Remembering Chords (Page 1 of 2)

Everyone here will tell you it is much better to memorize chords and lyrics.  That said, I have been playing for a long time now and I also can not remember them for most songs.  I don't sweat it any more.  I just take my music with me and leave it at that.  It used to bother me, but not any more.  I even meorized a couple of songs, finally and did really well with them.  Then I didn't play them for quite awhile and guess what.  I can't remember the chord patterns any more. I do know that I've played so long with music in front of me that this is waht makes it difficult for me to learn.  If you don't get into the habit, it is much easier to learn.  Good luck, whichever path you choose.  There are no absolutes in music playing.  Everyone plays chords differently, strums differently, uses different fingerings for the same effects, sings differently and there is no one right way to do any of these.  The right way is what becomes comfortable for you.  Be happy the way you do it.

I'll third that :-) and also like to add that playing solo and forgetting chord patterns is most common. Yet if you play as part of a group it seems a lot easier owing to the fact that everyone is forgetting  and remembering, only at different times (does that make sense?) so yuo end up feeding off of each other kinda thing. Manys a time in a trad sesiun I end up playing a different set of reels or jigs for a couple of seconds. Having sheets in front of you is no disgrace, most of us try to disguise the fact that we errrrr forget  by putting a Pint Glass holder on the music stand and pretending that that is its primary function....lol

I have no trouble remembering chords, and can usually fit chords to songs I havent played before, but i am absolutely useless at remembering lyrics of songs, so i always need to print them off to play a song - thanks Chordie! The ideal situation is for someone else to sing that knows all the words, and I will play along with them.

5 big three ring binders full of printed tabs. A whole bunch of books from the 80s and some memory. I guess it happens to the best of us

So you see, Sonnya, we are all quite normal having a sheet of music in front of us.  I have always envied bands that can play all through the night without music.

i just logged on to chordie with this exact issue , i ve been asked to play at a party  with bout 40 to 50 people there , im playing with few years but apart from playing to friends and family (people i know) i ve never gigged to strangers , while i can sing and play i need that bloody book right there on the music stand in front of me and i think it just looks awful , its almost like a crutch and a habit i ve gotten into thats very difficult to break ,
The freedom some musicians have of just standing up there and belting out their songs un aided is a great ability to have , and it has been mentioned to me a few times as in " so you still need the book" , i always feel silly then , i dunno , i am reluctant to do this gig but then will feel like a coward if i dont ,,,HELP

Hey alanmac, if wi-fi is available stick your laptop on a stand near ya and use Chordies auto scroll feature. That way if anyone says "so you still need the book" you can just say, no - they won't know you've gone hi -tech on em. Go ahead and do the gig and have fun, most people are envious that you can get up and perform for them and will overlook or not even notice the laptop you glance at from time to time. Keep us posted.

ha ha great idea , i might just do that .  isnt it amazing how  our brains can second guess ourselves and create doubt , was just looking at my song list and started thinking it could be better and is it good enough and comparing myself to better more seasoned performers . im under no illusions as to my average ability but still keen to impress , anyway i will soldier on !!

Use it or lose it philosophy comes in to play here.
Music is a language. if you play often you reinforce the tunes you know by heart and acquire more. If you almost never play to an audience, then you stay shaky with your lyrics and chords.
My brother-in-law was a native German. After four years in the U.S. speaking English only, he began to think in English and had a hard time finding German words to make conversation with a German tourist.

Read this thread the other day and have been wondering myself how or why I remember chords to songs
  fairly well except for a glitch here and there. Lyrics is a whole new monster as Sonnya was threading
  about chord structure of a songs. When it comes to lyrics I think toots hit it referring to singing them aloud
  as to an audience and doing it often. No audience is needed, but I think one might try harder knowing an
  audience is in their future. Repetition!

For the chord structure of a song repetition is also the key to remembering. There are other "things" that
  help me personally along the way. Knowing the relative chords to each key is vital. Most songs will follow
  a path utilizing only the chords that fit that key. This eliminates the chords that do not and therefore they
  will not be even considered as choices for a song you want to remember. However if a chord is used in a
  song that is "awkward" to the key it should stand out in your memory as a weird chord. Most people
  remember weird stuff easier so prior to playing the song you can tell yourself "oh-I remember this song
  has that awkward Eb! Now remember the KEY of the song which should conjure up the rest of the chords.
  You must be familiar with the song. By that I mean you have to be able to sing or hum the song well.
  This reinforces where the chords change. If you can hear and feel the song leaving a major chord and
  changing to a minor helps much, and since the song is in the key of G for example we know that E minor
  is most likely the minor to be played, but you also have two other choices of minors, Am and Bm. I
  consider these to be "awkward" or weird and try to remember that prior to playing the song. Studying
  basic music theory can only help. I hope not to confuse anyone. This is just how my "pea brain" works and
  tho not a cream of the crop musician, I do ok.      Mike

Hummmm I have been playing for about 6 years....I had the same problem, i just kept practicing. I can now play around 20-30 songs off the top of my head without my large binder! However, by the time you can do the song without thinking about it....you are really sick of the song....So if you are not too sick of the song, you have not practiced it enough....lol works for me. I found at first I had to stick to just a few and do them over and over, even if I did not want to....if you keep jumping from song to song, you won't remember them. So, if you do the same 5 over a few times each practice....then move on to other songs so you don't die of boredom....then the next practice...do the same 5 songs a few times, then move to the other songs....keep this up for awhile and soon you will know the 5 you always play. However if I don't play a certain song for a long time, I will sometimes forget it and need to refresh my memory!... goodluck!

Life isn't about how to survive the storm, But how to dance in the rain...

For a simple trick, use words in the song lyrics to associate with chords.  You can remember most chords just by repitition.  For example, in The Eagles' "Take it Easy", when the chorus goes to "Come on Baby" there is a D chord that doesn't appear in the other chorus.  Same trick works in most song.  Just think of the word in the lyrics where the turns are made one at a time they'll become familiar.  I agree with Dguyton you want to make eye contact when you are able.  It's pretty gratifying for you and the audience as well to see someone singing the words along with you hitting the chords.

Em    C    G
Take it easy...
Am    C    Em
C    G    C    G
Am    C    G

Em          D    C    G
Come on 'baby'.........
Am    C    Em
C    G    C    G
Am    C    G