Approach to learning a song

[sikbom]

How do you guys approach learning a new song? Namely one which is above your technical ability?
If you come across a part of the song which you aren't able to play, do you keep practicing that part until you have it down pat, and then move on? Or do you take some time to practice that part, and also continue to learn the rest of the song?

I always seem to take the approach of staying on that difficult part, and often this leads to frustration at not being able to play that part, leading to giving up on the song altogether. Consequently, there are very few (if any) songs that I'm able to play from start to finish - I'm one of those guys who can play a simple riff from this song, a few lines of the solo from another, but never a complete song. Which sucks haha.

Please share your experiences regarding this matter! Would be much appreciated :)

[Malcolm]

So you are playing melody through out the entire song, correct?

Ever thought about playing chord accompaniment to your vocal melody for two verses and one chorus - letting your voice handle the melody. Then after the chorus take an instrumental solo lead break - on the easy stuff. Then finish with vocal accompaniment for the third verse, repeat the chorus and tag the last line.

You are still playing lead guitar, however, in a format that lets you finish a song.

Just a thought.

[tedmaul]

For me the answer is to mix it up.

Make sure you are learning plenty of songs that are comfortably within your ability - i'm sure there's loads if you've been playing a while.

And then make sure you've got a couple on the go that are really stretching you, and that you are going to have to break down and work on specific areas to get together properly.

You'll find that these will come together in the end, as long as you have some regular constructive and focused practice sessions in amongst all this.

For example, i've always loved Megadeth and Marty Friedmans playing. I'd been playing Symphony of Destruction for years but whenever the solo came in something would always fall apart a bit. It was just stretching my abilities that little bit too far. I could get it together at maybe 20bpm less in terms of speed, but the speed on the record was just too fast.

But over the years as my technique improved i got better and better at it. I found if i did some practice on that solo, and concentrated just on the problem areas and slowly built it up to speed i started to make some real progress. And now finally i'm at a point where 99% of the time i can play along to that song and when the solo comes in i'm thinking to myself 'yeah, i know i can nail this now' rather than 'ah crap, this is going to fall apart!'.

And i think that's how you have to approach these things. Just keep chipping away. Make sure you have a regular practice regime you are happy with. Make sure you are playing stuff you can play well and enjoy. And make sure you have some stuff on the go that's really stretching you and making you slow things down and work out where your problems are. For me, as long as i keep mixing things up like that it helps prevent me getting bored/frustrated too much...

[Ludwig]

I try to get a feel of the song as a whole first and then start filling in the tidbits. That usually means learning the easiest parts first and faking the rest. As I get comfortable with what I am doing right I come back in to learn the hard parts and to add in the details. This is probably not the best way to practice but if your band mate tells you to learn a song on Monday and rehearsal is on Thursday you better be able to play something that resembles the whole song.

[bluesking]

I try to get a feel of the song as a whole first and then start filling in the tidbits. That usually means learning the easiest parts first and faking the rest. As I get comfortable with what I am doing right I come back in to learn the hard parts and to add in the details. This is probably not the best way to practice but if your band mate tells you to learn a song on Monday and rehearsal is on Thursday you better be able to play something that resembles the whole song.

Good advice. Especially for an active performer.

I used to be like the OP (just focus on the hard parts) untill I started gigging, where it was a case of "play the whole song by fighting with it tooth & nail".

Like almost anything else in music & practice. Doing a bit of both will garner the best overall results. If ever you feel compelled to ask "which one of these two extremes is best?" you can be secure in answering your own question: "both together are better than either in isolation".

[JonR]

How do you guys approach learning a new song? Namely one which is above your technical ability?
If you come across a part of the song which you aren't able to play, do you keep practicing that part until you have it down pat, and then move on? Or do you take some time to practice that part, and also continue to learn the rest of the song?

I always seem to take the approach of staying on that difficult part, and often this leads to frustration at not being able to play that part, leading to giving up on the song altogether. Consequently, there are very few (if any) songs that I'm able to play from start to finish - I'm one of those guys who can play a simple riff from this song, a few lines of the solo from another, but never a complete song. Which sucks haha.

