How do you guys remember all the lyrics to a gig?

[KingsHighway79]

I have started singing and I think it's a pain in the ass to try to remember all the lyrics.. How do you guys do?

My own songs I can remember, but we do some covers and those songs is always hard to remember..

I guess what I am asking for is if it's ok with papers onstage ;)

[Madguitrst]

Lots of practice.

One word for each line as a triggering mechanism.

Paper on stage really isn't the best, if you can help it, unless you can hide it well and not be looking down at it.
Again, have one word for each line written in large type.

Still, practice and repetition is the key.....you should be able to memorize lyrics for at least 50 songs..... believe it or not.

[howardbullseye]

Honestly man, I have severe ADD and still to this day right before the first song I have a total blank out moment... However, I find that sometimes when I wing it, I rhyme and say some pretty good stuff, but thats just me. Practice, repetition, remembering the song as a WHOLE not just, ok, what am I saying here again?

[KingsHighway79]

Yepp, got it.. back to practice :) But I still don't like it, thats why I try to write my own music as much as I can, cause it's easier to remember :)

[guitaristanyc]

I can never remember lyrics - and my vision is too poor for cheat sheets. Despite trying very hard to be the lead singer in bands for 10 years, I had to resign myself to the fact that it was better if I just stuck to playing the guitar! :)

[KingsHighway79]

I can never remember lyrics - and my vision is too poor for cheat sheets. Despite trying very hard to be the lead singer in bands for 10 years, I had to resign myself to the fact that it was better if I just stuck to playing the guitar! :)haha ok, so you mean I better quit now before I loose interest in music ;)

[Baminated]

The first phrase of verse 1 over & over until i don't screw it up
then phrase 2, then phrase 1 & 2, then phrase 1-3,etc .. until all of verse 1

One thing that screws me up bad is when the lyrics are similar but just a smidgeon different.
So what I do is repeat those phrases back to back until i nail the difference(s)

Also try talking out the lyrics at as rapid a speed as possible to boost your recall ability. You can do this at traffic signals, lunch break, standing in line at the store, etc . . .

[robare99]

You know the words to your favorite songs right?

Just listen listen listen to the songs you have to learn. In the car, at the gym, wherever & whenever you listen to music, throw it in the mix.

[KingsHighway79]

The first phrase of verse 1 over & over until i don't screw it up
then phrase 2, then phrase 1 & 2, then phrase 1-3,etc .. until all of verse 1

One thing that screws me up bad is when the lyrics are similar but just a smidgeon different.
So what I do is repeat those phrases back to back until i nail the difference(s)

Also try talking out the lyrics at as rapid a speed as possible to boost your recall ability. You can do this at traffic signals, lunch break, standing in line at the store, etc . . .good advice..shall try that

[KingsHighway79]

You know the words to your favorite songs right?

Just listen listen listen to the songs you have to learn. In the car, at the gym, wherever & whenever you listen to music, throw it in the mix.actually I don't :) but the solos I do remember in my head or special breaks and etc.. never focused on the lyrics. But I have started to last year to focus on the lyrics.. maybe I've been crazy not done it before hahaha

[shredtrash]

You know the words to your favorite songs right?

Just listen listen listen to the songs you have to learn. In the car, at the gym, wherever & whenever you listen to music, throw it in the mix.

I agree. There's really no way around this. I also try to sing them acapella from time-to-time to make sure I can get through the whole song without any mistakes. It's really about keeping the verses in order and knowing the first line. Generally, once you get that, the rest of the verse seems to flow.

I also play in 2 cover bands and sing lead in both so I have double duty!

[taez555]

It pays to invest in a good teleprompter.

:-)

[pbmw]

This is yet another reason I'm not allowed near any microphones.
Ever.

[buzzp]

I do it like my drugs, a line at a time! just kidding, but I really do take it 1 line at a time and get as far as I can go till I fumble over the words. then start over... eventually the process won't take as long for one reason or another

[Baminated]

I do it like my drugs, a line at a time! just kidding, but I really do take it 1 line at a time and get as far as I can go till I fumble over the words. then start over... eventually the process won't take as long for one reason or another

pretty much how i do it !

[Scooter Burbank]

First words or phrases are good as mnemonic devices to joggle your brain for the rest of the verses.

I think you're talking covers, right? The Internet has really screwed this up for me. In the old days if I was trying to learn the lyrics to a song, I would listen very closely and write down every lyric of the song. That really helped me remember the words. If I played cover songs out, I'd consider doing that again.

