Because of my wonderful ADD, I have trouble memorizing anything, including lyrics. Most of the time, I manage through sheer stubborness. Occasionally, though, I'll run into a song I just can't learn. Typically, they wil have similar or identical lyrics that repeat and I either confuse them or the ones that immediately follow.

An example is a simple lullaby I wrote a couple of months ago. Here are the lyrics (the melody is AABA):

Hush-a-bye my little baby,
Night will soon be here.
Sandman's comin' so close thine eyes
And sleep my little dear.

Hush-a-bye my little baby,
Dreamland's drawing nigh.
Angels guard thy little bed,
Watching from the sky.

I'll be near so sleep in peace.
There's no need to cry.
May sweet dreams be with you, my dear,
So night soon will fly by.

Hush-a-bye my little baby,
Morn' is on its way.
Day will break and then you shall awake
To play another day.
To play another day.

The lines I keep messing up are the ones the follow the first line of each A section (the ones with the word Hush-a-bye), especially the first two. I keep mixing them out of order, mixed up, or both.

Another song I haven't been able to learn (even after trying off and on for the past three years is called "Can You Count the Stars of Evening. The last four lines of each of the three verses are similar and I keep mixing them up.

A similar problem I recently ran into involves an Irish song I've known well for several years (Come by the Hills). For some odd reason, I've started sing the last half of the second verse at the end of the first verse.

Does anyone have any idea why I am having these problems and what I can do to deal with it? It's driving me nuts! (Yeah, I know, short trip.)

Everyone has trouble remembering lyrics. My tips are simple...... practice. The more you sing a song the easier it is to remember. I break songs into pieces and work on it piece at a time. Keywords can help. EG In your song I would remember the keyword for each verse as 1-night 2dreamland 3chorus/middle eight 4morn. Think Of it as a story. You go to bed at NIGHT then you DREAM ....ETC. All songs can be remebered this way.

Everyone has trouble remembering lyrics. My tips are simple...... practice. The more you sing a song the easier it is to remember. I break songs into pieces and work on it piece at a time. Keywords can help. EG In your song I would remember the keyword for each verse as 1-night 2dreamland 3chorus/middle eight 4morn. Think Of it as a story. You go to bed at NIGHT then you DREAM ....ETC. All songs can be remebered this way.

Believe me, a lack of practice has NOT been the problem. For some reason (probably the ADD), key words (nor mnemonics) also do not work for me (I have even more trouble remembering them than what it is I'm trying to memorize). I can eventually, through sheer stubborness, learn most lyrics but, as I said, certain situations defy all my attempts. And in the case of Hush-a-bye, it's down right embarrassing to not be able to memorize something one wrote

I understand and sympathise. Can you tell a story? If you can then you can memorize a song. Try it like this. Every story has a beginning a middle and an end. Think about the song like telling a story....first this happens then that etc. memorise the story. Now as you sing you will be telling this story and know exactly where you are in the story and therefore what verse comes next in the song..
Break the song into chunks to memorise. do not move to next chunk until you have learned the one before.
If you messs up the song during a performance do not worry. This happens to the best of us. Most of the time the audience do not even notice anyway. I have found that if I worry about new songs and remembering lyrics I usually forget them. Relax and go for the performance makes remembering easier.

Please do not think I'm being ornery and do not appreciate your help (heck, you're the only one to respond so far!).

Memorizing the first chunk before moving on to the next is exactly how I memorize lyrics. I will occasionally review the previous chunks while working on the current chunk and before moving on to the next chunk.

I also understand the storyline technique and use it all the time. Yet, I suddenly started mixing verses in Come by the Hills after singing it correctly for years. Both lullabys have storylines I understand yet, for reasons that escape me (and I have a B.S. in Psychology, albeit a wee bit moldy!), they don't seem to help any.