Please share your experiences regarding this matter! Would be much appreciated :)I learn most songs in this order:

1. Chords / bass line. (The bass line helps confirm chords that may not be clear on first run-through. I play bass too, so sometimes that's the part I need to know anyway!)

2. Melody (vocal tune).

3. Any distinctive guitar riffs.

That's for your average rock song. What I DON'T do is learn solos - unless a solo happens to be a crucial/famous element of the song (I only know a few that are). In that case, that would be the 4th step.

OTOH, if it's a fingerstyle guitar tune, I'll get right down and start with those patterns - before chords or melody or anything. The guitar part will reveal the chords, of course, which are important. (As a fingerstyle guitarist, I enjoy getting the original parts right, but I also know I can usually adapt the patterns pretty freely, as long as the chords are right.)

I notate all of this, using software. (I used to use pencil and manuscript paper... ah the old days... :rolleyes:)
I also use Transcribe software to help listen to the track - slowing it down or looping sections for tricky parts, or raising the octave to hear the bass more clearly. (Again, in the old days, it was a 2-speed reel-to-reel tape deck...[sigh])
http://www.seventhstring.com/

Assuming this is a song I need to perform live (in one of my bands) I will, of course, play the song through several times after this, trying not to refer to the music, just to make sure I've learned it. Either chords alone, bass alone, or combination of chords and riffs. If I'm going to be soloing on it, I'll try to learn the vocal melody by heart too.
I might also try combining chords with vocal melody (in various haphazard ways), which really helps ingrain the essence of the song in my head. (I'm not a singer, much, so I rarely try singing along. However, I do recommend that unless your voice is really totally hopeless. And I doubt it's too bad to at least try...)

As for the difficult parts... It depends how important they are to the song. If they're in the guitar solo (and it's an important one), they can generally be faked. (If I can't play the exact same thing as the original, I can fake something similarly complicated! And actually I don't believe in copying anybody else's solo, because I believe in improvisation...)
I do think it's important never to fake the chords though. It may be just me, but I really like to get the chords right (and the bass line come to that). (Some people I've played with are happy just getting it "near enough", but those little differences usually irritate me - quite often it means missing some subtleties that are actually crucial to the mood or feel of the original. IMO, that is...)

OTOH, it can depend on the song. There are some kinds of song where you can be very liberal with the chords (and everything else) - and some songs almost beg you to mess around with them and make them your own.
Eg, Bob Dylan is famous for writing songs that countless other artists have messed around with in various ways - the songs are simple and sturdy enough to take it. (And of course he messes around with them himself all the time.)
In a quite different genre: in jazz it's accepted that a "song" is only the melody. The chords can be changed (reharmonised, substituted), as long as they still fit the tune. Bass lines and solos are always improvised, different every time.
So when learning a jazz song, all one has to do is get the melody right, and learn a standard (basic) set of chord changes. Everything else is up for grabs. (Of course, you need to be familiar with jazz rules to "mess around" in stylistically appropriate ways.)
Similar things apply to folk and blues songs, which are (traditionally) handed down aurally, with each performer doing his/her own version - respectful of the past versions, but personalising them at the same time. In a sense, there is no "original version" for jazz, blues or folk songs - no ideal version you are supposed to be recreating. Everyone's version is just that - their own version. (You can trace recordings back to an earliest one, but of course that won't be the original performance of the song... ;) and may not be superior to later versions anyway.)

[V72]

I don't learn songs too often, I usually just learn bits and pieces of it because I either really like that riff, or because I think it's great to help me with my technique. Like some Paul Gilbert arpeggios and bits of Technical Difficulties.

Anyways when I work on a song I always start at the beginning. Even if it's the most difficult part. It's a great feeling when you've gotten past the hardest part of the piece.

If the solo is ridiculously insane I learn the rhythm sections first and might work on the solo later.