Finding it hard to remember tablature

bcollins · #1 08-08-2012, 07:23 AM

Hi

I wonder if anyone can advise me on a problem I seem to be having. I am teaching myself from a variety of books (Mark Hanson, Acoustic Guitar Mag guides,Doug Young, Songbooks, etc, etc). My motor skills and tone are developing, and overally technical proficiency is improving audibly.

However, I am finding it tough to remember what I am meant to play unless I have the tab in front of me. A good example if The Water is Wide - Ed Gerhard. I can render it flawlessly with a book in front of me, but cant get past the first two measures without the book.

Does anyone have a suggestion - I want to get free of these books. One idea could be that I am not seeing the wood for the trees. In other words, if I learn the basic chord progressions then the fingerstyle patterns would be more naturally ingrained.

I won't say I am worried, but I haven't slept for 2 months (joking of course).

Help and advice greatly appreciated

rick-slo · #2 08-08-2012, 07:51 AM

Just play it over and over and over until it sinks in.

JohnnySmash · #3 08-08-2012, 08:09 AM

I am studying some of the same books that you are. I do ok with the book, but need tab to play almost anything. My problem is my age and age does make remembering harder. John

HHP · #4 08-08-2012, 08:30 AM

It may be because you don't memorize the tablature or notation, you memorize a combination of the sound and the muscle memory to produce the sound with your hands/fingers.

Think about a tune you have memorized. Can you create the tab from memory or do you need the guitar in hand to do it? If you can do it from memory, do you remember the tab page you learned from or the hand positions you use to play it?

To help with your specific question, it might be that you need to get the tune and sound locked into your memory first, then associate the manual elements of producing the sound.

Dave H · #5 08-08-2012, 08:33 AM

That's a great song. I play it as well. The way I learned it was one or two measures at a time. When you can play those couple measures without looking, move onto the next couple. Play through what you have memorized often. You'll be using your brain in a different way, so it may feel like you're starting over. It takes time and repetition but eventually you'll develop the muscle memory and you won't have to think about it. The fact that you can already play the song makes me think you'll get it fairly quickly.

srick · #6 08-08-2012, 08:53 AM

Billy - similar problem here. As you mentioned, working from the basic chord progressions and "filling in the blanks" seems to help. Much of the score is embellishment and fills based on the chord progressions and it really muddies the water.

I suspect that after several more years of this it will get easier, right?

Howard Emerson · #7 08-08-2012, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcollins

Hi

I wonder if anyone can advise me on a problem I seem to be having. I am teaching myself from a variety of books (Mark Hanson, Acoustic Guitar Mag guides,Doug Young, Songbooks, etc, etc). My motor skills and tone are developing, and overally technical proficiency is improving audibly.

However, I am finding it tough to remember what I am meant to play unless I have the tab in front of me. A good example if The Water is Wide - Ed Gerhard. I can render it flawlessly with a book in front of me, but cant get past the first two measures without the book.

Does anyone have a suggestion - I want to get free of these books. One idea could be that I am not seeing the wood for the trees. In other words, if I learn the basic chord progressions then the fingerstyle patterns would be more naturally ingrained.

I won't say I am worried, but I haven't slept for 2 months (joking of course).

Help and advice greatly appreciated

Hi Billy,
I have been reading about this problem ever since I can remember, and the solution is pretty simple, but nobody believes me, so they don't try it............perhaps you will?

While reading the tab of your choice, record the piece while you are playing it. Then put the tab away someplace where you can't see it.

Now listen back to the recording..........over and over and over again.

That's YOU playing without the tab in front of you, for all intents and purposes. Now you need to memorize what you are HEARING.

If you can not walk down the street humming the song you played, you can NOT expect yourself to remember where to put your fingers.

When you use mapquest to go someplace new, and you are going to go there repeatedly, chances that you'll only use mapquest once, and then you've got it.

Same exact thing, Luke: Use the force! It is the music you hear, not the dots and lines on the tab!!

Let me know if you actually try it and if it works, as then I'll be able to refer people to this technique, which is simply 're-framing'.

Best of luck!

HE
It Ain't Necessarily So: http://howardemerson.com/music2.html

Blueser100 · #8 08-08-2012, 09:32 AM

I have had the same problem too. I am currently working with some Hanson books (and on one song in particular, "Canyon Canon") which I have been able to memorize. As I am working on a song, I tackle it in phrases or measures at a time. I also commit the melody and chord progressions to memory and that helps a lot. I'll often hum or sing the tune when I am away from the guitar, or play the audio track of the piece (if there is one) in the car, on my iPod, etc and that helps too.

bcollins · #9 08-08-2012, 09:42 AM

Firstly thanks all for somevery interesting suggestions. I am glad to hear I'm not the only one with this issue. It could be that I am being a bit of an idiot and not listening to the songs enough.

