Memorizing Jazz Standards

[christianm77]

That depends on how good a singer you are. I actually love singing the head to Footprints.

It's such a great melody. I love the way it sits on the cool notes.

[jads57]

Learn the melody first, follow the bass progression. Then it's just song form AABA, 32 bar? 36bar,etc. Most songs follow patterns, learn to identify them. " It's Wonderful" and "Beyond the Sea" more or less use a major triad to switch keys. So if it's 1,6,2,5 in C, then E followed G. Other Jazz song forms Rhythm Chages, "Blues", and the hardest "Ballads"

[Boston Joe]

I don't really have a problem learning melodies. When I was a kid, I used to sit in front of the TV and parrot back all the theme songs and commercial jingles, so I got pretty good at being able to cop a melody pretty quickly. It's the chord progressions that get me.

[MarkRhodes]

I don't really have a problem learning melodies. When I was a kid, I used to sit in front of the TV and parrot back all the theme songs and commercial jingles, so I got pretty good at being able to cop a melody pretty quickly. It's the chord progressions that get me.

I know what you mean. The first thing is the cycle. You just have to know it. Take the opening portion of "Bluesette":
G M7 / G M7 / F#m7b5 / B7 / E- / A7 / G7+ / C / C. All of that is a matter of going from G M7 to C. If you try to memorize the chords one by one, it can seem impossible because it may well seem meaningless. But once you see what is happening, it is easy.

Also, many standards resolve to a major chord (-as is the case here) and then start the next section with the minor version of the same chord. The next section of "Bluesette" goes: C- / F7 / Bb / Bb / Then Bb - / Eb7 / Ab / Ab / Then A- / D7 / G (or Bm) / E7+9 / A- / D7b9/ and then it all starts over on G M7.

Going from two measures of Ab to A- is a different movement (than going from C to C- or Bb to Bb-) but when you understand why: we've been jockeying around here but it's time to head home to G, you know you want to get there via A- and D7. Much of jazz harmony amounts to making it a more interesting trip from point A to point B...

[henryrobinett]

One thing is being able to remember and hum/sing the melody. That's crucial. It's another to remember where those notes are located on the fretboard.

[Longways to Go]

I often find that my hands will remember how to play a chord progression before my brain has it all worked out. I can play through a chord melody I learned of Bluesette (for example), but without really thinking of what every individual chord is. Which unfortunately leaves a lot of work yet to be done before the form is really internalized -- but at least it is a starting point.

One thing I suggest is that you might try learning a new tune with the goal of abandoning the written music as quickly as possible. When I studied classical piano, I found that if I closed the book before a piece was polished it aided in the memorization, whereas if I kept the book open it could become a sort of visual crutch.

I find that practicing with IReal app has the same potential for becoming a crutch too. I love it & use it, but I'm cautious to close it off & play from memory frequently.

[MarkRhodes]

I often find that my hands will remember how to play a chord progression before my brain has it all worked out. .

That can happen with writing your own tunes too! I've come up with songs and played them several times, but when I go to write them down I have to stop and think, "What key is this in? What's that first chord?" Sometimes I don't know what a certain chord is. (This doesn't happen to me much anymore but it happened to me a lot when I was young----I was following the sounds around without knowing their names.)

[christianm77]

To be honest (and I know I am a boring old fart) but I think that it's easiest to start this process with swing era material - fewer chords, predictable chord movement, not too much modulation (although it does happen) - and a lot of later material is based on these changes (be-bop etc.)

I would suggest learning these progressions to start:

Rhythm Changes
12 bar Jazz Blues
Honeysuckle Rose
Cherokee
Lady be Good
Softly as in a Morning Sunrise (or Comes Love, Topsy or Puttin' on the Ritz)

Simple, and very widely used. Sometimes the A sections and B sections get swapped around. Rhythm changes with a honeysuckle bridge was practically the go to chord progression for the 1940's.