[Guitar Dave T]

Paper on the band stand isn't cool for the guy singing. Aside from the aforementioned suggestion of LISTENING to the songs a lot, just play out more often. The songs'll come easy to you 250th time.

[paranoid70]

I usually remember the lyrics pretty well.... unfortunately my singing voice sucks and I went back to just playing guitar.

Put it this way, the audience will rather hear a good singer glace at sheet music than an awful singer singing by memory.

[TubeStack]

I find learning them straight from listening to the CD, sometimes repeatedly and usually while driving, works best for me. If I use any kind of lyric sheet first, I don't remember them as quickly, if at all. I become depend on the paper, so for the last 5-6 years, I always learn by singing with the track, no lyric sheets involved.

I also make little connections between words, lines, sounds, images, and narratives to help remember.

This has worked for 60+ covers and originals in my current band.

Although, having said that, "Come Together" has the hardest lyrics I've ever tried to remember. Such stream of consciousness, narrative-less writing, with interchangeable words and lines, I almost never get it totally right.. :D

[atomicmassunit]

+1 on come together. 10 years of screwing that one up.

When I started playing, I had little respect for singers who don't play instruments. Once I started singing, I realized remembering lyrics is hands down the hardest part of playing music. I know hundreds of songs on guitar, but it is a struggle to get an entire night of lyrics memorized. Major props to all singers who do this without sheets, instrument or not. Plus, everyone in the crowd knows if you miss a word or line... notes and chords not so much.

[Seegs]

I've tried to memorize the lyrics...all the techniques...singing in the car and I just can't do it...don't have the focus or concentration that I used to...

I've got a music stand cliped to my mic stand and I am not reading them but I do need the first word in each line and then I'm good to go...I could do it with one word prompts but not from memory...

We havn't started gigging yet but we did go to a session to test drive a few songs and I didn't have my lyrics with me...We did one of our songs that we have been doing for about 6-9 months and I had to ask the bassplayer what the first line was...after that I repeated the 1st verse 4 times. Since I'm in Germany I'm not sure anyone noticed:o

I have no trouble remembering guitar parts but lyrics are just are beyond my ability to do without at least some prompts...

Perhaps after we start gigging things will get easier...

Chow,
Seegs

[PAF]

Lots of practice.

One word for each line as a triggering mechanism.

Paper on stage really isn't the best, if you can help it, unless you can hide it well and not be looking down at it.
Again, have one word for each line written in large type.

Still, practice and repetition is the key.....you should be able to memorize lyrics for at least 50 songs..... believe it or not.


Yep, the 1st word thing works pretty well, u can hide em behind monitors too =-)

[Rod]

I've had a pretty great career as a lead/rhythum guitarist in many bands in my life and as a recording artist as well. I can remember tunes I haven't played in forty years and just nail them with all thechanges/groove ect I get standing ovathons stiill...but for the
Lyric thing it s been a hard slow procesof remembering the lines
For me brain. Its reallybad in the. Band. I end. Up makin my . Own lyrics how I think they should go.
I really need the monstrous blush voice of my friend JulieStewart to came back East. Then put together our supergtoup...her vocwls are just astounding and she. Can sing. Blusrock and r&b. Plopped cry listening to hear voice. She s great to look at but no primadonna. Ullsjit. But. I can't sing many songs. Cause I can't remember the dam lyrcs t o cove tunes / save.my.like

[bsuite]

I have started singing and I think it's a pain in the ass to try to remember all the lyrics.. How do you guys do?

My own songs I can remember, but we do some covers and those songs is always hard to remember..

I guess what I am asking for is if it's ok with papers onstage ;)

NEVER! IMO.
I would much rather see someone make up words than see them reading a cheat sheet while performing.

Watching someone perform while reading lyrics is worse than watching a shoegazer. IMO

[KingsHighway79]

So it's not ok to have papers on the floor just with beginning words? I am not gonna do a gig again with a sheetstand, it lookes aweful on pictures, but In the beginning I believe I have to have some memory lines on the floor.. We have a gig coming up next week and it's our first.. I am practising, but working fulltime and spend time with family isn't the best combination trying to find some time memorizing lyrics.... I did one hour today with just the first line in every verse and it seems to work out good for me..

But I think I rather write more own songs, than it will be a whole lot easier..
thanks for all the tips you had so far..

:band

[soundbee]

iPad Karaoke! It's the teleprompter for the working class. You can get something that will attach it to your mic stand and a lil midi pedal to change the page - works for sheet music too. If you don't want the big screen then go with an ipod or iphone version.

