Playing the saxophone How often do you practice songs you know?

[Chris Smith UK]

I'm trying to build up my repertoire of songs I can play from memory.
So my plan was to learn a tune until I can play it reliably, and then start to learn a new tune.
So each day I do my practice... Long tones, exercises, scales, then I play through the tunes I have learned, 3 so far, and then I work on the new tune.
However, as I build up my repertoire, it takes longer and longer to play through the list, meaning that by the time I am ready to start working on the new tune, I am already running out of time, my embouchure is tired, and I'm mentally tired.

For those of you who like to memorise tunes, how often do you play them to keep them in your memory?

 

[Halfers]

I would imagine that the length of time to learn a tune would be entirely dependent on the skill level of the player and the complexity of the tune (in general and relative to the player's skills).

If you're not finding the time to learn the songs you want to learn in the practice time you have, rejig what you do in your practice time. Cut down on the Long tones etc and use more time playing the songs.

EDIT: Probably a good idea to practice the songs from different points as well, so you don't get really good (or bored) of the start, but less so with the rest of the song. I'm rubbish at doing this.

 

[Clivey]

I often play over 2 hours worth of material. If I suspect I might be rusty. I simply rehearse the component parts and trust myself to pull off a perfo

 

[MikeM70]

I don't have any hard and fast rules, but I tend to keep my memorised repertoire in a seperate folder, and just pick tunes kinda at random and play those. How many depends on my mood, how much time I have etc.

 

[Alice]

I'm trying to build up my repertoire of songs I can play from memory.
So my plan was to learn a tune until I can play it reliably, and then start to learn a new tune.
So each day I do my practice... Long tones, exercises, scales, then I play through the tunes I have learned, 3 so far, and then I work on the new tune.
However, as I build up my repertoire, it takes longer and longer to play through the list, meaning that by the time I am ready to start working on the new tune, I am already running out of time, my embouchure is tired, and I'm mentally tired.

For those of you who like to memorise tunes, how often do you play them to keep them in your memory?

I know what you mean about the time management.
As you’re practicing every day, why not try one or two days a week where you warm up and then go to your tunes? That way you have not lost all of your time on the various exercises and worn yourself out beforehand? As you progress, you’ll find you have more stamina. You can always finish up your practice with long tones?

 

[Colin the Bear]

You can dispense with long tones by playing a ballad slowly thereby killing two birds with one stone. Splitting your practice into two or three sessions will help with stamina. Some tunes will stay with you forever and be a resource for learning to embellish and play variations. Misty and The autumn leaves were two of the first tunes I learned and are still part of my warm up. I also use them to check the playability of my gear or any new gear. They are so familiar that I know any trouble isn't me.

Scales and arpeggios should be part of your practice sessions. They train fingers and ears. When your fingers know the intervals it takes less input and things happen automatically.

Some tunes will play themselves and will need hardly any refreshing. Some tunes will need playing daily for years before they become embedded. Every tune will teach you something. What you want to learn will change as your repertoire grows so will what you want to listen to.

2 hours a day is a minimum imo to maintain things. Often four hours isn't enough. It all depends where you want to end up.

 

[Chris Smith UK]

I often play over 2 hours worth of material. If I suspect I might be rusty. I simply rehearse the component parts and trust myself to pull off a perfo

Thanks @Clivey how long did it take you to build up that amount of material to memory?

 

[Chris Smith UK]

I don't have any hard and fast rules, but I tend to keep my memorised repertoire in a seperate folder, and just pick tunes kinda at random and play those. How many depends on my mood, how much time I have etc.

Thanks @MikeM70 - how often do you play your memorised songs?

 

[6441]

You can dispense with long tones by playing a ballad slowly thereby killing two birds with one stone.

That's what I've started doing, since I am learning nothing but ballads at the moment. I like it better as you play different intervals between the long tones, too. It changes the approach and for sure makes it less boring.

 

[JayeNM]

Also...don't go thru the entire list of tunes at every practice session.

If you have, say, 7 tunes on the list, 3 you have memorized, 4 you are working on. Play 2 memorized, 2-in-process one day, then the next day play the third memorized one, then the other 2 in-process. Or sumthin' like this....

As noted by others ...some tunes will just stick with you easily and you will find there's no particular reason to revisit them in practice more than perhaps twice a week.

 

[MikeM70]

Thanks @MikeM70 - how often do you play your memorised songs?

really difficult to say, I play fiddle in a couple of orchestras, so I tend to play the stuff we are doing at the next performance the most, so they get played daily in the weeks running up to the date. Some pieces that I really like get played all the time, even if we're not performing them, others that I dislike will only get played enough for me not to cock them completely up. I don't keep a log of how much each tune gets played, though if I notice I start cocking up during rehearsals then I'll usually give that a bit more attention, if it's something I can play easily, then not much attention.

 

[s.mundi]

Every practice has dedicated time to smakin the melodies. We can't hit all of them on one practice, but we rotate.. I don't play the entire tune. It's a quick focus on the beginning and ending. That also applies to vocal tunes and combo tunes.
My memory sucks and its getting worse, but I'm determined to continue to perform without sheet music. God loves me every day!

 

[jbtsax]

I have found that once I have repeated a tune playing without a score enough times, it is what I call "under my fingers" and I can play it again years later in the same key almost without thinking. Repetition is the key and playing gigs for years doesn't hurt. 😉 I don't know what the magic number is---25, 50. I'm not sure. I can also say that the more I learn new songs by ear, hearing the tune in my mind and then thinking intervallicly transferring it to my instrument, the faster and easier it becomes.

I suppose my answer to the question in the title of this thread is "never". If I truly know them, I no longer need to practice them.

 

[Clivey]

Thanks @Clivey how long did it take you to build up that amount of material to memory?

Sorry for delay but I don`t use internet every day.
To answer your question. I deliberately set out to develop my set " pun intended" and took about a year to get it to the point of being ready. If I am being honest, I have to say that this web site has been one of the useful resources available due to the BOTM,SOTM threads, and I strongly suggest you take a closer look at them with a view to participation at some point.

 

[Saxmaniac]

Do you get the chance to play with other people and jam? I'm not talking about performance but get into blow bands if you can. You will learn loads naturally and get a better idea of where your strengths and weaknesses are.. Try to play along with recordings (I used to do this in preference to abersold stuff which can confuse more than help imho)

 

[Veggie Dave]

So my plan was to learn a tune until I can play it reliably, and then start to learn a new tune.

Why just one?

You could, for example, choose 5 songs and rotate through them. Each song will have its own idiosyncrasies and these differences will make the other songs easier to play.

For those of you who like to memorise tunes, how often do you play them to keep them in your memory?

Daily if there's a show coming up. Weekly if I know I'll need the song in the near future. When I feel like playing it if I get the urge.

 

[Jazzaferri]

Many studies have shown that learning something completely before moving on gets you farther down the road in the long run.

I only run through a song I know to refresh my memory if it has been a while and I cant remember it completely

 

[Chris Smith UK]

Do you get the chance to play with other people and jam? I'm not talking about performance but get into blow bands if you can. You will learn loads naturally and get a better idea of where your strengths and weaknesses are.. Try to play along with recordings (I used to do this in preference to abersold stuff which can confuse more than help imho)

I've just joined a beginners jazz ensemble and we play weekly, so that should help. 🙂

 

[Jeanette]

I've just joined a beginners jazz ensemble and we play weekly, so that should help. 🙂

Excellent have fun

Jx

 

[GCinCT]

I've just joined a beginners jazz ensemble and we play weekly, so that should help. 🙂

That’s great Chris! It will fun and you will improve at a faster rate.