I would suggest becoming familiar with the most common subs. There are *loads* for Rhythm and err... Blues... Transpose into all 12 keys whatever way - writing is fine, playing by ear is fine - both is better.

After that, start looking at other standards.

Good books - Hearing the Changes (Coker), Harmony with Lego Bricks (Cork) the Vanilla Book (Patt)

Don't learn changes from the Real Book - they are over-complicated. You just want the bare bones to start off with.

[targuit]

I tend to find my copy of the Real Ultimate Little Jazz Fake Book by Hal Leonard from the mid - Eighties to be pretty accurate on the whole. There are many tunes omitted in any one collection, so I do a lot of free transcription. Doing one now on So Many Stars. I wish this one had been a lead sheet in my Fake Book. Every tune you learn is instructive.

[coolvinny]

I don't really have a problem learning melodies. When I was a kid, I used to sit in front of the TV and parrot back all the theme songs and commercial jingles, so I got pretty good at being able to cop a melody pretty quickly. It's the chord progressions that get me.

Relate the melody note to the chord-of-the-moment, and identify it by scale degree.

[matt.guitarteacher]

Good books - Hearing the Changes (Coker),

I just found this book and hung it up to dry , after a freak basement flooding a month or so ago. I had bought it a long time ago when I was too ignorant to make any use of it. It's really perfect for this thread topic.

It's about using real music , tunes , to learn common progressions. Lists of tune examples for every progression or modulation type. The section at the back for how to put together a basic outline of form on more difficult tunes is probably worth the price of the book.

[destinytot]

I tend to find my copy of the Real Ultimate Little Jazz Fake Book by Hal Leonard from the mid - Eighties to be pretty accurate on the whole. There are many tunes omitted in any one collection, so I do a lot of free transcription. Doing one now on So Many Stars. I wish this one had been a lead sheet in my Fake Book. Every tune you learn is instructive.

I've decided to take a leaf out of your book by building a 'jazz' guitar repertoire through transcription, study and practice - on weekday evenings after work - a little every day, like right diet and exercise.

I've decided to learn tunes I've always seen as beyond me. But I think I'm ready now because my circumstances have changed; I'm seeing midweek gigs as an inconvenience (because I'd rather spend those evenings at home with my family) and a distraction - because I often make the mistake of doing midweek gigs for a bit of extra money, which costs me in lasting ways. From now on gigging is just a business on the side (thanks to agents, helpful friends and Google's easy-to-use tools).

Too many great tunes in my head, and too few in my fingers - but I'd still rather be the Tortoise than the Hare. Off to work, and looking forward to getting started on Stablemates ​tonight.

[Boston Joe]

Update: I'm making progress. I've got Joy Spring, Stella, The Nearness of You, and Four down pretty cold. I've played them from memory every day since I put up the original post. I'm also very sure I could do Sugar and Footprints. I'm a little less sure about Satin Doll, but I think I could probably fake it.

[christianm77]

Update: I'm making progress. I've got Joy Spring, Stella, The Nearness of You, and Four down pretty cold. I've played them from memory every day since I put up the original post. I'm also very sure I could do Sugar and Footprints. I'm a little less sure about Satin Doll, but I think I could probably fake it.

Well done dude! The more tunes you learn the easier it gets. Promise.

Satin Doll, funnily enough, I would regard as the easiest of the lot. Pay attention to the bridge - that's a standard bridge and you will see it in other tunes - I7 IV II7 V7 (don't worry about the ii-V's)

[Boston Joe]

Well done dude! The more tunes you learn the easier it gets. Promise.

Satin Doll, I would regard as the easiest of the lot. Pay attention to the bridge - that's a standard bridge and you will see it in other tunes - I7 IV II7 V7 (don't worry about the ii-V's)

It's definitely the easiest, but there's one or two changes that I'm not completely sure about which is why I said what I said.

