Is it really my age or am i just lazy?

[David MacNeill]

Brother, I can’t even remember the words to my own songs, let alone 200 John Denver covers. Use the technology as a prompter proudly, just like the pros do.

[byudzai]

I'm 38 so can't speak to (most) of the charms of age.

Maybe you've gotten so good at winging it that you no longer need the hours to get a tune up to performance spec, and it's really that rather than a weakening of the memory?

I almost always make up my own acoustic arrangements/renditions of new songs and practice them till I can send a clean take to a friend, without notes. When someone plops a chord sheet in front of my I'll do everything I can to get off the stage because I know it'll be a sloppy mess no matter how well I know the tune.

Originally Posted by Slothead56

(I will say, back 30 or 40 years ago I had to listen to the song and work it out. The internet makes it stupid easy to get the chords and lyrics. Maybe i need to go back to that? Nahhhhh...)

YES, I really think you do. In education, it's well documented that those who physically write stuff down (take notes) retain information better and longer than those who capture the information by other means -- like taking a picture or recording it.

So I think that similarly, when you learn a song by ear, you internalize the learning and capture it much more permanently than if you are just handed the charts.

I know this from personal experience. I'm 58, and a couple years ago I figured out a Spoon song on my own, and added it to my setlist. Then I started looking around online and found chords and words to all their stuff, and learned two or three more. I can barely get through any of those without a chord chart in front of me, but that first one will be ingrained for years. I'm convinced it's because I did it the old way.

[Martie]

I'm 51 and my attention span certainly isn't what it was and phones/the Internet have definitely played a big part in that. I was only thinking yesterday how I once read a whole book in a day, and how it can take me weeks now. Obviously, this is because we have become accustomed to reading bite-sizes of information and, over time, it just chips away as the old attention span (I can't even remember what I'm typing about!).

When I was in my twenties and thirties I was in two bands, both of which played their own material, all of which was very intricate stuff that needed a lot of memorising etc. But it was pretty much my life back then and I had much more time to practice because I didn't have (three) kids and a full-time day job, which meant I had way more time to play, practice and keep on top of everything.

And I remember the 'transition' period where the music life was fading and the family/working life was growing, and I did find that very difficult indeed, like I was torn between two worlds (and GAS related issues caused me severe problems!). But I eventually got used to the fact that I simply didn't have time for the music like I used to, and it went on the back burner for a while.

Now the kids are older it's been creeping back in, especially on acoustic, which wasn't my thing at all in my youth. But I am finding that I simply cannot concentrate like I could. Obviously, I was much more driven and ambitious when I was younger, and I now have a job (that I don't particularly like) that places me under a lot of pressure. And I'm not in a band anymore (haven't been for about 15 years - apart from the odd bit of recording with old mates etc.), so there are no 'deadlines' etc., which were always a driver. As such, I just have to get it in when I can, which is more than when the kids were younger, just nowhere near as much as when I was younger.

So yes, I think it does get more difficult to retain things when we're older, not least because we have to balance it with so many more pressing things, especially since the pace of life has increased for the vast majority of us.

[Silly Moustache]

I'm 70 and I know that my recall is reducing.

Once, I had a repertoire for singing solo sets in folk clubs and i did OK.

Once I had various repertoires with various bluegrass bands.


Shortly after I retired (2007) I had two trios, and a bluegrass band and played solo.
Each had their own repertoire.

I totally gave up trying to remember the lyrics, pre-ambles and arrangements - second two being probably more imoportant.

I haven't gone digital. I investigated it and decided it wasn't for me.

I keep a number of four ring binders with transparent sleeves continuing my printed out a4 songs.

I'm big on arrangments and preambles.

On each A4 song (or cheat sheet) I have the title (author -if of interest) and a very brief comment about it - perhaps a fact or a joke.

It shows the Key and the intro

Yes there are all the lyrics with the chords over the words but I rarely read ore than just the first line of the verse,

More important is who takes the next break, where stops are, and maybe something about harmonies.

I NEVER SING LOOKING AT THE CHEAT SHEET! If you perform you sing and play to your audience. If you sing / play to your cheat sheet, then you are rehearsing!

I watch people using ipads when performing, they always sit down ad they disconnect with the audience whilst they tap away and set things.

