How To Practice / Learn New Song

I just play it over and over, usually improvising a little more each time as well. I pick the hardest ones first and get them down before I go over the easier ones.

IMO, the best way without a doubt is this killer tool
www.seventhstring.com/xscribe/overview.html i think it's a bit of a secret weapon actually! If you can play something effortlessly and swinging ass at slow tempo, you can rip it at full speed and usually as fast as your body's fast twitch muscle fiber will allow. What's really amazing is how the best musicians appear to be twice as badass slowed down as they are at normal speed, it reveals a dude like Ed Van Halen is grooving his ass off at those ridiculous speeds.

As far as repetition, the strongest reason for that IMO, is muscle memory, i learned that from an actor pal of mine, i had a speech i was slated to do in front of 1,000 people one time, i couldn't use cue cards or a prompter, so i had to memorize 12 minutes or so, it was pretty intimidating, he told me the best thing i could do is "practise it over and over, BUT remember, the single most important thing you can do is complete the process from start to finish without exception, even if you stumble while practicing keep going, if you stop and start in different places, you will not burn the neural pathways necessary to create the muscle memory to carry you through a brain fart during the real performance" I followed his advice to the letter, come game time, i was extremely nervous as i started in, and then almost immediately I had the dreaded "OMG this is happening right now" mind drift moment, but my mouth kept going without missing a beat, at that point i suddenly felt of two brains, it was weird man! it gave me an instant overwhelming sense of confidence and I proceeded to nail the whole thing, my delivery was relaxed, and had good pace and pause in all the right places, I even improvised at a couple points, it was really fun! Afterward, I couldn't believe how my pals advice was so incredibly effective, I've applied that to learning tunes and performing my own music since, it works equally as well in that capacity.

I play it for about 5 mins..

come back a few times during the day and do the same thing.

Sleep on it...

usually , the next day, its in the noggin'

but... I don't do "note for note" stuff...

I learn the song framework and melody, and any particular phrasing or hooks that are needed to carry the tune...

then thats it.

I find It works best for me, then I just let it evolve over time, Live.

Performing it live is where I really get to lock in the tune... I like the pressure to get it right or do a good performance it puts you under

cheers

Wiz

I agree with pretty much all of the above; In fact, I would say that familiarity and comfort with both the macro, the micro and the in-between goes to the heart of what makes for great musicianship.

I would add that individual learning styles are as diverse as our personalities, and practice/rehearsal techniques as varied as there are musical genres.  The way a musician might learn and practice a Rachmaninoff piano concerto is necessarily different than the way he might develop a solo for for a pop music recording, which is in turn different than the way he might practice soloing over Giant Steps.  However, with all of the above - an intimate familiarity with the range of possibilities of the instrument is crucial, and that comes from a varied repertoire.  Boiled down, ..the more tunes you learn, the better.

As for the question posed by the original poster.. If it's about memorization - I love the post that says play it through!  As for technical considerations, I would say practice transitions.. make sure you can get from any section to any other section.  Fix the seams.

It's kind of OT, but I'm reminded that somewhere in the past I remember being taught that there are three ways to "know" a piece of music.  One is to be able to visualize the printed music, another is to have the muscle memory of how to play it, and the third is to be able to hear it.   I don't know that I would agree that these things have equal value, in fact, I would be tempted to say that the first one is of least importance. Print music is nothing more than a visual representation of the sound - a secondary construct if you will.  In fact, I've noticed that reliance on the 'dots on the page' is a hindrance for many a musician, myself often included.  I have worked with many fantastic musicians who don't read music ..and may very well be better off for it.

Yeah, I didn't mean to devalue printed music. For a lot of great music, and for composers and musicians alike, it's a necessary and broadening construct, but it's the means to the end. I have to say that while I may be more secure with the music in front of me, the music truly comes alive when the dots disappear, so I guess it should come as no surprise that I put myself in the talent needing more hustle category. Certainly as a pianist, I'll be the first to admit that I rely on my 'perceived' talent far more than I have a right to at times. And the proof is in the pudding, my piano reading skills are abysmal. But what's really weird is that as a vocalist, I pretty much can read the spots off the page ..and the value of that is that I can make the dots 'disappear' much faster.

BTW j, Don't sell yourself short. I haven't heard your bass playing yet, but it's clear with your drumming that's you're have the ability to study and internalize before you even touch your instrument.  You came in and recorded my tune with no rehearsal, and you knew it cold. I was seriously impressed, even more-so because the tracks you played on were all over the map. That took hustle AND talent.

Mind you - I just cut and pasted some cymbal hits in the beginning and end to cover the noise from the pedals of my piano - so that crap doesn't count.

https%3A//soundcloud.com/m57/throwing-darts-at-the-storm

If I'm reading something like a bop head (which never lay nicely on guitar) and I want to work out the best fingerings, I'll start at the last bar and work backwards. So the last bar then the second to the last and so on until I have enough for a complete phrase, usually four bars and then play those four bars forwards until is swings like music. I keep repeating that process until I get to the first bar or phrase. That way I avoid starting at the beginning each time and repeating the first phrase more than the rest of the music. I also try a lot of alternate fingerings in different positions to see what lays the best on the guitar. Also it's a great idea to try melodies in different octaves.

That software looks really cool .

Your a brave man to get up and give a speech like that !

If you look up a guy named Bruce Lipton on youtube , he gives a lot of talks about how we have two minds , the conscious and subconscious . Sounds like you practiced so much the subconscious mind took over for you on stage . 

In a band context, I think a day or 2 of solid repetition for maybe 3 different songs is a good way to do it, in chunks. After the details should be ironed in mini "sets" - because you don't know a song until you can play it out of the blue after another. During a gig, you don't have free time in your head for that.

I will say playing for 14 years makes it easier. My musically memory is always getting a little better as long as I'm working in musical groups and doing my own stuff and doing covers on my own. I think you always have to be biting of a little more than you can chew to improve.