How do "YOU" memorize Music?

wayfaerer

"Embrace your dreams."

Location: The Lifestream

Joined: Apr 03 2011

michiro said

This question is really interesting to me. To memorize something I have to visualize it in my mind. I can also "feel" the music, but since I'm not very good at guitar it's more of a challenge to "copy" whatever I hear. I'm better at playing lead than rhythm. I am fairly good with numbers so Tablature is a lot easier to remember. I'm beginning to wonder how other people do it. Do you only remember where the fingers go? Perhaps you remember how the music sounds and as you play the notes you sort of "feel" where your hand is supposed to go? Or have you studied music theory and understand which chord goes with which scale?

Another thing that fascinates me is how do you visualize the piece that you play? Do you see the sound as a number, pattern, or as something completely different? For me, I always think with numbers and everything that I do I see it sort of like in the Matrix. When I hear a song I automatically place the tone with a number (if I practiced it of course). This does not stop me from being able to hear a piece as though it were telling a story. Since starting the guitar it's tons easier to be able to understand what I am playing and to let my fingers just guide me to the correct fret.

Not exactly sure if this is in the correct section...

that was deep bro...

well, given you seem to be a visual learner, i might just siffuce if you stick to learning one song until you feel comfortable playing it, then move on.

thats the best advice i can give to ya.

ps. every piece has a story to tell, if you can visualize the story, and understand the emotions and atmosphere, learning the piece in question will that much easier. making an affinity makes things simpler.

BacardiBreezer

My life is a chip in your pile. Ante up!

Location: NE Ohio

Joined: Aug 16 2010

Usually I memorize it in small portions then put it all together. A problem I see as I get better is I get lazy, and tend to just read tabs as I'm playing so it doesn't force me to memorize them as much. But I practice usually every other day, if not everyday - though today is the first time I got to play in a week :( so even if I am reading while playing parts will get memorized.

michiro

Location: Sacramento, CA

Joined: Aug 13 2007

wayfaerer said

michiro said

Sorry I should've put the YOU in quotation. I mean how do you personally memorize and visualize? I have been playing the guitar for 5 years, lol.

0.o

oh hahaha, my bad

and to answer your question, i do exactly what i told YOU to do hahaha, i just play it until it sticks, and if that doesnt work out, i move on, and come back to again later down the road.

After reading 2 of your posts I quickly realized how much you and I are alike, musically. What bothers me about music or anything for that matter, is that when I memorize a song but don't play it for a long time I totally forget it or only remember parts of it. Something unconventional happens when I try to remember what I learned without tabs, but from memory. I sort of repeatedly play it until each time i play it start remembering more and more. Though, if i do this too much for long periods of time, my head starts sort of "fizzing" and i get a bit dizzy, lol. That's what I get for using my brain :p

michiro

Location: Sacramento, CA

Joined: Aug 13 2007

I'm having one of those grammar failing nights. I think I should get some sleep because the stuff i'm writing doesn't make much sense.

Jacob31593

Location: Tampa, FL

Joined: Jan 04 2009

back when i was first starting, nothing i wanted to play was tabbed
now i laugh at the thought of ever needing to use a tab for anything ever again

BacardiBreezer

My life is a chip in your pile. Ante up!

Location: NE Ohio

Joined: Aug 16 2010

I don't see numbers when I look at the fretboard, even when I'm reading as playing. I just think of positions. The process of it going from my eyeball to my fingers moving is hard to explain, this is a weird thread. But I remember when I learned my first song (Arch's FF4 Theme of Love tab) it took me a few days just to learn it. I could master something like that in 15 minutes these days, so it's interesting.

michiro

Location: Sacramento, CA

Joined: Aug 13 2007

Thank you all for posting your views. This makes me wonder just exactly what goes on in my own brain when I play. When I think of a song, for some reason I visualize my fretboard + numbers and just go from there. Although, whenever I just play along I "feel" what note I'm supposed to play. I may not know all the scales or arpeggios but I can improvise and it seems just right for whatever song it is. There are so many different combinations and patterns that when I get down to it I can't decide just how to approach the said piece.

As far as compositions go, I do not write my own music. For me it is not about simply composing something but also writing a song that tells a certain story. Like many good writers, artists I take music seriously. If i were to compose some half-assed song then It wouldn't be the same plus the song would already have a life of its own. These little tidbits I've just recently started finding out about myself. Basically to summarize it: I don't consider myself that good of a player to be able to write nice music. Many more years to go :p

To be fair, my enjoyment of playing comes from other composer's. I really like playing pieces that I can recall from my childhood (I remember the music in video games). In recent months I started focusing more on Country-picking (Chet Atkins style) and would love to learn jazz/blues. For the most part I am self-taught though I took a year of guitar in High School (teacher didn't really teach us much) and a semester at College.

manyth

Joined: Nov 04 2011

Hi!

for me It's a motoric thing to do,..like kage25130 allready said.
while doing fingermovements you don't have to think what your muscles should do. like riding the bike or swimming it would be horrorful if you always have to think while riding the bike:,... left foot right foot left foot right foot ^^ reminds me a bit of commodore64 games ^^

But if you can visualize all the notes while playing it's an amazing gift you got there ! knowing the chord or mode/key is a different thing but to see every note is amazing !

