Song Learning, Effortlessly: Master the Basics

This post is zooming in on Level 1 from last’s week Learning a Song (5 Levels), with some applied practice on how to become a master at teaching yourself songs.

One of my stronger musical skills is learning songs. I can probably credit playing in a variety of bands and instruments for now almost 25 years and learning thousands of tunes (or what feels like it). Though sheer quantity is helpful, I have luckily borrowed insights and frameworks from better musicians than I, making the quality and ease of my learning stronger and stronger.

If you have trouble staying motivated or organized when learning new tunes, I hope to help.

For me, song learning is exhilarating. A few months ago, a school I work at put on a student-led concert. There were around 25-30 tunes on the setlist, mostly covers of pop and rock songs. For fun, but also to be helpful if I needed to fill in, I decided to learn every tune the day before. I only knew a handful of them going in.

So the morning before the show, I charted out evert song by ear with my version of Nashville Numbers, just like I’ve done for countless gigs for myself in the past. Learning tunes quickly like this (and at a high level with charts I can trust, made with an ear I trust), is the main part of my current song learning practice.

And it’s my idea of a great time. I can be musically useful, leverage my previous experience, and I trust the charts I make enough to play them at an arena show. That’s what deep learning can afford you.

The irony of it is, in my current life, I have the least time I’ve ever had to actually gig, so I practice tune learning vicariously through students and teaching.

I have a breakdown coming for chart making and ear training in the future.

Today, I’m here to pass on the understanding and tools that make that process possible and scalable.

Why These Things are Elusive

Sometimes I teach students who have been playing for decades and still feel directionless. It’s not their fault; this is a common symptom of creative study. These students have often attempted song learning, on their own or with other teachers. Maybe they’ve even made some progress up to a point but have plateaued.

The lack of direction usually exists at a few levels:

Losing the thread of why we even play music and learn new things

Knowing too much, and not truly acquiring the simpler things first before moving on

Lacking frameworks for the songs to fit into

Not knowing how to practice songs on their own

Not knowing how to switch between left and right brain (or what that even means)

If the above hangups resonate with you, some of the applied practices below could open you up to a whole new relationship with music. This look different at different stages:

Beginner: Learning the Changes

Jazzers like me call the chord changes of a song, simply, changes. Every tune has them, and it’s often the first point of acquisition when learning a tune.

What kind of musical language do you know? If you have a couple chords acquired, at the level where your body can automatically execute them, you have enough.

One progression songs are great to start with. Typical tunes have a few sections, so throughly tackle one at a time.

Practice the chords in time, and in a simpler way than simply trying to play the tune. If needed, acquire the chords with just one hand. Go slow!

Learning too much, too quick, or completely out of context are some of the worst, unhelpful practices.

Extra Conscious PRACTICE (what will be required to go slow and accurately)

yields

Effortless Subconscious PERFORMANCE (far and away the most enjoyable way to play music)

I’m still learning the depth of that truth, and I encourage you to make that your mantra when learning.

Intermediate: Developing Intuitions

How deeply do you know what you know?

If you’ve acquired some language, skills, and experience, it’s time to go deeper.

The beginner level of learning is hyper literal, zoomed in, and “micro” minded.

This intermediate level is all about zooming out, seeing some bigger patterns, and entering the linguistic part of song learning.

Start the discipline of contextualizing harmony, melody, and rhythm.

Once you have the mental bandwidth:

-Learn what key the tune is in

-Practice tagging information to chords (numbers of chords in the key or numbers to single notes) - this makes the first point actually worth anything

-Learn some alternate language (chord voicings, more specific chords), still in the context of the previous point

-Commit to learning songs in time as much as possible

-Know the form (well)

The above are good practices because they invest into a framework that makes learning easier, not harder.

I teach many at this level and I see a trend of not adopting these more contextual ways of thinking, possibly for many reasons:

-Unaware of how critical this understanding is for making music learning a breeze

-Never being shown how to practice and integrate new info or ways of thinking

-Misunderstanding that the next level of musical fluency isn’t about talent but slowly getting more familiar and focused on new stuff.

Advanced: Watering the Plant (Forever)

If you are at the advanced level of song learning, you probably don’t need my advice.

All to say, this level is all about the efficiency and flexibility of learning.

Different genres and tunes (and I know you are interested in all the beautiful variety of music in the world) benefit from different learning methods.

Ask yourself with whatever kind of music you like to learn: what is the absolute most efficient and direct method to get hip to a song?

-Is it learning the language so deeply that you trust your ear more than a random chord chart?

-Is it learning how to make charts to make performance and retention a breeze?

-Is it working out your reading chops regularly via sight-reading?

-Is it continuing to acquire more and more contextualized language to give your subconscious the *perfect* musical expression/tool when needed?

At this level, it’s all about being in service to the song. We do that by sharpening our intuitions, paying attention, and living in a spirit of learning.

Every song we listen to and perform is a small lesson. Every piece of language is another useful shade of color. When we water the music plant a little every day with our attention, we can cultivate a lifelong relationship with music.

Next week I’ll be back zooming in on good musical feel. Now go play some songs, and reap the benefits!