Slow learner?

[andrewjohnsson40]

I've got a problem.
I went to a sing along with traditional music.
You were bassically only allowed to hear a tune twice before beibg supposed to sing along. I couldnt manage as I am a slow learner.
I have also seen nearly the same thing done on musical instruments.
How should a slow learner deal with this?
Or is this like trying to have an infant reciting the Lord's prayer just like that even if infant can't say many words at all?

 

[JIM D.]

Being tagged a (Slow Learner) is really not a issue you to cause you concern.
I myself was a slow learner musically in my early years, but with advice and encouragement I overcame it.
A lot of us have had a problem with learning and understanding at a period in time (not unusual ).
Alfred Einstein is good example as at a early age he failed math in his schooling.
And how about Helen Keller being totally deaf & blind, went on to earn a collage degree.
Convince yourself of the phrase " You will do what you mean to do" and with persistence you will endure. :tup:

 

[andrewjohnsson40]

Being tagged a (Slow Learner) is really not a issue you to cause you concern.
I myself was a slow learner musically in my early years, but with advice and encouragement I overcame it.
A lot of us have had a problem with learning and understanding at a period in time (not unusual ).
Alfred Einstein is good example as at a early age he failed math in his schooling.
And how about Helen Keller being totally deaf & blind, went on to earn a collage degree.
Convince yourself of the phrase You will do what you mean to do and with persistence you will endure. :tup:

Did ypu avoid certain situations untill you were ready for them or what did you do?
I wouldnt start learning a language by going to a coffe meeting wherebyou speak the language. Why? Beacause you must learn the bassics first. The same would apply to playing the accordion. I guess you must learn simple stuff before being able to attend the meeting were you are allowed only to hear something twice before playing along.
How did you deal with this?

 

[JIM D.]

With some thought and encouragement I, even a slow learner decided to dismiss my fears and persevere to do what I willed to do. In my case it worked. Some things take me longer to comprehend, and some things come as easy as falling off a rock.
Do you remember the old phrase "Once you fall off the horse, get back in the saddle" ??

 

[Eddy Yates]

All good advise. Whoever told you you could only listen twice should be put up against a wall and....sorry.

 

[jozz]

I can't do it well either.

people who are brilliant at playalongs are normally well prepared either because of lifelong experience or their affinity with a certain genre

 

[Eddy Yates]

Guess I’ve never subjected myself to such a strange situation. For perspective, I’ve played with some of the best bluegrass players in the world. When we learn a new tune, we play a very short phrase. Everybody repeats it. If someone doesn’t get it, we wait patiently until they do. When everyone has it, we go to the next part. We repeat that until everyone has it. Then we put the two parts together. We go on like that, adding a shorter new part to the longer section until everyone knows the tune.

 

[andrewjohnsson40]

I think the issue is: with dancing they can give you exercises, eg. the easy waltz step and turnaround.
A piano or accordion teacher can give you exercises, eg. scales or a simple tune to transpose in all keys.
But you still need to look at different tunes. I mean, remembering dance steps would take time but you can repeat what you did at the lesson when getting home. With accordion practise you need sheet music when practising at home.
What do you think?

 

[JeffJetton]

Here's the weird thing about music: The more songs you learn, the better you get at learning songs.

I guess this is probably because you start to recognize patterns. You get better at grouping the incoming information into "chunks" and other patterns.

 

[george garside]

developing the ability to play 'sing along' stuff can be helped enormously by learning to play 'by ear - from memory'. tunes learned by ear tend to be stored in the head ready for retrieval at any time whereas tunes lplayed from the dots tend not to be unless very frequently played. Its almost as if a mechanism in the brain says to itself 'I don't need to store that as I can get the sheet of paper out again next time!'

Playing 'by ear' develops the ability to 'pick up' a tune after hearing it a couple of times, - not perfectly - but sufficient to join in most of it or maybe just coming in a a few bars here and there.Next ime its played you get a bit better at it etc etc

In 'English' music ''sessions'' the custom is for a tune to be played through three times. Maybe first time through you get the first and the last note of a 'new to you, tune, 2nd time through a bit here and there and with luck more on the third time.
Next time you hear it you already have several 'chunks of it in your head and can add more etc.