[christianm77]

FWIW, the way I would remember that tune (chords) would be

IIm-V for a bit
IIIm-VI7 for a bit (a ii-V-iii-VI I call a 'turnback' so this a long turnback with some to'ing and fro'ing)
Then
II7 | bII7 | I | % |

Notice that the last progression is basically a II-V-I with a tritone sub on the second chord. It's the same progression that often gets played near the end of foot-prints. If you put the 'ii-V' decorations in you have:

VIm II7 | bVIm bII7 | I | % |

Then the bridge - I7 IV II7 V7 is Montgomery Ward, or a Honeysuckle Bridge as I call it (makes more sense to me.)

[HR Fan]

Boston Joe
I too am horrible at memorizing tunes.. But after reading your first blog.. I thought of ways .. The Big influence to me is Howard Roberts mentioning in one of his Compendium books about memorizing chords is to visualize the forms on the fingerboard... WELL !! I thought ..from the inspiration of the LORD. Why not with memorizing tunes .by visualizing them on the fingerboard.. SO !!!! ... Ex : Autumn Leaves in E Minor.... starting with the three note pickup notes ( e,f#,g )...The low E string ..next the A String .next the D String ..next the G string..which is a VERTICAL line .But E string= E minor(7) ( first measure or pickup notes ) A string = A minor (7) (second measure ) D string = D7 (third measure ) G string = Gmaj7 ( 5 measure ) ..Those are the first four measures to the tune in the shape of a vertical line using open strings !! Cool Huh???
Then I got a sort of zigzag form ...starting on the A string on the 3rd fret which is a C note ( CMaj7 )...D string on the 4th fret which is an F# note ( F# m7b5 )..G string 4th fret is a B note ( B7 ) and B String 5th fret is an E note ( E minor 7 ) ... which make up the next four measures of the tune. Now we have eight measures of the tune. and to finish the tune You think of the other pattern shapes ..

Other tunes it is good to learn the shapes of the Bassline...

[Boston Joe]

Interesting, but I'm not sure I want to tie my knowledge of the tune to specific chord shapes.

[HR Fan]

Boston Joe ..I can understand that. I have been enjoying and it has helped me to remember the chords : ) I have just come upon this idea. So it is very new to me also.

[targuit]

Just my 2 cents but when it comes to "memorizing" songs, I think the primacy lies in the ears and the aural memory of the song. In other words I think most of us "know" many of the jazz standards in terms of our aural memory of songs like Misty, My One and Only Love, My Romance for example.

So it's not clear to me what is meant here by memorizing songs. If one means knowing the chord progression and melody, that is one thing that is addressed in practice. But when playing in performance, essentially I play what I hear.

As the years go by, I am more and more impressed by how much lies in a 'subconscious' realm. To cite an example, last night I was watching and playing along with some Rich Severson videos. In particular I was listening to his opinions on some specific models of Eastman guitars which interest me currently. As Rich was relating his opinions, I was playing tunes like Henry Mancini's The Days of Wine and Roses as chord melody style. I find that when I am in a "distracted" state - following Rich's discourse attentively - that my playing remains not only accurate but actually is better. As if the subconscious is actually better at piloting the aircraft on auto pilot. I play best when I'm not 'thinking about it', and this gets back in a roundabout way to learning or memorizing songs. As long as I 'know' or am very familiar with the melody and chord progressions or in effect can "hear" the song in my head, I function best when not "trying". I actually cultivate various ways of creating this "distracted" state.

Of course, recalling or forgetting lyrics are another issue, but my approach to songs that are brand new to me are to play along a few times to artists' performances, write out or copy the lyrics, analyze the melody and chords appropriately and let it flow. In the end the ears are king.

[55bar]

As soon as I learned lots of tunes i started to hear commonalities.

I treat these commonalities as "pegs"to hang big sign posts on.

