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Learning to memorize music


TheVikingTech

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Hi there, 

I've been trying to play keyboard and a bit of guitar (because as a metalhead this is a must, right?) for about 9 months now. I can play some tunes, but with a lot of mistakes in it.
I think the reason for that is that I can't remember well how a tune goes, especially when it's just background chords (which is the case a lot in keyboards). 
Two things might be the problem here, first of all when i have a tune in my head, and i try to play it, it sometimes just changes in my head and it feels and sounds like i'm playing it correctly, but then it turns out i'm not, it does usually sound good, but it's not how it goes. 
Second of all, and this one is really annoying, is that I HAVE to play a song in order to be able to remember it, it's really hard for me to just remember it out of nothing. Now this isn't only the case with music though, it's a problem I have with remembering in general.. 

I could write the music down but i'm not good enough to figure out all the notes/chords and the most music I like to play is pretty hard to find music sheets of, and in the end i wouldn't like to be so used to just reading the notes (although this would be a better way to memorize it i guess?) 

Anyways, the reason i'm posting this is because i'm hopeful some of you are able to give me some tips, maybe link me a great video on this matter or something?  

Thanks in advance!

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That sounds really frustrating. I don't know that an instructional video would help you. How long have you been playing guitar? When I'm learning anything, I take it riff by riff and then section by section, and piece the whole thing together after I've got individual sections solid. Slow parts down and play them over and over until you understand them. Perhaps it would also help you to play along with the original song a lot, and get some muscle memory going, but the important thing is to make sure you're practicing in a focused way.

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Guitar and keyboard both about 9 to 10 months ago, guitar isn't going as well because i'm focusing on keyboard, but basically when i can play something on keyboard it's not that hard on guitar anymore, i just make more mistakes on guitar because i play it less. 

I'm not really looking for an instructional video but maybe someone who has some tricks on how to memorize it more easily . I do practice certain parts a lot, but often i even forget what songs I learned.. Sometimes i can remember the name of the song but no clue how it goes, or a part of the song and no idea how the rest goes.

I do only recall the songs by hearing the tunes in my head, maybe it's better if i try to remember the notes themselves, but from where i am now that sounds pretty hard to achieve (i'm not great at reading notes, i manage, but it takes time, and memorizing by picturing the notes is pretty much impossible at this moment) 

I've also tried to just remember what keys i need to play, but then it's still hard remembering the right rhythm.. 

And yeah, the muscle memory is basically the only thing that makes it doable to play something, that one is going pretty well..
Maybe i should just try with easier or slower music, but i tend to only want to play the things i like to hear, which is mostly the opposite :D

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There's no trick, really. Lots of bands use a whiteboard or something to write song structures on when they're rehearsing; maybe you could just go slowly through a song and write down how many times each riff happens, so you have something to glance at that will help you keep track. The more you play through a song, the easier it will get to keep track of.

Frankly though, a few months isn't a lot of time to have been learning, even if you were just focusing on guitar. You can make a lot of progress in that time, but you've gotta learn to walk before you can run, you know?

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Yeah but the problem isn't that i don't know how many times a riff happens, but that i just keep making errors in the riff because i can't remember it right  :/ 
Also the focus thing might be the problem too, my wife watches TV all evening and i don't have an extra room to put my instruments in, the TV is pretty distracting yeah..

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Then you definitely need to take it piece by piece and learn each riff separately before you try getting the whole song into place. And yeah, try to get some privacy when you play, much easier to learn that way. Some lessons might really help, too. I mean, I've been playing for almost 24 years and I wish I could take lessons right now. Stick with it.

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^^ I have to agree with father Alabaster. Also, it's very helpful to use a metronome at a comfortable tempo when you take a song riff by riff. You might need to go slower to get some riffs or sections right, or you might feel comfortable enough to play at regular tempo during some parts. No matter what, a good rule of thumb is finding a tempo where you can continuously play the riff without mistakes. Keep working until you can get it perfectly and confidentially at then tempo. Then start playing a bit faster, and so on. Breaking down tough riffs in this way will help you got a lot of slow, thoughtful repetitions in, doing wonders for your muscle memory.

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  • 2 years later...

Break the song up into sections. Usually these are repeated throughout the song sometimes with variations.

Intro - Main riff - Chorus -Bridge- Solo Rhythm - Outtro

Learn each section individually then stitch them together.  When I tab out new songs for our bass player I write each section with its own header.  Like each part is its own piece of music.  He learns the songs like this then adds his own ideas.

Learn how to count the measures each piece is played before the next change comes.  Tap your foot to the beat.

How to count is usually the most difficult part.  I usually rely on the song meter for that.  Say the intro for the song is 4 measures and it has 4 beats per measure.  So it would be 16 counts for the intro. The next riff starts on beat 17.

Lets take the intro for the trooper (G5 is the first octave above G ...fifth fret 3rd string- E5 is octave of E ... 7th fret 2nd string)  There are 2 counts per riff here so there are 32 counts in this intro.

E5-E5-E5-D-B      D-D-D-C-A     C-C-C-A-G     D-G5-D    - Play 4 times

The next riff is the bridge to the main riff...play that 4 times, and on and on.  Map the song out so it makes logical sense.  Learn each part then when you play them keep time with the kick drum ( if possible.)  With a map in your head you will know where you are going and if you can keep the count you will know when the change is  upon you.  It takes time to learn this stuff, but eventually it is second nature.

This probably doesn't help, but I'm trying.

 

 

Crusader is right . . . play the riff slow when you are learning it.  Then speed it up after you know it well.  If you are making too many mistakes slow back down and keep working it.

I sometimes write riffs I cant even play.  I hear them in my head then pick them out.  My fingers are going WTF? 

I have to play through the riff slowly until I do not have to think of every movement and change before I play it.  When muscle memory takes over I can play them faster.  If the tune is a fast one it might take some time before I can even play my own riff up to speed.

Of course if I were Dave Mustaine I wouldn't have to do all that.

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