Hey Indiana,
I was recently out traveling for my sisters wedding. It was a great time, she was thrilled of course, and it was nice to spend time with all the family that had gathered!
My sister had asked me to play guitar with a singer for the wedding procession song.
I had never heard of the song before, but when I first listened to it I quickly realized that the entire song was literally only two chords.
Two chords!? Come one, easy right?
On top of that it was one of the simplest strum patterns ever. It was so easy I could have shown my wife how to play it and she could have done the performance (she can barely play a few chords).
The only thing that really changes during the song is one section where the strum pattern alters slightly.
But hey, no problem, I'm a pro jazz musician! Next time give me a song with 20 chords and a few time signature changes!
So the day before the wedding, I thought I should probably practice it a little bit before the rehearsal dinner (having barely practiced it at all).
But I found myself constantly messing up the simple strum pattern. Was it two downstrokes and one upstrokes, or three times?
An hour later I would test myself on the strum patterns again, but I kept getting them slightly wrong!
Then I realized what the problem was - I just had not listened to the song enough. Here I am preaching constantly to all of my Inner Circle members how important it is to listen to songs many times to get to know them, and yet I wasn't doing it myself!
So that's exactly what I did, I listened to the song on repeat. I put my silly ego aside, accepted that two chords and simple strum patterns had defeated me, and did what I should have done all along.
And guess what...it worked.
Here are some tips to help you learn and memorize songs, so you don't end up fumbling like me hours before my sisters wedding:
1. Listen away from your instrument
The issue with me and the wedding song wasn't that the song was difficult, it was because I wasn't intimately familiar with it. On top of this, the first time I listened to the song I had my guitar in hand and was trying to figure out what the chords were.
Instead, treat listening to the song away from your instrument as if you are already practicing and learning the song. This is why we provide playlists in our Jazz Standards Club studies within our Inner Circle membership. The more you listen to the song, the easier it will be for you to learn and memorize it because you are already familiar with it.
2. Learn the lyrics if possible
One thing that helped me memorize the wedding song quicker was starting to pay more attention to the actual lyrics, instead of just the guitar part. There is something about the human voice and language that connects with our brains and helps us internalize melody. It helps you better understand the context of the chords and melodic information you are hearing.
If a jazz standard doesn't have lyrics, you can also write your own lyrics. If you don't feel creative enough to write your own lyrics, you can try vocalizing the melody through whistling, singing, or humming.
3. Play the song with someone else
It wasn't until I actually sat down with the singer and played the song with her that I felt 100% confident in playing it. Even though I was prepared, the connection between me and the other musician was of paramount importance to solidify the music.
When we play a song within the context we are hoping to play it in, it completes the puzzle piece and instills the confidence you need to play it and hold on to it for the long run.
I hope some of this helps the next time you go about learning a new jazz standard!
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