It doesn't matter what you call them but many standards follow a common pattern. Once I could hear the home key then I could hear:

•"oh it's gone to the relative minor"
•"ah it's gone to chord 4"
•"that's 4 minor"
•"that's a "back door" 2-5"
•"there is home key again"
•"back to relative minor"
• "ah that's chord 2 as a dominant"

If you are following me, that was "there will never be another you"

I think of A LOT of tunes in this way...

[TH]

I look at a tune as a landscape.
There are definitely small (micro-segments?) sections, or phrases that create their own systems. It's something that doesn't become so apparent on a page (which can look linear and one dimensional).
If you listen to a piece, there's a sense of breathing, ascension, relief, drama. No piece goes straight to the end. If you can learn to see/hear these areas, work on them individually to really understand their unique melodic and harmonic intricacies, it really helps to run the changes of the piece as moving from one unit to another.
It's the way I create a heirarchy of tunes to work on. Autumn leaves has larger blocks of Major and minor, each one pretty large, flowing from one to another. ATTYA has a more idiosyncratic microstructure but it sequences. Goodbye Porkpie Hat has many smaller structures; that's a more challenging one.

How do you picture a tune when you're learning it? Do you see segments? Can you let your ear guide you? (That's a huge question, and one not to be taken lightly...the ear thing)
Can you listen to a recording an identify the tonal segments, phrases, areas of concentration and recognize them in general and specific ways? Do you work on pieces in sections? Know these sections by personalities, and be able to meet these familiar segments while you're listening to a playalong without your guitar?

One thing that strikes me when I listen to a tune done by someone playing a convincing solo, it seems they're aware of the smaller and the larger picture. This might not be important to you, so these thoughts are very subjective, but it's surely helped me to navigate the landscape. And yes, when I'm hearing a piece, identifying the micro-segments is definitely a roman numeral thing. I feel the character of the harmonic structure in each segment. I feel it coming up, I play into it when the bar line is approaching...

Ex: How Deep has a strong VI- chapter. It starts off strongly with that personality.
Then it goes to the place where the III would be, but it's a series of II-'s that comes down like a set of steps.
...and it goes on. But seeing small islands that I leap to, like a topographic map, really helps see the whole in a friendly and engaging way.

Just a thought.

David

[targuit]

I agree with many of the comments, but I find that many here are very focused on analyzing the tune, dissecting it's structure, etc. While that is fine, I don't actually do that very much on a daily basis, essentially because I find it often superfluous unless that is expressly the purpose. How many of us cannot extemporaneously sing the melody of My Romance or play the song through in terms of the progression? If you can do that comfortably, is it really necessary to analyze it?

[Boston Joe]

I agree with many of the comments, but I find that many here are very focused on analyzing the tune, dissecting it's structure, etc. While that is fine, I don't actually do that very much on a daily basis, essentially because I find it often superfluous unless that is expressly the purpose. How many of us cannot extemporaneously sing the melody of My Romance or play the song through in terms of the progression? If you can do that comfortably, is it really necessary to analyze it? .

To the extent that it makes it easier to memorize, yes. It's easier to memorize a sequence of sections than a bunch of individual chords. I've been working with the "memorize the structure" method for a while now, and I'm having much more success with it than I have when I was just trying to memorize chords." I'm not quite to the point where I can hear my way through a tune I haven't worked on.

[destinytot]

For me, the biggest part of the problem is getting past the mistaken belief that "I already know" a particular tune. If I can't sing the melody in chromatic solfège syllables, I don't know it well enough.

I'm finally using the fretboard (instead of a keyboard) for reference when learning melodies in solfege syllables, while also following forum advice on fingering systems.

And I'm writing solfège as I transcribe. Here's an example:

Love this song, but I can't say "I knew it" - but I do now. What 'speaks to me' is the chord at that high SOL in bar 1; a groovy tritone sub (taking the melody's SOL as b7) leading to a IV chord - my favourite.

Here's Wilson Simonal's original, followed by Stevie, then Earl Klugh, and something sweet for afters (I love those - er - 'magical' unplugged TV performances):