Memorizing lyrics

For me one of the biggest challenges I faced in starting up a new act was having to learn so many new songs. Playing in a band songs are generally longer than with an acoustic act. For one things songs with bands often have solos, usually in an acoustic act they do not. Thats not always the case but more on that in a later post.
Me personally I am pretty good at memorizing guitar parts. I guess my brain just works that way. I really struggle with memorizing lyrics.  Because of this I have developed some strategies for memorizing them.

1. Transcribe - I have been doing this for a while. I think it has to do with the whole right brain left brain concept. One of the first things I do is instead of printing out the lyrics, I write them out.
2. Understand the Story - Chances are the song you are learning tells a story of some sort. Or at least is trying to make a point. Really look at the words and understand what it is trying to say. This will help you emote the song but also it puts the lyrics in context.
3. Look for relationships in lyrics - Ok maybe this is just me and my weird brain but it is a huge help for me. Honestly I am not sure that what helps is the relationship or the act of looking for it. I am not sure how to explain so I will cite a couple of examples
1. Don't Think Twice it's Alright - Bob Dylan - This is a cool one. I struggled for a long time with this one. I knew most of the lyrics but the order always eluded me on stage. Then I realized that the second half of the verse alludes to the next verse.
   Verse 1 : Ok so the first one is a little week maybe I am adding an association that is not really there but that does not matter because it works. Line three says Look out your window, and I'll be gone  For me that goes to And It ain't no use in turning on your light, babe  in the second verse. I know that after I look out the window I will turn the light on.
   Verse 2: Here is a better one the second verse says in the second half But I wish there was somethin' you would do or say.  That  leads to the next verse So It ain't no use in calling out my name, gal.
2. Man On the Moon - REM - This would be a good example for Understand The Story as well but it is still about relationships. I remember this song by sumemrizing the verses. Verse 1 is the games verse,verse 2 is the science vs religion vs, verse three is the truck stop verse. That is enough for my memory to unlock all the lyrics.
4. Listen - This is straightforward. If I am in my car I have the songs I am learning on a playlist and I sing along with it. This is rarely good enough on its own. There are tons of songs I can sing along with that I cant sing alone.

These are some of the techniques I use? How about you? What tricks do you use to memorize lyrics?

Gig Tip #1 - Reinvent Your Set List

Quick quiz, which line of a song are you most likely to forget?

If you are anything like me it is the first line. How many times have you sat there playing the intro over and over again trying to remember what the first line to the song is. I won't say it happens often but it happens often enough.

Here is my solution and it involves something you are already doing or at least should be.
Generally if you are performing live you have pre-decided the order of your songs and have it written out in a setlist.

Traditionally you would have the song titles there. What would be more useful is instead of putting song titles, put the first line of each song.  You will never forget how a song starts again.

First Post - My journey into a Solo Acoustic Act

For starters let me give a disclaimer,  This is my fourth attempt at writing a blog and each time previously I have lacked in both posts and followers so we will see if this is any different. My primary goal for this is to document my journey into the world of the solo act and hopefully watch this blog grow into something more.
My desire to start performing a solo acoustic act grew out of a long chain of events.
I spent my twenties playing in a jam band and a novelty act and had a great time doing it but when I hit my thirties I started having kids and playing out nights was not as feasible an option as it once was. My wife convinced me to join a local church band. A steady Sunday morning gig! Sounded like a great band. For the next 8 years I played in a church band.
It was a great experience. I was lucky enough to play with several fantastic musicians and I learned a lot from the experience.  Maybe I can go more into detail with that in a later post, but the most important thing I learned is the joy I got from playing a song that everyone knew and could sing along with. The feeling I got from the energy given back to me from the audience far surpassed any feeling I got from playing a song that I loved.
When me and my wife made the decision to leave that church I tried to find other churches that I could join their band but none of it worked out. Either they had too many musicians already or the musicians they had were not of the quality I was used to.
I tried to form other bands but none of them worked out. I eventually landed an enjoyable gig as a lead guitarist in a classic country band but I still did not get the feeling I was looking for.

All this led me to these conclusions

• I want to Sing
• I want to play songs people know.
• I want the freedom to follow my own vision.

That landed me where I am now. I am just getting started. 1 gig so far as a solo act and another on the way. I will keep you informed.