I just play the piece over and over again
and listen to it 1000 times till I remember every note by ear and muscle
sometimes it gets boring,... ^^ and then i make my own interpretation out of it

greez manyth

VizardAnshin

Joined: Oct 08 2008

Memorizing music isn't hard if you love what you play.

Choogly

Joined: Jul 01 2010

I'm a visual learner, so I usually play with the tabs/music in front of me. I kind of think about the fretboard in terms of numbers, but I also kind of have a sense of where a lot of frets are without looking. I think I developed that skill by just looking at tabs while playing without looking at the guitar. Because I do that all the time I can pick up new tabs fairly quickly but my memory is crap and I can't really play anything but a select few songs without the tabs/music on hand.

michiro

Location: Sacramento, CA

Joined: Aug 13 2007

I think I know how I'm able to remember tabs so well. I can memorize numbers with ease and since tabs are practically numbers, it is much easier :). Now if it were sheet music then...that would take much longer. Then again, perhaps then I'd focus more on the "feel" rather than the frets on the strings.

Jacob31593

Location: Tampa, FL

Joined: Jan 04 2009

do not pass go, do not collect $200

musenji

Joined: Feb 02 2010

michiro said

What truly gets to me is how do people manage to write tabs that I can't even play. I've only written one tab before and that was 4 - 5 months after starting the guitar. Do people hear the song and just transcribe it? If so how do you do that? I'm sure I'm bound to make mistakes if I were to write out whatever it was I heard. I also notice how a lot of the tabs written on GameTabs sound inaccurate because I hear things a bit differently.

First off, a lot of tabs here ARE inaccurate. Mods don't always catch everything, and there are often many different tabs for the same song. If you think one sounds wrong, you might actually be correct!

As for others writing tabs you can't play, well, just keep practicing!

Personally, I don't hear a song and "just transcribe it". Most of my tabs took me well over an hour to transcribe. It's a lot of work! Often there are parts where it's hard to tell what the notes are, and I have to listen to the music many, many times.

Now, I can sound out a simple melody pretty well, I've always been decent at that...but transcribing/arranging a fingerstyle piece on the fly? Nah, that takes real work usually.

Giogiogio4

For all the dreamers: Our planet's dream is not over yet...

Joined: Jun 10 2010

Well the easiest way for me is to know what scale its in. Once i know the scale pattern its just a matter of what note in the scale/postion to hit.

makes it tons easier when playing other peoples music because then instead of really relying on a tab i use my ear to figure it out much quicker. Even when I use GP i turn on the show hole measure feature so i can see the entire pattern used in that measure.

I honestly hate tabs that have a melody streched out on one string when it could easily be placed in one central location.

RexLeRouge

IMPACTO

Joined: Aug 15 2008

Giogiogio4 said

Well the easiest way for me is to know what scale its in. Once i know the scale pattern its just a matter of what note in the scale/postion to hit.

makes it tons easier when playing other peoples music because then instead of really relying on a tab i use my ear to figure it out much quicker. Even when I use GP i turn on the show hole measure feature so i can see the entire pattern used in that measure.

I honestly hate tabs that have a melody streched out on one string when it could easily be placed in one central location.

+1, learn your scales bros. makes things easier and you can improvise like a boss

JamesRonald

Joined: Mar 16 2008

I relate music to colours. E is blue, G is green, A is red etc. It makes it easier to pick up something by ear.

natenmn

I haven't had a chance to trim my hedges recently. Thanks for visiting anyway...

Location: United States

Joined: Jul 17 2009

Yeah, I relate music to colors, too! A is black, E is black, C is black, music is black, my life is void and black.

/emo

Nah, but seriously, I just use muscle memory. I can memorize things fairly fast, so that is what works for me. I'd like to get better at sight reading, though.

karathrow

Joined: Oct 26 2010

Im colorblind. Fuck you people and your colors.

And fuck mario party too.

Puzzle fighter too :(

musenji

Joined: Feb 02 2010

Isn't it true that "colorblind" people still see colors, they just have trouble distinguishing between certain ones?

karathrow

Joined: Oct 26 2010

musenji said

Isn't it true that "colorblind" people still see colors, they just have trouble distinguishing between certain ones?

Well not to get too off topic but yes, that is more or less how it is for me. I can't speak for other colorblind people though as others seem to have different experiences.

I just know colors would not be my go to way to associate things since distinguishing them is already something I am not good at.

Giogiogio4

For all the dreamers: Our planet's dream is not over yet...

Joined: Jun 10 2010

For Scales I just memorize the simple 3 Major thirds followed by 4 minor thrids. 3 notes perstring.

so
0-00 E string
0-00 B string
00-0 g string
00-0 d string
0-0-0 a string
0-0-0 e string
0-0-0 B string ( 7 string guitar ) Or on the Low e string right before

The "0"s are fingers and "-" are fret space between.

