Most effective method(s) to memorize tunes

[JL]

I thought I'd share what has been working best for me over the past few years to memorize tunes and sax parts, including horn lines, riffs, etc. Just to be clear I'm speaking of memorizing the head, the overall arrangement, chord changes, and horn lines so I can play them on the bandstand without any written charts or lead sheets. Mostly I play blues (NOT just the 12-bar form) & 'jazz-blues' but this would apply to any tunes in the jazz/R&B/blues/pop genres. It probably wouldn't apply to a major orchestral score (but who knows?).

1) Listen to the tune enough that you can recall it in your mind. Get the key the tune is in and the general arrangement and chord changes. You can do this with your instrument, so it grades into step 2, below.

2) Play along and learn the head arrangement (if any) and the horn lines. Once you have the notes, pay close attention to getting the rhythm accurately.

3) Once you have 'transcribed' (with your instrument) the parts, play along and practice them over and over until they are 'under your fingers.'

4) Play the parts by yourself, with no accompaniment.

5) Play the tune & horn lines in your head (or sing them) without your instrument. Do this at odd times, without the music, so you can instantly recall the tune in your mind. Note: this step is very important and may be the key to the whole thing, in terms of memorizing.

6) Play the tune with your band, if you have one, or with a friend (if you have one), who plays guitar or piano.

7) Play the tune in public on the bandstand with your band, if you have that opportunity. After all, this is the main reason for doing all the above.

Please note, I'm mostly talking about learning the tune & horn parts, not the improvising part. Certainly it will be easier to solo on the tune once you know it cold, but the only memorization I do for the actual improv solo is to learn the changes.

Also the steps above don't necessarily have to far in the order I've listed them, but it does help to do it roughly in that order.

I've learned a lot of tunes this way and find it far more enjoyable to play without lead sheets. Anybody have any other favorite techniques or tips to help memorize tunes?

[jazzcat58]

Heres a good tip i feel take a simple tune and play it as many keys as you can, this will sharpen up your skills, and will be useful in discovering intervals,...for instance summertime!...a major third, or fly me to the moon....scale running down,or all the things you are!...a fifth, the first two notes, and so on...
I find this useful..

[Pete Thomas]

Great advice.

One thing that seems obvious now but not back then, waqs to get a real handle on the form of the tune. A pop or rock tune is usually divided into verses, choruses and sometimes middle 8 (not always 8!)

Old standards are more often 32 bar sequences that are AABA, with each section being 8 bars (but many different forms too).

The important thing here is to note that although the A sections are ostensibly the same, usually the last two bars (turnaround) are different.

ie the first A section is going to the second A section, and the turnaround (last bar or two) in this case is not usually the same as the the last bar or two that is going into the middle 8 (bridge), because often that has a different key centre.

OK, this may appear complicated, but read it again. It's easier to learn an 8 bar A section and an 8 bar B section (but with slight differences at the end of the A sections) than to learn a whole 32 bars.

[SuperAction80]

Excellent post JL. I've followed this method for a few years now, and yes it absolutely does work!

{Edit} Pete, that's also some great advice!

[DanPerezSax]

The way I teach memorization from the page is a 7-step method.
1) Listen to the tune. This gives a general and practical idea of what the sound and feel of the tune is all about.

2) Play the head a few times. This gives you a connection to what is most important to the listener: the melody.

3) Play through the roots on quarter notes (w/ metronome), just tongue them every beat. Starts giving you an idea of the form.

4) Turning off the metronome, take your time and shed each arpeggio independently of time/rhythm, but keep them in order as they appear in the tune. This ensures that you know all the notes in each chord, and trains your fingers to associate those notes and that sound with the chord symbol in your face.

5) Run through the arpeggios in time with the metronome. Builds a stronger concept of the form. Makes you get those chord tones down.