I have absolutely no good ideas because I've been notorious for not remembering lyrics. I just improvise. Several new songs have come out over the years - tape your live shows & copy down the improvised lines. Most of the audience doesn't know the song well enough to realize you just added some new stuff, and those that do think you're really good at adding depth to your music. Just don't tell 'em & you'll be considered a genius. I've heard live tapes of major artists that improvised that way. Never hurt their careers =:-)

Hey Lady,

I totally sympathize. My lyric issues usually happen when there's just a subtle change each time the lyrics or chorus come around... think of "For What It's Worth".... which chorus is "stop children", "stop now" or "stop, hey"?....lol

Also, I find "nonsense" lyrics hard... like the Beatles, "Come Together". I'm just learning Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues right now, which is a tough one.

I'm big on the mneumonic thing.... using one word in the line before to clue me in on what comes next....

or, like in your tune above..... the second lines are in a chronological progression for the story.... 'Night' comes first, then 'dreamland' happens, then the person wakes 'crying', then 'morning' comes. If you can keep track of where you are in the tune/story, then maybe the 'timeline' idea might help you remember.

Hope this helps
Christine

My experience is that the songs I have trouble remembering the lyrics to don't have an obvious flow to the lyrics. The lyrics may be cool, but there is no obvious flow and the lyric lines are pretty much interchangeable. So I try to write lyrics that flow better, where one line obviously leads to the next. Try is the key word, as I still often don't succeed.

I kind of like Big Jim's comment about telling a story.
If these are your lyrics, don't beat yourself up if the words aren't perfect every time, just be sure the story remains consistent.

My other thought goes back to the basics.
Think about when you have the words printed in front of you. When you are singing, you are reading ahead so you know what's coming up next.
When singing from memory, the only time you have is when you breathe between verses, don't spend that time thinking about the quality of what you just sang; instead, read ahead in your mind to what the next verse will bring. If you keep your mind ahead of your lips, the words will be sitting on your tounge waiting for the chance to spill out.

Just remember. You can't change what you've already sung, but you still have the opportunity to affect the delivery of your next line. Put your money there.

Hope this helps.

I also remember lyrics by remembering the story in the song. I say to myself...now what is this song about...what happens first...etc. It's usually the timeline that helps me. As a vocalist, for some reason I find it easier to remember other folks songs than my own. I usually try to go back to when I was writing it and remember what I wanted to say when writing the lyrics in my mind.

Roxy
http://www.soundclick.com/roxycain

yep. Get the story line fixed in your head and fake it where you have to.
Youb will be stylising , or personalising without making an obvious effort to and that is mostly good.
Worked for Frank, ella and the likes.
Graham

I write alot of songs record them and move on.I also perform live with a band and have an ever changing repertoire of both rock and acoustic songs that make it very difficult so I just print it out with a large font, cos my eyes ain't for shinola anymore, and use a book on a music stand, hell the symphony does it, Pavarotti did it. I am up for a showcase right now, and if I get it I'll be playing in front of a slew of hit writers and their publishers, I will only play two songs so I am polishing those performances and converting the lyrics to memory for that, just in case I get in...Big Jim outlined a good method, but I'm not too proud to use my book for alot of gigs. I have even used it at festivals where there are a couple thousand in attendance. I figure if I can proceed with confidence that's one less thing to worry about. I'm not saying to throw in the towel on memorizing them, I'm just saying there is an alternative and it hasn't stopped anyone from enjoying my music, including me...Moker

Sorry to be such a stranger. Rough past couple of weeks.

As I mentioned before, the storyline thing works most of the time but in these few cases, it doesn't.

Again, as mentioned before, mnemonics just don't work for me. If I could remember the mnemonic, I could remember the lyric.

If I did solo work (most people wished I sang solo they couldn't hear me), just faking it when singing a wrong lyric would work just fine (I have done so in the past and got away with it) but, until I recently disbanded the band, I sang with a trio or a quartet and unless doing deliberate counterpoint, it seemed to work much better if everyone was singing the same lyrics.

