As I’m sure you know learning tunes and lots of ‘em is one of the most crucial things a musician can do, in fact you really have to do it. And the faster you learn them the better. But I mean truly read them.
‘Learning’ a tune means totally absorbing it into your ear and into your memory, the melodic line, the changes, the form and rhythm, to the detail where you don’t have to think nigh it while you’re playing.
The first thing to do, of course, is to take a tune. Just make sure you choose a tune that’s not too ridiculously advanced for your present skills. You want to choose a tune that you can actually wrap your ears close to.
You would then start by listening to a recording of the tune to the basic sound of it in your ears. a copy of the tune, the lead-sheet and look for it . You’re looking for to an overview of the tune. You’re looking for things like variety (is it AABA, ABAC, a blues, etc), what key is it in, and what’s the meter signature.
Next, slice it up into pieces, break it down into small bite size chunks. Simplicity is king when it comes to practicing do it. So start with something like the first phrase, just the pitches, no rhythms. If simplicity is Riley B King then repetition is queen. Repeat the musical phrase and four or more times while reading it. Then repeat it 4 or more times from memory by ear. Pay attention to the melodic shape, the relationship of the pitches to each other and any other details that your ear easy uncovers through repeat.
Then move on on to the next musical phrase. And so on. Then you would back and work on bigger chunks of the melodic line, like the first two phrases together, still just the pitches. reduplicate this process until you have the full melodic phrase memorized and can easy it by ear without cerebration about it. The more you repeat it, the deeper it will become engrained in your ears and your memory.
Use this same method to through the chords, again keeping it simple, perhaps just 2 chords at a time, gradually adding the succeeding. You may start with just the root notes of the chords, then the guide tones, then root location and so on. Repeat this until the sound is in your ears and you are not thinking about what you are playing, only listening and letting your ears guide your body. Now do this exercise everyday for a week and you’ll have the tune. Review once a week for several months, call it at sessions and put it in your listening rotation.
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