how many songs should you have memorized,,,
well, how many should you have in your memory bank until you start auditioning? i have this problem that i will memorize a few songs, but as soon as i work on a new one, i start to forget the ones i learned before. it's like i have to keep re-learning these songs. right now i have about 15 songs memorized, my goal is to have 100. any tips or ideas? i am still a ways off as far as my chops are concerned, but i am thinking in about a year i should be ready. any suggestions as to what i should keep in mind? i could easily learn a new song every day, but i will probably forget it if i dont practice it. it's like a juggling act. trying to learn new songs while also brushing up on old ones, while also trying to learn new theories and apply different techniques. anyway enough of me rambling on, by the way, this website has been the most useful tool for me transitioning from classical to jazz. thank you so much!
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when you start playing gigs, you actually get paid to repeat your repetoire. the more you play "off book", the more tunes become ingrained in your psychy. eventually if you can hum it, you can play it. (even crappy tunes)
checkout this site:
www.outsideshore.com/school/music/harmonic/
i bought the book 'the harmonic language of jazz standards' a few months ago and my repetoire has exploded! the author explains the patterns and structures common to many standards and teaches you how to play songs by memorising the melody. this is key, you can then play appropriate chords to fit in with the melody - you do not have to remember a whole lead sheet. there are extracts from the book on the website - i recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the harmonic language behind the great american song book!
bro'
www.outsideshore.com/school/music/harmonic/
i bought the book 'the harmonic language of jazz standards' a few months ago and my repetoire has exploded! the author explains the patterns and structures common to many standards and teaches you how to play songs by memorising the melody. this is key, you can then play appropriate chords to fit in with the melody - you do not have to remember a whole lead sheet. there are extracts from the book on the website - i recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the harmonic language behind the great american song book!
bro'
pleas go to search engine (upwards) write "subconscious" selecting "files".
i think it is more important to be able to play a wide variety of sheet music than to have stuff memorized, but that is just me. it really depends on the quality of the group you are playing in.
i would first choose 100 tunes and be able to play all of those from the music. then i would start memorizing. also, get in on some jam sessions with strictly amateur musicians before you start thinking about auditioning. it will be much more satisfying to work toward your goals if you have a place that is fun to play informally.
i myself just started playing jazz 1 year ago and have a repertoire of ~70 jazz tunes that i do (playing solo), usually working from sheet music. i don't have any ambitions to play professionally, but would like to go as far as i can in amateur playing.
i would first choose 100 tunes and be able to play all of those from the music. then i would start memorizing. also, get in on some jam sessions with strictly amateur musicians before you start thinking about auditioning. it will be much more satisfying to work toward your goals if you have a place that is fun to play informally.
i myself just started playing jazz 1 year ago and have a repertoire of ~70 jazz tunes that i do (playing solo), usually working from sheet music. i don't have any ambitions to play professionally, but would like to go as far as i can in amateur playing.
it depends completely on what your carrer goals are. at one time in my
carrer goal was to be playing solo jazz piano in restaurants and coctail
lounges. my idol was dave mckenna and i fashioned my approach in many
ways after his carrer as a model. to do this type of work i found myself needing an endless list of repetoire in memory. i ended up actually counting them and having lists organized on my computer so i would be sure i was always expanding it. i reached i high of 700 tunes
before i had a brain aneurysm (a type of brain stroke that quincy jones,
and pat martino also suffered from in thier carrers to name a couple)
that wiped out my memory completely. i had to start from scratch again
and got it up to 500 before now i am changing carrer paths. i am
now changing directions and pusueing a career as a concert pianist
and as a recording artist so now i need very little repetoire in memory. really i am just trying to expand the repetoire of my own
compositions in memory at this point. i have hundreds of my own
compositions and can only play a handful from memory. so my goal
is to be able to perform a concert of my own compositions from memory.
and thats it. i have no need or desire to have 700 tunes memorized
anymore. i no longer take requests.
carrer goal was to be playing solo jazz piano in restaurants and coctail
lounges. my idol was dave mckenna and i fashioned my approach in many
ways after his carrer as a model. to do this type of work i found myself needing an endless list of repetoire in memory. i ended up actually counting them and having lists organized on my computer so i would be sure i was always expanding it. i reached i high of 700 tunes
before i had a brain aneurysm (a type of brain stroke that quincy jones,
and pat martino also suffered from in thier carrers to name a couple)
that wiped out my memory completely. i had to start from scratch again
and got it up to 500 before now i am changing carrer paths. i am
now changing directions and pusueing a career as a concert pianist
and as a recording artist so now i need very little repetoire in memory. really i am just trying to expand the repetoire of my own
compositions in memory at this point. i have hundreds of my own
compositions and can only play a handful from memory. so my goal
is to be able to perform a concert of my own compositions from memory.
and thats it. i have no need or desire to have 700 tunes memorized
anymore. i no longer take requests.
