The ability to memorize lyrics to new tunes as 'quickly as possible' is a skill every vocalist entertainer appreciates. Some lyrics seem easier to memorize, because the lyrics evoke clear visual images and/or include rhyming words to support them, while others song lyrics prove difficultly challenging, as it not only contains lots of verses, but easily interchangeable words: 'is/was/in/on' of which can confuse, or in which a clear 'visual and/or (mental) image' is difficult to associate with the lyric line.

As I've mentioned before here, and on several occasions, when I want to memorize a song's lyrics, I usually work on this away from the keyboard and devoid of the melody altogether. I first manually (with pen) write down the lyrics on a sheet of blank paper and read (recite as a poem) them over carefully line by line in order to gain a full understanding of what the message (story) to me is personally. The important thing is to figure out the: who, what, when, and where (stage scene) of the person delivering the line, as well as Who are you (character in a movie/play/musical), (singing to), what message, story, or idea are you trying to express to whom, and when & where (time and place) is the setting (scene)? Developing a clear sense of your character role not only helps with the memorization process, but ensures audience convincing BELIEVABLE lyric line delivery as well.

I'll usually spend 10-15 minutes memorizing the lines of a song this way, without music whatsoever. I typically like to do this in the car while commuting to/from a gig, or when waiting in line at the bank, etc. The advantage of memorizing the lyrics devoid of the melody is this allows you develop your own personal sense of phrasing, especially because many songs (especially the standards) can often be re-interpreted differently, all depending on how you choose to phrase the lyric line. Only after I've got the lyrics confidently down(& delivered convincingly as lines in a play) do I then add the accompaniment music (which I play on the keyboard). Another vocal tip I'd like to share is applying prosody when singing. The 'sound' of certain words actually conjure up the 'action' they represent. Take the word 'roll' from the lyric line: "Those things roll off my knife" from the song:
Give Me The Simple Life . If you lenghten & extend the R+vowel in roll before adding the consonant (L) you can enhance the meaning of the word roll to make it sound like the word itself is 'rolling' off the knife.

Ok, before I digress further, back to that lyric 'memorization phenomenon' subject which initiated my desire to post this trhead in the first place. What I notice is that no matter how long my practice session is spent practicing lyric lines, it still takes 2-3 days for me to get solidified permanently in my memory. I may seemly be able to memorize an entire song's lyrics in a single (or two) practice sessions, and recite them , but it will slip from my memory later that day, yet if I merely sleep overnite on them, the next day, they're a lot more solidified in my memory. I'm convinced there is something going on unconsciously in sleep which assists in processing all this. Curious if anyone else has experienced this sort of thing as well.

Regards,

Scott

Repetition = Memorization

This post really "hit a nerve" with me!
Memorization of songs and lyrics always feels like 3 days is the magic number for some reason, almost like catching a cold!

I've always "blanked out" with new material on day 1 or 2 playing and singing from memory no matter how long a time spent concentrating on it. I've decided not to even try new stuff before the 3 day time!

repetition is the key for me too , but I also do MUCH better if i "get into character" for that particular song, or song meaning. Reading it AND feeling it works much faster for me!

Jill

jzzct: Wow, thanks for confirming the very same 3 day phenomenon I'm experiencing. It's like something's built-in to human brains which makes it take 3 days, no matter how how much time (each day) you devote to memorizing the song's lyrics. Anyone here experiencing the same/different? - Scott

it's a minimum of 3 days for me scott!

jill

I have a photographic memory...ahh where was I...

She told me the mind was the second thing to go--Hmmmmm! Wonder what the first was?

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

Scott:
Nice little tutorial, but wish you could add a go back feature like my pc has. I stopped doing music in about 1985 period, for about 15 years. Prior to that I could probably do 5000 or more songs from memory. Started up again about 5 years ago, and my memory is blank, I bet there isn't 5 songs I could do correctly.

All the years of collecting, mostly in the young years I could hear them on the radio 1,2,or 3 timnes if they were difficult and memorize them for ever. Later I wrote them down with pencil while listening to tapes or records, and commited them to memory that way. Now I can't seem to memorise them unless I use them often, I'm 68 yrs, and don't think there's anything different about me except what all people my age experience. (I don't know what that means either ).
I noticed also that if you really liked the song, or it touched your life somehow, it was memorized easier. Most of the songs were what I deemed automatic, much like rendering a poem, one line set up the next and usually simple after you get the first two words started. These 2 words are the (draw a blank) embarrassing part. I also learned fast how to improvise and do your own words, usually directed at someone or something going on out in the audience, Most times these were terrific, a few times they really bombed.....LOL

Conclusion I would say learning the lyrics and performing them is a lot like playing the music and performing, once you get to the point your relaxed and know no matter what kind of screwup you might do, you can turn it around and cover it up, and come out sounding great, they're not a problem anymore, alot of guys has done new songs with only hearing it once or twice, and running thru the lyrics just once. If you start reading them from a sheet, you're doomed to eternity to do the same... ...My 2 cents.......Pose

Scott, Great post... you discovered something very useful, though some may have missed a great tree for the forest (you presented a good sized forest )

When I was Ohio State I discovered some techniques for improved learning/memorizing, which included the importance of time between study sessions.



That's correct, but it's not the sleep that does it, it's the time. Think of it as a "sinking in" requirement. This becomes very helpful when memorizing lyrics. For example, 3 10 minute study sessions with each session separated by 24 hours will produce much better results (retention) than one 30 munute session.

Another example... suppose you want to memorize 3 new songs. You might spend 30 minutes one day working on song #1, 30 minutes the following day on song #2, and 30 minutes the next day on song #3. Another method would be to spend 10 minutes each day on each song. Although the total time spent would be the same, you'll get much better results using the second method.

I'm old enough to have memory difficulties, but when I utilize this technique, it works for me.

Glenn



[This message has been edited by GlennT (edited 08-05-2005).]