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.
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