Quote:
Originally Posted by JBCROTTY
I have a question for folks - Mike wrote the above and it sparked my curiosity because I have been wondering something.
Mike - when you say you have almost 400 gig ready songs, can you play all 400 from memory when you are playing live or do you require visual assistance during the performance? Tab, music sheet, chord chart....something?
The reason I ask is that I've been playing for just under a year after a 35 year hiatus - I am NOT good, but am making progress and able to play easy songs in relatively short order. I have a "song book" that I built with about 30-40 songs in it - all of which I can play through, some more fluently than others. I build these sheets from sources like Ultimate Guitar - I find song I like, select the one that seems to be highly rated, copy it into a Word document, fix the chords and spacing if it does not appear to be right, and I produce a pretty good chord or tab sheet for the song which I then put in the book and chip away at it.
I ask the question because, though I am a novice and it is getting easier, I am astounded that someone could remember that many songs - chords, strum patters, and chord timing. What is a realistic goal to set for being able to memorize and play songs? When I watch live music (I will likely never play live) sometimes the artist will have an iPad hanging from the mic stand. What is on the iPad? Other times it appears as though they have deep song reservoirs memorized. I find this incredible.
Would be interested to hear your thoughts. Is it reasonable to be able to play a certain amount of songs from memory? Will I always require visual assistance for many of them - is that normal? What do performers use? What is typical?
Thanks for the insight - more curious than anything because I will likely never gig. Though who knows, I keep threatening my kids that I'll descend on a poor, unsuspecting coffee shop and humiliate us all.
Justin
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I have found that as I reach this size of a repertoire, I'm unable to keep it all purely in my memory. For the last few years, I've made song charts for each new tune that I learn and keep everything on my very old iPad (it's the first version that I bought for my wife when they first came out - she passed it down to me). I usually start with lyrics from the online source AZ lyrics. I copy and paste that into a Pages document and add notes or chord reminders in the margins as needed. Then I convert that to a pdf and keep it in the unealBook app (this one works for me) on my iPad.
When I gig, I usually use a fairly flexible setlist. I'll prepare something, but once I start to play, I like to respond to the room - so, anything on that list is up for grabs. If I stick to what's planned (say, 50ish songs for the night), I find that I rarely do more than glance at the iPad to remind me what the next song is. However, it is always there as a safety net. If I get a request for something I haven't played in months or years, the chart is there to lean on. Some charts have abbreviated lyrics (the first line of each verse) and nothing else. Some charts have lyrics, chords, notes in the margins for time signature, key, phrasing or arrangement. unrealBook also has a metronome that I sometime use (mostly to remind me to slow down). Experience tells me that the more complete the chart is, the more likely it is that the song will keep all it's nuances as the years go by. Otherwise, songs tend to become simpler and I run the risk of becoming that three chord strummer (nothing wrong with that, but it's not what I prefer). I always have a reminder in the chart for tuning and capo placement. There is nothing worse than getting halfway through a tune and realizing that you have the lyric right and you're playing is on point, but you're singing it transposed down a minor third because you forgot to capo at the third fret (doesn't carry quite the same intensity).
Part of my regular practice routine is to go through my list and make a "work" list of songs that need polishing, need remembering (
I'm gettin' old), or that I want to add a solo or a new intro or a looper part to the arrangement. That list is always evolving according to my youthful
ambition and my aging, failing memory.
I blew right through my self-imposed 400 song limit this week, so I guess I'm gonna be leaning a little more on my memory aids. Of that list of 403 songs. I'd say at any given time, I can probably play close to half purely from memory. It seems that most days, I learn something new and I'm sure in a deep part of my memory, a gem of a song tumbles into the abyss of forgotten tunes. Then, I review, rescue that gem, and throw it on the "work" list. Endless process...
That's how it is for me. I know some people can keep 1000+ songs under their hands without any charts. I can't. The more musical theory one understands the better. Many, many songs follow fairly familiar patterns that become second nature with experience.