Joe V

I’m sorry to see that your thread got hijacked by the Capo debate, and though I’m going to contribute to that body of faux controversy later, I’ll give you the courtesy of addressing your question first.

First, I think you are right not using chord charts during a live performance. There are too many other thing going on. For the same reason, you should practice so you can play without looking at your hands. A good performance involves moving around and interacting with your audience and fellow musicians. Maintaining focus on other things makes your performance and your enjoyment of it fall apart.

I don’t know a lot of tricks other than repetition. When I’m practicing, I first break a song up into manageable pieces and get each piece right before practicing it as a whole. I make a point of not practicing mistakes but makes sure to perfect a part played in error before practicing it again. When I practice the song I’m identifying places where I’m less confident and going back and paying more attention.

When I learn a song, I use a combination of notebooks and crib sheets. My notebooks are my permanent written record of the chord chart and lyrics. My crib sheets are my fold up, carry around learning tool. I run either the chord changes or lyrics through my head even when I’m doing things other than practicing. If I find I’m having recall problems, at an opportune time, I pull the crib sheet out of my pocket and review the part I had trouble recalling, then put the crib sheet back in my pocket. My crib sheet is with me constantly while my note book is primarily sitting on a music stand if I’m actually practicing. My crib sheets are usually in tatters by the time I’ve learned a song completely.

In a formal practice session, I try to treat things like a performance. I don’t look at music, chord sheets, lyrics, my hands or anything else I can’t access during a stage performance. If I make a mistake, I bulldoze through it, (ad libbing if necessary) then immediately review problems, rinse, repeat, until the song is perfected. I lot of the process is to make things automatic, through repetition, muscle memory, and subconscious recall.

When the song is memorized, I make a new clean crib sheet, which I paper clip inside my notebook. The notebook travels with me to performances so that if I get concerned about a song I can take a peek on a break.

I apologize if this sounds like Captain Obvious, but this has been my way of doing thing for a long time.

Keith
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