No wonder why I took 4 months+ time in grade 1. It was quite an experience. But as you and others said I will focus on learning guitar first instead of juggling guitar and singing when I have just started.
Singing along is the real fun. Ear training helped a lot in my singing and also turned my guitar practice sessions into singing sessions . The most fun part is to try to sing each note on fretboard which is certainly impossible for me at this stage and quite a pain for whosoever is listening to me.
What’s the best way to learn the songs? Just play them over and over until I just know the chords and changes? I am trying to keep it simple Love Me Do, Louie Louie, Wild Thing, Twist and Shout, and Wish you where (Hardest one since 6 chords but lost my bro about 6 months ago and really want to learn it.).
For learning songs, I think watching the videos that Justin has done on these songs will be really beneficial and yeah much to the detriment of people you share a home with, you do often have to play the same songs over and over to properly learn. If you are struggling on a song breaking it into bit sized chunks can be really helpful.
When it comes to memorising songs this is what I do. I have a physical folder with my songs. I always manually write or type out the chords myself rather than just print out a tab. If I am playing along to a song with the chords written above the words I don’t tend to learn it, however if I make an effort to write it out in my own words it tends to sink in more and you start to notice the pattern of the song. Usually I add in some hand written tips like strumming patterns or things I want to focus on for that particularly song.
It becomes more of a cheat sheet or a memory jogger than anything to play directly from.
I imagine the same goes for guitar apps. Great tools to learn and get timing right but not a great way to memorise songs.
Hi Darren, main advice I can share is to go slow and don’t try and do too much at once when you’re learning new songs. Strip it right back to playing one chord on the first beat of each bar and that’s it, this allows you to understand the tempo and rhythm and focus on changing chords at the right time. Once you’re comfortable there then you can begin to mix up strumming a little which may identify chord changes that need a little work in the context of the song.
Are you using the JG app? Or any other online play-along tool? The app, and others, allow you to slow down a song which can be super helpful in the early stages of a new song. I also agree with @MorseMooseGreyGoose , writing out your own sheets can be really helpful to embed stuff in your mind, but it’s a fair investment of time and only worth it if you know, in yourself, that you learn well this way.
Another tip I have found useful recently is to focus down on any areas in the song that are proving difficult, as well as playing through from start to finish. If you have a daily practice log you could spend 5 minutes on a particular chord change or finger position that is causing an issue and work on that. Justin has a very useful tutorial on the best way of practicing.
For learning lyrics I often grab a screenshot on my phone and keep running over the words when I’m out for a walk. My brain is rather older than yours so it can take a while to get into my memory bank!
Richard
@Rendar There are some good tips in this topic - started by a Grade 2 player also finding this a challenge.
I hope that helps. Cheers | Richard | JustinGuitar Approved Teacher, Official Guide & Moderator
Hello Darren @Rendar, I’m very sorry to hear, that you’ve lost your brother. I can totally understand, that you like to learn to play a particular song to express your feelings.
Wish you were here is definitely a challenge, but maybe that’s exactly what might help you right now.
Do you want to learn to play the songs or to play and sing? Without singing, it probably won’t take too long to memorize the easier songs. As others have already said, write out the chords and figure out the chords structure. And then, of course, play it, play it, play it .
If you like to sing along, as well, it might last considerably longer. But it’s so worth it .
Normally, I concentrate on the playing and the singing part seperately. I want to feel quite confident with each part, before I mix them together. Some lyrics come ease, others don’t. So, don’t get frustrated if some songs need more time and effort than others.
All the best .
I can play Wish you where here decently, still having some issues with C chord changes so been working on them a lot last week or so. Learning the chords for WYWH and memorizing them maybe a bit more difficult than the other songs.
Most of the songs I picked I know the lyrics from listening to them all my life so that will make it easier but playing while singing is the tricky part and sure it will take some time. I figure I won’t worry about singing until I get the chords/song memorized.
One thing I am in no hurry, If it takes me 1 month or 3 just want to get it right before I move onto Grade 2.
I am 50 years old so maybe not older than me? The good thing is all of the songs I picked I know the words from listening to them and being a fan of classic type rock. I use the justin song app that also has the words so that helps as well.
For me it’s just learning the chords of the song. I guess the good thing is most of the songs I been playing/using to practice since module 2.
Yes, learning from JG song app. And the good thing I been playing the songs for weeks because used them for practice and for Love Me Do started around 80 BPM but now playing it at 146 BPM. Just as much as I played it still really don’t know it.
I have the hardest time trying to remember songs without tabs or chord sheet in front of me. Not sure if it’s my age (67) or what. Also I have 5 songs I’m learning, but I’ve set my bar kind of high. The main one taking the longest is Pink Floyd’s “Wish you were here”. I’m almost there with that one but it’s taken a while due to the mix of chord and individual notes. I’m determined to get it polished and ready. I want to move on to grade 2, but need to I nail down my 5 songs.
Hi jomal.
Don`t get too worked up about Wish You Were Here as it is used in the first lessons of Grade 2 as riff practice. Plus the scale work you will also be doing will help towards it.
I am of a similar age as you and have just started Grade 2. I also struggled trying to remember the songs and chords and found it very helpful to jam along with Justin in his Nitsuj practice sessions for Grade 1.
Thanks Richard. That’s what I’ll have to do. At my age (67) and with my memory capabilities, I think for some songs I’ll always need the words and chords in front of me, lol. The fact that I don’t have a good singing voice makes it hard to preform in front of even my family.
Hi Rich,
I do the same thing! At 62 I need all the help I can get to remember things!!!
One variant of this - IF it’s a song I really like, I play it on a loop/over & over during my morning walk while reading the lyrics. If there’s nobody else around on the walking path, I’ll “strum” & sing along too. So, at the end of my 30-45 minute walk, I’ll have them memorized for the rest of the day!!! (Sleep seems to “reset” everything often!!!)
I love the guitar karaoke aspect of the app but don’t think it’s very good at helping to memorize song structure - so I either get the TAB for the song or just go through the song on the app & write the chords down with some notes like original BPM, any “pushes”, places where I might want to add strum variations etc.
This way, I can play the song WITHOUT the app & do my own thing. Then, I’ll play again WITH the app & make sure my timing is ok. It has really helped me!
. The most fun part is to try to sing each note on fretboard which is certainly impossible for me at this stage and quite a pain for whosoever is listening to me. 
| Richard | JustinGuitar Approved Teacher, Official Guide & Moderator
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