|
Subject: How to do you memorize a song? From: GUEST,Joeler Date: 05 Apr 00 - 09:50 PM Just finished the thread on cheat sheets. Some thoughts about how you mudcatters memorize songs. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: MMario Date: 05 Apr 00 - 10:00 PM some older thoughts on the subject url=http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=8098 url=http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=17819 Don't miss the shower scene! *grin*
|
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Clinton Hammond2 Date: 05 Apr 00 - 10:01 PM repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & repitition & more repitition.... Then some more repitition... {~` |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Mbo Date: 05 Apr 00 - 10:13 PM Repetition often has nothing to do with it! I had "The Fields of Athenry" memorized a few seconds after I first heard it back in December. On the other hand, I've been playing "The Irish Rover" since March '97 and I STILL can't remember all the words! --Mbo |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Kelida Date: 05 Apr 00 - 10:14 PM I play clarinet, and I recently learned "Strayaway Child" (a four-part jig) in about six hours over the course of about two days. One thing I do is just is practice singing, playing, etc. one song at a time until I get it right. Then, whenever I have time, I just sit and practice several songs that I know to refresh my memory. One thing you should never, ever do is throw away your lyric sheets and/or music away. You never know when some sort of selective amnesia will come up. Just make sure that only happens during practices. . . Peace--Keli |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: MMario Date: 05 Apr 00 - 10:18 PM and if you have song sheets of all but one song, guess which one you will blank on? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Kelida Date: 05 Apr 00 - 10:27 PM I always forget the words to "Follow Me Up To Carlow," even though that's one of my favorite songs. Another difficult song to keep memorized is "Cam Ye O'er Frae France"--I think because it's written in dialect. It's fun to sing, though. . .although a bit embarrassing to wake up out of my boredome-trance at school to find everyone staring at me because I seem to have no internal monologue. . . |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Mbo Date: 05 Apr 00 - 10:30 PM Ha ha...try singing "Tibbie Fowler" in public, that'll get you some wierd looks! Hmm...now that one is in dialect, and I ALMOST have it memorized...it must have something to do with pleasing vocal sounds... --Mbo |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Áine Date: 05 Apr 00 - 10:30 PM I learned this little trick when I was on tour with my church choir a few (ahem!) years ago, and we had to give hour and half long concerts singing completely from memroy (including selections from Handel's Messiah). I memorized the first and last word in every line of each song. After a while, they 'trigger' the rest of the line -- and it makes a very quick 'study' of the song in your head right before you go on stage. -- Áine |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: GUEST Date: 05 Apr 00 - 10:32 PM Memorizing a ten verse song. Go over first verse until it is memorized. Then go over second verse until that one is memorized. Sing first and second verses in order. Learn third verse. Sing second and thrid verses then first second and third. Sing all three verses until they are perfect. Learn fourth verse. Sing third and fourth, then second, third and fiourth, then first through to fourth in order. Get the pattern? repeat as many times as necessary, resting after sixth verse, until the whole song has been learned. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Ebbie Date: 05 Apr 00 - 10:35 PM Recently I got hold of some CDs and was so taken by 7 of the songs that I set to work to learn all of them. At the same time. Didn't work well AT ALL. My usual method is to play- repeat and repeat- a song or tune until I can whistle it. (By the way, it helps if you live alone!)Then I set the player by my ear at the computer and write down the words line by line, pausing as needed. By the time I have all the words down I've pretty well learned it and can print it out. ,br>But oh, the words that I can't make out...infuriating. I've finally learned that my problem usually stems from starting with the wrong syllable. If I think the first word is 'oh', let's say, and something nonsensical comes right after that, the chances are good that oh is either the ending sound of another word or is in the middle of a word. But I do enjoy learning songs, frustrating as it can be. Ebbie |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: MMario Date: 05 Apr 00 - 10:36 PM And on the seventh verse he rested? Never realized until you pointed it out, but that tends to be the way I memorize verses....never truly thought about it. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: GUEST, Threadie Date: 05 Apr 00 - 10:43 PM It always helps to know the story first. Intimately. That involves putting yourself into that story The song, then, sings itself and memorizing doesn't come into it. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Kelida Date: 05 Apr 00 - 10:49 PM Another embarrassing song to be caught singing is "Big Fuzzy Vikingman" by the Happy Daggers. Very funny song though. . . |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Mary in Kentucky Date: 05 Apr 00 - 11:02 PM Joeler, here's what I said in the "Music Teaching Tips..again" thread back in March. 2) Rick--In all types of learning, it seems that the more senses you use, the quicker you learn. When I had to memorize new German vocabulary words I would 1) WRITE them on a piece of paper 2) SAY them out loud as I wrote and listen to the pronunciation. Usually I could memorize 25 words in just a few minutes this way. Something about writing them...about three times...and you can memorize just about anything. Mary
|
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Gypsy Date: 05 Apr 00 - 11:03 PM As well as repetition...if you get an endless loop 3 minute answering machine tape, you can generally get the song/tune on it at least twice, if not 3 times. Then, wherever you are most, play it. Don't even have to pay particular attention to it. Sure drills stuff into my brain when learning. (Thank you Linda Lowe Thompson for teaching me this!) And of course, at least once a week, i trot through my repetroir (even if I can't spell it) so I don't "lose" tunes. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Ebbie Date: 05 Apr 00 - 11:10 PM Threadie, I agree wholeheartedly. If you think of it as a story you are telling, you won't usually find yourself burying the heroine before she becomes ill. Ebbie |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: GUEST, Threadie Date: 05 Apr 00 - 11:17 PM |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: JamesJim Date: 05 Apr 00 - 11:31 PM The way I learn/memorize a song? Plan to sing it in a concert in about 30 days. It does wonders. Jim |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Cap't Bob Date: 05 Apr 00 - 11:36 PM The best way to forget a song is to start thinking about what the words are a few minutes before you are going to sing. If you do happen to forget a verse just sing the previous verse over again and the vast majority of people in the audience will never know the difference. Cap't Bob |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: The Lighthouse Date: 05 Apr 00 - 11:49 PM On really long songs I'll write out the lyrics verse by verse usually in different colors and when I sing them later on for some reason it jogs my memory easier that way. This wont work with all songs but its a bit of a help anyway. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Seamus Kennedy Date: 06 Apr 00 - 01:58 AM I can't read music or tab, so I listen to the song about 5 times on a cassette. Then I write it out in longhand, line by line. When that's done, I place the words on a music stand, grab my guitar and play & sing along with the tape until I'ts pretty much locked in. All the best. Seamus |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Mark Clark Date: 06 Apr 00 - 12:14 PM Some songs are easier than others for me but that doesn't necessarily seem to be related to length. I think songs that tell a story or otherwise have a sensible sequence to the verses are easier. I recall that "The Little Brown Bulls," "Tom Joad" and Barbara Allen were all easy to memorize but for some reason "East Texas Red" is hard. Maybe someone knows why. - Mark |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: kendall Date: 06 Apr 00 - 02:25 PM I put the intended on a cassette, and play it over and over in the car. If I dont get sick of it, I write it out,sing it at home and refer to the words only if I have to. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: ceitagh Date: 06 Apr 00 - 03:22 PM My Dad and I memorise songs as we wash dishes....we're trying to rig up a music stand in front of the sink right now so we can prop up the verses to "johnny i hardly knew ya". Myself, I tend to find myself humming tunes at inconvenient times....in class or at work for example. That's when I pull out my scribble book and write the lyrics out as I subvocalise. After about the fifth time doing that I've got it down. Ceit |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 06 Apr 00 - 04:27 PM They have these tranparent plastic bookstands for using with cookbooks and recipes in the kitchen - ideal for songbooks too I'd imagine, ceitagh.