Thanks again

JoeCharter · #10 08-08-2012, 10:03 AM

Our brains can only do so many things at a time.

If you're learning a song that is "difficult" (as we should all do in order to improve), your brain won't have much "processing power" left to memorize the piece.

The only way to address this issue is to play more. Once the tune is "easy" to play, you will have more resources for interpretation and memorization.

Howard Emerson · #11 08-08-2012, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcollins

Firstly thanks all for somevery interesting suggestions. I am glad to hear I'm not the only one with this issue. It could be that I am being a bit of an idiot and not listening to the songs enough.

Thanks again

Billy,
First and foremost: You started trying to learn this stuff because you HEARD it and it made a favorable impression on your ears, right?

That means your ears are functioning, but now you have to let them WORK for you! Sometimes the most obvious things, aren't.

HE
It Ain't Necessarily So: http://howardemerson.com/music2.html

frankhond · #12 08-08-2012, 01:42 PM

1. Play two measures a few times
2. Close your eyes. Play the two measures over and over until you can play with eyes closed. For me it helps to "see" the fretboard and the fingers fretting as I'm doing it.
3. When you can play the two measures, repeat procedure with next two.
4. When the next two are good, go back and "get" the first ones. Then connect the four measures and play them together until they stick.
5. Now move on to two new measures. Repeat procedure but only "get" the two previous ones.
6. Work your way through an entire section this way (or the whole song), never doing more than 4 measures at a time with eyes closed.

Do this a few practice sessions and it will stick eventually. The trick is to attack small pieces at a time, using all senses actively. By closing your eyes you are activating hearing, touch and visualization.

ljguitar · #13 08-08-2012, 01:48 PM

Hi Billy

Sounds to me like you are focused on learning & trying to remember the TAB, and not learning the music/song.

I know musicians who become so focused on the sheet of music and performing the notes exactly as listed that they do not learn to enjoy the song they are playing (which is what it's all about).

CapnJ · #14 08-08-2012, 02:30 PM

Howard Emerson is giving great advice.
You should heed it.
I learned a lot of tunes listening to Doc and can play them even though I don't practice them. The tunes I've learned from tab are gone if I don't stick with practicing them regularly for a long time.

tbeltrans · #15 08-08-2012, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

Hi Billy,
I have been reading about this problem ever since I can remember, and the solution is pretty simple, but nobody believes me, so they don't try it............perhaps you will?

While reading the tab of your choice, record the piece while you are playing it. Then put the tab away someplace where you can't see it.

Now listen back to the recording..........over and over and over again.

That's YOU playing without the tab in front of you, for all intents and purposes. Now you need to memorize what you are HEARING.

If you can not walk down the street humming the song you played, you can NOT expect yourself to remember where to put your fingers.

When you use mapquest to go someplace new, and you are going to go there repeatedly, chances that you'll only use mapquest once, and then you've got it.

Same exact thing, Luke: Use the force! It is the music you hear, not the dots and lines on the tab!!

Let me know if you actually try it and if it works, as then I'll be able to refer people to this technique, which is simply 're-framing'.

Best of luck!

HE
It Ain't Necessarily So: http://howardemerson.com/music2.html

This is a great idea! I will have to try it.

I have always had trouble memorizing anything. While I think Howard has a great idea, and I intend to try it, I do want to continue my comments just for another perspective - but it really doesn't directly address the OP's problem as Howard's does...

When I was a kid in school, we had to memorize poems and speeches and recite them to the class. I have NEVER been good at that. For me, memorizing a piece of music note for note is like that. However, I seem to do well at gaining a sense of command of vocabulary (as we all do, as evidenced by being able to converse and post here). I find that having a vocabulary of chords and using them to harmonize a melody is something I can handle because, other than generally playing the melody, I can use certain "rules" of bass line movement to make a nice chord progression under that melody and I never have to do exactly the same way again. That, I can handle. Robert Conti has books and DVDs that show you how to do that.

Now, if I understand correctly what Howard is talking about, he is getting the sounds into your ear to help you remember the arrangement. I have found that when I steal licks or parts of tunes off a recording by ear, I tend to remember them much better than that which I get from printed sheet music or TAB. Somebody in these forums once said that we use a different part of our brain to get music by ear than that which we use to get it from printed sheet music. Maybe that is true, I don't know. I do know that my own experience makes such a hypothesis plausible.

Tony