How do you learn full songs?

[jabps]

I've played a ton of covers. I usually listen to the song and identify the parts

Intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, etcetera.

Then I learn each section and stitch it together. Play along with the tune a whole bunch of times... learn the vocals as I learn the guitar parts if necessary...

Same.

Goes back to the days of a record player or tape deck. One section at a time, then the whole thing together.

 

[CarlF]

I used to learn the tunes the band wanted to attempt by ear.
Then we would try things out at band practice and then it was just a matter of rehearsals and remembering the tunes.
When I had my band I had to learn plenty of shit I didn’t quite like, but 9 times out of 10, I got into those bands just from playing their tunes.

 

[rstites]

If you don't know the lyrics, you don't know the song.

Eh, I have songs I've written that I can't remember the lyrics to.....and seen plenty of acts that run a teleprompter for the lyrics up front. On the one hand I get it, but you can have the guitar part down without knowing the lyrics.

 

[rstites]

Strange question.

By ear. Don’t know tab and don’t cheat with YouTube. Been doing it that way since about 1977. If you never had to lift a needle over and over to learn a song you just don’t know. Thats when you really realized how bad 8 track sucked. Lol

I'm just young enough that I never had a to lift the needle over and over. Instead, it was rewind and play over and over......frequently until the tape started to stretch out and go out of tune! When I got ahold of a CD player, it was a godsend for learning by ear.

Since the 90's, I'll frequently start with online tab, if I can find it, but frequently (most of the time?) it's not completely accurate......which is weird for me to say as I don't recall the last time I bothered trying to learn anything note-for-note.

 

[VonBonfire]

Eh, I have songs I've written that I can't remember the lyrics to.....and seen plenty of acts that run a teleprompter for the lyrics up front. On the one hand I get it, but you can have the guitar part down without knowing the lyrics.

I-pads and music stands on a rock or blues stage looks like garbage. Never mind the people who always use them will always be stuck needing to use them. Any visual crutches are just that, crutches. The longer you keep a lyric sheet on stage the longer you will need to keep a lyric sheet on stage. Knowing the lyrics is the short cut to knowing the song. I operate from a "if I don't remember the lyrics then it's because the lyrics aren't memorable" basis and should probably move along.

The vocal is the core of any track that isn't an instrumental, and instrumentals still have a head/melody line. It takes routine effort to commit to memory which is more work than most people want to put in. Forgive me for my seemingly crappy attitude. I have biases formed over many years of gigging and having bands. It doesn't make me right it's just my observation over time. Guys who knows the lyrics are the ones that know the song best IME. The melody is how you get inside the song.

 

[Rackman]

Several people more of less covered this, but #1 is structure. I remember a jazz instructor way back saying it's far and away the most important part of the song, and I thought he was full of shit at the time but he's right. Nothing is worse than not knowing where you are.

So figure out the pieces, how long they are, and in what pattern they happen. Get so you can count through the song and be 100% sure when it's going to the bridge vs. chorus etc.

Next is basic harmony. What's the sequence of harmony through each section? Then I get the most basic ability to play SOMETHING for each section. Even if that's holding a simplified version of the chord for 4 beats, SOMETHING. This gets you to the point you could theoretically perform the song. Which is important - far too many people learn parts of songs, and are unable to perform them.

Then it's a matter of incremental improvement from that basic performance - learning or creating a better version of each section. The first improvement is to learn the melody, even if it's in a different instrument. Past that it's learning better chords/riffs/parts from the original or making new parts that I want to pull in.

 

[Devin]

I don't sing, in fact I don't pay much attention to lyrics. So I can't rely on those to learn songs.

How do you learning full songs?

I assume you mean learn the guitar parts of songs?


Just listen to the guitar parts instead of the lyrics lmao

 

[rstites]

I operate from a "if I don't remember the lyrics then it's because the lyrics aren't memorable" basis and should probably move along.

Well, there are a lot of good songs out there with mid-tier lyrics. The songs are still fun though, even if the lyrics are pointless.

The vocal is the core of any track that isn't an instrumental, and instrumentals still have a head/melody line. It takes routine effort to commit to memory which is more work than most people want to put in. Forgive me for my seemingly crappy attitude. I have biases formed over many years of gigging and having bands. It doesn't make me right it's just my observation over time. Guys who knows the lyrics are the ones that know the song best IME. The melody is how you get inside the song.

Knowing the lyrics isn't the same as knowing the melody. You can know the melody of the tune perfectly fine without having committed the lyrics to memory. I haven't done vocals in a number of bands I've played in, so never bothered as I'm not singing anyway. I may or may not know the lyrics, but I do know the melody. (Also, as mostly a metalhead, the vocals tend to get layered on the underlying riffs and rhythm, and frequently work out quite a bit differently live than in the studio, so not certain this is universal.)

You're fine. I'm not offended. I'm not that deeply invested in it either. I'm just chatting about it. Also, I mostly thought it was humorous that I frequently don't remember lyrics I wrote after the fact because I'm not the one singing them most of the time. Also, frequently there were so many iterations, I get mixed up on which one made the final cut.

 

[ZEEGLER]

I always just learned by ear, and tabs until I noticed how many song lessons are on YouTube. I still try to figure out most of it by ear until I get stuck with a tricky part. It's good to remember that not all YouTube lessons are correct. I only learn the lyrics if it's a song that I'll be singing or providing backup vocals on. There's plenty of songs that we play that I couldn't even recite a single line of the lyrics for.

 

[rstites]

I don't sing, in fact I don't pay much attention to lyrics. So I can't rely on those to learn songs.

How do you learning full songs?

Back to this, one thing I do when I'm learning anything new is to chart it. I'll label the basic riffs as Riff A, Riff B, etc. and just writing out a simple chart with how many times each is played (or similar) and then put down any transitions in there. Then just learn riff-by-riff as I work through the song.

If it's something that is more just background chords for vocals, I'll do it somewhat similar, but write out the lyrics there and write the chord changes over the top with it so I can just follow it along.

I've done this with covers and also with originals, as again, those aren't always firmed up enough to memorize for some time. (Also, if someone else wrote it, I don't even have a copy of listen to so that's what I have.)

 

[Rick Lee]

Hit play, play along. Rewind, repeat. Search tab for things I can't figure out.
Can get a set list of cover tunes down in a few hours.

That's how I did it for the longest time. When I wanted to get into an established band and they'd send me a setlist to learn, I started streamlining the process. I'd go to Songsterr.com and, even though its TABs weren't perfect, they'd point me in the right direction and I could get it down from there. I used the free version for years, finally decided to get the paid version and it's really great.

 

[Kubs]

follow

 

[QVonesh]

Listening to a song over and over again until you play the song on guitar and know it's wrong. It's the most time consuming way, but ultimately it what sticks the longest

 

[rsm]

I used to learn y ear, and I still do it sometimes...but vids, tabs, and tutorials make it easier and faster. I like to try to find vids of the actual song, and see if I can see what and how the guitarist is playing.

when I learned by ear, I'd get the notes/chords right, but I'd often play parts of the song in a different position

 

[Fusionbear]

Sonetimes, if I can't hear the guitar parts, I'll buy the music. I'm better at reading notation than tabs.

For example, we cover " voices carry" by Til Tuesday and had a hard time hearing the guitar due to the mix. The sheet music was invaluable for me....

I used to learn y ear, and I still do it sometimes...but vids, tabs, and tutorials make it easier and faster. I like to try to find vids of the actual song, and see if I can see what and how the guitarist is playing.

when I learned by ear, I'd get the notes/chords right, but I'd often play parts of the song in a different position