Memorization - your strategy...

[MultiScaleMale]

Spot on, Mr. Nerve. Learning the soul of a song cannot be expressed in charts. I can't feel my part in a song if I use a chart.
The only thing I might do is scribble down a few notes on paper when I get to a part that doesn't automatically come to me, but eventually I don't need the 'coaching' anymore.
I hear the same thing with vocalists who get into a bad habit of needing the words un front of them to sing them. You can't sing a song like it's supposed to be sung if you memorize the words.

Basically every singer that you see on a major tour will have a teleprompter disguised as a monitor.

 

[jhm2112]

I use cues, like the guitar solo, drum parts, rythm guitar parts, and vocals. We've been doing nothing but recording at our studio lately and sometimes I write up little cheat sheets to help with memorization.

 

[bumperbass]

I've been playing in a band now where I have to learn anywhere from 2 to 8 songs a week, and play them flawlessly by the weekend (with no rehearsals).

That's brutal. If I was in that situation, I'd be mightily po'd if the other guys didn't nail their parts.

 

[bumperbass]

Something weird happens to me sometimes if I have to learn a difficult passage.
I don't know if this happens to anybody else, but at home I'll learn the passage, then play it on the gig.
If I go over it again at the house, I'll mess it up if I try to go over it too many times. When gig time comes, I know in my head that I have to nail it, cause it's
showtime! It's like "I HAVE to nail this part" cause we're live, but back at home the adrenaline is missing so I'll end up flubbing it up. Showtime, no problem.

 

[bumperbass]

Basically every singer that you see on a major tour will have a teleprompter disguised as a monitor.

I understand this, but if you're trying to cop the vocal for a cover, I think you have to fundamentally get it in your head. Reading vocal lines in a cover band messes up the feeling of the tune you're trying to cover.
Also, a singer on a major tour has a lot more pressure on them to not mess up, but even if they read the words, they're the ones who sang it on the recording, so the feeling and attitiude is already there.

 

[ObsessiveArcher]

Here's another way to echo what people have already stated...
1) I have to familiarize myself with the song. If I have already heard the song hundreds of times, it's much easier. If not, then I have lots of listening to do in the car and through the earbuds at work. I was taught that, for the average person, it takes a minimum of 17 times of concentrating on one song before you start to "know" it.
2) I like to start with Rocksmith, songsterr, youtube and then some schmucks attempt at tab in that order until I find something useful. I can eventually get my fingers to play the right notes, but having a good visual reference helps me progress faster. Finding isolated bass tracks can be a true treasure hunt.
3) Know the arrangement. This is gleamed from #1 and more often than not "felt" instead of counted. Because I burn the original into my subconscious, I have to be careful when my band mates don't always pick up on or play the nuances of the original.
4) Play along without any visual aids. #2 above is just to get you started. Play along with the original, or even better with a recording of your band, with your eyes closed or only looking at your fretboard. If you make a mistake, then you know what parts you need to work on. Just keep working on those parts until it is familiar and comfortable. The more you perform it correctly, the higher your odds of repeating it on demand correctly.

 

[whero]

I was never taught to read music. I picked up a little theory myself, but if you put sheet music in front of me, it'll take me about 15 minutes to work out a page of bass line. But I have a very good ear.

By the time I've heard a new song through for the first time I'll pretty much have all the root notes down and I could play those through with the song on the second pass. If there are particular riffs or progressions to follow it might take another couple of passes to work those out, depending on how complicated they are. To me, the fingering is usually* the easy part. Once I have the notes in my head, my fingers seem to know where to go - how many strings or frets "offset" from one note to the next, probably just because I've been up and down the fretboard so many times for so many years.

The hard part for me is remembering song structure, if it's a new song I've never heard before. I usually have to scribble down the structure on a piece of paper until I've played it with other people a few times, e.g.:

• INTRO
• VERSE X2
• CHORUS
• VERSE
• CHORUS
• BRIDGE
• VERSE
• CHORUS X2

* I say usually - every now and then something comes along that sounds like it shouldn't be too hard, but for some reason I can't get the fingering and it takes me ages to get it right. For example, the instrumental bit that comes in at about 4:32 in the song Time Slowing Down from the Sound City: Real to Reel album. It didn't sound like it was going to be hard, but it took me ages to find the right finger positions, playing really slowly until it stuck, then working up to full speed. I spent almost an hour just on that riff. Drove me nuts.

 

[T Bassman]

I find repetition combined with charting it out initially really helps get it under the fingers. Once I have the swing of a given tune I'll then move it up and down a half step, partially in anticipation of a last minute key change and partly to make sure my brain is active in the convo and not just reading number charts. Haha

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Memorization is definitely my weak point when it comes to playing. Not quite "technique", but I think this forum is most appropriate. What is your strategy when memorizing a new song? How long does it stick with you?

Memorize note for note?
Memorize chords for each section and then the section layouts?
Memorize certain patterns on the fingerboard?
Muscle memory?
Photographic memory?

I used to go with note for note memorization but that was mostly because of my initial musical background playing trumpet with parts well written and you need to play exactly what's written. For the longest time I guess I went with muscle memory or patterns even though I can read well. But that had limitations and took a long time. Now, much like memorizing a sentence is easier than memorizing numbers because it tells a story, I memorize chord progressions and then the patterns within those chords. Complicated passages fall back to a note for note memorization or if it falls within a pentatonic pattern, then maybe I'll memorize the pattern.

