How many songs do you know by heart?

[Neil K Walk]

Maybe 40 or so. I feel like I should learn another 20 or so if I want to play the local farmers market this summer.

[Dronfield]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

Barracuda.

When i saw the thread title i thought it was asking for trouble!

What about "These Dreams" and "Alone" - hits for them in the late 80's?

Rich

[ghostnote]

It's hard to say exactly. Mine are in categories: the electric band, the acoustic duo, the acoustic trio, band originals, and for my own amusement. A couple of months ago we printed out the electric band song list, and it was at 125; but I know we forgot to put a few on there.
The "problem" with knowing lots of songs is that it's hard to keep them all in performance-ready condition because there's not enough time to play 'em all regularly.

[ctgagnon]

Until about ten years ago, a couple hundred. Now I need lyrics and chords for almost everything.

[roylor4]

Around 120

[FrankHudson]

I once created/propounded a definition of "folk music" that went "The songs that people know and carry by memory."

Which makes me a lousy folk musician by my own definition. In my youth I had a good memory for words and numbers. I'd probably memorized lyrics to a good many songs for no other reason that it was nice to carry them around in my head (I didn't play an instrument then). I recall other feats of memory from jobs I had where remembering some details for 500 or so people was something I carried in memory. I could memorize dialog for plays.

But songs chord progressions were never there for me, even in my earlier performing career. I understand the theory of them a little bit, I can write them. I can learn a song or two and commit them to memory if it's not too complex if I know I have a performance.

My ability to remember lyrics has fallen off as well by now too.

If forced stand and deliver I could probably fake a couple of Dylan songs and I'd be able to do rough approximations of a number of blues songs. Maybe I'd remember enough of a Child ballad and figure out some harmonic framework that supports it off the cuff. If performing was my occupation, I could probably improve on that to a degree by practice and repetition, but I think at my age I'd be bumping up to some limits and I apply my musical efforts to other things today.

So I admire and venerate those of you that have done this, even if I don't (or can't?) do it very well myself.

[guitar george]

I would be embarrassed to admit how many songs I know from memory. I have arranged all my songs, by categories, in 3-ring-binders with upwards of 200 songs that keep me going for a few hours sometimes. My problem is remembering the titles of the songs I want to play so that I can find them in my 3-ring binders.

[The Bard Rocks]

It's been years since I attempted to memorize any song. No idea how many are really memorized - 100, 200? My working repertoire is around 900 but I use music and lyrics (once in a while just chords and lyrics). As I got older, two things happened: 1) I can't memorize as readily, and 2) my repertoire expanded. The nice thing is, because of my age, folks cut me some slack. I keep my music stand low, nearly horizontal and use a 14 point font so I can read it at a distance and in lower light. It works for me.

I rarely have to use the music or the chords, but I need the lyrics for most of that 900 - otherwise verses get forgotten or are sung in the wrong order. Which only makes sense - on any song there is one melody and one set of chords to remember, and these are usually done in the same order each time. But there are multiple verses, often (if it's not a ballad) in no logical order .

[TBman]

Exact to tab? 0.

My memory is shot. After my stroke my memory got a little better in some ways though. Figure that one out, lol.

Like they say "Getting old ain't for sissies."

[mawmow]

Probably just the first the one I learned as a teenager... "The House of Rising Song". I forgot most of the beginners three chords songs I learned at school.
As an ongoing learning process throughout my life, I came to play tons of tunes, but never learned to play without any lead sheet.

[M Sarad]

Two hours with the blues band.
Three hours with the country band.
Another hour of original fingerstyle.
Another hour of acoustic covers.

Seven hours worth of songs.

Well Over 100.

I used to have a repertoire of 100 intricate fingerstyle arrangements played from memory. I cut down to 25 to 30 pieces to maintain my sanity. Retaining all that material nearly killed my love for the guitar but YMMV.

[jkilgour2000]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

Barracuda.

Ha! It took me a while to get the joke!!

[6L6]

I only do covers and I have played for over 4 hrs straight (without a break) without repeating any song. They are all songs I grew up with and knew every word to, so all I had to learn was the guitar part for each.

So I'd say somewhere around 85 to 90 songs by memory.

[zmf]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

Barracuda.

OK, I'm lame. I don't get it.