First, I look for songs that have a strong appeal to me. That makes it pretty easy to learn a song. In fact, when I like something, I can't rest until I have either found it somewhere, or by just listening, constructing the chords. That's a fun process. I think you have to play music periodically, or you will "lose" the words. However, there are a few tunes I sing only about one or two times a year and I find I remember them well (I've played and sung them over the years and they are pretty automatic). I normally have to play through them at least once before I can perform them, but I have been known to pull one out of my memory bank, from long, long ago. Regards, Jim