[Chicago Slim]

I sing 30 to 40 songs a night, without sheet music. I'm not perfect word for word. I often make up lyric's. Sometimes they are better or funnier than the original. I felt sorry for people trying to harmonize or sing backup. So, I try to always get the lyrics right for them.

I do look down at my set list, which also has the Key for each song. If I see the title, and can't get the opening line in my head, I skip to the next song.

[Rhomco]

It pays to invest in a good teleprompter.

:-)

+1. I use a "Freehand" on a mike stand when I want to. It is of moderate size, back lit and easy to page. None of the naysayers you will encounter will ever pay to see you play. Audiences just do not care how you get it done.
There you go,
Rob

[21stcenturykid]

I have started singing and I think it's a pain in the ass to try to remember all the lyrics.. How do you guys do?

My own songs I can remember, but we do some covers and those songs is always hard to remember..

I guess what I am asking for is if it's ok with papers onstage ;)

Feel your pain man.

I can't remember lyrics no matter how much I practice them. And in a wedding band with over 100 songs in the pad it's probably never going to happen. I resign myself to the fact I need lyrics sheets. Its excusable at a wedding gig as theres no other way to remember that many songs at once. I just make sure I know all the guitar parts and then there's only the lyrics to worry about. I have a tidy looking black stand and all my lyrics in a folder so you can barely see it really.

[bigeric]

I try and learn lyrics all the time. I think you need to wake your brain up and just do it as much as possible. The more you you use that part of your brain the stronger it becomes.
I often lie in bed at night and think through songs. I think about the changes the melody and lyrics. It seems to help. The thing is the more you rely on paper you will never fully retain it. I see guys using fake books with standards all the time. I think its just a habit we fall into.

[phoghat]

I think it's important to "know" the lyrics and not "remember" them. If you're actively trying to remember lyrics (or chords, or licks) while on stage, are you really performing music or just executing parts? Pick songs that you love so much that no thought process is necessary in order to play them.

[dangerine49]

I remember the lyrics to most of the songs that I do regularly through sheer repetition, but the first word trick works for some rarely played songs.

However, I have had a few gigs where I was asked to sit in and learn a bunch of new songs that I never played before. There's no way I can memorize all the chords and lyrics in time. For those occasions, I print up lyric sheets with chords in large type and put them in set list order on a clip board which I hang from a Dunlop slide and pick holder which attaches to the mic stand right under the microphone. I even have a little battery powered light which clamps to the bottom of the clip board for low light venues. It's unobtrusive and has worked great for me.

http://static.musiciansfriend.com/derivates/18/001/221/030/DV016_Jpg_Large_429005.jpg

[imonabuss]

Yep, practice practice practice. Don't miss much these days. But my bass player has a great memory and knows me well enough to mouth the line to me when I look over in panic!

[55hz]

I played a gig on friday where the singer had an iPad (with a clamp made for a mic stand). We played some songs we were "familiar with" but didn't really know (for LARGE tips). A couple of touches and swipes...blam. Lyrics. I thought that was pretty damn convenient, and cool for that matter.

[tsar nicholas]

I just rehearse until the tunes are second nature. That said, I probably forget or repeat a verse (usually to "Flying Saucer Rock 'n' Roll") on about 20% of gigs anyway

[KingsHighway79]

yep cool tips all of you, but I think that practice is what I have to do.. and as someone said get into to what the song is about.. It went alright last rehearsel, and guess what, no papers :) ... I just have to remember them now hahahaha...

[jeffm725]

Someone may find this helpful as this is something I struggled with and had to solve, and the solution was surprising.

... Been gigging for 25 + years and back in the day I never had a problem remembering 15 verse Dylan songs or other craziness, and between my 2 bands there was/is a working repertoire of about 200 songs of which I sing lead on. Anything that I had learned a long time ago, not matter how many words always stuck, but songs we had added since the internet age I would have trouble remembering lyrics.

For the life of me at first I thought my mind was shot. I worried my memory was not what it was and somehow degraded, but again, I never had trouble remembering ANYTHING I had learned a long time ago.

So I went back and thought about my process for learning lyrics in the past, in contrast to how I learned them within the last 10 years.

Back in the day before the Web and cheap printers I used to learn lyrics by stopping the songs on cassette line by line and writing each line down.

In the present day, I would look up the lyrics online and print them out.

The old school technique of writing down the lyrics myself served not only as a way to get the lyrics, but also the primary way of sticking them in my memory for good.

Just trying to memorize them off a printed sheet is much harder for me. They don't stick the same way.

