My mantra when teaching: always count, never guess.

You should always have a metronome ticking away in your head: One, two, three, four.... You need to be in control of what you're doing. Losing your place or tempo means you haven't got control, and you haven't got it memorized.

If you're unsteady on the beat, go back to basics and count out loud to a metronome. A Google search for metronome will bring one up that you can use on your phone.

Count out loud to the click: One, two, three, four.... Keep in up for a couple minutes - it can be surprisingly hard!

This sort of practice can really pay off. Keep at it.

Once you've got that, you can start slapping the table top with your hand. But keep counting out loud!

When you practice, you should be able to count out loud as you play, and you should be playing to a steady beat. If you're having trouble doing that, slow the tempo down, much more than you think you need to, so that it's almost painfully slow.

Slow, accurate practice is the key to speed. Fast, inaccurate practice is practicing errors. wink

edshaw has some really great suggestions. Analysis is really helpful in memorizing music, and by using multiple approaches, you not enhance your ability to recall, but you enhance your ability to interpret the music as well.

-- David Cuny
My virtual singer development blog

Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?