Then the pattern just recycles over and over like a tredmil. Where you start at and go up an octave gives you a scale/Mode.

0-00 E string - Dorian ( 2nd degree of the major scale )
0-00 B string - Minor scale ( 6th degree of the major scale )
00-0 g string - Phygian ( 3rd Degree of the major scale )
00-0 d string - Locrian ( 7th Degree of the major scale )
0-0-0 a string - Lydian ( 4th degree of the major scale )
0-0-0 e string - Major scale ( 1st degree )
0-0-0 B string - Mixo Lydian ( 5th degree of the major scale )

So the major scale is
-00-0
0-0-0
0-0-0
Or

(7)(1)-
(4)-(5)-(6)
(1)-(2)-(3)

1= Major = scale starts on the 2nd set of Major thirds
2= Dorian = Scale starts on the 4th Minor Third
3= Phygian = Scale starts on the 2nd Minor Third
4= Lydian = scale Starts on the 3rd Major Third
5= Mixolydian = Scale starts on the 1st Major third
6= Minor = scale starts on the 3rd minor third
7= Locian = scale starts on the 1st minor third
( This is the order they go in according to the Major scale )

* So if your playing the Minor scale you are starting on the 6th note of the major scale
But then you go up 3 notes in the minor scale,now your on the 4th note.But actually your on the 2nd note of the major scale. Or simply put Dorian. Bam now you play the dorian pattern.

In theory all the modes exsist within the same Key or Major scale.
Same exact notes its just where your starting at. Take that knowledge
and knowing what each degrees chords are then you have most of the info you need to know.

I-ii-iii-IV-V-vi-vii(Dim)-I =
Major or minor chords depending where in the scale you are.
capital is a major chord while lowercase is a minor chord.

kage25130

Joined: Aug 02 2011

Giogiogio4 said

For Scales I just memorize the simple 3 Major thirds followed by 4 minor thrids. 3 notes perstring.

so
0-00 E string
0-00 B string
00-0 g string
00-0 d string
0-0-0 a string
0-0-0 e string
0-0-0 B string ( 7 string guitar ) Or on the Low e string right before

The "0"s are fingers and "-" are fret space between.

Then the pattern just recycles over and over like a tredmil. Where you start at and go up an octave gives you a scale/Mode.

0-00 E string - Dorian ( 2nd degree of the major scale )
0-00 B string - Minor scale ( 6th degree of the major scale )
00-0 g string - Phygian ( 3rd Degree of the major scale )
00-0 d string - Locrian ( 7th Degree of the major scale )
0-0-0 a string - Lydian ( 4th degree of the major scale )
0-0-0 e string - Major scale ( 1st degree )
0-0-0 B string - Mixo Lydian ( 5th degree of the major scale )

So the major scale is
-00-0
0-0-0
0-0-0
Or

(7)(1)-
(4)-(5)-(6)
(1)-(2)-(3)

1= Major = scale starts on the 2nd set of Major thirds
2= Dorian = Scale starts on the 4th Minor Third
3= Phygian = Scale starts on the 2nd Minor Third
4= Lydian = scale Starts on the 3rd Major Third
5= Mixolydian = Scale starts on the 1st Major third
6= Minor = scale starts on the 3rd minor third
7= Locian = scale starts on the 1st minor third
( This is the order they go in according to the Major scale )

* So if your playing the Minor scale you are starting on the 6th note of the major scale
But then you go up 3 notes in the minor scale,now your on the 4th note.But actually your on the 2nd note of the major scale. Or simply put Dorian. Bam now you play the dorian pattern.

In theory all the modes exsist within the same Key or Major scale.
Same exact notes its just where your starting at. Take that knowledge
and knowing what each degrees chords are then you have most of the info you need to know.

I-ii-iii-IV-V-vi-vii(Dim)-I =
Major or minor chords depending where in the scale you are.
capital is a major chord while lowercase is a minor chord.

Thank you.

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

BTW, those aren't the "major" and "minor" modes. They're Ionian and Aeolian. "Phygian" should read "Phrygian".

A mode is major if the third is major; Lydian, Ionian, and Mixolydian are all major. Dorian, Aeolian, Phrygian, and Locrian are all minor (and Locrian is diminished, as well!)

The scales you talked about are a good starting point, but you should know where they overlap on the neck so you can shift positions easily without losing your place in the scale.

Modes of the Major Scale

Major modes

Lydian      1  2  3 #4  5  6  7
Ionian      1  2  3  4  5  6  7
Mixolydian  1  2  3  4  5  6 b7

Minor modes

Dorian      1  2 b3  4  5  6 b7
Aeolian     1  2 b3  4  5 b6 b7
Phrygian    1 b2 b3  4  5 b6 b7
Locrian     1 b2 b3  4 b5 b6 b7

Jacob31593

Location: Tampa, FL

Joined: Jan 04 2009

locrian is the best one

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

What was the other half of your major?