How to memorize songs.
No need for chord charts. [Intermediate Beginner Lesson]
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Ultimately, we'd like to be able to play songs on our guitar (or piano), without having to depend on keeping a notebook of chord charts with us. This really only happens when you've played the same list of songs hundreds of times. Chord charts or "lead sheets", are useful when learning how to play a song. This article takes a look at ways you can improve how you memorize songs without using chord charts.
Intermediate Beginner Lesson
How do bands do it?
I've been in more bands than I can remember. I'm not bragging. This is a commonality for most musicians. Bands have rehearsals. These rehearsals might last a couple of hours or an entire afternoon. If you're a band that does "cover songs'', you're probably more inclined to use chord charts or lead sheets to rehearse the songs. This way, the entire band is "all on the same page".
Chances are if you're a band that does its own originals, the memorization of songs happens as the entire band is about building and creating each song as a group. Usually everyone in the band has some sort of input on how the song develops. Each part is rehearsed several times until everyone in the band is satisfied with the results. During this process, the need for charts might include basic outlines of the song, without actually including the chord charts themselves.
What is a chord chart/lead sheet?
In many ways, you can think of chord charts as a sort of flow chart. This flow chart represents the flow of sections of the song that include the chords placed in a progression. There will also be the basic nomenclature symbols included, to guide the progressions for each section. These symbols usually include the time signature, tempo, intro, verses, chorus, bridge, solos, outro, etc. If a song is 3-4 minutes in length, most of it should easily fit on one side of a 8½x11 inch piece of paper.
For example - Here is “Wonderwall” by Oasis, written out as a chord chart
Chords are written in a progression for each section of the song. The intro might be the same as the chorus for some songs. This means that there really is no need to repeat or rewrite the same section twice. The use of "repeat" signs can also be included to save space. The idea behind this is knowing the song well enough that you don't need to be completely guided by every measure of the song written out in its entirety, taking up three or four unnecessary pages. How does this "knowing" come about? It comes from practicing the song over and over and over - “Not until you get it right, but until you can't get it wrong”.
Another example - Here is “Strawberry Wine” by Deanna Carter written out as a chord chart.
Most 3-4 minute songs have an intro, two or three verses, two or three choruses, first and second endings and maybe a bridge. The outro might be the same as the intro, which might be the same as the chorus. This is where the memorization takes place. A working musician will memorize the structure of the sections, not necessarily the chord progressions. The chord progression is usually thought of as a series of Roman numerals in an order (i.e. I, vi, IV, V), which would translate to a "C, Am, F, G" progression in the key of C.
Roman numerals? Progressions? Keys?
Musicians tend to think in terms of chords available in a key. Once they know the progression of chords in a section, and in a key, it's just a matter of memorizing the pattern and how many times that pattern is repeated, and where it is repeated in the song. In order to do this, musicians will understand and recognize common chord progressions as Roman numerals. If there are any alterations to the progression, this would be one of the things the musician would have to address.
Every song has a key. A key is a series of seven notes/chords available in that key. Every key must have a version of the first seven letters of the alphabet. For example: The key of A major will have: "A, B, C#, D, E, F# and G#". The key of F major will have: "F, G, A, Bb, C, D and E". Each note/chord has a Roman numeral placement, as well. If a song is in the key of A major, and the progression is a standard "I, vi, IV, V", the chord progression would be: "A, F#m, D, E". Musicians know these basic music theories as part of their lifelong training as instrumentalists.
How can you remember songs without using chord charts?
I think you probably already know the answer to this question. Practice! I tell my students to think in terms of learning a song, as taking weeks before they have it memorized. There is training involved in this. The idea is to get the student to practice the song so many times that they honestly, get sick of it. This could be two or three hundred times before they can play it without the aid of a chord chart.
Let's say that you are learning how to play the song "Peaceful easy feeling" from the Eagles. The chord progression is at about beginner level, and uses most of the basic common, open-string or "cowboy" chords, everyone learns on the guitar. That's why this song is so popular with beginner guitarists. The chord chart is in front of you, and you never take your eyes off of it because you must learn to read it so you can memorize it. At the same time, your fingers and hands are utilizing muscle memory. You are also learning how to change the chords clearly in rhythm. This is the part that is sometimes difficult for beginners.
Once you are comfortable with reading the chord charts and you know where all of the changes are, and where all of the sections happen in the song, you then must practice along with the song, over and over until you can play it all the way through, from top to bottom.
Some people might have to practice the song a few dozen times before they can play it all the way through with the song. Others might need to practice the song more than a hundred times. It doesn't matter how many times you practice the song. Each time you practice the song, you slowly improve the way you play it. Ultimately, you want to try to memorize where everything goes.
Imagine being able to play a song with your eyes closed and playing completely by memory. Now, imagine doing this for several hundred or maybe even thousands of songs. Every song you memorize gets easier to memorize. You are training your brain to think a certain way - The way professional musicians think. It's about repetition, practice, commitment, and sometimes endless hours of pushing yourself to get the song down cold.
What about more difficult songs?
Honestly, it's the same thing, no matter the level of difficulty the song may actually be. I remember when I was 14 years old, I asked my guitar teacher, Tony, to show me how to play "Stairway to Heaven". He asked me if I was serious about learning such a difficult song, and I told him "Yes". I was committed to learning it as best as I could, no matter how long it took me. He wrote out each of the three sections to the song.
In 1977, this famous song was only six years old. It wasn't really the iconic masterpiece everyone thinks of today. Back then, it was just another Led Zeppelin song - and I wanted to learn it. All in all, I think it took me nearly two years to learn the entire song, not including the guitar solos. By the time I had it memorized, I could also play all of the bass guitar parts.
Okay, so, two years? Yes, that's a long time to practice one song. I had already been playing guitar for three or four years; and I understood what it took to learn how to play any song.
One of the most difficult songs I have ever had to memorize is "Deacon Blues" by Steely Dan. (Last count, I think there are either 36 or 39 different chords in that song. I'd have to check).
Regardless, learning this song was no easy task. However, I already knew it on the bass guitar; and the "Aja" album is my all time favorite album. So, you could say that I was already highly invested and motivated. I think it took me about two or three months to have the song completely memorized to the point where I could write out the chord charts for my students. I'm not trying to brag or anything. This is just decades of me being a practicing musician.
I think that songs get easier to memorize over time. Musicians think of songs as a series of structures and patterns. It's really all just basic music theory math. It doesn’t happen overnight, and it usually takes years of commitment and practice to get to a place where you can memorize hundreds of songs without any chord charts in front of you.
When a band does a gig, they will usually write out a "set list" On that set list will be the titles to the songs in the order of each set. There might be three or four sets, depending on the gig. Sometimes, next to the title of each song, the "key" will be written as a side note to help remind everyone of the song, how it starts, the tempo, etc.
Record yourself, listen to yourself, commit yourself and practice as much as you possibly can so you can one day play songs on your guitar without any help.