Home › Forums › Beginner Guitar Discussions › Do you have to memorize all the songs to improve?
- This topic has 13 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 4 months ago by Keith B.
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October 15, 2017 at 10:14 pm #82464
Hi there,
I’m a beginner (my long term goal is to do improvise) – I know basic/barred chords, can read tabs.
Do you guys memorize all the songs that Brain wrote every week? How do you make the most out of ActiveMelody.com to improve your guitar skills?
Please advise…
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October 15, 2017 at 10:52 pm #82466
Hello Hyun and welcome to the site and forum.
I think when you pick up the guitar (some will say “practice”), you should actually start to play music from the very beginning. It’s like when you first learn to play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” , you are not really practicing in a way, you are actually playing music. This is the concept Brian teaches without him saying so. I think maybe that is why his site is called what it is. The “melody” is active in learning to play music. Hope this helps.The melody of the notes is what expresses the art of music . 🙂 6stringerPete
It really is all about ”melody”. The melody comes from a language from our heart. Our heart is the muscle in music harmony. The melody is the sweetness that it pumps into our musical thoughts on the fretboard. 🙂 6 stringer Pete
Pete
Active Melody
Forum Moderator-
October 16, 2017 at 12:15 am #82468
Hi Pete,
Thanks very much for your reply. I think what you said makes a lot of sense. I’ve never thought it that way, but I think you’re totally right.
Thanks,
Hyun
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October 16, 2017 at 1:00 am #82469
No I don’t memorize everything I play from Active Melody. Hell, neither does Brian. If I practice a piece regularly after I master it I have a better chance of committing it to long term memory. I find it use it or lose it applies to anything you play on guitar.
Don’t worry, the more you play Hyun you will start picking up and repeating your favorite licks/phrases and making them your own when you improvise. Just play as many lessons as you can and also practice playing licks over a jam track. That will help you to improvise. Check out the blues lead course too!
-Bryce
Anchorage, Alaska-
October 16, 2017 at 1:07 am #82470
Hi Bryce,
Thanks very much for your kind reply.
As I’m getting replies, I start understanding how members are utilizing the service, and also how I should be using it.
Thanks again!
Hyun
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October 16, 2017 at 4:26 am #82474
As a beginner, it will be difficult to memorize every lesson. But the more you play a piece, the more your FINGERS will remember how to play it. This is called muscle memory and it’s an important part of the learning process (think about how you learned to walk — this didn’t happen overnight — but now you don’t even think about it).
Since you’re just starting out, I’d recommend reading a book called The Practice of Practice, by Jonathan Harnum. I wish this book had existed back when I first started playing! It will help you develop good practice habits, and it will answer a lot of questions about the learning process.
https://thepracticeofpractice.com/Personally, I try to memorize the tabs for the lessons as quickly as possible — since they’re only a couple of pages, and sometimes only a single page, this isn’t difficult (I’m speaking of in the short-term, during the weeks I’m actively working on the lesson — after that, I tend to forget them again).
Memorizing the tab allows you to focus more on playing. It forces you to “see” the notes and how they relate to your fingers. I feel reading the tab just adds another layer between you and playing. I think this will be helpful for you in learning to improvise (make sure you check out Brian’s Blues Lead course when you’re ready).
But don’t worry about memorizing an entire lesson — start with just a few measures at a time. Work on a lick or a phrase you particularly like, ones that make you really feel like you’re playing guitar. You can eventually build on those memorized passages, extending them to the whole piece, if you feel like it.
Anyway, have fun! I personally love the feeling of being a beginner — everything is possible!
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October 17, 2017 at 3:28 am #82543
Hi Marty,
Thanks very much for your kind reply, and for introducing a book.
I think what you mentioned makes perfect sense – memorizing/playing tabs (although not the entire lessons) regularly, and over time, you’ll get muscle memory, and that’s the actual learning process.
Also, I am relieved to know that I’m not the only one who once memorize tabs, and then forget over time (and that it’s okay).
Thanks again!
Hyun
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October 16, 2017 at 5:40 am #82480
Hyun,
Memorizing a lesson and getting the muscle memory that Marty speaks of is critical to mastering a lesson. At this point you can concentrate on timing and dynamics and feel. As a beginner it’s probably more important to understand the chord progressions, scale or chord tones the music is coming from and the fretboard landmarks Brian points out as you gradually improve in these other areas. Over time you will start to see the patterns and repetition of the chord progressions and licks and memorization will become a whole lot easier.
