As we begin to understand the piano, the next obvious step is to learn some cool songs to impress our audience. Lets face it, deep down we all want a raging crowd going nuts over our unbelievable talent.
There are many different approaches to memorizing songs. This is my preferred method:
1) Listen to the song once, from beginning to end. Pay very close attention to what feelings you get as you listen. Is it an uplifting song, or perhaps a sad melancholic ballad. The idea here is to get your emotions involved in the process before the next step.
2) Listen two more times. If you have practiced ear training and think you can manage, try writing all of the chords down by ear on a piece of paper in the first round. In the second round, write down the form of the song including breaks and modulations, Ex. "A B A B C B B(half tone up)" or "A A B A B C B break B B". You can also include the time signature and the number of bars each part last for, Ex. "A(16 bars) B(8 bars) C(4 bars) B(8 bars)". Take your time with this last bit as it provides the structure and framework to easily place the chords on top of.
3) Go through all of the chords on the keyboard, playing them very slowly. Notice "hard parts", figure out the best fingering and make sure you can play the whole thing without two much hesitation. It is best to reach a state of feeling like it's effortless before moving on.
4) Repeat step 3, but this time, use a metronome. This step is crucial. Start in a slow tempo and play through the song. Make sure to keep the tempo at all times. Give the metronome a notch up with every round and don't miss the beat. This is not always as easy as it may sound. Continue doing this and correcting yourself, until it feels like a complete walk in the park.
5) Play the song from beginning to end 2-3 times. Aim for a perfect execution and remember to tap your foot and keep the beat. Sleep on it and play it once the next day.
This way of learning takes some practice but when done correctly, you will be able to sit down in front of your audience and let you fingers do the work, leaving room for you to focus on emotion and interpretation.
There are many different approaches to memorizing songs. This is my preferred method:
1) Listen to the song once, from beginning to end. Pay very close attention to what feelings you get as you listen. Is it an uplifting song, or perhaps a sad melancholic ballad. The idea here is to get your emotions involved in the process before the next step.
2) Listen two more times. If you have practiced ear training and think you can manage, try writing all of the chords down by ear on a piece of paper in the first round. In the second round, write down the form of the song including breaks and modulations, Ex. "A B A B C B B(half tone up)" or "A A B A B C B break B B". You can also include the time signature and the number of bars each part last for, Ex. "A(16 bars) B(8 bars) C(4 bars) B(8 bars)". Take your time with this last bit as it provides the structure and framework to easily place the chords on top of.
3) Go through all of the chords on the keyboard, playing them very slowly. Notice "hard parts", figure out the best fingering and make sure you can play the whole thing without two much hesitation. It is best to reach a state of feeling like it's effortless before moving on.
4) Repeat step 3, but this time, use a metronome. This step is crucial. Start in a slow tempo and play through the song. Make sure to keep the tempo at all times. Give the metronome a notch up with every round and don't miss the beat. This is not always as easy as it may sound. Continue doing this and correcting yourself, until it feels like a complete walk in the park.
5) Play the song from beginning to end 2-3 times. Aim for a perfect execution and remember to tap your foot and keep the beat. Sleep on it and play it once the next day.
This way of learning takes some practice but when done correctly, you will be able to sit down in front of your audience and let you fingers do the work, leaving room for you to focus on emotion and interpretation.
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