I have gone back to do the excercise of writing lyrics down, and it has helped immensely. I also have ways of notating phrasing choices I would like to make which don't come out on printed sheets.

[Baminated]

The problem for me as far as listening to the songs is that the songs I "have to" sing are for purely industrial/commercial purposes - and I actually can't stand listening to the songs I sing, but have fun playing & singing them.
I'd rather be listening to soul, R&B, blues, jazz/fusion, latin jazz, bebop, & prog metal

[thedroid]

How do you remember all the chords and licks?

Same way.

[axavm]

My buddy plays in a tribute band and they do about 24 songs. He custom built a setup where he uses a little computer, an ipad I think, and he made a footswitch for it so he could control the scrolling and then housed it inside a custom built container made to lok exactly like a small monitor wedge. So no one can tell that he's reading words if/when he needs too.

[NyteOwl]

I find learning them straight from listening to the CD, sometimes repeatedly and usually while driving, works best for me.This is the method I use, too. I burn a CD with a bunch of tunes I have to learn and listen to them in the car. Helps me learn the song structure as well as the lyrics.

[cram]

With most songs, I take the pill/process of singing over and over and over again until I am really there with knowing the entire song.
Even then, I still forget or mix the order of verse for some tunes. :)

[mannish]

I do the exact thing.

Apparently I have a memory for that kind of thing and ability to make 'em up if need be...some tunes like Tom Waits stuff gives me problems but usually after a few listens I am good. I am not very tolerant of band members who do not learn the lyrics if they are going to sing.



This is the method I use, too. I burn a CD with a bunch of tunes I have to learn and listen to them in the car. Helps me learn the song structure as well as the lyrics.

[Samsun19]

Paper? I don't like it when I see a live performer reading..... If they don't care enough to be prepared, I'm already heading for the door. If it's just about hearing great music, I can just stay home and listen to CD's..... and save a lot of time and $$$. But I think most people are like me, when I go out see a show, I want a show. It's called entertainment.

I think musicians sometimes don't want to face up to that..... They think if they play well, it's fine.... But, it's really not. The audience has taken the time and expense to come out to see a show.... And have either payed good money to get in, a small fortune for a few drinks, or both. Why? To get away from the stress and monotony of everyday life... A great performance is a gift that lifts the spirits of all who witness it, and takes people out of their heads for a brief time in shared experience with everyone there. It's magic.... And when you see it, you love it.

How do stage actors learn a couple of hours of dialog, + behavior and blocking?

The good ones don't try to memorize the lines.... Instead, they concentrate on how they want to say the lines, one at a time.... It's the feeling, the intent, the meaning, the soul they want to come out behind the line when they say it. When they decide exactly how they want the line to be, they have made a choice. They focus on the choices, and when they have made all the choices, they know the lines by default.... It's a bonus for doing the interpretive work of deciding on each choice.

Great singers do the same thing. Focus on making choices about each line in the lyric using your imagination as a interpretive artist, and not only will you remember all the words, you will be a much better performer.

[stamper]

If you swim or run for exercise/fun I highly recommend using this as time to learn lyrics. The natural rhythm of these activities (or really any physical activity) triggers something in my brain that helps me actually remember the lyrics. Also, it's good for you!

[DavidLM]

The last two posts by Samsun19 and stamper are both great. Good stuff and back to back to boot!

All I have to add is that the brain is a muscle (sort of), the more you use it, especially in a particular way, the better it works. Use it to memorize poetry, lyrics, lines, and whole songs and it will be good at that.

[Ed Packer]

I have an ongoing iTunes playlist whereIkeep the tunes I'm trying to memorize and I listen to it several times a day, at home or in the car. I usually look up lyrics once or so to make sure I understand them correctly, then just practice singing them over and over 'til I feel I have it. As others have mentioned, you can really do it anytime, anywhere. Once I sing a song live, I've usually got it from then on.

On the other hand, there's nothing worse than going blank in the middle of a song!!:barf:barf

[stratocat63]

The old school technique of writing down the lyrics myself served not only as a way to get the lyrics, but also the primary way of sticking them in my memory for good.

Yes. That really helps me too, not just with lyrics but with my to do lists, etc.

Screwing the lyrics up in front of people usually somehow motivates me to not do it again.

[Billion81]

IPAD using On Song..you can set the timing to scroll like a true teleprompter.

Don't need or use it much but it's there. @ 43- I need it.

[TubeStack]

I learn lyrics in my car, singing along. I finding if I rely on reading them at any point, the process takes a lot longer.