I am sorry I didn’t have a blog last week – it was super busy but really good in the offline life. My mom came to visit because my older son was graduating from high school. It was a lovely time, but didn’t leave any time or energy for blogging. So I’m going to publish an extra Mumbling this week after this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I decided to continue with the whole learning songs thing here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Things are about at the same place on the song I mentioned in the last post, which is okay, all things considered. Like I made clear earlier, there really hasn’t been time to make much progress, but every time I try to play it, I remember most of what I need to know. We have rehearsal tomorrow night, so it’ll be the maiden voyage of this attempted one-off cover. We shall see what happens. Hoping for the best…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We’re also picking up a bunch of older songs we played to add a little diversity to the setlist, which will probably be more necessary when we have more time to be busy. It’s fun going back and playing along and seeing what I retained from the last time I played songs. Thankfully, it’s usually a lot. Sometimes, I’ll go back to refresh something and realize I learned it all wrong. Then I get a little mad at my past self for a moment, and proceed to fix the issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since I wanted this one to kind of expand on the last one, I’ll take you through my process of learning songs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
First I determine my level of familiarity with the song, and lock down what precise version we will be learning from – there are often different versions of popular songs (single edits, etc.) and I want to make sure we’re all learning the same arrangement. Saves time later. I try to listen to the song like I’ve never heard it before (sometimes I’ve honestly never heard it – or at least don’t remember it). Then I focus on the parts I need to learn and try to isolate as I listen, to determine what sort of EQ adjustments I can make to make the part pop out of the arrangement so I can learn it easier. If I can find the stems of the song, even better, because then I can just listen to the instrument isolated. But that’s not always available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Second, I listen to the song. A LOT. Over and over. Over and over. ESPECIALLY if I have to sing something in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Third, I nail down the parts. Sometimes if I’m strapped for time I’ll refer to a transcription, but I mostly like to learn it myself because I trust my ear to pick up the nuances better than most mainstream transcriptions I’ve seen. I try different voicings and fingerings to find the best way for the parts to live under my fingers and still honor the tune and cover properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fourth, I play the learned parts along with the song. A LOT. Over and over. Over and over. AND when I have to sing, I do that while I’m playing the part on whichever instrument so I can work out any “pat head, rub belly” conflicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fifth, I rehearse the song with the band and make any necessary adjustments to my arrangement so I’m truly filling my role in the ensemble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sixth, I play the song in front of an audience and determine how that affects singing and playing it. Then I make THOSE necessary adjustments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a few gigs with the song, it’s unlikely that I’ll ever forget it. The majority of songs learned by using this longer process stick in my brain and I can play them wherever, whenever. It’s pretty nice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you are a musician who reads this, I’d love for you to share your learning process in the comments. Maybe you do something cool that would help even more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, that’s it. If you can get a shot, get one. If you can help someone get a shot, help them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
See you in a few days with another new one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thank you for reading, and peace be the journey.
TMS
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I am sorry I didn’t have a blog last week – it was super busy but really good in the offline life. My mom came to visit because my older son was graduating from high school. It was a lovely time, but didn’t leave any time or energy for blogging. So I’m going to publish an extra Mumbling this week after this one. So I decided to continue with the whole learning songs thing here. Things are about at the…<\/p>\n