Moker, welcome to the joys of being a senior citizen. I wear trifocals! And when working renaissance festivals, I don't wear them. It gets interesting. At least you don't have to deal with hot flashes! When my late group first hit stage (poor stage), we had a music stand with our music for those odd senior moments. Even though I was the only senior (58), my 23 and 42 year old had similar problems. I feel a stage act that doesn't use music looks more professional, is better able to visually connect with the audience when not looking at music, and are better able to physically express themselves if unencumbered by music in the hands. Of course, I've seen and heard some pretty darned good groups that did use music.

Pete, trying to keep my mind ahead of my lips seems to help the most. Of course, with my ADD, keeping my mind focussed that way can be...ah...interesting. And my lips have a way of doing some mighty strange things if I don't keep my mind on them too.

Repetition,repetition, repetition.

Do you know what the beauty is in doing your own songs?
The only one who knows how they truly go is you!

Maybe try taping yourself and listen to where you go wrong. Get some clues. Or, have someone else sing it and sing along. When I'm learning a new song, my rule is listen for 5 times and then try it. Maybe you need to just listen a bit and it will come. It will be different than reading it.

Maybe change the song up a little that you place some space in there for you to think?

Not sure if I have helped.

The only way I can remember lyrics is to picture the story of the song in my mind and map out the events so that the order of the verses flows naturally. If the lyrics do not lend themselves to a chronology in my mind, I cannot remember them worth a darn.

I think Monica and Graham have the most insightful advice. Since it's your song, nobody is going to know whether you make a mistake. Listen to successful performers who have produced the same song once in the studio and once live-in-concert. You'll often notice discrepancies that don't necessarily take away from either performance (although many folks do have a preference for Live Versions over Studio Versions or vice versa).

As far as keeping a stand on stage with you. What's the harm? I think Moker put it pretty well when he said that if it brings you confidence and improves your performance, then do it. I'd rather give a smooth performance with sheet music than to stand there with a blank look on my face because I was worried about what folks would say about a music stand being used by a musician.

And...
What was that Bob said? What was that Bob said? What was that Bob said?

Don't worry. Since love will find a way, if you love to sing, you'll find a way.

Hey Jeannie,
Here's something that I found to help me immensely in memorizing words. It may sound strange at first, but track with me. When I look at what happens in that very instant when I am forgetting the words, by close inspection I can see that a confusion in the form of a "blankness" happens and it stalls out my thought process. In other words, there is a spot where I feel temporarily "unplugged" from the communication process. Do you feel a similar way?

Okay, now it is a scientific fact that even the tiniest non-comprehension of a word can cause the brain to hesitate. If the brain does not have the FULL comprehension of the word... and I mean FULL...a sort of mental mass shrouds our thought processes and we stall out.

I was having trouble with a lyric that used the word "the" in one sentence and then used the word "that" to start the same sentence again. I realized that I didn't really know the FULL difference between "that" as in "that song" and "the" as in "the song." So, I took the major time and trouble to truly clear up ALL the definitions of those two little words (of which there were numerous for each) and then applied the exact definition for each word as they applied in THAT song (rather than THE song.)

Okay, so you may think that that's going a bit too far. But, I can honestly tell you that ALL confusions, hesitations, etc. with lyrics can stem from this very powerful fact of having a bit of non-comprehension of some of the words themselves. There can be other reasons such as being not totally coherent due to partying or being scared (both of which I've also experienced....)

Now, here's a trick. Go to where you flub the words and just before the actual flub is where you will find the word you need to clear up better. You see, the confusion comes in just after the non-comprehension, thus the flub.

In any event, if you TOTALLY understood the definitions to all the words you were singing, you certainly would have better control over your communication cycle!

Give it a try and see! You'd be surprised how much confusion blows away when you actually do this! It's amazing. I once had a 15 year show run on the Las Vegas strip with two shows per night and only flubbed when I was terrified a few times. That's not too bad in 15 years!

