Any advice on preventing a lack of focus?

[Cecil6243]

I find that once I've learned the mechanics of a song, I sometimes move on to another song that catches my fancy before memorizing the words and getting to point where I can play the original song flawlessly.

Any advice? I'd like to built up a repertoire of songs so this moving on to another song to quickly is counterproductive.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Cecil6243

I find that once I've learned the mechanics of a song, I sometimes move on to another song that catches my fancy before memorizing the words and getting to point where I can play the original song flawlessly.

Any advice? I'd like to built up a repertoire of songs so this moving on to another song to quickly is counterproductive.

Just keep playing the first song, now and again. I.e. move on to another by all means, but come back to the earlier one (even while learning the new one), just to check you really can remember it.

There's a great old saying (can't remember where it came from):

"Practice until you get it right. Then practice some more until you can't get it wrong."

You've obviously reached the first stage. And maybe the second stage as far as the words are concerned (have you really memorized them? Could you recite them all now, without checking?)

So, once you get it all right, and can (a) play it the whole way through from memory (no chart or tab!) and (b) sing all the lyrics from memory - that's just stage one.

At that point. you probably can play it a few more times - right away - and still get it all correct, remembering everything.

But then, leave it on one side for a few hours and play it again. Still got it? Great. Now leave it for another day, and play it again. Still got it? OK...

See what I mean? At some stage, the longer you leave it (regardless of what else you might do in between), the more you forget it.

So you just have to keep revisiting it. Once a day ought to be enough to begin with (having tested out the "once every few hours" part).
After a few days, maybe once a week is enough.
But of course, as soon as you find you are forgetting a chord or two, or a lyric or two, that's when you need to go back a bit - play it more often again.
Eventually, it will become so embedded that you could leave it for months and still remember the whole thing. But it does need more repetition than you might think.

The funny thing is that, once it is embedded, and you come back to it after a few months (or maybe more!) you might think you have forgotten it, because you can't imagine the whole thing in your head. But as soon as you start playing, it will come out. Provided you can remember the first line, or just the first few words, all the rest should reel out after it, line by line, chord by chord. That's how memory works, in a linear fashion: thing (a) leads to thing (b) which pulls out thing (c).

What really convinced me of that - how memory is linear - was teaching young kids (aged 7-10). When learning a new tune, they couldn't learn it section by section. They would always have to go right back to the start and play it all from the beginning, adding the new part on each time. If asked to play (say) one bar in the middle, they'd need to take a run up at it, and almost always right from the very beginning of the whole tune. Nobody taught them how to learn like that! It was clearly instinctive. Seeing the big picture, and how and where each element fitted within it, was either not necessary or not actually possible for them. They had to see it as a string, or a chain. So it's a perfectly normal human process - it's how we remember any process.

In that sense it's how computer memory works, as a string of 0s and 1s, just reeled out extremely fast. DNA too, if you think about: not 2D or 3D maps - the way we normally see structure! - just long strings of linear code.

[Andyrondack]

Originally Posted by Cecil6243

I find that once I've learned the mechanics of a song, I sometimes move on to another song that catches my fancy before memorizing the words and getting to point where I can play the original song flawlessly.

Any advice? I'd like to built up a repertoire of songs so this moving on to another song to quickly is counterproductive.

Sounds like you just got bored with it. Start learning the next song and when you get bored with that after a good nights sleep go back to the first song and see if it holds your interest again.
Obviously there was something about the song you liked when you first heard it otherwise you wouldn't have wanted to play it.
You can only learn when you pay close attention to what your doing and there's a limit to how long anyone can concentrate on anything.

[rmp]

sounds weird but

create a list of "your tunes"

run them a few times a week

Or---- create some charts as a memory aid.

You don't need to sight read them, but handy if you're heading into a verse and the mind draws a blank.

Eventually repetition will solve most of it but I know I can only hold so much in my head ...

[Andyrondack]

Originally Posted by JonPR

What really convinced me of that - how memory is linear - was teaching young kids (aged 7-10). When learning a new tune, they couldn't learn it section by section. They would always have to go right back to the start and play it all from the beginning, adding the new part on each time. If asked to play (say) one bar in the middle, they'd need to take a run up at it, and almost always right from the very beginning of the whole tune. Nobody taught them how to learn like that! It was clearly instinctive. Seeing the big picture, and how and where each element fitted within it, was either not necessary or not actually possible for them. They had to see it as a string, or a chain. So it's a perfectly normal human process - it's how we remember any process.

In that sense it's how computer memory works, as a string of 0s and 1s, just reeled out extremely fast. DNA too, if you think about: not 2D or 3D maps - the way we normally see structure! - just long strings of linear code.

You really do need to break your young students of this habit of only being able to practice pieces from the beginning.
I never taught anyone except myself but when as a kid I had lessons from professionally trained teachers they made sure that if there was a section I was having trouble with they would get me to focus on just that for a while.
Today for those few pieces I play from tab I always get to the point where I can play most of it cleanly but find the most challenging section requires more practice.
If I had to go back and start at the beginning just to put in the extra practice required by a fragment of the piece...well I wouldn't have the time .
Difficult sections need to be isolated and practiced more .

