Songbird Lesson- Future Review of Songs

Mike-

Hello! I finished your Songbird lesson back in early July, good lesson, really enjoyed it! Over the course of the summer I learned perhaps another 4 or 5 songs on GT, learning them beginning to end and wanted to go back and review all of these. Over the two months I forgot to play this one, not remembering the chords and progressions, nor strumming technique used on the song.

With your background I'm sure in your mental library you must be able play at an instant perhaps 100 or more songs. What technique do you use to review and practice these so when called upon you can play these on a dime?? Do you resort to reading sheet music before doing so?? I've been playing guitar continuously for about 4 years. Other than perhaps practicing every single one there must be a special technique in remembering these.

Any input be appreciated.

Tony

Hey Tony, great question!

Repetition is the only surefire way the songs will stay in your head long term. For example, if you spend 2 weeks learning a song all the way through and just play it a few times when you've mastered it, chances are that 2 months later you won't remember it!

What I do is that once I've mastered all the parts of a song, I'll jam it start to finish several times per session, just to keep drilling it into my brain. I prefer not to use charts or transcriptions, but sometimes if you're playing a gig on short notice, a chart will save your butt!

Another great technique to use is visualization. For example, if I hear a song on the radio that I learned a long time ago, I'll play along on the guitar in my head, visualizing all the chord changes or riffs. If I find I cannot recall some things, I might go back and work on them just to put them back in my head. You'll find once you've put several weeks into learning a song, if you have to go back months later and learn it again, it will be like riding a bike --- you'll catch onto pretty quickly.

Anyways, hope these techniques/ideas help!!
Let me know how it goes!
Mike

Mike-

Appreciate it, thanks for getting back and for the input. Looks like there's no easy way of accomplishing this, I'm always impressed with those that can remember off the top of the their heads the song key, chord and strumming patterns, any key changes in the song, amazing. But I do see some musicians referring to sheet music during performances.

I have to admit the lessons learned in GT are more complex than say the I, IV, V progressions we do at the weekly Raleigh Guitar Meetup Group sessions. The lessons here are very challenging,; I feel a sense of accomplishment when successfully learning the song, though not the crystal clear clarity and perfection you do them.

Will look into your suggestions, thanks again!

Tony