I would highly encourage a little basic music theory, ie. harmonizing a major scale to understand the major scale intervals, chords of a key, chord voicings. Almost everything derives from the major scale. The farther I get into guitar the more important I find it for getting to the next level. The process takes some number of years, enjoy the journey.
John-
October 17, 2017 at 3:37 am #82544
Hi John,
Thanks so much for your advice!
It’s been a couple of months since I became a premium member, and what I did ever since was, I search through Brian’s songs, pick ones I like, practice, memorize tabs but forget weeks later. Then I think I became a little impatient because I didn’t think I was improving, but at the same time, I didn’t think I’ll be able to memorize all the songs, either.
But seeing all these kind replies including yours, now I understand how members are utilizing ActiveMelody, and how they grow as a guitarist.
Your advice/reply helped me a lot.
Thanks again!
Hyun
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October 16, 2017 at 2:56 pm #82506
Hi Hyun, you have raised an interesting question, as you can see from the responses. I have been a member for about 3 years, and when I joined I knew almost nothing about playing guitar. So right away I started memorizing lessons. I didn’t memorize every lesson, just the ones I liked especially. I found that after I memorized about 20 lessons completely, my brain was full. I am a PhD, so I don’t think my brain is defective, just normal. So today, I maintain a list of 20 lessons that I consider to be my “repertoire”. You can point to any lesson on the list, and I can play it. BUT, whenever a new lesson comes out that I really like, I add it to the list, and at the same time, I choose one to drop off the list. Every month or so, I go completely through the list and play all the lessons in order, just to keep the neural pathways active. But, something is happening: I am getting better and better at improvisation, so that if I can hear something in my head, I can play it. This makes me wonder whether it’s even worth trying to maintain a repertoire. Time will tell.
Sunjamr Steve
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October 17, 2017 at 3:43 am #82545
Hi Sunjamr,
I actually saw your testimonial, and it also helped me a lot, too. Thank you for your reply!
Keeping a list of repertoire is a very good idea, I believe. I’ve never thought it that way but I think it’ll be very much helpful in boosting confidence, keeping it playful, and of course improving your skills. (and showing off to people as well haha)
The fact that you were a total beginner only 3 years ago relieves me a lot, and gives me hope! 🙂
Thanks so much for your time and help!
Hyun
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October 17, 2017 at 9:29 am #82552
Absolutely not. If you can learn the licks and riffs of a solo in its proper context you will be able to use them as your own when you jam or write solos. However, you will be better able to improvise what you have committed to muscle memory.
John
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October 17, 2017 at 9:58 am #82554
Absolutely not. If you can learn the licks and riffs of a solo in its proper context you will be able to use them as your own when you jam or write solos. However, you will be better able to improvise what you have committed to muscle memory.
John
John that is well said. That’s when it, “does it comes easy”, well, “one may then have that talent”. Its like the muscle memory is part of the musical (melody) memory that one experiences in youth.
The melody of the notes is what expresses the art of music . 🙂 6stringerPete
It really is all about ”melody”. The melody comes from a language from our heart. Our heart is the muscle in music harmony. The melody is the sweetness that it pumps into our musical thoughts on the fretboard. 🙂 6 stringer Pete
Pete
Active Melody
Forum Moderator -
November 10, 2017 at 11:08 am #84603
Hyun,
I’m fairly new to Active Melody, but I’ve been studying guitar for about 2 years now with an instructor. The lessons are centered around the Alfred guitar lesson books. Similar to Brian’s lessons, the books introduce a concept or technique (chord progression, scale, rhythm, lick, hand position, etc.), teach you how to play it and then give you songs that reinforce that technique. In other words they provide useful context for the technique. Every new lesson and song is tough at first, but with practice they become easier to play. When I’m not practicing to learn new material, I will flip backwards through the book and play each song 2 or 3 times. The older songs sound much better than the newer ones, and there are many songs from a year or more ago that I can play cleanly and fairly accurately from memory. If I ever want to just play guitar (especially for friends and family gatherings), I just run through the songs I have memorized. Everyone is amazed at how much progress I’ve made. I know I’m not playing perfectly, but they don’t.
I have started a similar routine with Active Melody. I pick a lesson that sounds interesting, practice the concept or technique, and every week or so, I pick up a new lesson. When I’m not practicing new material, I walk backwards through the old lessons, using the tabs along with the jam tracks, and try to play without looking at the tabs, and even without the jam tracks for support. The older ones are already starting to sound much better, and I hope within 6 months to a year to be able to play several jams, completely from memory, and again amaze my friends and family.
-Keith
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