Learning a song from beginning to end

[Moobox]

Hello all
Well, maybe it's just me. And maybe my father was right when he said that I'd never amount to anything 'cos I'm too darned lazy.

Snot true but anyway, I am darned lazy in this case. And this case is getting a song down from beginning to the end. Case in point is a few weeks ago I posted asking if anyone could point me to a reasonably reliable tab or notation of the song Barn Burning by Dave Alvin. Lots of views and no responses so I guessed noone knew where or knew the song. Nonetheless, I found a Youtube of Dave Alvin singing it. So I downloaded the youtube and got the beginning all sorted.

And that's where the laziness sets in. How do you folks go about it? Do you take little bits, figure it out and work at it or do you try and get the whole thing figured out and then work at it? Do you actually go about notating it? I can read music but that is from way back when I played the cello and clarinet. I struggle a bit with guitar standard notation and guitar tab. But I get by a bit. But I'll tell you that it will not be too easy for me to actually notate what I work out hey.

So, I take the Zoom H2N and record the bits (at this stage just the beginning). I'm actually thinking maybe the Zoom video gizmo may be just the thing and get a visual as well.

So, how do you folks go about it?

[Bob1131]

I generally find the lyrics on the internet, or write them down from listening to the recording if they are not available. Then I figure out the chord structure. I'll make a chart or cheat-sheet with the chords and lyrics together. Then I figure out any special hooks or riffs. From there, it's practice, practice, practice until I can play and sing the whole song without any thought.

[deltoid]

I memorize all the songs I learn. I learn them starting from the beginning to the end. If it's a complex fingerstyle piece, I use Amazing Slowdowner, and slow down and loop the parts I can't figure out. I usually loop about 5 seconds at a time at 50% speed, and increase the speed as I become more proficient. So, I learn each little bit of a song, from the beginnin to the end. I don't move on unitl I have memorized each section and can play it fairly competently.

There are basically two things for me: learning where the fingers are supposed to be, and practicing unitl I can make them be where they are supposed to be at the right time.

[HHP]

I play all instrumentals and don't feel like I really have a tune down until I play it all the way through with repeats, AND can play any part of it or phrase on demand.

[stanron]

Moobox

In the same way that there is music theory, there is also learning theory. Now I don't know as much learning theory as I do music theory, but in my years of pretending to be a music teacher I did pick up one or two good bits of learning theory.

There is a bit that might be relavent here. Different people have different preferred ways of learning. Some people learn well when some one explains stuff to them. Some people prefer to get a book and study it on their own and others learn best by getting their hands on whatever it is, taking it apart and seeing how it works. All these ways are valid learning techniques and we might prefer one or another or a combination of two or all three methods. So going to a teacher is one way of learning, looking online for teaching pages or videos is another. When I started out neither the internet or teachers were available. I guess I was lucky that I got on OK with the DIY method.

I wonder if what you call laziness is in fact tiredness. Working out stuff from a recording or video requires a particularly intense kind of concentration. You can only do it for so long before you get tired. If you recognise this tiredness as soon as it begins, you should change what you are doing. Play some easy stuff, practice some scales, go watch TV or go online. Come back to working stuff out the next day. Your brain works a lot like a muscle. You get stronger at stuff you repeat. Good luck.