I've never practiced enough to have my accompaniment to my favorite cover songs come out fluently.
And I think having to look at chord charts during a performance takes a bit away from the performance.
For those of you that feel the same, and have mastered the accompaniment to a large number of cover songs....how do you go about it ? How do you - practice and memorize them, - review them, - how many times do you think you have to play/practice them before they are forever sealed in your memory for the future ? - if you have to memorize the words too - how do you go about that ? - how often do you have to review ? e.g. until they are forever in your brain ?
Do you think some techniques work far better than others, and you could contrast them and share why ?
With well over 550 songs in our book, it's difficult to memorize them all. Especially since some of the songs are not pulled out often.
But most of them are memorized anyway, and to tell you the truth, I don't know how I do it.
The chords come quite easy to me, it's the words that I find hardest to memorize.
I keep cheat sheets up (on computer) and glance at it, mostly for the first word in a line or section. I've already practiced enough to not need to read it. Then little by little the need to glance gets less and less.
Now if we pull out a song we haven't played in a few months, there will be more glances, but still much more eye contact with the audience than the screen.
10 hours for 1 hours on stage - not bad...but for how many days or months before !!!
Eddie - for having played so long, I imagine you can take a new tune you've heard but never practiced, and get it into your long term memory far quicker than a beginner could (assuming no techical barriers for a beginner).
I have some songs I've practice so frequently, my fingers go where they need to without thinking - even of the names of the chords.
But everything I'm doing recently, I'm still having to look at the key name and review the progression numbers before I play it....I suppose what I really need to do is practice a group of songs - 2 or 3 not to get board, until my fingers go to the right places without thinking, before I move onto the next 2 or 3 songs....I think that's next for me.
Joe, after you play those songs long enough, depending on how well you retain things (and that is VERY different for everybody) you will know them soon enough. Unlike Notes huge catalog, which they need because of the varied places they played, I was always in bands that had maybe 60 active songs at a time. And when we learned a new one, an old one went out. 3 sets, 13 songs each. Those sets would have a solid 10 that were there every night, and 3 variables we plugged in. We ran things different than a lot of bands. If we had a gig Thursday night, we had our sets on Wednesday so if there was a guitar change needed or a sample I had to load from a disc, I could make a note on the set that the change was coming. Very little down time between songs. In fact the 2nd set was 60 minutes that did not stop. But again, different situations.
A song you play once a year is different from a song you play 5 nights a week.
My problem was how to forget them. We played nearly the same set lists for way, way too long.
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I would learn the first one to where I was comfortable with the song and could play through with very little distraction of thinking "what's next". Then learn the next one the same way. Then go back to the first and improve it, move on to the second and improve it, then add the third.
Pretty soon you'll find yourself just playing through the first one to get to the next and next .. so you can focus on a new one again (psychological side of it). Plus the discipline of going back reinforces muscle memory.
Not long after you get to knowing 3 or 4 you'll know 10 .. improvement comes with practice on this task just like others; you'll start to get faster at it the more you do it. Don't just try to learn one, then the next, then the next, remember to go back go back and re-remember the ones you did previously. It'll only take a few minutes and keeps them fresh in the mind ..I think of it like a computer uses cache <grin>; it's worth storing special if you are going to need it often. This exercise helps your mind keep it in the 'recently needed' area and fresher in memory for faster recall.
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Now I find the hardest thing is to remember the names of the songs. Once I remember the name, I have a shot at the chords and lyrics. Invariably I get them back to front or forget a verse etc. So many songs are turnarounds, 2, 5, 1, 3 chords or blues.... which helps (sometimes). Why is it just as hard to remember your own songs and lyrics? Using backing tracks on auto play helps....
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A capo?? No capo's on a piano and there shouldn't be one on a guitar either.
It's already been touched on but I'll refine it a bit.
Take say 5 songs to start and do them all every day, 7 days a week. Put pressure on yourself as if you're at a gig. If you mess up you don't get to stop and get a do over. No, you're performing and you'll just have to fake it. A few days, maybe a week of that and you'll have those 5 tunes down. Do another 5 but perform them with the first 5 so you're "playing a gig" with 10 songs, then another 5 and another 5 etc. Remember, this is like a live final rehearsal, no do overs, mess up and you just fake it and move on.
