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da_joka
Lokahi
361 Posts |
 Posted - 09/20/2007 : 06:37:35 AM
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I struggle wit playing songs from memory, and was wondering wat kine tricks you guys use fo remembah da chords fo songs (an wen you change um)?
I stay learning some theory stuffs an my brain stay all hamajang wen I try fo undastand chord progressions an stuff liddat. HELP!
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If can, can. If no can, no can. |
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Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2007 : 08:05:02 AM
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Sorry to give you such an unsatisfying answer, but:
Practice!
Yep, you need to practice playing from memory, just like you need to practice every other musical skill. Pick a song you want to learn, play through it a bunch with the paper. Listen to how the chords sit with the rythm and the lyrics. Then put the paper down and play it. Stop when you think you make a mistake, read it out and repeat.
Thinking about music theory will do you little or no good in this situation. (OK< it helps to know that it is unlikely you find a song in the key of F with B7 chord in it, but that's a different kind of practice)-- you just have to learn how the song goes, and the only way to do that is to do it. Over and over.
Over and out. |
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Retro
Ahonui
USA
2368 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2007 : 09:55:48 AM
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| Uncle Dennis Kamakahi (among others) uses a songbook on stage. I don't feel so bad having one as well (though I try not to depend on it for more than just a quick reference.) Beyond that, Mark's right. It's the same way you learned to play the instrument, yeah? |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2007 : 10:41:43 AM
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When you can remember the chords, change them accurately without slowing down, play the intro and outtro and sing the song without stumbling, then you can being to interpret the song. Before that point, it's all practice.
I teach beginner guitarists at a weekly oldtime fiddle workshop and many get frustrated because the skills come so slowly at first. Practice, I say. But also start with slow, easy-to-memorize songs that you like to play, not some etude a guitar teacher wants you to learn. Play, play, play.
Jesse Tinsley |
Edited by - hapakid on 09/20/2007 10:50:06 AM |
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Sarah
`Olu`olu
571 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2007 : 11:14:46 AM
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To memorize a chord sequence, it helps me to sit down and identify a pattern first. For example, that the melody has two measures of G, one measure of D7 and then 2 measure of D7-G vamp: G G D7 D7-G D7-G. Usually the sequence isn't long -- that is, not a LOT of chords to remember -- just 3 or 4 occuring in different patterns, and if you take time to identify them and write them down, it helps in remembering them -- kind of like a phone number!
Some ideas for memorizing in general....
Break the song down into chunks first, work on memorizing them as short bits first. Say, just one staff of tab at a time, or by musical phrases. I think this is really important. When you can play them okay without looking, move on to memorizing how they are joined together. Then practice that until you get those parts smooth. Personally, I find if I don't break the piece down into bite-sized chunks, I can play a tab for "years" and fail to memorize it -- it's just too big.
Concentrate on memorizing just one piece at a time. It seems to confuse the ol' brain less that way, when it knows it's got just one thing to concentrate on. I might work on another song, as well, but do it in a different, unrelated practice session. Then as I get a better grip on the separate songs, I might try working on them as two parts of the same practice session.
I read it's helpful to relieve your concentration every ten minutes or so by getting up and walking around the house for a few minutes to clear your head, then come back to the piece again. Hard to remember to do, but I tried it, and it does help to get one breathing again and restore oxygen to the brain!
aloha,
Sarah
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2007 : 5:42:19 PM
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First of all, there is no rule that you have to play from memory.
If you try to, over-practice is essential. I think learning songs as patterns, as Sarah mentioned, is the only way that works for me. That includes dividing the song into musical phrases.
I think it also helps to start memorizing from the back phrase towards the front. That does 2 things: 1) it eliminates a lot of that kind of, "Well I know the first 5 measures of...." and 2) It is self-reinforcing -- you always end with something you already know, which makes you feel better and more motivated than ending with more stuff you don't know. |
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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2007 : 11:37:05 AM
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It's hard to add anything on top of the great advice you've already gotten, but here's one more bit: devote a bit of your practice time to working out your own arrangments of songs you like. Try to do it by ear. To do this, you have to discover the underlying structure of songs.
imua!
keith
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`Ilio Nui
`Olu`olu
USA
826 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2007 : 12:01:25 PM
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All of the above is wonderful advice. Just one more pearl; Practice Over The Bar. When you're practicing, say the first 2 bars are G then it goes to C. Play the first 8 beats of G, then over the bar for 1 beat of C. You will attune your head and hands to automatically make that chord change. If the song then goes back to G, then play 8 beats of G, 4 beats of C (which you automatically made the jump to the first bar), then 1 bar into G. ETC. Next thing you know, you've memorized the song, and subtly taught you head and hands chord changes. This was the most valuable lesson my piano teacher taught me as a young man.