6) Again, independently of time/rhythm, improvise freely on each chord, pause and move to the next one. This helps you come up with ideas that work in a given place in the tune, and here's where we start getting specific to your case, you will notice similarities in the way you approach some chords, and will train yourself to hear the key centers in a practical, non-theoretical way.

7) This last step could be broken up into several steps, I guess, but then it wouldn't be a 7-step program! Here, with the metronome, we run through the tune several times. First time, play roots a la step 3. Next, hold the thirds of each chord. Afterwards, hold the 7ths. Finally, look for (and write down if you need to) "guide tone lines" that move chromatically from 3rds to 7ths and vice versa.


I know this sounds tedious, but honestly, I do this myself, and I have students who can straight-up memorize a tune in a day like this.

Here's how I think this will help you specifically: I explained in step 6 how you are training your ear to hear how you interpret independent changes similarly. In step 7, you start to understand how the changes relate to each other. Though this process won't teach you to call the Bb in bar 5 a "dual function IV/bII Maj7" that resolves in bar 7, it will teach you to hear the "motion" from one chord tone to the next that makes it so. This is what I mean by "practical" knowledge vs. "theoretical." You won't know what to call it, but you'll be gaining a strong understanding of what it IS.


P.S. I don't know if you have a piano, not everyone does, but if possible, I have my students play through the changes on keys between steps 2 and 3. I tell them to try not to move their hands much, which makes them look for voicings that illustrate the guide tone lines and harmonic motion.

You know it wouldn't let me post that quote by itself? It said the message was too short!

[JL]

One thing that seems obvious now but not back then, ways to get a real handle on the form of the tune. A pop or rock tune is usually divided into verses, choruses and sometimes middle 8 (not always 8!)

Excellent point, regarding form. And of course in most cases the chorus is slightly different (in length or changes, or both) from the verse, kind of like a bridge. For example, the chorus might start on the IV chord, when the verse starts on a I chord, or the chorus might be 8 bars, & the verse 16 bars, etc.

And more blues tunes than you might think deviate from the standard 12-bar form. Sometimes an extra 4 bars are added to the I chord (resulting in 16 bars), or the form is doubled up to 24 bars, or the tune starts on the IV chord, or you have an 8 bar form, etc. It's usually easy to figure out, but you have to listen. I've noticed that a lot of New Orleans style blues (which I know you are familiar with, Pete) are not the typical 12 bar form.

DanPerezSax, nice method. Some of your steps may not be necessary, depending on experience. If it's a standard 12-bar blues, for example, a blues player won't have to play through the chord roots & argeggios, etc, because he/she will already know them. I'm talking more about getting a specific set of horn lines and any head arrangement memorized for any specific tune.

Just as an aside, every good tune has a 'hook' (signature lick) or riff that might be very simple, yet essential to the tune. These hooks are important to learn. Sometimes, the smallest bit can be the most important. Also pay attention to intros and endings, although in many cases you can make up your own (some tunes fade out, with no ending).

[wisedude]

Didn't have time to read this, "studying" for finals, but this is gonna be awesome! thanks

[RegSopAlto]

These suggestions look good. Thanks for sharing.

[wisedude]

How do you figure out the chord changes with just your horn?

[JL]

How do you figure out the chord changes with just your horn?

First figure out the key, which is pretty easy--one way is to listen to the final note or chord of the melody, which will usually, but not always, be the I chord or root of the I chord. Then you have a tonal center to work from. On your horn, play roots & thirds of suspected chords to see what fits, etc. If you have a keyboard, you can use that also.

I'd start by listening, though. Listen to the bass line and any chord instruments. Try to hear where the chords change and get an idea of the overall structure of the tune (AABA, etc.) and the arrangement. If it's a blues, you can start with the basic I-IV-V pattern and see if there are any alterations (like a 'quick IV' in bar 2, or a ii-V change, instead of V-IV, etc). If it's a standard or well-known tune, you can find the changes in a fake book or on the internet, but be careful because there might be some errors.

You can learn the melody without knowing all the changes, but of course if you want to improvise, you'll want to know the chords.

