Learning a song feels a little bit like taking the training wheels off your bike. Can I actually do this? Will I fall on my face? There is a lot of anxiety around taking something you have learned in theory and actually applying it to real life.

It’s also exciting. As a student waits for their teacher to write down the music. Or if they have looked up music on the internet. The anticipation builds.

Learning Contemporary Music vs. Traditional Music Method Books

If a student learns their instrument from a method book, everything tends to fit in a nice box. The music is written out in order of difficulty. The techniques that the student is expected to learn and master are based on the level of the book they are studying. There will often even be grade levels to the method books. This has nothing to do with your age, but your experience on the instrument. Once the book is finished, they will move to the next book. In that next book, they will find pieces of music that have a collection of all the subjects they have mastered in the previous book. And, of course, new concepts to challenge the student.

Learning contemporary music is not this way! If the student learns a popular song, it’s because they like the song. It may not be near the student’s technical level. It may have some techniques that the student knows and understands. It may also have some techniques that exceed a student’s technical capabilities by several levels. Sometimes this can be simplified. Sometimes the student can work on the new techniques and find success. Sometimes the student learns some of the song and returns to the difficult parts later. Sometimes, it’s best to pick something else to learn and return to the difficult song later.

Setting Realistic Expectations

It’s so important to pick the right songs to start learning. When students come to me to work on songs, I have a careful job to do. I have to look at what areas of guitar technique they are working on, as well as what techniques they may have under their belt already. I listen to ideas of songs a student aspires to learn. If it’s possible, I’ll try to teach them something within their specific interests. Any song a student wants to learn is possible to learn. But if it’s an advanced song, the student may need to work up to it.

Sometimes students pick songs that are just too difficult for them. Then I will suggest songs that are more reasonable. And reinforce what they have been working on. This will help create success. If the song I pick isn’t the student’s favorite, that’s OK. I try to set a logical progression to what they learn. Once they master certain techniques with songs, we start to develop new techniques. Then new songs become easier. Be patient with this. The student will learn anything they want in time.

My very first car had a manual transmission. Trying to learn how to drive wasn’t easy for me at first. My uncle had taken on the role of my driving instructor. He had the great idea of teaching me how to drive in his car rather than mine. His car was an automatic transmission. He explained that I should learn how to drive without learning the manual trans first. Then once I had all the basics of driving down, we’d go back to the manual transmission. Not only did I get a perfect score on my driver’s test, but I also became a very good manual driver! The concept was gradual learning. One piece at a time. This life lesson holds true in many things in life. And certainly with learning the guitar.

Online Chord Sheets/Tablature

One thing you have to be very careful with are online transcriptions or chord sheets. The problem is, you may not know if the transcriber of the music is reliable. Anyone can put a transcription on the internet. If something looks or sounds wrong, cross reference the sheet music with other transcriptions of the same song. If you see relative consistency, then you are in the right place. If they are drastically different, you should continue looking around.

Thankfully, some tab sites rate the transcriptions. Which is helpful in knowing what is legitimate. If you have a teacher, have them look over the music as well. I have found that sometimes the music is terrible. And other times, it is spot on. Sometimes they just need tweaks here or there. Regardless, show it to your instructor. Even if you plan on learning a particular song on your own.

Breaking Down the Song

You are ready! You have your music. You have your guitar. Now what? The answer is small doses and time! I can remember my first guitar teacher teaching me Stairway to Heaven. The song starts with some chord shapes that are a bit awkward for a player that has just a few songs under their belt. I learned the chord shapes and picking pattern for the first four chords of the song. Over time, I felt l knew them well enough to start trying to play the song in rhythm.

I put the album on and tried to play along with it. This was not easy. It was the musical equivalent of being knocked over by a wave. Most people tend to get frustrated by this. And they will go back to playing without the music. This is a mistake!

What I did back them was just try to line up a little bit at a time. Maybe it was just the first chord. Then the second chord change wouldn’t be right. I would start the track over again. After a few tries, I would get the next chord lined up. And I would keep doing this until I had all of the parts I knew right with the track. I call the approach phrase by phrase.

Phrase by Phrase

Learning songs phrase by phrase helps in so many ways.

1. It helps develop analytical skills. Breaking down new material in a logical, and a manageable way.
2. It helps develop short-term, and long-term planning.
3. It helps achieving a goal over a period of time. This diligence will help you in all avenues of your life.
4. It helps with your rhythmical accuracy. By playing with the album, the student will be forced to play the music properly.
5. This helps develop your ear training. The student will constantly be evaluating their playing against the playing on the record.

Final Thoughts:

I have said this in other blogs of mine. And I will reiterate it now. There is a huge difference in success between students who play along with the record and who don’t. Students, please do this! Any problems that may arise will be overcome in time. And the payoff is amazing! In no time, the student will be rocking out to so many songs! The student will be able to play with other people. And maybe even join a band! Have fun!

-JD