From Skarpi Iceland.

Subject: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: skarpi
Date: 27 Apr 03 - 04:13 PM

Halló all , long time since i was on the thread´s ,
but I like to know how do you all witch are in bands learn
all your programs? I am at this moment making a cd with
53 songs witch i have to learn " the lyrics " and of course
the chords but i don´t play in all those songs.
Is this a affectif way for me to learn the lyrics ???
I hope I am writing this right, but this program is about three
hour´s and I know about 1 hour more.
Other than this everything is fine here in Iceland the spring has arrived but the winter king is not gone all the way to his home , we are getting cold wind´s next 7 or 10 day´s.
I hope to see some mudcatter´s here in Iceland this year
I was gone go to Halifax this coming October but I am afraid
becouse of this HABL sickness in Canada so I´ll have to see
about the trip when near goe´s by October.

To everyone I know best whishes to you all, warm greetings
from my Skarpi Iceland.

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: Morticia
Date: 27 Apr 03 - 04:15 PM

Hey,Skarpi, good to see you...

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: nutty
Date: 27 Apr 03 - 04:42 PM

Great to hear from you Skarpi ..... can't help you though ......I'm hopeless at learning songs.

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: katlaughing
Date: 27 Apr 03 - 04:57 PM

Hello, Skarpi! Good to see you, again.

I find I have to have the written lyrics in front of me the first few times, but it is mainly repetition which helps the most and that is definitely better when I have it on CD to sing along with. Hope this helps.

luvyakat

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: SINSULL
Date: 27 Apr 03 - 05:04 PM

53 songs???? Good grief! When will your CD be available?
Good to hear from you!
Mary

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: Giac
Date: 27 Apr 03 - 05:30 PM

Hi Skarpi,

Was just wondering about you the other day, and hoping you hadn't been frozen over the winter!

Yes, please let us know when your CD is available. Gosh, I'd love to hear your music.

Giac (another Mary)

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 27 Apr 03 - 05:43 PM

Great to hear from you again, Skarpi. I'd begun to wonder whether you'd changed your hobby ... Good luck with the CD!

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: skarpi
Date: 27 Apr 03 - 06:03 PM

Don´t missunderstand me ,I am not making my own cd a least
not jet but this is just to learn the songs and the lyrics I
think I would not have 53 songs on my cd at the most 15 songs.
This is program for my band " Tamóra # i have it in my car and listen to this on my way to work and back home.
Giac i did not got frozen not jet but I will if the cold winds are gonna stay for a long time.
I hope I didin´s hurt anyone. Kat i promise you will get some songs from witch I sing.
All the best Skarpi Iceland.

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: CraigS
Date: 27 Apr 03 - 06:38 PM

I find the best way to learn lyrics is to "sing them in my head", that is to say, to read them and sing the tune without actually vocalising (no sound coming out).

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: Allan C.
Date: 27 Apr 03 - 06:41 PM

Only you can know what will work best. Reading and singing the songs while hearing the recording might work. Sometimes I am helped by memorizing the lyrics, themselves without the music. The main thing, I believe is to repeat, repeat, repeat! -- I think it might be good to work on only one song at a time until you know it well. Then move on to the next one.

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: Giac
Date: 27 Apr 03 - 08:21 PM

Another thought -- if you are trying to learn them all at once, maybe play them "at random" so you won't hear the same sequence all the time, unless that's the order you plan on using in the program. I used to find that I became dependent on the same song order to remember some lyrics.

Good luck!

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From:
Date: 27 Apr 03 - 11:37 PM

I agree with repetition. Doing a song over and over is the best way. I can "get" lyrics fast, but to memorize them I have to sing them over and over. (WITHOUT the words near me) And see what I need to work on.

TUNES are another thing though. I don't play an instrument, so I sing a capella. Getting the tune to a song takes me forever! It's one of those things that I can't change.

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: Art Thieme
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 12:43 AM

Skarpi, great hearing from you. I used to write out the song one verse at a time, throwing out the sheets of paper when I made a mistake. Then I'd start over---until I had learned the whole song. I'd also put the learned lyrics to my guitar and banjo until I had it good and solid.

