Wonder when learning ....

[ross68200]

I have about 15 songs that I'm trying to learn, I have 3 of those somewhat recognizable ...

I'm having fun learning all the different strumming patterns and different chords that most of these songs have ...

My though is did any of you in the beginning of learning have to many songs that you were trying to learn or am I just trying to hard to learn to much right away ... I had a teacher and learned a lot from him but cost to much now I just get songs set up via youtube and try everything ... I think I'm learning my biggest problem is speed but that's one for everyone I think ...

Well, let me know what you have done Please....

Lynn

[JonPR]

If you feel you're struggling to learn too many songs, focus on fewer - eg, those 3 that you feel you have nearest to completion.
Even three is quite a lot to focus on at the same time. I'd recommend taking your favourite of all of them, and devoting your entire practice time to that song, until you've got it. (Take time off for other songs for variety, but make that one your main project.)

Remember that learning a song is not just a matter of being able to get through it all correctly without stopping (and without looking at a chart). That's just the beginning of really playing the song.

Great saying: practice until you get it right. Then practice some more until you can't get it wrong.

That's when you start owning the song, and you should find yourself (instinctively) doing it your way, not (consciously) copying the original. That's what people want to hear after all: YOU doing that song, your way. Not you struggling to sound like someone else.

I've recently been practising a Bert Jansch song that I "learned" many years ago. "Learned" is in quotes, because all I'd really done back then was transcribed it, written it down note for note, filed it away.... I could play it too, of course, but it wasn't internalised. But recently I've been really playing it - and playing it and playing it, until now it's right under my fingers, easy, and I feel like it belongs to me (even though it's still Bert's of course). I don't do it the same (quite) as he did; I've adapted his arrangement for comfort (like you might adjust the seat when driving someone else's car ).
But it's proved to me (or rather reminded me for the umpteenth time ) that you have to keep on with a song, over and over, well past the stage where you think you know it, in order to really know it.

[Mr Fixit eh]

Originally Posted by ross68200

I have about 15 songs that I'm trying to learn, I have 3 of those somewhat recognizable ...

I'm having fun learning all the different strumming patterns and different chords that most of these songs have ...

Lynn

Hi Lynn, and welcome to AGF. Fifteen songs may well be a bit overwhelming. There's nothing wrong with working on multiple songs at any time, but probably 3 to 6 would be a better number.

Don't forget to record yourself and then play back the tracks to see how your recording is like/unlike the YT track. I missed this step for a long time, and as a result, I thought I sounded good when I didn't so much.

Steve

[ross68200]

Let me put this a different way I have 15 songs that I want to play not that I'm trying to learn ... I have three down to a point that I think they sound good, I have not recorded them but have in the past when first learning them and they sucked....

My old teacher told me that slow was the way to learn them so that's what I do to a degree ... some slower than others ..

I also have software product that slows the song down without changing the pitch and that helps to play along with them at a slower pace .... it will also do YT videos and slow them down also ...

But the question that I asked was if any of you when you were new to guitar had many songs that you wanted to play and tried really hard to learn .. got so excited that you had more than you could learn..

(JonPR... Thanks for the nice thought...)
(Great saying: practice until you get it right. Then practice some more until you can't get it wrong.)

Lynn

[Riverwolf]

Awhile back this year I decided it would be a good idea to burn a CD with all the songs that I was learning or planned to learn soon. I thought I could listen while driving to help with strumming, lyrics, and memorizing.
They would not all fit.
When I counted them, it was 32.
I have only been playing for 1.5 years, so I excitedly got ahead of myself.
But I have never agreed with the one song at a time idea either.
How boring is that?
In reality I stay around 2-3 new songs until I can at least strum and remember lyrics all the way through.
At that point if I am still excited about the song then it goes into daily rotation being played a few times for those aging memory cells.

[skitoolong]

I would consider myself an advanced beginner type.

I typically have 3 or 4 songs that I'm learning and a couple on deck that I might be spending a little time on working out something that might take awhile.

Then there are 20 or so that I pretty much have but loop through to try and commit to memory

[Mr Fixit eh]

Originally Posted by ross68200

But the question that I asked was if any of you when you were new to guitar had many songs that you wanted to play and tried really hard to learn .. got so excited that you had more than you could learn..
Lynn

Yup, and I still do. I now work 3 - 6 at one time unti I can record them and I mostly like what I hear. I have a binder with about another songs that I hope to learn in coming months and years

steve

[ross68200]

Thanks to all that have commented on this subject ...

I find that learning one song till I get it down, like some one else said is boring....

I have found for me that having 2-3 that I'm seriously working on is good for me but also find that trying new chords and strumming patterns and using different parts of the neck on some newer ones helps me with my older ones that I have got down to a point, then they seem easier because of the trying of new things and expanding myself into places that I would not go if I worked on the ones that I have down.... it works for me .. anyone else?