Take good care and best of luck!

Hey Jeannie,

I know this is an older post, but I thought I would try to add my experience which may help for future visitors if nothing else.

I too have had similar experiences and most of the time what I can pick out are subtle changes in the music for each verse that help me recognize when the lines should be different. I learn to associate the lines with that little nuance(s).

I do not write music, but if I did, I would think it would certainly be something useful to be able to add.
For example in your first two verses

Hush-a-bye my little baby,
Night will soon be here.
Sandman's comin' so close thine eyes
And sleep my little dear.

~maybe add a bit of a flute solo (disclaimer - I do not play nor do I have an affliction for flutes, I simply think of wind instruments when I think of lull-a-byes, I also have not heard your music for this piece, so I am not sure that a flute would work, just a suggestion... wow, maybe I should be a politician. LOL!)
or simply change one or two notes in the break or at the end of each repetitive line.

Hush-a-bye my little baby,
Dreamland's drawing nigh.
Angels guard thy little bed,
Watching from the sky.

Without hearing the melody for the song, it is difficult to make specific suggestions, but I hope you catch my drift.

Also, something I have not used, but will try in the future... add an "invisible" word to the end of each repetitive line. One that you see/hear mentally when you are singing, but do not actually vocalize. This may be more confusing than it is worth, but I would speculate is at least worth a try. I would even go as far as making it something that would rhyme with the 2nd line last or first word to trigger the memory of the next line.
ie:
Hush-a-bye my little baby(dear/near/fear),
Night will soon be here.
Sandman's comin' so close thine eyes
And sleep my little dear.

Hush-a-bye my little baby (bye),
Dreamland's drawing nigh.
Angels guard thy little bed,
Watching from the sky.

To me, it is almost like an epiphany. When I discover what works, it just clicks.

I hope this is helpful!
Have a great day!

Again, I've been a stranger (health problems).

Monica, I perform a cappella so leaving a bit of space to think results in a huge hole. I also perform only in groups so we all need to be on the same page. Otherwise, I could fake it.

Jack, or some reason, although there is a chronology to the song, I still want to jump ahead. Because of my ADD, it is often difficult for me to stay focused.

Heidi, this is a simple song with simple words and concepts (it's a lullaby, for crying out loud). Being an avid (rabid?) reader who has no problem with digging out the dictionary when I do come across a word that is the least bit hazy, I have a pretty good vocabulary, so methinks comprehension is not likely the problem in this case (although I will admit that I have had trouble with songs in the past when I didn't fully understand the lyrics; learning the meaning helped considerably in those cases).

Jacquee, I perform a cappella (I like the sound when supported with harmony parts) so instrumental cues wouldn't help here. The added cue word idea is interesting and unique but, for me, would fall under the the same category as mnenomics; it's something else to remember and if I could remember the cue words, I could remember the order of the darned lyrics.

I had to disband my band back in September when I lost two of my three singers (four, including me) at the same time. Since finding singers good enough to sing harmony is a beast (oddly enough, finding a good lead singer is even tougher since she has to maintain tempo and pitch although I did learn how to pull the tempo some even when singing harmony), not to mention while doing so a cappella, outdoors, and unamplified, I decided I needed a break (I'm going to try again to put together a band later this year). I haven't had the time or energy to do much in the way of learning new music, but I am starting to get a handle on Hush-a-bye just from sheer, massive repetition (and good owld Irish stubborness). Oddly enough, Come by the Hills fell back into place by itself.

One thing I've noticed, though I haven't had the time or energy to analyze it, is the foul-ups I have with lyrics mostly involve jumping ahead; I never repeat an earlier phrase or skip it and put it in later. What's really annoying is the instant I make the mistake, I know I have done so.

I appreciate everyone's help. It has given me a lot to think about.

Hi Lady Fitzgerald!

