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How long does it take you to get a song down cold?

#41
Well Psycho Killer (Talking Heads) took all of 10 minutes but Darling Dear from the Jamerson Motown book is still a work in progress i.e. I've got the notes and note values even the phrasing down, but the tempo is at 2/3 performance tempo. So the answer is material dependent. Even within the same group's material there are varietal difficulties. THE Beatles', tune Birthday, is another that took less than a half hour, but Something, took about a week.....taking out time for meals of course.
 
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#42
I'd rather learn myself through a window than learn some songs.

Learning a song is completely different for me now. When I was first starting out I had a book where I'd write down all the bass notes, separate them, log changes, etc. Then, I'd practice the song for hours, days, weeks. I was adamant about getting it right. I'd practice 6-8 hours like this after school. I loved it.

Now, I don't care. Even if I knew the song note for note, there's a chance I'd still do my own thing and improv throughout while keeping to the basic structure. After playing songs note for note for years, you start to get bored I suppose. I follow the basic structure, then go nuts.

There is also the nature of the Nashville Number System and chord charts. I don't need to learn a song anymore to be able to play it. Set it in front of me and away we go.

But, to answer the specific question of nailing a song......like has already been pointed out, it depends. It can take anywhere from one play through (Old Crow Medicine Show: Half Mile Down) to weeks to never (Free: Mr. Big—the solo).
 
#43
Chad T said:
Okay, this is sticking my neck out here. But here is a recording I did. Not totally there yet and I get a bit squirrely in a few parts, but here goes. BTW, I am 99% pick player. That's just how I roll. I know some consider that a travesty. lol.

Click to expand...


Well done. Man I'd love to be able to put a song together like that, just don't have the ear or talent. Love the song too.
 
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#45
Chad T said:
Okay, this is sticking my neck out here. But here is a recording I did. Not totally there yet and I get a bit squirrely in a few parts, but here goes. BTW, I am 99% pick player. That's just how I roll. I know some consider that a travesty. lol.

Click to expand...


As someone who has spent far too many hours learning songs but who has become much better at it, I say you probably hit that one too hard and would have benefited from learning some then walking away. Rinse and repeat. Some call it chunking.

One can see that you are a good enough player that you didn't likely have to learn any new physical skills for this song and the note choices aren't "out there" or overly muddled in speed nor rhythmically complex so you shouldn't have needed much time to grasp those aspects of the song. Nope, you just jumped into the fire and likely got lost in the maze rather than staying above it- maybe listen to the song 5x- listening at all times rather than assuming or figuring, let it sink in. Then, if you can't ID and organize the sections in your mind, write them out so you at least know the flow. Bonus if you write out the chords of each section so you can see how stuff works. Get the format ingrained in your head (I know it's tempting to learn the "fun" licks in the order in which they appear but, believe me, until your ears/fingers can just grab that Shlit skip it until you know the boring (structure) part cold. 1)you will own the structure much faster if you aren't allowing yourself to be distracted by the shiny objects, 2) the fills will come (and stay) much easier once you know them in the context of the song structure.
 
#46
I recently spent about 30 hours on one song to get it down cold. Another I spent less than two. It just depends on the song and your playing level. Mine is not very high, so I have to spend a lot of time on tougher songs.
 
#47
micguy said:
I do this kind of theing all the time - playing in church services most weekends, I'm constantly learning new songs. A typical week involveds 2 songs that are new, and brushing up on 2 that I already know, but often in a different key, or a different arrangement. 4 sessions at 1.5 hours each is typical to get them down, memorized, ready to go.

You're better off doing this kind of thing in multiple sessions - in the evening. When you sleep shortly after learning something, things get consolidated/straigntened out in your brain. It really does work much better than 6 hours all at once. Of course, you need to have that time on multiple days.
Click to expand...

Yes, exactly. It's called Incubation.
 