Can't see yourself doing that because you have a life outside of memorizing songs?
Bob, I have to call baloney on saying no capos on guitars. Many reasons, but primarily the one that might resonate best with you is that saying guitarists should not use capos is like saying you have to play a song with odd sounding voicing and inversions on a keyboard because you are only allowed to play in a certain range of notes on the keyboard. Capos allow the right chord voicing to be played to get the arrangement of notes to ring correctly.
The number of songs played with capos and alternate tunings they sound just the way they do is too long to list.
I will name one very well known example: Jumpin Jack Flash as played by Keith Richards. It just doesn’t sound right unless the guitar is tuned to an open tuning AND capoed.
Can't see yourself doing that because you have a life outside of memorizing songs?
What was your question again?
Bob
Very well put Bob (... which is actually typical for you. I have come to appreciate your wry humor and straight talk)
The answer to the OP's question is obvious; practice, practice, practice. How long it takes depends on how much talent you have talent and how much time you got.
There was a time when I would ask myself, why can't I perform at a "near" professional level. I stopped asking that question long ago and I came to peace with reality. First, despite having a love for music creation, I was not blessed with the natural talent to satisfy that love. And second, almost as important, my life decisions took me down a different path long before my music came along.
Can't see yourself doing that because you have a life outside of memorizing songs?
What was your question again?
Bob
Very well put Bob (... which is actually typical for you. I have come to appreciate your wry humor and straight talk)
The answer to the OP's question is obvious; practice, practice, practice. How long it takes depends on how much talent you have talent and how much time you got.
There was a time when I would ask myself, why can't I perform at a "near" professional level. I stopped asking that question long ago and I came to peace with reality. First, despite having a love for music creation, I was not blessed with the natural talent to satisfy that love. And second, almost as important, my life decisions took me down a different path long before my music came along.
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
Can't see yourself doing that because you have a life outside of memorizing songs?
What was your question again?
Bob
Very well put Bob (... which is actually typical for you. I have come to appreciate your wry humor and straight talk)
The answer to the OP's question is obvious; practice, practice, practice. How long it takes depends on how much talent you have talent and how much time you got.
There was a time when I would ask myself, why can't I perform at a "near" professional level. I stopped asking that question long ago and I came to peace with reality. First, despite having a love for music creation, I was not blessed with the natural talent to satisfy that love. And second, almost as important, my life decisions took me down a different path long before my music came along.
Practice, practice, practice. I can't formally play any instrument or read a lick of sheet music, so I find it to be an amazing skill to watch. Above Eddie said 10 hours of practice for every 1 hour on stage, and that basically hits the nail on the head. My dad was a professional performer, and he'd rehearse hours every day for 2 weeks straight before doing a show that lasted an hour and a half.
<...snip...>I was always in bands that had maybe 60 active songs at a time. And when we learned a new one, an old one went out.<...>
Been there, done that. In a Top40 cover band, the song of the week had to be learned, and last month's song was too old to play anymore.
It was good training, and learning to cover many different bands styles was good education.
I find if I can remember the first note or chord or word of the song, the rest comes around.
Capo?
Not for me.
Why?
Putting the capo on makes the guitar sharp by pushing the string between two frets. Then when you put your finger down between another two frets, that string goes even sharper.
The saxophone is not in tune with itself. Each note is different. For decades I listen to the sax tone, and adjust the vertical position of my lower lip to make the note in tune (or intentionally out of tune). Put the capo on and a finger on and the note is sharp enough to bug me. I want to adjust it.
Of course, for the general public it's probably OK, so if someone else wants to use one, it's their business.
Putting the capo on makes the guitar sharp by pushing the string between two frets. Then when you put your finger down between another two frets, that string goes even sharper.
I use a capo sometimes for recording, and as rockstar_not pointed out it has nothing to do with not being able to play the chords, it has to do with getting the open voicing which for some material is very important.
Pitch is not an issue, I just tune the guitar slightly flat so that when I put the capo on it is in perfect tune.
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Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
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Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
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