- So, here's a scenario,
you've just been asked to sing at a gig.
Great.
But here's the problem.
The concert is in two days,
and you don't know five of the songs on the setlist.
You've got 48 hours to memorize the melodies and the lyrics
of the tunes you've never even heard before.
That's quite the challenge, but I think I can help
with a range of power tips that professional singers use
each and every day, when they learn new songs.
Stick around to learn more.
- [Woman] Sound check.
Check one, check two.
(crowd cheering)
- G'day there, welcome to Voice Essentials,
where everybody sings.
My name is Dr. Dan and I'm passionate about helping
you realize the full potential of your singing voice.
Voice Essentials subscriber, kev mc,
recently left this question on the channel.
"Could you do one on learning a new song.
"For me when I sing I do listen to the tune,
"but I think I mainly sing
"from the memory of the tune in my head.
"And there are times I forget the tune
"and the result is not so good."
Kev, thanks for your question.
I'm gonna answer your query with a range of strategies
that I know will help you to secure the melody,
and embed the lyrics into your long-term memory.
So, let's get started.
The very first thing you need to do when learning
new material is identify your own learning style.
At a basic level, there are three learning styles,
auditory, tactile and visual.
Understood simply, auditory learners acquire knowledge
by hearing and listening.
Tactile learners engage their learning
by touching and doing, while visual learners need to read
and see what they're learning.
As we talk through each of the power tips
used by professional singers when learning new songs,
I'll show one or more of these three icons
to suggest which learning style might be advantaged
by the specific power tip.
And the first power tip
comes in the form of active listening.
So, no guesses for which learning style this favors.
When learning new material,
I make a playlist of the new songs and put them on repeat.
Tactile and visual learners will also be advantaged
by the passive listening process.
Having the new material playing in the background
while you're doing other tasks,
will help you to familiarize yourself with the new tunes.
Visual learners, you might like to jump online
and spend some time watching
the song performed by the original artist.
I also love to see what other artists
have done with the original tune,
before I venture into creating my own version.
If you're a tactile learner,
then you might like to start by hand writing the lyric.
Taking the time to sit and slowly pen the words,
helps us to visually organize the song
into sections of verse, chorus and bridge.
Regardless of your learning style,
you will need to analyze the lyric,
interrogating the words for the emotional direction,
and intention of the narrative.
When we form a sense
of the emotional drive behind the lyric,
we are more capable of remembering the flow of the song,
and how it's organized musically.
I hope you're enjoying the power-tips so far.
Please give the video a thumbs up
if you're learning something new.
Speaking of something new,
have you ever thought to visually paint or draw
the narrative of your new song as a picture?
Admittedly, this power tip is generally reserved
for those times when you've got a little bit more time
to learn the material then two days,
but I've found that tactile and visual learners
both gain tremendous insight into a new song
when they represent the piece in an artistic form.
Regardless of your learning style there comes a time
when you do have to sing the song.
Personally, I like to use karaoke tracks
when learning new songs.
This means I can focus on the melody and lyric,
while the track plays the accompaniment for me.
This being said, if you play an instrument,
you might prefer to play the song while you sing along.
Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all here,
so try a range of tactics
and see what suits your learning process.
Tactile and auditory learners might also like to try
speaking the lyrics through as if they are a prose or poem.
Hearing the words presented in a different mode,
and typically at a different speed,
again helps to secure the lyric
by associating emotion to the narrative.
And when all that practice of the new song
has been done, sleep on it.
I know, this is the best bit.
Sleeping is a powerful tool,
and helps your cognitive processing to do its thing
by organizing your thoughts and new learning
into memorable mental structures.
And our eighth and final professional power tip
for learning new songs is rinse and repeat.
At the end of the day, learning new songs requires work.
You have to actively and intentionally spend the time
working through the power tips we've covered,
because the songs won't learn themselves.
Perhaps you've got some other ideas
we can all benefit from when learning new songs.
Be sure to leave your ideas in the comments section below
so that we can all gain from your experience.
I hope you've gained something from our time together
these past few minutes.
Please take a quick moment to subscribe to the channel
if you want professional level singing tips,
presented in an easy-to-understand manner, hopefully.
I release new videos every week, and I'd love to have you
join our Voice Essentials community.
I hope to see you again soon.
I'm Dr Dan, sing well.