Wal, me, I learn the chords so I can sing the durn song, and then I sings it. I'll stop and focus on a crafty chord change or a run i need to get straight while I am working it up. If I were learning a melody, picked or blown by the notes, I would stop and rework any sequence I was getting wrong, slower, until I had the bits and then string 'em together. But what i really do de facto is learn chords. The rest kinda takes care of itself.A