Lynn

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by ross68200

Thanks to all that have commented on this subject ...

I find that learning one song till I get it down, like some one else said is boring....

I think that was me .
It works for me, because if a song gets boring while I'm learning it, I just stop learning it. For me, that means it's not interesting enough to bother with. If I get bored while learning it, it's bound to be boring to play once I've learned it. So why bother?
(If I was being paid to learn it, eg as part of a band that was covering it, that would be a different matter. But even then, I find ways to make it interesting. In bands, I've often played songs that I wouldn't choose to listen to, but enjoy playing.)

It probably helps that I've been learning songs for a few decades now... I can get through them quicker now, before hitting the boredom stage.
Even when I began, though, I don't remember ever being bored learning songs; but then it was a long time ago... and it may be that - like you - I had 2 or 3 on the go at the same time. (And I'd be writing my own in between too.)

Remember I did qualify my comment by advising time off for other songs for variety (if you do hit boredom) . But I do like to have one main one to focus on, as a goal, otherwise - having 2 or 3 or more unfinished - it feels a little aimless.

Originally Posted by ross68200

I have found for me that having 2-3 that I'm seriously working on is good for me but also find that trying new chords and strumming patterns and using different parts of the neck on some newer ones helps me with my older ones that I have got down to a point, then they seem easier because of the trying of new things and expanding myself into places that I would not go if I worked on the ones that I have down.... it works for me .. anyone else?

Sure - me too! All those things are important. Anything you learn for one song is going to come in handy for some other song.
That's why learning songs (provided it doesn't get boring!) is the best way to improve. You're always engaged with what you're doing, and techniques (and theory) are always tied to real music. You're never wondering what the point of any of it is, because it's obvious: it's part of the song.
I think it's a mistake to practise technical stuff because you think you should, in the hope that it will be useful in future - I mean, unless you find that sort of thing enjoyable.
Real songs should contain all the technical practice you need, and the logical musical context is crucial.
In short - I think you're doing everything right!

[MrBJones]

I'll typically have three that I'm learning. One that I'm just starting with...literally learning everything from the first measure onward. A second that I can play long stretches of throughout, but with occasional bad sticking points. And the third one that I can play, but just isn't smooth enough yet. Besides all that, constantly polishing the ones that I do know and play.

[Cedar.]

I jump from song to song. When learning I will play a song many, many times and sometimes I get tired of the song so it helps to move on to another song but always remember to go back and finish.

Kind of like painting, helps if you walk away and then come back.

[mistigri]

I think it certainly helps to have several songs on the go, particularly if there are any physical limitations that prevent you from doing intensive work on one of them. For example, you may find that hand pain is a limiting factor if you are learning a song that contains many barre chords (and overdoing it can expose you to risks like repetitive strain injury). Working on a number of pieces should also mean you are practising a range of different techniques, too.

I also don't think it's necessary to get every song you work on to performance-standard. As long as you are practising effectively then you will improve.

As a beginner it's inevitable that there will be more songs that you want to play than you can actually learn in the amount of time you have available for practice, but if you play enough, it won't be long before you can play simpler songs with minimal work.

[clintj]

I like some variety. I'm pretty heavily into one challenging song right now, so to keep practice interesting I also work on some simple technical exercises like scales, fingerpicking patterns, etc, and end with playing some songs I already have memorized just for fun.

[SprintBob]

I have a "catalog" of about 25-30 songs that I am now 80-90 percent technically competent at playing and I have about 3-4 new strumming songs I am working on and 1-2 new fingerstyle songs. I try to structure my practice with 30-40 minutes of "woodshed" work and then spend the remainder (which could be 30 minutes to a couple of hours) just playing and working on songs.

I second what a lot of folks are saying above. Some early songs I learned I was only competent at down strums and the songs I played sounded fine to me as my first goals were to play cleanly and in time. Now that my strumming skills have improved, it's a lot of fun to go back to those songs and try different strumming patterns, transitions, and dynamics.

A BIG help for me was getting the ASD (Amazing Slow Downer) app to slow down the songs I wanted to play along with and learn.

I also need to start recording myself. It's easy to fall into the delusion of thinking you have mastered a song playing along with the original recording that can mask/hide a lot of mistakes or just sloppy/inaccurate playing. I now try to spend as much time playing the song "naked" but I do really enjoy playing along to the original recordings of the music I enjoy.

[EoE]

I Played music from second grade and the first thing I learned was how to read music so the truth is I really can not relate .. but if you learn to read you can play any tune you want whenever you want and do not have to memorize it.....I memorize one tune at a time or I set a whole shows sheet music in front of me and memorize the whole show like it is one tune.