I'm talking to my audience whilst I turn a page.

I use a music stand but at about waist height so it does not shield me from the audience, who want to watch me singing to them and they want to see my guitar.
Yes I have specs which are made so I can read 14 pt print from a yeard/metre away. That's how I'm reading my screen now.

When you are on a stage or in front of an audience - you are there for them. Remember that.

[srick]

Slot -

IMO, back in 'those days' you had a lot less going on in your life and were probably a lot more self-centered. I know that I was.

At this point, life is always getting in the way of me practicing and getting together with other players. Back in 1973, it was pretty easy to walk up a floor, play until 1:30 or 2:00 am and then blow off the 8:00 am class. Plus, the only alternative to the iPad in 1973 was a loose leaf notebook; either you couldn't read your writing, or it took hours to type up! So memorization was a lot easier. My old roommate used to tape some of the notes on the side of his guitar.

So I guess you're not actually lazy, you're just pretty smart about how you allocate those precious neurons!

best,

Rick

[Ozzy the dog]

A couple of things come to mind.

When you were 'young(er)' you learned the songs you wanted to play but now you have to fill in with songs other people want to hear. It is much easier learning and remembering something you want.

Also, modern technology makes everything too easy these days. It's like spell check - why learn when the computer does it for you? Actually, put like that it sounds lazy.

Then again, I've never seen an orchestra play without 'Cheat Sheets' so they must be a very lazy bunch

[Steadfastly]

Man, are you ever lazy!

Actually, I think we are smarter when we get older and you are using the tablet to make sure you don't make any mistakes. Not lazy but wiser.

[Finger Stylish]

These days, a whole lot of entertainers use ear monitors, and what looks like a floor monitor is now teleprompter. Those ear monitors also feed information to the ears of the entertainers. Hmmm I guess they are lazy. Or perhaps they want to feel confident while doing their best for the fans.

The same ones that belittle music readers will be trying to put together Christmas gifts to their kids or grandchildren without using the directions.

[cdkrugjr]

I remember seeing one of Barbra Streisand's TV concerts.

At some point during her patter, there was a 5-10 second shot of her half-behind where you could see they'd built a teleprompter into one of her floor wedges.

She was delivering her patter word-for-word the way it was written, including all her emotional pauses where she teared up and "had to" pause.

I figure she must have pissed off the director something fierce for him to include that shot . . .

It's better to have reminders than it is to have awkward pauses.

[DetroitDave]

These days, we all get by with a little help from our (electronic) friends.

[RedJoker]

I'm getting ready for my first, couple hour gig and I am putting the lyrics on a tablet. I know all the songs and have them memorized but it might be nice to have a reminder available if I need it.

The weird thing is that, since I don't practice with my tablet, it's weird for me to have it near by.

[Woodstock School Of Music]

No you're not lazy. Personally speaking it's harder for me to memorize lyrics than it was 30+ years ago.

I talked to a younger player who was dissing the use of ipads on stage. I laughed and told him "Come talk to me in 30 years"

[musicman1951]

Originally Posted by jseth

I personally find it distracting and highly amateurish to see a guy singing songs in a small venue and using all that stuff... what? You can't practice your songs?

My training is mostly in the classical realm, where reading music is the norm and the guys playing cowboy chords are the amateurs. But both distinctions are really useless. After 55 years of reading music for 6 hours a day it would be hard to imagine it as a hindrance. I'm pretty sure the Chicago Symphony doesn't.

I have songs I play with some frequency that don't require written lyrics (most of the time), but my wife has been telling people for 30 years that when I get Alzheimer's nobody will notice - so I'm not surprised to need a reference for tunes I don't play regularly.

The important thing is how well you deliver the goods, not if there is an ipad present or not.

[Paddy1951]

Think of your brain as a hard drive. 35 or forty years ago you still had plenty of space on it. Today, not so much. The amount of information we are exposed to today is tremendous. The amount of information we need to commit to memory is much greater. Just think about all the websites you go to that want you to have a password.

I see no problem with using something that helps.

Hey, the only reason Mick Jagger remembers the lyrics to Satisfaction is because he has sung it hundreds if not thousands of times. (And he is still not satisfied.[emoji38])