I used to be an actor once upon a time, and often had to memorize long passages. For the most part, I got used to remembering a line based on being cued by the line before it...but sometimes I would keep forgetting the same spot. So what I did was make flash cards for those spots I always forgot---the card had the last word on one side, and the first word of the next line on the other. I'd drill myself until I knew what word was coming next, and then the rest of the line would just come to me.

Maybe that would work for you with certain songs...sounds like you remember the whole line, but can't remember which one comes next.

Hope it helps!

-Mark

Is there any reason why you cannot have the words in front of you. It might not be professional but if needs must. I see lots of choirs have music stands in front of them. I also use this on occasion with the band when dealing with new songs or songs slotted in that I have not sung for a while.

Hi Lady Fitz!
I have a suggestion I haven't seen anyone give out here yet, and may or may not help. Write crib notes on your hand.

Queen is my favorite band - and Freddie my favorite singer - super-duper accomplished, right? Yet I've seen concert footage where at least twice he was clearly looking at notes written on his hand before singing the next line. (I noticed a teleprompter screen once too, but you probably don't have that technology available - LOL.) It was discreet. I only noticed it because, I dunno, I just did. It was funny, though! Ha!

It won't help the actual memory - but if you have a couple of keywords in order on your palm... you're singing the same words as your trio.

I like Mark's flashcard idea.

Linda

I would often come up with a theme, get the first line down with the verse and chorus, and ad-lib with my first recordings before the net (I only have that link of my early recordings here for reasons of going back to standards).
With my newer stuff, I start over again often because I screwed up in the vocals and expect to to get the memorization of the lyrics and vocals down.
It is a matter of repitition I guess.
But I don't like sounding too rehearsed.

Hi there -

Don't know if you've ever worked this way, or if it would help, but here's a trick you can try. Work on memorizing from the end. Get the last line or last two lines really solid. Then jump back a phrase or two and solidify through to the end. And so on. An advantage is that you always get more secure the closer you get to the end.

Karen, new here

Good grief, Jim! Get ahold of some bad stuff? All seriousness aside, performers in the venues I work (Renaissance Festivals) rarely use music, let alone music stands. I personally feel it looks unprofessional for anything but a madrigal group.

Linda, I did use a cheat sheet with our play lists and starting notes until I finally memorized them. My singers liked to play with mnemonics, usually dredged from the gutter, but those didn't work for me (we had fun with it, though). We were up too close to our audiences to get away with notes on the hand.

Welcome to the board, Karen. Your suggestion of starting from the end and working back has merit, someting I was already considering doing on a verse by verse basis rather than line by line or phrase by phrase. I mentioned in my last post that when I mess up the lyrics, I always substitute a line from a later verse rather than repeat one froma previous verse so mayhap working bass ackwards might be the trick. I'm going to give it a shot on the next song I try to learn (I'm still working on one right now; a piece of filk called The Chastity Belt).

After I sleep, I dream, then comes the morn. Progression.

Write Sleep Dream Morn on your hand.

Read this:

Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn. Sleep, Dream, Morn.

Jeannie I would have thought that if you could wear that hat a music stand would not be any prob. LOL

You haven't seen the rest of the garb.

[img][IMG]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg206/LadyFitzgerald/IMG_00052.jpg[/img][/img] Btw, I'm checking my cheat sheet.

You could always hide the music stand under your skirt. LOL

It's too crowded under there and no, I'm not telling!

Here's a shot of one of our first shows where we did use a music stand. It proved to be more of a PITA than an asset. It didn't do me too much good without my glasses on and it was a pain to lug about and transport.

I've finally figured out how to upload sheet music here although it's a bit of a PITA. Here 'tis for anyone who might be interested:

[img][IMG]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg206/LadyFitzgerald/husf.jpg[/img][/img]

[img][IMG]http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg206/LadyFitzgerald/husf2.jpg[/img][/img]

Ok, can someone tell me what happened to the pictures and music I posted?