also i would add that if you are working in competitive markets
like boston and new york, ( i do not know what it is like elsewhere)
sheet music is bassically not allowed except occasionally to satisfy
a request from a customer who is adamant and no one knows the tune)
if you use sheet music you aint gonna get re hired. so everything
you perform has to be memorized. fake books are used a little but
those are also kept to a minimum and in general frowned upon. if you
have to use a fake book for everything people are gonna say you can't play even if you sound great. and if you are playing with players
who have the tunes memorized they aint gonna twiddle their thumbs waitin
for you to look up a tune in a fake book. and at the end of the gig they are going to be lookin at you wonderin why you are getting paid the same as them when you missed the first half of every tune playing with books and rifling thru pages.
like boston and new york, ( i do not know what it is like elsewhere)
sheet music is bassically not allowed except occasionally to satisfy
a request from a customer who is adamant and no one knows the tune)
if you use sheet music you aint gonna get re hired. so everything
you perform has to be memorized. fake books are used a little but
those are also kept to a minimum and in general frowned upon. if you
have to use a fake book for everything people are gonna say you can't play even if you sound great. and if you are playing with players
who have the tunes memorized they aint gonna twiddle their thumbs waitin
for you to look up a tune in a fake book. and at the end of the gig they are going to be lookin at you wonderin why you are getting paid the same as them when you missed the first half of every tune playing with books and rifling thru pages.
maybe i'm just fortunate, but if i have a tune in my head i can play it. now i'm not memorizing pages of notated arrangements, but f i can hum it i can play it.
the funny thing is, there are hundreds of tunes i can play, but i can't remember what they are:) often times people will request a tune i haven't heard or thought of in years, but like riding a bike, i can play it...
am i wonderful? pompous? not really, it's just that i have years of playing by ear under my belt...my fingers simply find the the tunes on the keys in much the wame way my vocal cords do...
the funny thing is, there are hundreds of tunes i can play, but i can't remember what they are:) often times people will request a tune i haven't heard or thought of in years, but like riding a bike, i can play it...
am i wonderful? pompous? not really, it's just that i have years of playing by ear under my belt...my fingers simply find the the tunes on the keys in much the wame way my vocal cords do...
*same not wame:)
and okay, maybe i am pompous:)
and okay, maybe i am pompous:)
you are fortunate. most of us have to go thru a different process.
but the process is not memorizing pages of notated arrangements.
that is not it at all. as jazz pianists what we do is memorize
melodies and harmonic progressions when we do not have your talent.
we analayze the chord progression, commit it to memory and practice
improvising over it. then we often practice singing the melody in different ways to help memorize that. after doing these things we
have memorized the tune but we improvize and create our own original
arrangements every perfomance... this is the essence and joy of being
a jazz pianist, luckily we can still experience this joy without haveing your amazing gift p.
but the process is not memorizing pages of notated arrangements.
that is not it at all. as jazz pianists what we do is memorize
melodies and harmonic progressions when we do not have your talent.
we analayze the chord progression, commit it to memory and practice
improvising over it. then we often practice singing the melody in different ways to help memorize that. after doing these things we
have memorized the tune but we improvize and create our own original
arrangements every perfomance... this is the essence and joy of being
a jazz pianist, luckily we can still experience this joy without haveing your amazing gift p.
well, thank you (unless your being sarcastic:), but i don't think it is an amazing gift as much as it is a product of my experience. i've spent many hours over many years practicing finding the melodies and chords/voicings that are in my head...i played tons of "fake gigs" (gigs with no charts) when i was very young (thanks to my dad taking me out on gigs with him) and now i can play thousands of crappy tunes no one has ever heard of:)
i was not being sarcastic and meant to take no credit away from how
you obtained your gift. the fact remains that most of us do not have
and never will obtain your ability. and will therefore train our minds
and memories in other ways which do work and have similar results
at least to the extent that we qualify for the same professional work.
you obtained your gift. the fact remains that most of us do not have
and never will obtain your ability. and will therefore train our minds
and memories in other ways which do work and have similar results
at least to the extent that we qualify for the same professional work.
bro-
great website, the information alone was so useful already. i am going to buy that book now. it's exactly what i'm looking for. i think i understand a little more on how to memorize more songs, i am getting the impression that it isn't about memorizing the chords, it;s more about remembering the general feeling of the song. for example, i think pretty much most musicians can probably play a one line melody by ear. what i am gathering is you can learn how to take that melody and instinctivly know which chords will fit into the phrase. maybe i just need to re-learn the way i have been learning.
great website, the information alone was so useful already. i am going to buy that book now. it's exactly what i'm looking for. i think i understand a little more on how to memorize more songs, i am getting the impression that it isn't about memorizing the chords, it;s more about remembering the general feeling of the song. for example, i think pretty much most musicians can probably play a one line melody by ear. what i am gathering is you can learn how to take that melody and instinctivly know which chords will fit into the phrase. maybe i just need to re-learn the way i have been learning.
that is it! the book is great and you start to see just how many great standards basically follow the same harmonic structure (certainly in the a section).
i had the same problem as you, learn a new song and another song would 'drop off'.