#48
Learn chord progressions. Most songs fall into one of 5-6 chord progressions and follow a cookie cutter pattern. Once you learn those, you'll hear them instantly. Within those 5-6 chord progressions, most bass lines are going to follow a pentatonic pattern with some chromaticism. You learn those patterns and have your pentatonic down cold and all of a sudden, you're playing by ear. Note for note is rarely necessary - even the original artists rarely play note for note. If it is note for note on tour, there's a good chance there is a click track and backing synth somewhere - including the much revered Rush. Get the chords right, get the feel right and learn the fills note for note.
 
#50
SteveW said:
Edited for clarity...however transpose also is defined as:
Transfer to a different place or context. Synonyms: transfer, shift, relocate, transplant, move, displace.

So...transferring it from a CD or sheet music to my brain is in fact transposing.
Click to expand...

Not to pick nits, but every business has a lingo and in music what you've described is called transcribing. Transposing in music has a very specific meaning and that is to change the music from one key to another.
 
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#51
I thought your video of the song was really well done. It does take time to listen and learn a song note-for-note like that, and it's a very good ear training exercise. It's possible to get the bones of a song in a few minutes, and for some players and situations and songs that's all you really need. But I think there's a place for the kind of thing you're doing, as well. I like the challenge of deconstructing a bass line like that sometimes. It helps me add new patterns to my bag of tricks and keeps my ear sharp. If you keep it up, things will get quicker. Nicely done.
 
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#52
Note for note obviously is going to depend on the song. But generally speaking 4-7 practice / learning sessions (on different days) to build up the muscle memory.

I know people that get it right first time out of the chute. Annoying...

Now to be specific, for the most part, I don't bother learning a song, note for note. To be blunt, I am just not that good of a player.

What I do is master the recognizeable phrases, cord progressions and groove of the bass line. Sometimes I simplify a song because.... #1. It's kicking my tail to learn it all the way, and #2. I've got the "Feel" down such that the rest of the band, and the audience can't tell I am doing anything different. For the most part...

Every now and then I get that one guy, usually another bass player, that will say something like... "you missed a few notes in there"...

No I didn't, or to paraphrase Steve Urkel... I meant to do that.
 
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#53
LBS-bass said:
Not to pick nits, but every business has a lingo and in music what you've described is called transcribing. Transposing in music has a very specific meaning and that is to change the music from one key to another.
Click to expand...
+1

If you ask anyone knowledgable about music what transpose means, the first thing they will say is change the key. It drives me nuts when someone wants to redefine words, or use a very uncommon (but technically correct) definition. If you type "define transpose music" into google, the first definition in all of the responses refers to changing they key. Communication is tricky enough without making up your own dictionary as you go along.
 
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#54
Just going from never having heard the song to knowing it down cold I'd say about 2 hours for me. Usually though If I know ahead of time at least a week out from rehearsal I'll listen to it in the car to familiarize myself with the structure of the tune and really get the vibe and attitude from it. At that point it would be about an hour.
 
#57
Probably took me a combined couple hours to learn our latest with tab. It's the most difficult song I've had to learn with this band. Bars of 5/4 in the intro and intro reprise also fills very similar to each other were the parts that gave me the most trouble. I was having so much difficulty I finally got highlighters out and color coded the similar fills.
 
#58
Spidey2112 said:
By ear? With tab support? Peeking at covers on YouTube?

Depends on how difficult the song is, and the resources available to you, at the time... I try to get the song, note for note, but there's some parts which blend in so well, you take an educated guess as to what they're doing...
Click to expand...

BINGO! That's exactly the answer I was about to give.
 
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#59
I do the 90/10 rule - I honor the tune to a 90% accuracy and add my own DNA for the remaining 10%. I figure out and perform the signature licks and honor the chord progression and groove. Beyond that it's all me. The audience and usually the BL will not know I'm not covering a tune note-for-note as recorded. I have no time or interest in doing that. If that's an issue for the BL I move on.
 
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