I wondered about that just thought that there was something wrong with my system. Thanks for letting me know that it is not. I have noticed one or two strange things happening like freezing and not jumping to and from threads waiting ages for the submit button to load the post ETC.. STRANGE.

The way I deal with incipient Alzheimer's where lyrics are concerned is to build in as many mnemonic tricks as I can. I picked up from Avril Lavigne (of all people) the practice of internal rhymes, and I tend to do it a lot (hopefully, not too obviously)--if I can remember where I'm going, I can usually manage to get there. The internal rhymes make the journey in shorter jumps, so to speak. Strategically placed riffs also help me remember words ("Oh, yeah--it comes after I do *that*").

Beyond that, there is (I think) only practice, practice, practice, and then more practice. Before I perform anything on stage, I will have rehearsed it unmercifully, so there is virtually no chance I will forget a word. I will know by heart what it sounds like, what it *feels* to sound like that, and will have imagined the audience listening to it, too (and if the audience doesn't look like I imagined them, I will de-focus my eyes and make *sure* they look like I imagined them). The songs (and I have a few) where it's difficult to remember the words right I will simply practice more.

I don't use music stands. When I get up on stage, it's just me and the guitar, and I *better* know what I'm doing.

Joe

Joe, I've already mentioned the mnemonics do not work for me. Practice, practice, practice, so on and so forth, seems to be what works best. I have started practicing the song—just running through it a couple of times—just before going to sleep at "night" (I work during the night and sleep during the day). I saw something on PBS a while back that long term memory is improved when material is reveiwed shortly before going to sleep; in other words, late night cramming does work. I'm not sure if it's the sheer repitition or the doing so before going to sleep that works but it seems to be helping.

Since we live in the same neck of the woods, mayhap we can get together for coffee sometime (no, I'm not hitting on you).

For anyone who gives a darn, I opened up a Photobucket account and uploaded the images of the sheet music there and linked this site to them instead of the Yahoo site I was using (I'm finding the name Yahoo is quite appropriate for them). The images are back up now. It will be interesting to see how long they stay up.

HiDee Mz Jeannie, & Ya have MY Sympathy. I, TOO, have a LOUSY Memory..Even Immortalized It in a Song..here's da Chorus:

I FORGOT THE WORDS TO THIS SONG
JUST when Things were GOIN' SO STRONG!
My Synapses had Lapses
& I'm Here on My Ass, 'Cuz
I FORGOT THE WORDS TO THIS SONG! (c) 200& Somethin' By Me.

(I was ALSO Un-Able to MEMORIZE The Lyrics to THIS ONE..which I'd planned on Performin' Immediately AFTER Blowin' a Song Onstage.)

I take Solace in Knowing that Babs Streisand hadda use SEVEN TelePrompTers when she did her show in Tampa recently.

My Grannie died from Alzheimer's Complications...so...when Phizer announced a "Short Term Memory Loss Study" I signed up. Quizzes, Blood Samples, Free Brain Scan...Results: NO Onset of Alzheimner's in my Addlepated Brain..BUT a Vitamin B-12 Deficiency..WHICH "Impacted Memory-Capacity" (& Eliminated me from the Study..heh!)

So..Doc's Advice: "Go to a Health Food Store & get some Sub-Lingual B-12 Tablets." Which I did...BUT made me kinda hyper-active..& other than the "Dumbo's Magic Feather Effect", I don't think Helped Me Memorize any better than before.

Last couple of Frank Sinatra Concerts I attended, Ol' Blue Eyes were scannin' a THICK Book of Lyrics on a Stand, too... Last STONES Concert, I saw a BIG sheet of Brown Paper on the Stage FLOOR with TONS of Notes Scrawled on it...in black marker..BIG lettering.

I've last several years simply Sung OVER my CDS since I, alas, have NO Band...& IF I forget a word, it's THERE on the Tracks ALREADY.