I find that if you work hard at learning a song (using the various tricks that have been mentioned - Áine's is particularly handy, especially with songs that don't have a plot), and then forget about it for a bit, next time you want to sing it quite often the old long-term memory kicks in, and you find you know it.
|
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Seamus Kennedy Date: 06 Apr 00 - 05:34 PM One thing that's difficult is learning as song that affects you emotionally. Yeah, you can memorize it, but you know when you come to the bit that makes you cry, you're gonna lose it. I've had this happen with Christmas in The Trenches, There Were Roses and a few others where I'd get blubbery in the middle and have to take a time out. Of course with repetition you develop an emotional callous that helps you get through it. All the best. Seamus |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: kendall Date: 06 Apr 00 - 05:37 PM Whenever I start to choke up, I think of something unpleasant, such as, my ex wife's lawyer... |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Mark Cohen Date: 06 Apr 00 - 09:27 PM Another little trick, especially in songs with lots of verses, is to find a mnemonic that will take you from the last word in one verse to the first word in the next. Or even from one line to the next. An internal rhyme, a picture of the two words together, anything that will link them in your mind. It's helped me often. Aloha, Mark |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Brendy Date: 06 Apr 00 - 09:58 PM Sort of 'visualising' it Mark? |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Mbo Date: 06 Apr 00 - 10:16 PM Let's just say it's easier for me to memorize the minutiae of photosythesis than memorize a song, lyrics & chords! --Mbo |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Ana Date: 07 Apr 00 - 04:41 AM I saturate myself with a new song when it "takes me". I play the song over and over 'til I'm one with the nuances of the melody; I sing it aloud and in my mind constantly then..write the words, read the words and feel the story..work out word patterns/rhymes.. learn first line melody perfect/first verse.. and yes like others sing 1st verse/then 1st & 2nd/then123rd etc..nerves can still have me forgetting a verse though at critical times. Then just when I've got it really sussed, I'm bored with it.. can't understand why I felt quite so passionate/obsessed..and then I hear another song..wow ..this is it.. I saturate myself (no not wet) and I'm off again!!! Ana
|
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler Date: 07 Apr 00 - 04:49 AM [Thread creep]Kendall, what's the difference between a catfish and a divorce lawyer? One a scum-sucking, bottom feeding shark, and the other swims in the swamps! RtS (who always forgets words and so far hasn't needed a divorce lawyer, but if I dont' learn to whistle in tune may need one...!) |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: Magpie Date: 07 Apr 00 - 07:38 AM I sing along with a tape/CD or whatever a few times untill I get the "hang" of it. Then I write the song down, maybe two or three times, trying each time to write as much as possible from memory. After that I just sing the song through another couple of times, and usually I've got it. I find it's amazing how much easier it is to learn something by heart if I write it down. I do the same with schoolwork too. I read, take notes, and then I read my notes, and Hey presto! there it is. Magpie |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: RWilhelm Date: 08 Apr 00 - 02:33 AM I try to visualize the storyline of the song and remember that it has to rhyme and it mostly has to fit in the meter. There are usually several good lines in any song worth learning so I hang on to those. When all else fails, improvise. A rote folksong is an oxymoron. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: George Seto - af221@chebucto.ns.ca Date: 08 Apr 00 - 06:35 AM Thanks, Joeler, for starting this thread. It has been enlightening, as well as frustrating. There are SO many ways to learn a song. I'll have to try a few of them to see if any of them help. Thanks for sharing. |
|
Subject: RE: BS: How to do you memorize a song? From: DebC Date: 08 Apr 00 - 07:50 AM It also helps to know what kind of a learner you are. Since I seem to be an auditory (one who learns best through hearing) learner, I listen to the song repeatedly. I then get the words down on paper and get them down accurately. The suggestion of having a concert coming up is a great one as I also work best under pressure. Deb |
