How to Learn a Tune
Three very different skills are required to learn and perform a tune. First the tune must be faithfully lodged in the players memory.. Good performance rises from memory, not paper.. It's a lot more fun to be in the session rather that prisoner to paper or an iPad. Performances will be far more authentic when the tune is inside the player. Second, the player must build the muscle memory that releases fingers and hands to work their magic. For most of us, that means repeatedly playing the tune until our hands and fingers know instinctively what do to. Most preparation time is spent developing muscle memory. When these two steps are completed, the musical artist can take over and create a unique interpretation of the melody. Here are some steps to help you work through this process.
1. Listen
Listen to the tune enough times so that you can hum, whistle or sing the melody without hesitation or flaw. “If you don’t know the tune you can’t learn it.” Learning a tune by ear is faster and has more lasting effects than trying to memorize a printed page. A software program that slows tempo without altering pitch can be very helpful. CLICK HERE for links to two such products.
Many players benefit from visualizing the tune. That ranges from calling into mind the actual score of the tune to imaginative thoughts about the meaning or flow of the melody. Calling up images of dancers, ocean waves, clouds, storms, or anything at all can help anchor a melody in the mind.
2. Small bites
Practice the tune in small, coherent phrases. If part A is 8 measures, study only four measures at a time. Get those four into your head and hands. If a particular small sequence of notes is giving trouble, focus on just that section.
3. Short practice sessions
Most people learn best by short practice sessions of ten or fifteen minutes in length followed by a break during which anything but music is done. Then go back for another short session of practice. This combination of short practice intervals separated by breaks that distract the time help the brain to build the neural networks that produce the “muscle memory” needed to play music. Bashing through hours of practice and frustration is not an efficient way to learn.
4. Slow down
Learn the melody at a tempo that ensures accuracy. This tempo will likely be painfully slow. The goal is to create an accurate muscle memory of the tune. If the tempo is too fast fingers can’t keep up and errors will be learned. Invest the time to ensure creating completely accurate muscle memory. This is the point in learning at which exploration of alternate fingers can be pursued. That exploration can be critical for plucked instruments like banjo, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki. Chose the most efficient and reliable fingering patterns to learn.
5. Go Dark
Close your eyes or turn off the lights which you practice the full tune. Shutting off visual stimuli allows the brain to engage with the sound of melody. Going dark can advance the pace of learning.
6.Bring it up to tempo
Gradually increase the tempo until your playing is accurate at a moderate pace. Use a metronome for practice. Set the tempo very low. 60 BPM is a good place to start. As you gain confidence increase the tempo without sacrificing accuracy. The range of 120 to 130 BPM should be the goal. Take it slow. Never compromise accuracy. Aim for the ability to play a tune flawlessly, at tempo for three consecutive passes.
7. Use distraction
You will have mastered the tune when you can play it accurately at tempo while your brain is engaged in other activities, like conversation. A good way to practice playing while distracted is to tune on the TV and just play. When you can move through the tune while watching TV you will have internalized the melody and locked in your muscle memory.
8. It WILL get easier
Learning tunes is tough work at the beginning. But, with time, you’ll build an inventory of phrases and musical idioms that appear frequently in music. Having that inventory of “riffs” will speed the learning process. Don’t get discouraged. Stay with regular, determined, short practice sessions.
NOTE: Good session players ultimately learn by ear. This skill takes time to develop. It comes by acute, analytical listening and learning where to find specific sounds on your instrument. Those skills are developed by the “determined practice” outlined above. No short cuts!
Three very different skills are required to learn and perform a tune. First the tune must be faithfully lodged in the players memory.. Good performance rises from memory, not paper.. It's a lot more fun to be in the session rather that prisoner to paper or an iPad. Performances will be far more authentic when the tune is inside the player. Second, the player must build the muscle memory that releases fingers and hands to work their magic. For most of us, that means repeatedly playing the tune until our hands and fingers know instinctively what do to. Most preparation time is spent developing muscle memory. When these two steps are completed, the musical artist can take over and create a unique interpretation of the melody. Here are some steps to help you work through this process.
1. Listen
Listen to the tune enough times so that you can hum, whistle or sing the melody without hesitation or flaw. “If you don’t know the tune you can’t learn it.” Learning a tune by ear is faster and has more lasting effects than trying to memorize a printed page. A software program that slows tempo without altering pitch can be very helpful. CLICK HERE for links to two such products.
Many players benefit from visualizing the tune. That ranges from calling into mind the actual score of the tune to imaginative thoughts about the meaning or flow of the melody. Calling up images of dancers, ocean waves, clouds, storms, or anything at all can help anchor a melody in the mind.
2. Small bites
Practice the tune in small, coherent phrases. If part A is 8 measures, study only four measures at a time. Get those four into your head and hands. If a particular small sequence of notes is giving trouble, focus on just that section.
3. Short practice sessions
Most people learn best by short practice sessions of ten or fifteen minutes in length followed by a break during which anything but music is done. Then go back for another short session of practice. This combination of short practice intervals separated by breaks that distract the time help the brain to build the neural networks that produce the “muscle memory” needed to play music. Bashing through hours of practice and frustration is not an efficient way to learn.
4. Slow down
Learn the melody at a tempo that ensures accuracy. This tempo will likely be painfully slow. The goal is to create an accurate muscle memory of the tune. If the tempo is too fast fingers can’t keep up and errors will be learned. Invest the time to ensure creating completely accurate muscle memory. This is the point in learning at which exploration of alternate fingers can be pursued. That exploration can be critical for plucked instruments like banjo, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki. Chose the most efficient and reliable fingering patterns to learn.
5. Go Dark
Close your eyes or turn off the lights which you practice the full tune. Shutting off visual stimuli allows the brain to engage with the sound of melody. Going dark can advance the pace of learning.
6.Bring it up to tempo
Gradually increase the tempo until your playing is accurate at a moderate pace. Use a metronome for practice. Set the tempo very low. 60 BPM is a good place to start. As you gain confidence increase the tempo without sacrificing accuracy. The range of 120 to 130 BPM should be the goal. Take it slow. Never compromise accuracy. Aim for the ability to play a tune flawlessly, at tempo for three consecutive passes.
7. Use distraction
You will have mastered the tune when you can play it accurately at tempo while your brain is engaged in other activities, like conversation. A good way to practice playing while distracted is to tune on the TV and just play. When you can move through the tune while watching TV you will have internalized the melody and locked in your muscle memory.
8. It WILL get easier
Learning tunes is tough work at the beginning. But, with time, you’ll build an inventory of phrases and musical idioms that appear frequently in music. Having that inventory of “riffs” will speed the learning process. Don’t get discouraged. Stay with regular, determined, short practice sessions.
NOTE: Good session players ultimately learn by ear. This skill takes time to develop. It comes by acute, analytical listening and learning where to find specific sounds on your instrument. Those skills are developed by the “determined practice” outlined above. No short cuts!