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

Last edited by Joe Wrabek; 02/26/08 06:52 AM.
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