[wisedude]

Would you see even if the tune I'm learning is from the real book, it is still advantageous to learn the chords and melody by ear?

[JL]

Would you see even if the tune I'm learning is from the real book, it is still advantageous to learn the chords and melody by ear?

It doesn't hurt to pick up the chords and melody from the written page. You won't really learn them until you can play them 'by ear' without written music. Also, there are tunes, especially in the blues/R&R genres, with horn lines that are not written out. You have to pick them up off the recordings. Overall, I've found that learning a tune from a recording, without any written music, is the best way to memorize and retain it, along with the points I made in the OP.

Chord progressions are a different matter. Hundreds of different tunes can be written over the same chord progression, so if you learn a few standard progressions (blues, rhythm changes, etc) and a few variations, you have the basis for hundreds of tunes.

The memorization I'm talking about in the OP relates more to memorizing specific melodies, lines, riffs, horn parts. You do want to learn the chord progression and be able to hear it as well, of course.

[masudkarim]

In the Catholic faith, there’s so much to know, so many things to learn.

In some parishes, by Confirmation, a teen is expected to know from memory the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit, the Beatitudes, the Works of Mercy, the 10 Commandments, the Apostle’s Creed, the Stations of the Cross, the Seven Sacraments and most Catholic prayers.

Not an easy task, and not a whole lot of fun, either.
The debate over memorization

Proponents of rote learning and memorization say the ability to recite poetry, Bible passages and citations from great literature gives testament to a tradition that goes back to the ancient Greeks. These advocates think it’s a shame that today people in their 30s can’t recite anything.

Critics of rote learning methods say memorizing words doesn’t help understanding, and better that we teach the meaning of a religious concept than the list that accompanies it.

[JL]

Critics of rote learning methods say memorizing words doesn';t help understanding, and better that we teach the meaning of a religious concept than the list that accompanies it.

Substitute "notes" for "words" and "musical" for "religious" in the quote above, and I guess I'd agree with those critics.

However, if I understand your point, I don't think it is inconsistent with the need to memorize (LEARN might be the better term) tunes, head arrangements, and sax lines (for sax players). For the following reasons:

This is not a matter of mindless, rote memorization, it is an essential part of being a musician.

Learning melodies/heads/lines will tune you into how a melody fits the harmony.

It will help you learn the 'vocabulary' in whatever genre you are playing.

And finally, most importantly, if you want to play with others you need to know the tunes.

[rabbit]

Be sure to learn the lyrics.
Helps me with the rest.

[rabbit]

Be sure to learn the lyrics.
Helps me with the rest.

[wisedude]

What method do you use for memorizing chord changes? Like, do you constantly just recite them in your head until you can remember A, B7, D-... etc....

I'm fantastic at memorizing for tests, but for some reason I always forget the chord changes after a while

[JL]

What method do you use for memorizing chord changes? Like, do you constantly just recite them in your head until you can remember A, B7, D-... etc....

I'm fantastic at memorizing for tests, but for some reason I always forget the chord changes after a while

I assume you are asking how to retain the chord changes in your mind, once you have learned them. For starters there are thousands of great tunes based on a relatively simple set of chord changes. The basic blues uses only 3 chords. If you can't remember 3 chords, you're in a world of trouble. Many jazz tunes are based on blues changes and some modal jazz tunes are based on only 2 chords. I want to emphasize that doesn't make them easier to play or improvise on, but it does make it easy to remember the changes! So start simple; best to start on the blues (rather than modal) because there is a definite chord movement and form that you can HEAR. The important thing is to hear the changes. Then it's not difficult to remember them.

Finally, after you've played a tune about 500 times you will remember the changes and the melody line. Steps 2 through 7 in my OP all involve playing the tune. I should have added you need to play it NUMEROUS times, over and over to get it ingrained. Let's call that step 8. No problem remembering a few chords once you do that.

Step 9: There are no shortcuts.