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OP
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Hi,
I picked up my guitar today and just started playing " Dueling Banjos". I saw the movie when it first came out and I guess I have listened to the song a few times. It is easy to recognize if you have ever listened to it.
I don't know what the original key is. I have never looked at the sheet music.
How common is it to have this "musical memory"?
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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I can play a complete symphony after only hearing it once. I am an idiot savant.
Regards,
Bob
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That is pretty amazing Bob. I have to think pretty hard to get through playing "Happy Birthday" without a lead sheet...lol
I guess I could play the opening lines to " Golliwog's Cakewalk" if pressed to, but certainly not the whole thing without the sheet music.
I can remember pretty arcane things like router addresses like 192.147.153.106. Many things I can only remember by writing them down.
I often can recognize a group of notes being typical of a certain artist but would not always be able to play them back.
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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eddie1261
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eddie1261
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I can get close. If it has even been played in a I was in, likely I will remember it.
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I joined a band and ended up playing songs I'd NEVER heard before.
The bass player would say... Key of A, follow me....
It was actually kind of fun.
But to answer the question..... yeah, pretty much so. Since most songs follow patterns and are predictable, yeah.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Apprentice
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Apprentice
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After one listen I can play a song note for note, not necessarily in the right order though
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BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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After looking up some information about "Dueling Banjoes" I see it was written in the key of G. This was the key I was playing in and why the song came to mind.
I chromatically played a triplet up from the third of the G chord which is B,C,D for no particular reason which is the first three notes of the song.
For me, if I had played the same thing in another key I would likely not have thought about " Dueling Banjoes".
I generally remember songs in the original key unless they are very generic like "Happy Birthday". Sometimes this presents a bit of confusion because some recordings are published in different keys after the original. Working with vocalists who have limited range makes needing to switch keys more common which in general is pretty easy to do on guitar.
I also have played songs I have never listened to before by watching the bass player. It is possible to play something logical but it is unlikely that anyone would automatically play the signature licks.
Anyway, the question was more about remembering songs note for note.
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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Yes, the good folks from the Midlands always have something funny to say...lol
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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Joined: Jul 2000
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Depends on the song and the intervals. I'm talking sax, which is my primary instrument. On the sax, my fingers just know where to go without thinking about it.
Notes ♫
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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"Can you play songs from just having listened to them in the past?" Most of the time yes.
Can I remember what I had for supper last night? Most of the time no.
Go figure!
I think my wife has started to show the first signs of dementia.
She said she can't remember what she ever saw in me!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Can I remember what I had for supper last night? Most of the time no. LOL! Truth! Then there's always the nice wifely comment..... "You can remember anything music related but you can't remember what you ate?"
 Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics.
PC: Win11 PRO, 4 TB M2 SSD, 2 TB HD, 128 GB Memory
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Sometimes when I am in a family setting and they ask me to play guitar, we end up playing stump the guitar player. When they ask for songs I have heard but never played, I usually pick an easy guitar key, C, G something like that and then go for it. Having heard them, and probably many times, I can even simulate the parts that people recognize, i.e. "improvise" a solo, that is reminiscent of the original but usually not note for note except for maybe the most famous parts or the beginning lick etc. It is a great test of my musical ability and I actually enjoy, since it is a "safe" place to try it as everyone is having fun and actively trying to stump me. If I can get a verse out or the chorus out they seem satisfied that I am spectacular!
My wife asked if I had seen the dog bowl. I told her I didn't even know he could.
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Sometimes when I am in a family setting and they ask me to play guitar, we end up playing stump the guitar player. When they ask for songs I have heard but never played, I usually pick an easy guitar key, C, G something like that and then go for it. Having heard them, and probably many times, I can even simulate the parts that people recognize, i.e. "improvise" a solo, that is reminiscent of the original but usually not note for note except for maybe the most famous parts or the beginning lick etc. It is a great test of my musical ability and I actually enjoy, since it is a "safe" place to try it as everyone is having fun and actively trying to stump me. If I can get a verse out or the chorus out they seem satisfied that I am spectacular! Been there - done that. It is good ear training, anticipating that next chord, as well as improvisation  If you want to have some fun say sure I'll play it but you have to sing it. If they are really bad singers then that makes your chord selection a lot easier 
I think my wife has started to show the first signs of dementia.
She said she can't remember what she ever saw in me!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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When I was a young musician, we would go out to see one of the older dudes who played organ way west of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (and is now mid-town).
He couldn't be stumped. Anything we asked for, he could play, no matter how obscure - melody, chords, and he kicked bass too.
Some people are just special.
Notes ♫
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Some of you remember my friend Danny. He was a walking encyclopedia of musical trivia and songs. He'd start banging away on some chords on his guitar and the next thing you know he's singing some obscure song from an old Hank Snow record that no one ever heard of, but he would know every single word in it...and in the right key too. And if asked... he could probably tell you who the musicians on the original record were. His recall was uncanny.
RIP.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Some of you remember my friend Danny. He was a walking encyclopedia of musical trivia and songs. He'd start banging away on some chords on his guitar and the next thing you know he's singing some obscure song from an old Hank Snow record that no one ever heard of, but he would know every single word in it...and in the right key too. And if asked... he could probably tell you who the musicians on the original record were. His recall was uncanny.
RIP. There was a fellow at work who had what we now call autism. If you named a song, album, or an artist/band he could tell you want recording company was used for that song or album and he could tell you want recording companies were used for an artist/band. I could never trip him up.
I think my wife has started to show the first signs of dementia.
She said she can't remember what she ever saw in me!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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