When running folk festival sessions for relative beginners I often run a tune through six times rather than the customery three to give more chance of picking it up


Learning to play 'by ear' entails a different processs to learning /playing from the dots. Playing from the dots you start at the beginning and carry on until you cock it up - and then go back to the beginning or something on those lines. Playing /learning by ear works best by playying random bits of tune that you can and then at futre 'sessions' or maybe listening to a CD each time add more random bits untill eventually you have the whole tune. A bit like doi;ng a jigsaw puzzle!
in other words join in as and when you can and don't worry about' joining out ' here and there

george

 

[Eddy Yates]

Another possibility is to make sure you remember the names of the tunes and when you go home, look them up online. You’ve already learned a bit of the tune at the session so just go ahead and learn the rest at home. You’re not learning these tunes for the session people, you’re learning them for yourself.
Here’s an American term to learn: DON’T LET THEM BUFFALO YOU !

 

[jozz]

Its almost as if a mechanism in the brain says to itself I dont need to store that as I can get the sheet of paper out again next time!

this is my experience as well

in short: sheet practice at home is not my ideal preparation for a play/sing along

its more about a having a broad experience with tunes in memory, scales, keys and rythm patterns and then bluffing your way through the session

and i dont know how you can learn that fast

 

[george garside]

Spot on Jazz. You are right that it can't be learned fast and particularly with you comments about scales, keys ,rhythms etc.

It has many similarities with a baby learning to speak - listening - imitaiting - doing a lot of it etc etc.

So the more you practice the common singalong scales and soak up tunes and Rythms ( CD's in car, tunes on smartphone etc etc the better.

It can also help to not worry about playing exactly as someone somewhere has written ( lots of tunes come in heinz 57 verieties"!)

If I am accompanying/ joining in with singers and ?other musicians that I do not play with regularly I keep to the bare bones of the tune perhaps leaving our a few bars that I am not sure about and keeping well clear of putting in any arty farty additions on treble or bass.


The realy important thing is to learn to play the instrument rather than learning to play tunes - just as a baby learns to operate the gob rather than learning long sentences.


Also watch the singers faces if possible so that you play to THEIR phrasing rather than yours - in other words you follow rather than lead the singers.- but so close the audence don't realise what you are doing. Think in terms of the singers being the artist and you the accompaneist.

Be happy if you ''get away with it'' rather than expecting perfection which many of us are unlikely to achieve!

An example of 'getting away with it'' was an occasion where I ( and band) was playing in a village hall ceilidh. No problem can do it on auto pilot almost. In one of the intervals a rgualr punter introduced her friend who was staying with her and who was a professional solo opera singer of some renown - could she sing a song and could I accompany her. The song 'endearing youg charms' was entirely in keeping with the evening but the high trilly well honed professional voice was way out of my league. Definately a 'brown trouser' job! I only had a simple 2 row melodeon with me so I followed her as best I could watching her neck muscles , mouth etc etc whilst metaphorically speaking 'shitting bricks'

much to my surprise she thanked me for the 'absolutely right on accomanyment'' which she said was exactly what was required to enhance the particular song .

there is a great deal to be said for ''keeping it simple and accompanying rather than trying to lead singers


george

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi Hank,

Whilst I fully understand your question, I don't quite see why you are concerned about this.

My advice is simple enough: Don't allow anyone to dictate to you in this way. You don't have to prove yourself to anyone, and you should make a point of telling them that.

If someone were to "tell" me that I had to do something or other, my response may be very brief and not entirely free of Old Anglo-Saxon words.

Hope That Helps.

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[george garside]

my 'problem' is not remembering tunes, I have a head full of them, but remembering their names! I often feel a tune coming down my arm and play it without any conscious thought ( same a humming or whistling) . The problem comes when somebody wants to know the name of the tune when to me its just 'that one' as opposed to ''a different one''.


george