Is Memorizing Song Worth the Time and Effort?

[Malcolm35]

..... A few of you mentioned learning by ear. I have done this with a few licks but haven’t put a lot of time into it yet. Are there any good tips for getting the most out of this?

I can feel that a chord change is coming, but, it is a guess which one. I cheat and watch the rhythm guitar's fretting hand pattern and do the same, or rely on a theory guess of what is probably coming up.

Learning by ear takes a lot of playing by ear. I could get by with chord charts, and the things I mentioned above and be gigging to where they asked me back, so I did not give ear training the time necessary.

My point ear training does not just happen.

 

[FunkHead]

It's a personal thing but I try to memorize every song note for note. Some are very very difficult and I just keep working towards memorizing them each rehearsal.

For the most part, I like to be able to carry the entire song. That way when someone in the band gets a little lost, they can count on me to be on track.

I don't mean that to sound conceited or arrogant but it is what I strive to do. The chance of the entire band "flaking" at the same time is minimal. Therefore, We can usually lean on each other in the event of a forgotten part.

Everyone should strive to be able to play every song pretty much note for note IMO. It just makes the band tighter and that much better. We've all been in a band with "that guy" who just wings it all the time. That's no fun for me!

 

[Sean150]

No, I think memorizing tabs and notes is useless.
The important thing is learning the form,progressions, riffs, runs....in a analytical way. You should find what's going on and learn those key elements.
Actually I'm doing that for one of RHCP Albums.
Good luck.

Which album? Stadium Arcadium is one of my favourite albums of all time and is kind of what brought up the topic. I started learning how those lines work and, along with the other work I had no time to play through the other songs that I had memorized.

 

[Mili]

Which album? Stadium Arcadium is one of my favourite albums of all time and is kind of what brought up the topic. I started learning how those lines work and, along with the other work I had no time to play through the other songs that I had memorized.

Yes Stadium Arcadium! I love this album. recently i finished Dani California. There are isolated tracks on youtube which is very helpful. I have the bass songbook too which is very important part of practicing for me. As I said before, I need to know what's going on so knowing about chords from a reliable source is must.

 

[zontar]

I've probably forgotten how to play more songs than I've memorized.
Or something like that.

But every now & then one comes back to me--I play it again--and have fun with it.

 

[Julian G]

I enjoy learning new songs even though I might never do them with a band. I think timing, technique, chord sequences can all be understood and learnt more through learning and playing new songs. I used to mostly follow tabs but as my ear has improved through playing songs I generally work from chords now and have developed a far better understanding of chord progressions (though still trying to get to grips with how, why and where to use modes - but that's the joy of music, there is always something to learn).

 

[SteveCS]

I have been playing for a couple of years now and I am having trouble figuring out how much time and effort I should be putting into memorizing songs.

When I started out I memorized a whole bunch of songs (50ish); however my goal is to become better at improvising and composing more than playing in a cover band. As I spend more time practising fretboard memorization and rhythm exercises I am finding it difficult to find the time to learn new songs and maintain the memorization of the ones I know. I find this especially tough because I am now focusing on figuring out how a bass line is constructed vs. Memorizing Tab.

So my main question is if there is a benefit to memorizing and maintaining a large number of songs if one isn’t playing them live?

Learn to recognize ... what you're hearing, and where those intervals are on the fingerboard. Then you don't need to memorize particular songs, as you'll be able to hear where they are going.

I don't see any benefit of memorizing songs unless you're playing them on stage and not wanting to (or being allowed to) use cheat sheets. Your time will be much better spent working on the things you've been working on. Once you learn "how a bassline is constructed," as you put it, you'll be able to remember and/or reconstruct lines that you haven't committed entirely to memory -- and also be able to improvise around them when desired.

@Sean150 Everything you need to know is in the answers already given.

But the reality is that there is no need to for a trade off. Given a structured approach, supported perhaps by learning a little theory, your goals need not be mutually exclusive...

Break out some paper and write stuff down as you go. Use TAB, standard notation (learn it if you don't already know it), fake chords, nashville numbers, or, to being with, whatever you are capable of. Add as much detail as you can - chord symbols, repeats, key and time signatures, bar counts, section lengths, tempo changes, etc. Go around as many times as necessary to get it right, but write everything down. Take an analytical approach. For example, when you add a chord symbol, look at the notes in the bass line and see how they relate to the notes in the chord. See how the rhythms and accents in the bass line fit with the time signature. Look at how a good bass line moves rhythmically and melodically to connect the chords. If you can, write out segments of the vocal melody and look at how the bass and top notes fit around the chord. You may not be able to do all of these things at once, but just giving it a go will at least open your eyes to the internal structures of the tune.

Once you have finished, put the bass down then write it out again as a final clean draft on a new sheet. Pick the bass up again and run through to check for mistakes, then put in an easy-access folder.

The process of doing this will:

1. Show you how lines are constructed within the harmonic framework;
2. Show you how the harmony (chords) relates to the melody;
   
3. Show you the framework of the song - key(s), scales, motifs, themes - around which you can start to improvise in ways that make musical sense;
4. Demonstrate principles of composition which you can apply to your own work;
5. Give you a reliable reference library should you need to check or recall something in the future.

But here's the big one: in doing all of these things you will actually start to remember the songs more quickly, more completely, for longer and with a deeper, more musical understanding of them. In turn you will make fewer mistakes at show-time meaning you play with higher confidence leading to a better show.

YMMV

 

[Samatza]

I’ve found over the years that if I write out the bass line I remember it. It must have something to do with identifying the changes and notes.

Shows that we’ve done many times even years apart just seem to come to me very quickly. This works for me, you need to find what works for you.

We had a rehearsal last week, first in about eight months but I found it was easy to get back into the songs.

 

[Snarf]

I have been playing for a couple of years now and I am having trouble figuring out how much time and effort I should be putting into memorizing songs.

When I started out I memorized a whole bunch of songs (50ish); however my goal is to become better at improvising and composing more than playing in a cover band. As I spend more time practising fretboard memorization and rhythm exercises I am finding it difficult to find the time to learn new songs and maintain the memorization of the ones I know. I find this especially tough because I am now focusing on figuring out how a bass line is constructed vs. Memorizing Tab.

So my main question is if there is a benefit to memorizing and maintaining a large number of songs if one isn’t playing them live?

I think that the level of detail you go into with each song will have something to do with this. I find that the 80/20 rule applies with learning songs, and that once you get the main part of the line that gets repeated a lot, and you know where any anticipations are and breaks/drops in the arrangement, then that's enough, and fill in the other 20% with stylistically appropriate improvisation. If you're killing yourself to get every single note that was played on a recording, you may need to streamline your song learning process.

 

[consectaneus]

I've wondered that lately. I've spent months learning a complicated piece only to forget how it went months later. I just hope that by learning it, I've improved my reading and technique and I'm a better player by osmosis so that it's not time wasted.

 

[BrotherMister]

Yes it's worth while. I could talk about the benefits of it for being a working musician etc but to address your question of improvising and creating music? Also yes.

Basically every great improviser has a wealth of tunes memorised. Let's say you had two jazz standards quartets playing. None of them are playing specific arrangements unique to the band, it's just a standards gig where they turn up and play tunes jam session style. If Band A all turned up with charts and Band B all turned up knowing standards from memory I guarantee Band B will be a far more enjoyable experience as they will be able to improvise a lot more freely over the tune and interact as a unit greater.
Often people are glued to the charts and it sounds like they are painting by numbers when it comes to improvisation rather than having the sounds and forms so ingrained into them that they are so much more liberated from it.