Computer algorithms don't work like the mind though I get your point about the sequential sequence but the mind only gets hung up replaying that sequential sequence because of the way your teaching and the way the kids are learning, it's not natural your just not directing the learning experience.

And no DNA is certainly not sequential, genes are arranged in a haphazard way along strands of DNA and many genes on that strand are redundant and don't actually do anything.

[Aspiring]

A while back I read a book on training for competitive cycling that had a quote that has stuck with me since.

The quote was the natural tendency is to practice our strengths. To improve faster focus on practicing your weaknesses.

For music I apply this by focusing on the sections I am having troubles with.

The other thing that pushes me to get a song to a better state is recording. Hearing the bits that I make mistakes on pushes me to practice those parts so I can get through the take. I try not to overdub.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

I am lyrically challenged. A few years back I resolved to put together a list of songs that I could both play and sing in their entirety. It was slow sledding at first but now I have close to 100 songs. I do need to go back and review them on occasion. I'll use a random number generator on my phone to pull up 5 tunes to review.

[ljguitar]

Hi all
After 60+ years I have learned a lot of songs.

Some I've discarded, and still have tons left.

If I'm going to play one for a gig or guitar-society (monthly gathering), then I start resurrecting the subtle areas of it. Occasionally I need to pull out a lyric chart and always do some pre-event playing.

In addition I play on a Worship Team 3-4 times a month and am faced with 3-4 new songs during a month I need to arrange my parts for (backing and/or lead guitar) and learn them before rehearsal.

In addition, once a month we have a pot-luck lunch event at our church for retirees where we pass out the hymnals and they pick-em and I play & lead them (on the fly). Sometimes I have to put them on a list that I will learn for 'next month', because when there are over 500 hymns in the book, I don't quite know them all.

Keeps my chops up and the brain engaged.

[tbirdman]

Originally Posted by Bob from Brooklyn

I am lyrically challenged. A few years back I resolved to put together a list of songs that I could both play and sing in their entirety. It was slow sledding at first but now I have close to 100 songs. I do need to go back and review them on occasion. I'll use a random number generator on my phone to pull up 5 tunes to review.

My guitar instructor kept after me to learn the lyrics and chords for the songs I learned. For some reason I just memorized things like instrumentals.

So I started to memorizing the songs. I don't have trouble remembering the chords, but the lyrics are another different thing. But I am now trying to memorize a song about every 2 weeks. I had a small stroke about a year makes memorizing a little harder, but I'm working on it. However, memorizing makes for a better vocal performance.

I'm guilty of grabbing for the next shiny thing. However, I'm getting better. The local community college had a new violin class. I resisted the temptation of buying a violin and taking the class. The piano, singing and guitar (classical, harp and steel acoustic) instructions I take keeps me busy and overwhelmed at times. But every time I see a new Kevin Depew or David Pots video, I gotta work on the next shiny thing they are showing. LOL

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by Cecil6243

I find that once I've learned the mechanics of a song, I sometimes move on to another song that catches my fancy before memorizing the words and getting to point where I can play the original song flawlessly.

Any advice? I'd like to built up a repertoire of songs so this moving on to another song to quickly is counterproductive.

I have a pretty simple solution for you. Set a specific goal related to a performance. For example, you could say, "I will have 4 songs ready to play by heart at the local open mic on the 15th of April" . Or perhaps you could say "I'm going to have 6 songs ready to play by heart at our family bbq the first weekend in May" .

Nothing will focus your practice time like having a performance aim. It will certainly stop you drifting and give you something measurable and meaniful to aim towards every time you pick up your guitar

[Cecil6243]

Thank you for all the suggestions!

[TBman]

I'm the worse, or at least I used to be. I would constantly get bored with a tune and start on something else before I really had the first tune finished. To combat this habit I bought a bunch of folders from Amazon and I keep different tunes in them. One folder is for "current" things which is a mix of classical, Celtic and other things, another for "Classical Repertoire 1", "Repertoire 2", etc., etc. I'm working on #2 right now so I leave it on the top of the stack of folders and I fairly consistently pick it up first and work on the classical pieces in it. So far so good. Even with a hobby a certain amount of organization pays off I suppose.

Now I really should make a folder of warm up exercises and stretches and leave that on top of everything else.

[Deliberate1]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

I have a pretty simple solution for you. Set a specific goal related to a performance. For example, you could say, "I will have 4 songs ready to play by heart at the local open mic on the 15th of April" .

This right here. As Robin says, nothing like a bit of anticipated performance anxiety to focus the attention. Works for me.

David

[Mr. Jelly]

My guess is that you are not really into what you are playing or learning. There isn't anything that drives a person's focus more than passion. I'd suggest for you to be more open to your muse and see where it takes you. Or to quit denying it.

[Aspiring]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

My guess is that you are not really into what you are playing or learning. There isn't anything that drives a person's focus more than passion. I'd suggest for you to be more open to your muse and see where it takes you. Or to quit denying it.

I think that is a very over generalized statement. There are multiple things that have to be there to make it successful and passion or enthusiasm is only one of them.

If the song or arrangement is not suitable to your current skill level no amount of passion or enthusiasm is going to keep you going on that song.

If the arrangement is poor and doesn't sound good and you don't have the skills to make it work better than no amount of practice is going to make it sound good to you.