Learning a Song

Learn the first section then, learn the second section and play the two together. And so on and so on....

By the time you get to the end, your song will be almost mastered. Only 500 more times will really sink it into your head.

Have fun.

thanks for the reply, but im trying to learn a piece and i "learned" the first 2 parts but there not perfect (i know what to do just struggling alittle on changing chords). Should i try to learn the rest or get what i know right first. If u can't tell im new at this and this is my first song.

Thanks

Chord changes are going to among the more trying things to get down perfectly - it really only comes with repetition.

I would keep on going with the next part, but also be playing the first and second parts. By the time you've learned the whole song, you'll probably have gotten those chord changes down cold. Odds are, you'll be making alot of the same or similar chord changes throughout the song.

I never move on to the next section without NAILING the section(s) before.

In time you will learn the song. Don't rush it because you WILL forget certain sections. I've "rushed" songs (thought I had them down) before, only to find out I forgot a section. Take your time and stay focused to the section you are working on.

For the record, what song is it?

I tend to learn in small bits like a few measures at a time. I'll continue on it until I have it down alright. Not great, just enough to get to the next section. I'll work on it that way for quite some time. When I have maybe 20 measures down I'll concentrated on playing it straight through over and over until I get it decent. Then move on to the next chunk. Since I'm such a slow learner, songs take quite some time for me to get them down.

Ditto on the last post tracker made. Make sure you're going to remember what the previous peice was, before you go onto the next one, otherwise you'll be relearning the whole song after you're done learning it ;)

"For the record, what song is it?"

House of the Rising Sun

If you're doing the Animal's version, the song has 4 "blocks" to it.
1. Am, C, D, F
2. Am, E, Am, E
3. Am, C, E, E
4. Am, E

As you can see, 2 and 4 are basically the same. If you can learn the 1st progression and get that pat and, then, get the 2nd pat, the rest are easy.

They are played, in the sequence - 1, 2, 1, 3, 1, 4

The outro is 1, 2, 4 finished with a single Am chord

"As you can see, 2 and 4 are basically the same. If you can learn the 1st progression and get that pat and, then, get the 2nd pat, the rest are easy."

Thanks Greybeard i just noticed that, to bad i can't play for awhile because i can't feel my fingers :lol:

I tend to move through all the sections once to get the lay of the land. Then I work on getting it fluid section by section. But I wouldn't obsess on getting a section absolutely perfect before moving into the next section because sometimes you find that learning the next section can actually help you play an earlier bit better. Something can click. Hope that made sense.

I tend to move through all the sections once to get the lay of the land. Then I work on getting it fluid section by section. But I wouldn't obsess on getting a section absolutely perfect before moving into the next section because sometimes you find that learning the next section can actually help you play an earlier bit better. Something can click. Hope that made sense.

Thank you! I was trying to figure out how to say exactly what you said so eloquently! You managed to say it using a whole lot fewer words than I would have! :roll: :D

Anyway, listen to Musenfreund!

I learned "show me how to live" the last two week. It's not a very hard song and doesn't even have that much and that complicatet riffs, however it was the first song I ever learnd in that direction and it took quite some practice. I got every part down to 80% and moved to the next. then played it all toghether and it nearly turned out perfect in the end.

When learning a song, should you learn all the chords first, or should you learn the fingering as you go along.
And when should you start on a new song.

Again, I think this goes back to what musen said...

Play the the chords first, not in the rythym, just the chords, go threw them all a fewtimes in order, and then start really looking at the song.

A lot of people say finish a song before you start a new one. I say whatever floats your boat... Although, you'll appreciate it if you can play a full song.