Anyways, memorization is something I need to work on.

I don't know man. I just play it, and listen to it when I'm not playing. Sets in pretty quick for me.

 

[craigie]

This is true, but IME only partly. I don't think it's a special gift that some have and others don't. I think all that's necessary is a half decent ear, and lots and lots and lots of practice.

My ear was always "OK," but I was never one of the guys who could do the above. Until the pressure started getting put on my bigtime, about a year and a half ago. I've been playing in a band now where I have to learn anywhere from 2 to 8 songs a week, and play them flawlessly by the weekend (with no rehearsals). I was forced to find new ways. I started listening to whatever songs I had/have to learn, relentlessly - and doing the best I can to figure them out WITHOUT a bass in my hands. For me that means while driving.

When I first started doing that, I was way off. After doing it hundreds of times, and checking the fingering/fretboard I was imagining in my head when listening - intervals started to be a lot easier to recognize. It took a while, but I started to be able to listen to songs in my car, and then come home and be able to just play right along. I couldn't do that 2 years ago - point being, it's a skill that CAN be learned.

As far as memorization goes - I don't read, and for some reason charts make it impossible for me to ever remember. If I chart a song out, I'll have to always use the chart, and I don't like doing that. Doing the above, and developing my ear - I now only have to get the song embedded in my head. That's easy. I just listen to it 100X . Then the rest happens as Stumbo said - the fingers just go where they're supposed to, cuz they're trained to.

That's what works for me.

I think the key is in trying everything, remaining open minded, and committing to success. Patience helps a lot too.

This is a very good point that joe raises about chord charts. To me it's the brain over-riding the ear and trying to remember what the next note should be instead of trusting the ear. That is always the root cause of any wrong note I play and is accompanied by a wandering mind or some distraction.

Thanks for sharing that joe! I decided a while back to do this while driving home and then go straight to the bass to see how on I am. Forgot about it but will now do it.

 

[somebrains]

I have ptsd from years of music class.

Tap your foot, turn in your chart work, challenge day every Friday.

You wanna jump from 2nd chair 1st to 1st chair 6th.....you get to learn both lines while whoever is behind you is trying to knock you down for his shot.

 

[spvmhc]

If you play another instrument capable of playing chords (e.g., guitar or keyboard), it may help to learn the chord sequence by doing a simple chord play-through.

 

[brianrost]

I never memorize note for note because I do not play note for note.

I memorize the chord progression, breaking down by sections...intro, verse, chorus, bridge, solos, outro...and do so by the number system in case I need to transpose some time in the future.

I memorize fingering patterns only when there are parts where a specific fingering is needed to make the line work better.

 

[baileyboy]

What is your strategy when memorizing a new song? How long does it stick with you?

Practice makes perfect. Regular, daily practice- at least 5 songs daily- to develop mind/muscle memory. I may not be the best bass player- others can play circles around me- but I rarely make mistakes on gigs, and the ones I do make are minuscule.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

My non-method method: I'll start trying to get the bass line from the very beginning. I might get the intro and a verse. Then I realize I need to listen to the whole song first, so I have an idea of where I'm going. Then I'll pick the easiest parts, get those under my fingers, then start again from the beginning. Once I have the basic structure, I'll play it a dozen times. Then I'll go back to the beginning, without the bass, and listen to the whole thing. I may at this point try to sing the bass line. Usually I'll pick up more detail, what I call the "connective tissue" of the song. More repetition, more back-and-forth, until I've got it. I like to have a song note-for-note so I have a plan to deviate from.

To be clear: I don't recommend working this way, it's just how I get things done.

 

[Jrussblues]

I don't think I memorize a whole song. I usually just learn the parts and follow along with the band.
If it's something with a bunch of odd double stops, weird timing or a song I have never heard them I'll listen to it over and over and play it as much as I can.

 

[basscapes]

One band I played in thought it was cool to take the tunes and run with them- of course, those tunes were top 40 for the most part, made up of early Madonna, MJ and a few regional hits of the day.

Oh yeah, we did them kind of in Metallica-style (ala Garage Days RE-Revisited, Garage Inc, etc).

Imagine Like a virgin done that way. Yeah, it was kinda ridiculous, but actually quite good.

Wish I still had the tapes...

 

[buldog5151bass]

Break it into smaller sections.
Use notation/tab to help learn each section.
Make cheat sheets as reminders when you get close. For instance, I had to learn Mystery Achievement. Pretty simple song, other than remembering how many times you play the two phrases in the solo section. I have a note that states it so I can count.

 

[socialleper]

What I've always been confused\amazed by is individual songs with long passages of non-repeating notes, or solos. I've never understood how someone could remember Donna Lee. I also don't know how bass players or guitarists remember solos when it seems like so much random stuff. Those are situations where I wouldn't think you can chart it. It is happening too fast.

 

[el murdoque]

I break it down in pieces that are small enough to swallow whole.
On very simple songs, that means the entire bassline.
On simple songs, the parts (Intro, Verse, Chorus)
[...]
On very hard songs, note for note.

If 'learning' that song means more than just commiting it to memory, I practice all the parts by themselves until I can play them, then start to play the whole song until I can do that, too.
When the song is freshly practiced, It's in the recent memory and easy to access. From there, through repetition, it gets committed to muscle memory.
Songs that I have committed to muscle memory and not played in more than a decade usually take only a few minutes to re-learn.