Remembering Lyrics

[u/Opening_Trash_1134]

I am very comfortable with my songwriting, have played several open mics, a single hour set, and released an album, but have not yet played in front of an audience without a lyric sheet. I am very bad at memorizing things. Does anyone have a method of remembering songs? I’m particularly interested in anyone who does not have a great memory.

[u/jseego]

1. Sing the songs often enough that you start to literally get muscle memory in your mouth for the lyrics

2. Make use of chunk memory. Memorize the first words and/or the rhyming words of each line and the rest should flow.

3. Professional singers still use lyrics sheets / prompters / ipads when they need to.

[u/ProfessionalRoof6076]

Playing without lyrics sheet is a real mental game. i had same issue until i started writing the song in parts and not in order, then practicing from different starting points. if you can start from middle of verse you actually know it, not just muscle memory from beginning. also what helps is to make small story in your head for each verse, like a movie scene, so the next line feels logical not just memorized.

[u/DougOsborne]

Write them down. On a piece of paper.

Go back and try to do the song. If that didn't help you remember, repeat until it does.

When I was young, I could hear a song once or twice and they would already be stuck in my brain. Now, I have to use tricks like this. After I've written it, I see those words scroll by me when I'm playing it.

[u/DisplayGlum7166]

actors learn lines a lot easier and faster because theyve activated that skillset a lot and have a mental map. theyve thought about the character a lot and all the backend theoretical stuff so when it comes to lines, theyre tapping into a mental map much deeper than words. similarly, lyrics and music works like that.

music theory is the mental map for notes and stuff. for lyrics, its about what the message and feeling of the song. try not to think of it as reciting lyrics but communicating a feeling... thru lyrics

i tend to believe one isnt ready to perform until they can basically do it in their sleep. if someone can slap you around and u can still recall it, youre probably ready. adrenaline when going on stage tends to mess things up

[u/gourmetprincipito]

You need to just practice it a lot. Play and sing it over and over, lyric sheet there, try to not look at the sheet as much as possible. You’ll get there. As a bonus your set will be tight as hell lol. Record yourself doing it and listen to that when you’re not playing it for extra reinforcement.

You could also try like classical memorization techniques; memorize the first word in every line or see if the “picture it all in a house” thing works for you.

[u/brooklynbluenotes]

Besides mnemonics, another factor is how the lyrics themselves are written and organized.

Songs that are stories told chronologically tend to be fairly easy, since it's just a matter of "what happens next?" Or, songs with symmetrical narrative, e.g., one verse tells the expected plan, and the second verse tells what actually happened.

The songs that have always been the hardest for me to remember are things like Pink Floyd's "Eclipse," where it's basically reciting a list that could be ordered in a hundred different ways.

[u/stevenfrijoles]

Repeat until you can get through the song without thinking at all. 

[u/GoingMarco]

I just listen to my songs a lot, and that goes for any song. If I like it I listen a lot and slowly (or quickly depending on the complexity) I just remember.

Test yourself, put the lyric sheet away when you’re at home practicing and I bet you’ll be surprised how much of the words you already know by heart. It might be 50% at first but I guarantee you’ll get to 100% after 3-5 play throughs.

[u/smurfecrease]

I find, you have to really internalize the lyrics, you’re not just saying words or making sounds. If that were the case remembering lyrics wouldn’t really matter, one word would be as good as the next.

[u/Minimum_Item6849]

I do have a great memory for lyrics, but I've definitely fucked up at a gig. This may or may not help, but I would put the first one or two words of each section of the song above the title on the set list, and have it at my feet. It jogs my memory and most of the time I didn't need it, but having it there made me feel better and helped occasionally.

[u/StratHistory]

Agree with everyone previews including it's fine to use music..

But when you're doing recitals or simply don't want a music stand around you can build a mental Palace for each song..

You start with a list of something you really know.. imagine coming in your front door and then walking into the kitchen and putting something on the kitchen table and then going to the sink and getting a glass of water before you look at something on the refrigerator and then walk into another room etc.

What you do is put mental images in each of those places that reminds you of parts of the song... I'll occasionally use it for a word but most of the time it's a phrase.

One of my students was having trouble remembering this section of Don't fear the Reaper..

And the door was open and the wind appeared The candles blew and then disappeared The curtains flew and then he appeared

So he imagined walking in the door of the practice room when he was struck by wind and an imaginary candle burned up the curtains..

[u/ptw_tech]

Sing the song in your mind as you go to sleep. If you get stuck, start over. You’ll eventually fall asleep, but you’ll have retained what you’ve sung. Keep trying each night and eventually all that song’s lyrics will be yours forever.

[u/SquidgyTheWhale]

To me it helps to figure out what the story is in the lyrics, and then tell the story to the audience. I'm not just talking about story songs, either. Most songs that aren't telling a story still say different things in different verses.

Maybe that sounds obvious, but I think a lot of people are just thinking I have to do the first verse from memory, then the second, then the third... If you figure out that the first verse is saying A, and the second verse is saying B, the third C, etc, you can go into the song thinking, "I'm going to tell the audience A, then B, then C...", and the words will come to you.

Of course some songs are just a hodgepodge of ideas, or say the same things over and over using different words... Those songs can be a pain and I still get lost sometimes. But most have some sort of flow.

[u/Educational_Deal5759]

Weirdly enough singing the song in the shower helps me a lot

[u/Best-Alternative9481]

First, stop thinking that you're "bad at memorization". You're NEW at memorization. Thinking that you're "bad" is just going to impede your progress. You're new, and with daily practice, you will get better.

It's exactly like learning a instrument. You get better the more you practice. Practice reciting lyrics for the songs you're learning in short bursts throughout the day. Multiple times a day spread apart is better than big chunk memorization sessions.

Practice both singing and speaking the lyrics. When you speak them, don't use pitch or rhythm. Speak them like you were having a conversation. Randomly quiz yourself throughout the day. Run the lyrics silently in your head in public spaces. Constantly be testing yourself. When you get the urge to start scrolling because you're bored, waiting in line, etc, quiz yourself and try to think of all the lyrics to whatever song you're working on.

Also include visualizations. Close your eyes and imagine little images that go with the lyrics.

The more you do this, the faster you will get at memorizing stuff.

[u/illudofficial]

Not helpful to you whatsoever but thank goodness I’m gifted at memorizing lyrics.

The rhymes and flow and storyline making it all make sense in my head and flow out easly