That will help you figure out how many rehearsals you have and how long they need to be. What’s your deadline? Take into consideration that If you have a deadline, you are much more likely to actually learn a song. Before I get into The Process of How to Learn a Song, I have an important tip for you about repertoire learning: Have a Deadline! Do you want to be a second-rate whomever you were listening to? No, you want to be a first-rate YOU. You’ll learn it much better if you spread your rehearsals out.Īnd pleeeeeease don’t just listen to a song over and over and over again. You can decide how to divvy that up if you don’t have a single chuck of time to work on it. A 3-minute song will probably take you about 60-75 minutes of rehearsal time to learn. So how much time should you really spend on learning a song? My rule of thumb is to take the number of minutes the song plays and multiply it by 20-25. Don’t forget about dynamics, phrasing, articulation and diction! These elements really take you from being a “good” singer to being a “great” singer. There is so much more to learning a song than melody and lyrics. Shouldn’t take too long, right? Only if you want to be mediocre. These structures are common, but your song doesn’t have to follow them to work.Īll you really have to do is think about your song’s rising and falling action-it’s almost like the narrative arc of a novel or a movie.How long does it take to learn a song? It sounds pretty straightforward- learn the melody, learn the lyrics. With that in mind, here are a few examples of structures you’ll often find in specific genres. They’re all you have to know to get started! Common song structures There are plenty of variations on these basics so check out our other resources about song structure to get the full picture.īut most songs can be broken into these three parts. The bridge is a contrasting section that leads the song in a different direction before heading back to a verse or chorus.īridges are typically used to shake up the pattern and make familiar elements like the chorus hit extra hard when they come back in. It also tends to be the catchiest, most memorable moment. It’s a repeated section that usually contains the most direct statement of the song’s main idea. The chorus is where that development pays off. The verse is the section that builds and develops your song’s narrative. Most songs are made up of three key structural elements- verse, chorus and bridge. I’ll go through the basics here, but if you need a more in-depth guide, head over to our overview of song structure to get up to speed. In fact the vast majority of popular songs follow only a handful of possible structures. Many songwriters consider structure the toughest part of songwriting, but it doesn’t have to be a stumbling block. Get 30+ plugins with LANDR-s yearly plugin subscription. Simple but powerful creative fx and studio enhancers, curated to get you to a professional sound quickly and reliably. If you answered yes to any of those questions, try to focus on your topic as you write. Is your song about something? Do you speak to it directly in the lyrics? Or is it more of a general theme? In fact, many songwriters prefer to start with an element they know will be central to the rest of the song.įor some that’s the groove or the drums, for others it’s the vocal hook or chord progression. You can really narrow things down if you know what your song doesn’t need.įor example, does your song have singing or lyrics? If not, you can skip that part of the process entirely.īut if you know you need a great bassline to make it work, then it’s worth spending more time to figure it out. Is it spirited, or melancholy? Should it be fast and aggressive? Or chill and groovy?ĭefine the mood and you’ll be able to make decisions faster. Identifying a mood for your song will help you with all sorts of questions. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you build out your vision for a song: What mood will my song have? You don’t need to have everything defined beforehand, but developing the general idea of your song will give you a framework for the rest of your creative process. With your main idea in hand, it’s time to flesh out a vision for your song. Field Recording: 10 Ways to Use Found Sound in Your Production 3.
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