[lildrgn]

I like to think I have a pretty good ear and memory (for music, at least). In my originals band, we took a few weeks off for life events and practiced last week. I usually have little problem recalling my parts, even months later. With the songs we did last week, no problem for me, but for my BL, he got a little twisted. He unwound his parts and was able to make it through, no big deal.

In my cover band, since we are covering 30+ tunes, there's so much more material, but it helps that in most cases, I've heard the tunes many many times (radio, tv, etc). I will practice to the original track with sheet music (if I can find it online), and then without the music. I refuse to use visual aids at practice, let alone onstage, because if I do, I can't memorize it. No shade to those that do need music or iPads, but for me, that's a slippery slope.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Simple questions are often not easily answered.
This to me is one of those.
I would like to understand the ways that more experienced bass players do this.
When I played Saxophone/clarinet in a big band situation we always had a chart in front of us. As a result I can read treble clef very well and I am working on bringing bass clef to the same level.

As much as being able to read is a huge asset it can have some draw backs.
So this is why I am asking…. How do you memorize your parts?

‘I break songs into parts. For the most part, intro, and outdo. The movement for the verse, a pre chorus if any bridge if any, Key change and the modulation work, what is done during a solo, and any identifiable licks. Once I learn the individual parts, I put them into order.

For instance song xyz consists of a begining, 2 verses, chorus repeated twice after the 3rd verse, and the ending. This way I’m remembering 8 parts as opposed to l remembering 175 measures.

For me this is a lot more efficient. Best wishes.

 

[hennessybass]

The longer you use a chart, the more you depend on it.

This has been my downfall...

 

[Plain Old Barry]

Repetition ad nauseam.

Kind of this, but stopping and working out the sections I get wrong.

Work out the Song. Play the song. Work out the wrong parts. Play the song. Work out more details. Play the song. Rehearse with the band...

 

[Ketbass]

Play it loads. Listen to it as much as possible, to the point I can sing the bassline.

I find it hard to understand how people can forget lines tbh

Age. Age. Yeah, age. Also a ton of other stuff/ideas rolling around up there.

Also, I just know by ear a ton of music and can play them by ear. But learning new stuff: Listen. Play. Listen. Play. Repeat. Rinse. Transcribe. Repeat.

 

[micguy]

I have to learn new songs every week, I start with a chord chart, play it a few times while looking at the chart. As soon as there are parts I know, I start looking away. Sooner or later, I don’t need to look at all. A dozen or so times through in a couple of sessions, and its just polishing after that.

If the same song comes up a few weeks later, but in a different key, usually I can work my way through it without a chart at this point.

 

[Hounddog409]

Simple questions are often not easily answered.
This to me is one of those.
I would like to understand the ways that more experienced bass players do this.
When I played Saxophone/clarinet in a big band situation we always had a chart in front of us. As a result I can read treble clef very well and I am working on bringing bass clef to the same level.

As much as being able to read is a huge asset it can have some draw backs.
So this is why I am asking…. How do you memorize your parts?

Keep playing it until I do.

 

[mike buzzetti]

I have a cheat sheet built into my set list , just the basics

 

[badinage]

I'm almost always starting with a chart that's provided to me. I find that quite often just the process of converting a chart to numbers helps imprint a song into my brain.

 

[Joeywhat]

As a sax player I would just play the song a bunch. Sometimes I had music and sometimes I didn't. If playing by ear I'd play along with a track or my band until it was in there for good.

I've mostly played in cover bands since being iut of high school (17 years ago...) so it's easy enough to just play along with a record. I can see how it's harder if you're trying to remember original parts. I would write the parts out however it's easy enough for me to read (for bass it would be tabs, sax would be sheet music) and practice myself with that.

 

[TJH3113]

Practice and repetition. It's how I learned and the only way I know. I'm sure that there are better ways.

 

[Joeywhat]

I have a cheat sheet built into my set list , just the basics View attachment 4862665

I do that when I'm playing keys somewhere, though I'm very mediocre at keyboard so I'll take any help I can get.

 

[bobdabilder]

Break it down by section. Create acronyms for the parts.
Verse 1: D A B E
Bridge: BABC

Etc...

 

[DTRN]

Practice...a lot. I would add; know your keys and your drummer and you can fake your way through many songs.

 

[Egg250]

The first 40 or so play throughs give me a good idea of what I'm playing. It really helps if I'm familiar with the song because of listening to it. My ideal is to practice until playing becomes instinctive...I rarely get there but I'm think I'm getting better.

When I can't practice, I'll listen to the song (set list) while driving to commit the arrangement to memory.

 

[logdrum]

OP since you have reading skills, write or procure the Chord Chart and then any signature bass riffs or lines, write it down beneath the chord change, If you need to do treble clef, no harm in doing that. You can also write down the melodic line separate and then your bass line. If you have a DAW (my experience is Logic and Cubase) they can notate for you if you play keys, lay down the bass line as best you can then quantize to 16 or even 8th, then it will notate it but you have to adjust some ti

Just like any reading you will recognize groups of notes draw a pattern if you group them into 2 to 4 bars. Use your own mnemonic (memory device) to describe that pattern.

Chord sequences, there are only so many and once you know 10 or so, you will discover they are al related

 

[57pbass]

If the tune is going into the regular rotation I always listen to the tune a few times.
I will then write a chart.
I will use the chart a few times and that will help with memorizing the tune.
It also depends on how often we will be playing the tune.
Sometimes we just need to learn a few tunes for a particular show and will never play them again. With this scenario I will just rely on the chart..

 

[bherman]

I try and always start with a chart (notation preferred) and after multiple times playing it with the band, no longer need the chart. Where its helpful to use this approach is that if we play a song that has not been in the rotation for a while I can quickly refer back to the chart for a refresher (we use BandHelper app so always have it at my fingertips on an iPad).