And...(Last Resort)...IF I'd ever Sing for A LIVING, unlikely as it's getting to be at this late date, I'd make My Handicap a Part of The Act: I'd frankly Hold a Lyric Sheet UP for each Song, sing from it, fold it into a Paper Airplane/Sail it Off Into The Crowd after Each Song..& Voila...Instant "Souvenier".

Practice doesn't ALWAYS "Make Perfect". Because not EVERYONE CAN memorize Equally-Well. Just remember some of the "BIGGEST & BEST" Do NOT have the Best Memories EITHER.

Oh..I'll add..having a Drink before Performing used to REALLY Kill-Off my Memory, too. (Coffee MIGHT help a bit...might NOT too, so Experiment a wee bit!)

Good Luck with it!
Big Hugs,
Stan

When "Screamin' Gulch," the band I've been playing with, want to learn a new song, the banjo player will usually write the words down on a sheet of paper and we'll lay it down on the floor somewhere around the front of the stage. The banjo player's handwriting is illegible, and the writing is too small for anybody to read. But everybody says it helps them remember the song. Go figure.

Joe

Lady Fitz, I'd wondered about the "your neck of the woods" until I noticed where you were from. Wrong Phoenix, I'm afraid. Mine's in Oregon (and a lot smaller and cooler).

The best way for me to remember lyrics is to focus on the "story" to the song. Once I fully picture the story in my mind, then the lyrics fall in order because if I do them out of order the story is messed up. It is the strongest memory device I have.

I had a friend many years ago who went to a memory clinic to learn how to improve his memory and the one trick he pulled out of there that was very effective for him for remembering a long list of things in order was to first pick a subject that would be his "carrier" memory and learn it, then when he had a string of things to remember he would attach each thing to his carriers and the order would be there. He chose racehorses as his carrier memory. Each horse's jockey in his mind wore a different number and color, like color blue-1, red-2, green-3, etc. and he had at least 25 of these he worked on and had down pat. Whenever he was given a list of things to remember he would in his mind's eye attach the thing to one of the horses, so he could visualize the thing with a number and a color. Later, he could recall everything in exact order and it worked everytime. I saw him demonstrate this for people all the time, and most people when testing him would not even come close to the total list of items he could remember accurately.

i wonder if they have a cell phone version of a teleprompter for musicians with scrolling lyrics? That would be a great little APP idea!

Lady Fitz,

Just in case you're still looking at these forums..........I noticed Brian stopped in here this past year, but no one has been here for nearly a decade on this thread.

But JUST IN CASE ANYONE re-visits this thread, I'm going to give my 2 cents worth! I was reading several of the above suggestions to help with remembering lyrics. Different methods probably work for different folks as we're not all "wired" the same. No question all of us could memorize much better when we were young and our minds weren't so cluttered with much useless stored information.........and we also "chemically imprinted" memory better with youthful brains. I did have a sug for you, which has helped me if you or anyone reading this post, perhaps you could find it useful. Like you say, some songs seem to be more difficult than others, especially when there is ambiguity and having a new line "modify" a same preceding line. Get some paper and pencil and "outline" just those four lines for instance that are giving you confusion, (or whatever part of the lyrics that you are forgetting) write them down in the order they appear in the song, then memorize just those four lines in order until you can repeat them without looking at the paper. Now go back and use your normal process for learning the lyrics and those ambiguous lines "should" be ingrained within your memory so that they will more easily not be confused for one another. Try doing just the first two verses until you are confident that you have it, then do the same with the last two verses, then put it all together...........

Should help, as you are now not trying to do too much at one time which should also lower your subconscious anxiety that begins to habitually develop at the spots that have given you trouble. I always feel if I have the "lyrics learned," then I focus more on remembering the chords when playing a song, because if you think of both together, more chance of losing your music timing especially if you are late with a chord.

Just my thoughts, use or lose anyone! (But for those of us over 60.......we're not going to be as sharp as we were at 30..............

steady-eddie