i find the vanilla book lead sheets (see link on ljp home page)complement this book because they strip the songs down to their basic chord structure and it is easy to spot patterns shared by many songs.
look at gershwin's 'soon' and compare this to 'that old feeling' or compare 'how deep is the ocean' to 'my funny valentine'.
good luck!
bro'
bristol, england
i had the same problem as you, learn a new song and another song would 'drop off'.
i find the vanilla book lead sheets (see link on ljp home page)complement this book because they strip the songs down to their basic chord structure and it is easy to spot patterns shared by many songs.
look at gershwin's 'soon' and compare this to 'that old feeling' or compare 'how deep is the ocean' to 'my funny valentine'.
good luck!
bro'
bristol, england
i have about 300+ songs on my repertoir. though they are not jazz standards since i work in a differen't genre when doing gigs. i'm a pianoentertainer. i perform live every friday and saturday, and my repertoir is always changing, since sometimes certain songs work better for the different crowds. having a large repertoir gives you something to pick from, and makes you a more flexible player. and if someone has a request, you are more likely to know it if you have a large repertoir. as you grow as a player, so does your repertoir, and it will probably evolve constant as long as you play. my father has 1000+ songs on his repertoir, but he has also played professionally for 50 years. the more songs you learn the more you will notice how everything is put together, and you will find that some progressions and structures work better than others, even though they are not the same as the written ones. you will eventually stop thinking "what the h... is the next chord?!?" and start thinking "a 2-5-1 may be nice, or a 1-6-2-5 will work".
just keep on playing, learn the songs you want to learn, if they didn't work out, learn some more. you can never know enough songs.
doc-z
just keep on playing, learn the songs you want to learn, if they didn't work out, learn some more. you can never know enough songs.
doc-z
i recently came across a book that a few people have mentioned here - 'metaphors for the musician' by randy halberstadt and this contains a very good section on how to memorise tunes.
i was impressed with the whole book actually and would recommend it as the ideal companion to mark levine's 'the jazz piano' book for a beginner. 'metaphors' doesn't go into as much detail but is more accessible and less intimidating than the levine.
barry
i was impressed with the whole book actually and would recommend it as the ideal companion to mark levine's 'the jazz piano' book for a beginner. 'metaphors' doesn't go into as much detail but is more accessible and less intimidating than the levine.
barry
i'll second that, barry. i also found useful (specifically for learning/understanding different progressions) "hearin' the changes - dealing with unknown tunes by ear" by jerry coker, bob knapp and larry vincent. i bought my copy from advance music.
kai
kai
the other thing i have noticed is the ability to transpose songs. i've seen that playing a song in 2 or 3 keys helps me understand the tune on a fundamental level instead of just developling muscle memory by playing it over and over in one key. i know it is very difficult process at first, but i think that if you know how to play something in all 12 keys, you are there. the other thing is if you are playing with a singer for instance and need to play in a key to the range of the performer, there is no "transpose button" on an acoustic piano.
on second thought the answer is three.
1.)"99 bottles of beer on the wall" because people must have their drinking songs.
2.)" piano man" because people request it all the freakin time.
and
3.) "here comes the bride" because we can make good money playing an occasional wedding ceremony.
1.)"99 bottles of beer on the wall" because people must have their drinking songs.
2.)" piano man" because people request it all the freakin time.
and
3.) "here comes the bride" because we can make good money playing an occasional wedding ceremony.
don't forget:
"there goes the bride" - mendelssohn
"canon" - pachelbel (for the lovely (drunken) brides maides)
"simon tov, mazel tov"
"la chaim"
"memory from cats" :)
"all i ask of you"
"new york, new york"
and for your roast beef and ham:
"girl from ipanema"
"satin doll"
"misty"
"there goes the bride" - mendelssohn
"canon" - pachelbel (for the lovely (drunken) brides maides)
"simon tov, mazel tov"
"la chaim"
"memory from cats" :)
"all i ask of you"
"new york, new york"
and for your roast beef and ham:
"girl from ipanema"
"satin doll"
"misty"
sorry if the latter three are offensive to jazz players, i'm just sick and tired of all the lame-as versions i've heard and played over the years:)
in boston you do not have to memorize "new york new york"
when it is requested you simply explain you are a red sox fan and
its a matter of pride and local patriotism. if the customer persists, in this town you are fully within your rights and can count on managements support if you get up from your bench and punch out the
custumer.
when it is requested you simply explain you are a red sox fan and
its a matter of pride and local patriotism. if the customer persists, in this town you are fully within your rights and can count on managements support if you get up from your bench and punch out the
custumer.
ha - in st. louis, everyone wants to be in new york...even the cardinal fans...(some of us still love joe torre)
yankees suck.....
we get damn primitive about it here
we vote for kerry not because of what he
thinks about iraq/iran/whatever
we know one issue he will never waver on
yankees suck.
we get damn primitive about it here
we vote for kerry not because of what he
thinks about iraq/iran/whatever
we know one issue he will never waver on
yankees suck.
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