Me ke aloha,
dog |
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da_joka
Lokahi
361 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2007 : 1:33:32 PM
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| tanks so much fo all da good tips. fo shua i goin try um out every time i stay practicing :-) tanks fo all da help! |
If can, can. If no can, no can. |
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tafkam1
Lokahi
USA
320 Posts |
Posted - 09/21/2007 : 6:11:51 PM
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| if you keep up with the theory (see my youtube uke theory 101) then you will learn to hear the chord changes and recognize patterns. i bet if someone were singing tiny bubbles and told you they were in the key of F you could figure it out real easy. it's because your brain has heard these patterns over and over and over. learning just the basics of theory will save you a LOT of time and frustration. besides, it's ok if a classical oboe player or violinist looks at music on a stand but if you're doing a uke solo on stage it's dorky. |
Mitch Chang
http://www.kalakoa.com/
http://www.ukulelewebsite.com/ |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2165 Posts |
Posted - 09/22/2007 : 02:55:37 AM
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| Eh, Joka, no fo'get fo listen! I listen to tunes I want to learn when I drive, clean up in da kitchen and do household chores. I found that if I can distract myself with a task while listening, the music can soak in better. I learned "Sweet Lai Mokihana" while painting the bathroom, the chord pattern had eluded me for a while til then. One odda t'ing, no fo'get: JAM. I bugged Uncle Zeke Kala one time to learn "Ipo Hula" so he kindly went over and over it til I got it. |
Edited by - thumbstruck on 09/22/2007 02:56:42 AM |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 09/22/2007 : 03:36:40 AM
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Kory - you are right on the mark. (Hey - and what a guy for do clean up da kitchen and stuff---my kinda guy).
I do not play an instrument but the way I learn the songs is to immerse myself in it and play it everytime I am in the car, etc. I usually start out at home, though, listening to it several times with the words in front of me, since Hawaiian language is still a learning experience for me. Then I sing along with the recording. Over and over and over. That is how I get it imprinted on me. And eventhough, I do not play an instrument, even I can feel when the chord changes are due, even though I wouldn't know what the heck the chords should be, you can just feel when that is supposed to happen. |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2165 Posts |
Posted - 09/22/2007 : 9:19:21 PM
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Eh, Wanda! Proof positive dat YOU NEED one UKULELE!
If you can hear da changes, you need to make'm. What better device foa da task at hand dan da UKULELE! As far as the kitchen goes, it's me or the mess gets bigger. I'm a Norwegian (1/2 Swede) bachelor window washer. I cooked for a couple years, so the kitchen is no big thing, and cleaning up is part of the fun. The object is to see you little you have to clean up at the time of completing the recipe: clean as you go. Meanwhile, I listen to music. Win, win. |
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RWD
`Olu`olu
USA
850 Posts |
Posted - 09/23/2007 : 04:03:12 AM
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Brandon,
This is how I remember hard songs.
I also break songs into small parts. I do it for short passages that I can't play well, or complete phrases. I am not always in sequence btw. Sometimes I put it together later. I tend to work on the hard stuff first to make sure I can play the song then move on to the rest of it.
Since I just got through learning a difficult song this way, I will type out my practice sheet so you can see what I did.
It may look strange but I understand it (thats the most important part) and I can put the pieces of the song together using it when I forget.
intro
melody 1, melody2 (plain), small turn
melody 3 (walk), melody 4 (arp), turn
chorus
whispy melody, melody 5 (jog), small turn
high decend w/high chords, high decend w/flick
melody 1 w/yodel, melody 3 (walk), turn
chorus
high decend w/high chords, high decend w/special walk, small turn
melody 1, melody w/special,
ending phrases
3 chords (rit)
PAU
Side note for songs that you cannot do yet:
I still have a tune (Etude #1 by Villa Lobos) that has a passage that used to slay me like a "bilge crawling scurvy dog" (is it still pirate week?). I started on it in my mid 30's. Now, after all these years, I think I realy could record it--on a good day only and with a lot of takes. But, it is now do-able. So, setting a hard song aside is a good thing to do too.
My message to you is do not give in! Setting something hard aside is not giving up, it is waiting. |
Bob |
Edited by - RWD on 09/23/2007 06:13:27 AM |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 09/23/2007 : 07:26:56 AM
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| That Stanley Jordan is absolutely amazing. Don't know how he does it! |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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