Memorizing Tunes

[MarkRhodes]

With jazz tunes it's more of a 'knowing' than 'memorization', at least that's what I'm striving for. For instance, ii V I progressions are so common in jazz standards, you eventually hear them. Or iv ii V I, same thing. So you start to hear these progressions and you don't really have to memorize them, you just know them. I think this is why professional jazz musicians know so many tunes, the majority of what they hear they already know.

I think there's a lot to this. I read a remark by a guitarist in a book that said, 'Don't learn standards one at a time!" I didn't know there was an alternative, but maybe that player was thinking like you: knowing the things that crop up in standard after standard and having immediate memory pegs for new material. (I'm not there yet...)

[Klatu]

All,

I did buy "Insights in Jazz" by John Elloitt and have read through sections of the book. My interest is piqued. I think I am going to give this a shot. It does require learning some new terminology specific to the system. I'll probably try to make some flashcards to address that part. It certainly does look like there is some very good material in here though.

Rick

I picked this book up just recently and have high hopes that it will help me think of these tunes in a more organized manner. I'll let you know how I get on with the material.

[eddy b.]

When I first started playing the only way I could memorize a tune was to either learn it by ear from the CD or play/read it a bazillion times. Since in the beginning my chops and hearing couldn't cut a lot of fast and tricky music I didn't learn much bebop for a long time. Now twenty years later I have learned to hear the similarities between tunes to help memorize them quickly. For instance All of Me is similar to Sunny Side of the Street which is similar to A-Train. The other thing is after all the years and gigs I have put in I can usually "hear" where the harmony is moving to and can usually learn a new tunes harmony by the third chorus. However this really only applies to tonal jazz standards and tunes. The modern stuff(rosenwinkel) etc. is alot more challanging for me to hear, not to mention noone has ever requested music like that at any of the gigs I play they are more likely to request "Slow Boat to China" or "Night and Day". Good luck stay with it!!

[stevebellinger]

Hi All,

What has helped me regarding, memorising standards, is to have a little

note book, and right out the chords and also a harmonic analysis, also

guide tones of the harmony. might not be for everybody each to there own!


Steve

[mr. beaumont]

Hi All,

What has helped me regarding, memorising standards, is to have a little

note book, and right out the chords and also a harmonic analysis, also

guide tones of the harmony. might not be for everybody each to there own!


Steve

I think this can be very beneficial...again, seeing a tune as a series of musical movements and not just a string of chords...

[Stevebol]

There's no right or wrong way to go about this. Find what works best for you. For years I've been trying to learn tunes by first doing something like a chord melody and I wind up trying to do a solo arrangement and I get very frustrated by not getting it perfect and I spend far too much time on one song. Guitarists who play with their fingers would probably have much more success by doing this than a typical flat picker like me. I decided to spend far less time on trying to do a chord melody and more time on learning the basic chords and single note melody. Also I work on some soloing. After the song starts to make an imprint and starts to sound like a song, move on to another one. In the end you have to find a system that works for you- no two people are alike.

[MarkRhodes]

There's no right or wrong way to go about this. .

Agreed, but I think his way is worth trying. It'll be a real test for me with "Green Dolphin Street", as I haven't heard it much so I'm starting from scratch. We shall see what we shall see...

[JimBobWay]

This is a fantastic catalog of useful techniques. The three things that have been most effective for me are: singing/playing by ear from whatever source, then transcribing, there seems to be some wiring between writing and memory, and in the end repetition rules. I can pick up a guitar and play tunes I locked into muscle memory decades ago without even thinking. Of course, I played them hundreds of times or more. And I always use figured bass for transcriptions.

But there was another comment about loving the tune, and I must say those that I committed to that level of memory are the ones that bring me joy no matter how many times I play them.

These days it's less of an issue, I bring a small laptop or tablet with charts loaded in + web access. Facilitates the requests, and nobody cares - they're all playing with their phones/ipads/etc. too.

[MattC]

guide tones of the harmony

Indeed. One other thing I thought of is playing bass lines to tunes. A friend of mine does that a lot. Then sometimes he plays bass notes with harmony guide tones added in. Then full chords. So instead of just coming up with a set chord melody arrangement, he uses the tune as a study in development.

Matt

[MarkRhodes]

Indeed. One other thing I thought of is playing bass lines to tunes.

I do some of that too. Since I was a kid, the coolest sound I ever heard was a high-hat rhythm joined by a walking bass line. I work a lot on adding bass lines to comps; it's one of my favorite things about jazz.

[Jazzguitarsussx]

Everyone's pretty much covered it (lots of practice in all keys and recognising tunes have common progresssions) but what i do is consolidate tunes in my head away from the guitar. So this is what I do..
I hate queuing in shops, banks etc...
So if someone calls a tune at a jam I don't know, I'll learn the changes
Then in my head whilst standing in a que, sitting on a bus etc..
I'll go thought the tune in my head in C, visualising where I'm putting my fingers, then I'll do the same in every key round the cycle,