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Have you ever been at a gig or a jam session and someone called a tune that you used to know
but just couldn’t seem to remember anymore? If this happens to you don’t worry! You are
certainly not alone. There are so many tunes out there to learn and sometimes it can be
overwhelming! But since we are all students of the music and striving to get better at our craft,
it’s important to pinpoint where the problem lies. It’s usually not because you have a bad
memory, it’s how you learned the tune in the first place.
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How To Learn A Jazz Standard And Not Forget It - Learn Jazz S... https://www.learnjazzstandards.com/blog/how-to-learn-a-jazz-st...
In past articles we’ve often talked about why you should learn jazz standards but it’s not often
that we have talked about how you should learn them. That would be some important
information to know, right?
The deciding factors of whether you absorb a piece of music or not are influenced by how you
first learned it and how you continue to maintain it. Over the years, I’ve observed my students
and fellow musician friends engage in a string of bad habits that have often set them up for
failure. To be honest, I’ve fallen into many of the same traps they have from time to time, but of
course failure is the best way to learn how to do things correctly!
To save you from falling into these same traps, I’m listing out some of my best advice for
learning jazz standards (or any style of tune for that matter). If you follow this method I
guarantee you won’t be disappointed in the results! Let’s check them out:
I’m not saying you should throw your fakebook away, in fact it can be a great tool for helping
you learn a song. However, if you depend on it as your primary source of learning a tune it’s
likely you won’t ingrain it into your memory. Instead, look to the recordings for help. Listen to
lots of different versions and learn the chord changes and melody from them. It will force your
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How To Learn A Jazz Standard And Not Forget It - Learn Jazz S... https://www.learnjazzstandards.com/blog/how-to-learn-a-jazz-st...
ear to work hard but it will produce excellent results! Once you’ve learned the song by ear feel
free to check your findings with a fakebook. Just remember this: J u s t b e c a u s e i t ’ s o n a p i e c e
o f p a p e r d o e s n’ t m e a n i t ’ s c o r r e c t .
Have you ever been going about your day and suddenly a song from your childhood randomly
pops into your head? It was so stuck into your subconscious that even though you hadn’t heard
it in a long time, it still came back to you. Make the standards you learn do the same.
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How To Learn A Jazz Standard And Not Forget It - Learn Jazz S... https://www.learnjazzstandards.com/blog/how-to-learn-a-jazz-st...
There are many songs in my repertoire that it doesn’t matter how long it’s been since I’ve
played them, I will always remember them. This is only because I listened to them a lot, can sing
the melody without my instrument, learned the harmony and melodies by ear, love playing
them, and at some point was consistently playing them all of the time. Do all of these things and
I’m sure you’ll remember a lot more tunes!
A
Abboouutt tthhee A
Auutthhoorr
B r e n t Va a r t s t ra
http://www.brentvaartstra.com
Brent Vaartstra is a professional jazz guitarist and educator living in New York City. He is the head blogger and
podcast host for learnjazzstandards.com which he owns and operates. He actively performs around the New
York metropolitan area and is the author of the Hal Leonard publications "500 Jazz Licks" and "Visual
Improvisation for Jazz Guitar." To learn more, visit www.brentvaartstra.com.
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