How many songs to practice
 

So my question is for learning songs.
I've finally come to a place where my choices for songs to learn is more in line with my abilities. I'm finding it easier to be able to get the songs under my fingers easier and quicker, but without any degree of mastery of them.
And I finally am beginning to realize a little more that I need to resist the temptation of speeding up until I stop making mistakes.

Because of this, and because of my intolerance for boredom, I have 4 or 5 songs in the oven right now in various stages of clumsiness.

My idea, and what I've been doing, is to play each song once or twice through, and then concentrate on the areas I suck the most at. With four songs this takes about an hour a day or so.

I think this may be a good number of songs to do at a time but thought I can ask here for thoughts or wisdom.

Noteworthy is the fact that I really haven't mastered any songs ever, in over 8 years of playing.

Thanks,
Floyd

I’m just the opposite. I can’t leave a song, or even a chord progression, until I have it down smooth. Why do we play? We each answer in our own way. It sounds like you’ve found yours. Enjoy it and keep playing.

In that case I'd narrow it down to one. :)

LOL like me except I have multiple instruments, steel string acoustic, harp and classical plus a piano plus I practice singing. I guess I'm not bored.:)

yesterday I had two practices plus an additional short session with the piano before bed. I also had a guitar lesson and singing lesson. Plus when I walk my dog for 45 minutes, I sing three songs I'm trying to memorize. Sometimes I feel that I'm practicing too many songs at a time. But more stuff got thrown on the plate after my two lessons.

Today I have a 1.5 hr piano class, and then I will have two practice sessions.

Well, first I'd have to ask "what does 'mastering' a song mean to you?"

I'm thinking of being able to play the song at tempo without mistakes. Being relaxed, enjoying it, maybe even to be able to change it up or improvise on it a little.
Being able to feel the beat and phrase expressivly.

If you haven’t mastered a single song in eight years, either something is wrong with your practice or your standards are unreasonably high. Do you practice regularly, at least 5 days a week, if not daily? Are you consistently working on the same few songs until you can play them correctly at tempo? You say they’re an appropriate level of difficulty for your skill level, but I wonder if this is the case. Have you worked with a teacher? If at all possible, I would recommend doing so, if only for a few months.

Learning every thing you are working on and care about to a high level is the way to go to advance your playing ability. You may well not keep that tune
or song to that level down the line but at least do so at the time.

That's definitely noteworthy! P

So, pick the song you like best - out of all the ones you've played to some level before - and focus on getting that one "mastered".

If it happens to take so long that you get bored with it before you're done - that just means you don't like it enough. Move on to another one.

...

Now, I'm guessing that this is kind of what has always happened in those 8 years! ;)

If so, you have to develop a different attitude. Listen more closely and deeply to what you are doing. Don't get distracted from what's happening in the present moment as you play. Listen to every chord, every note. If you are singing, feel your way into the vocal, making it your own. Try chanh=ging the key if it helps the vocal feel more "you".

IWO, you have to immerse yourself in the process. You have to love the song, of course, but there will be depths to it you haven't noticed before, that will keep you obsessed with it until you've got it.

That's a reasonable definition. I think you should pick a song or two and work towards getting there. This type of mastery is, well...playing music.

Looks like you're on the right track.
Just focus on the one song you are closest to playing complete, but keep also trying to progress little by little with the others.

Persistance is the key.

I start out with about 4, then I find a few more which makes me prune it back down. Then I find that there are 1 or 2 I really enjoy so I concentrate on those and return to the others after the 1st two are recorded or I get bored with them.

Just a note though, that if I feel I want to record something I will concentrate on that one over others for a while.

When I started learning to play guitar I was driving my teacher crazy wanting to learn a new song every couple of weeks. He finally offered me great advice....it's better to play a few songs really well than play a dozen so so.

Some really insightful responses here. Thank you!
Nothing I haven't heard or thought of before, but hearing it echoed by other more advanced players is helpful.

The two biggest takeaways for me, a couple of people here said is :

Concentrate the most on one song until it's mastered. Keep the others in play but most effort in one at a time. At least for me for now.
Develop an attitude, whatever I need to keep grunting through it. If needed.

This one was said in other words by someone, but my take of it is that I need to get down and more present and focused in my practice. Here more of what I'm doing.

I have been very recently been more aware of that aspect in my practice. And it's good. It forces me to keep slowing down and playing more deliberately and cleanly.
Some of the passages and phrases won't sound right at that slow deliberate speed, but no use even worrying about that until I can play cleanly.

I guess these kinds of things eventually get learned by each of us. It's just taking me a long time. But to be honest and fair, it's only recently that I try to Never miss a day and to really be focused on what I'm doing while practicing.

Thanks a lot for sharing your advice with me.
Please keep them coming if anyone has more useful answers. It's very appreciated.

Thanks,
Floyd

When work on a tune I have two tools that I used. The first is "4k Video Downloader" which enables me to download youtube videos. The second, which works with videos and sound files, is Transcribe! which allows the user to playback tunes at different speeds, raise or lower the pitch (capo) and loop sections (or the whole tune) over and over. To be able to see videos with Transcribe! you just have to download and install "Gstream."

Videos can be helpful because every once in a while my idea of how to grab a position can be different than that of a professional. Sometimes I just goof and see that I have to use the professional's approach and sometimes I'll try the professionals formation, but for me it doesn't work and I have to find one that does for my fat fingers.