I hat a ton of balled up paper on the floor where I had missed the garbage pail.

All the best,

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: katlaughing
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 12:45 AM

Susanne(skw) good to *see* you, too!

Skarpi, I look forward to them. Takk fyrir!^*

kat

^*hope I did that right:-)

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: Amos
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 02:33 AM

Hiaya, Skarp:

Nice to hear from you.

You have to create the scenery of the song in your mind, and then repeat the song a lot of times, in the shower, or singing to friends, or whenever, until it all becomes a burned-in piece in your mind. The scenary of the song which you create acts as a firm reminder of what comes next and helps anchor the words.

A

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: Rapparee
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 06:26 AM

Skarpi, I've used all of the ways mentioned. Another is to play the piece over and over and over (if you can) and sing along with it each time. People around you, like wives and friends and family, will eventually learn the song too (if they don't do you a violence first).

As for the order of the program, you have to determine that.

Also, you have to sing the songs in order for the words to stay fresh in your mind. If you don't sing a song for a few years you might find that you've forgotten some or all of the words.

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: Fortunato
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 12:03 PM

Greetings, Skarpi, nice to hear from you. I put the cd in my car and sing the song during my drives. When I sit down to play I have the lyrics, but I don't look at them unless I'm confused. My learning is done without a visual, since there will be no visual on stage. cheers and best wishes, Chance

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: Strupag
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 05:02 AM

Hi Skarpi,
I'm fairly new to Mudcat so it's good to "meet" you.
I used to visit your country many years ago when I worked on trawlers and it's a great place - a bit like Skye.
Anyway regards learning, I do the same and learn when I'm driving.
If I can sing a song at about 3 times it's normal speed and do this 3 times in a row then I can safely say that I know it.
What kind of stuff does TAMORA do Is it traditional Icelandic?

Andy

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: Dead Horse
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 08:53 AM

From personal experience, it takes practise.
First you learn a couple of songs to get by, then you find you can learn lots.
Now comes the tricky bit. As you get older, you get a new song in your head - it pushes an older one out.
You can only have a good repertoire if you keep singing 'em, otherwise you get "Old Folkies Syndrome". You start a song only to find you've forgotten it after the first verse.
Good luck with the Summer Queen.

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: skarpi
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 03:14 PM

Thanks all, Andy Tamóra does only Celtic music but we might
doing some Icelandic Tradional songs .
It´s very fun using tin whistle and flute and Bodhrán in Icelandic music
( Tradional)

well I know a lot of songs and I can play a lot of songs but I have to have the lyrics in front of me so this is a way to skip the lyrics.

Well All the best until next Skarpi Iceland.

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: WyoWoman
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 04:42 PM

Hi Skarpi--
I've been a bit of a stranger here lately, too, so it's nice to touch back in and see that you've been for a visit.

To learn words -- which gets harder and harder with each passing year -- I listen and sing and sing and sing along with the CD as I'm driving to work. But to really memorize them, I follow the Art Thieme method of writing them out by hand and doing it until I have them perfectly. If I rely on singing along with the CD only, it doesn't really make the words lodge in my brain. Somehow the act of moving my pencil across paper seems to scratch the words on my mind and when I'm up there singing, I have this muscle memory of writing the words down, which helps me bring them back.

Also seeing the story of the song like a movie in your mind helps. This is why I always end up closing my eyes while I sing - which may limit my connection with the audience, but increases my connection to the song. Which, ultimately, connects me with the audience more.

Hope this helps--
WyoWoman

Subject: RE: From Skarpi Iceland.
From: radriano
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 05:05 PM

Hello Skarpi,

Here is my method of learning songs. After writing the song out on paper, first I memorize the first verse. Then the second one. Then I sing them both in sequence. Then on to the third verse. Then all three in sequence and so on. Any time I stumble or hesitate on a word I look at the page to correct myself and then start back at the beginning of the song. This is not an easy or fast process but it works for me. If I find myself stumbling a lot I'll put the song aside for a day or just practice those verses I've learned over and over until I can sing the words with no hesitation.

Trying to learn too much in too little time is very difficult. And you can only sing a song effectively when you know it very well. Rushing learning a song for the purpose of recording is not a wise idea.