MorrisrownSal Posted September 28, 2014 Posted September 28, 2014 By the way... I was performing Still's 4 and 20... and the first line is: "4 and 20 years ago... I come into this life" I started the intro to the song, one I have played many times, and forgot the line. The line that is the only line in the song with the actual title of the song in it. Ever happen to you? Which songs? :)
j45nick Posted September 28, 2014 Posted September 28, 2014 By the way... I was performing Still's 4 and 20... and the first line is: "4 and 20 years ago... I come into this life" I started the intro to the song, one I have played many times, and forgot the line. The line that is the only line in the song with the actual title of the song in it. Ever happen to you? Which songs? :) I don't remember.
onewilyfool Posted September 28, 2014 Posted September 28, 2014 The best way to recover from a lapse like this is to…..is to………..uh……..
E-minor7 Posted September 28, 2014 Posted September 28, 2014 This could be a serious sign of deterioration or just an innocent case of taking things for too granted and being elsewhere while starting up. . I have experienced similar situations, but always as a result of some sort of absent-minded side or sub-road activity. The guitar and what you do behind it is an extraordinary fine measurer of your losses to age. By its many parameters - lyric-memory, motoric memory and ability, mind-speed, intuitive reaction, overview etc. - it'll will tell you how far you have fallen. So stay sharp - and you'll probably remain fit in other fields as well. I personally intend not to give an inch ;-) and actually still improve - then again I'm hard-core. .
RichG Posted September 28, 2014 Posted September 28, 2014 Ever see the YouTube of Tom Rush doing "The Remember Song"? It's my favorite lately. And yes, that happens to me a lot lately!
Kaiser Bill Posted September 28, 2014 Posted September 28, 2014 After 57 years in the "biz"...I can honestly say this has happened a few times. So far its not a serious problem...except when it happens...LOL. Seriously maybe three times in the past 30 years.
Rambler Posted September 29, 2014 Posted September 29, 2014 Ouch. http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/115550-remember-lyrics-live-poll/
MorrisrownSal Posted September 29, 2014 Author Posted September 29, 2014 I guess I need to start getting sheet music on a stand
gary wilson Posted September 29, 2014 Posted September 29, 2014 Oops, It's never happened to me, but I want to know that how do you manage at that time or how handle that situation.
MorrisrownSal Posted September 29, 2014 Author Posted September 29, 2014 Oops, It's never happened to me, but I want to know that how do you manage at that time or how handle that situation. I stopped the song. Yikes. Pretended to clear my throat - made a joke about needing a little liquid courage, found the line in my mind, and started over. I know next time to plan better for flub management.
MissouriPicker Posted September 29, 2014 Posted September 29, 2014 It can happen every-now-and-then if I'm not focusing on the song. Sometimes, if I'm getting tired, I kind of go into an "auto-pilot" mode or I'll get distracted by a good-looking woman (and that does happen) and I'll miss a line. If I can't find a line on a popular cover song I often add something like "and I can't remember the words." This generally gets a couple laughs along with someone singing the line I'm after. If I forget the words to my own song, I'm out of luck............I think a great deal of it revolves around paying-attention-to the song and focusing on your performance. You've got to stay sharp. Lose that focus and your mind will wonder. Combine that with just getting older and you might be wondering a lot. Either way, staying focused on the music is the way to go..........Part of this problem can also be taking a performance for granted: we've done it so often that we fail to practice songs we know-by-heart-second-nature-etc.. I'm guilty of that. I find that if I do spend some time preparing for each gig, the gig goes much smoother and I do a better job. Anyway, that kind of helps me.
DRC Posted September 29, 2014 Posted September 29, 2014 I have so many songs in my repertoire, I sometimes forget lyrics to ones not played in a while, as well as those in the process of learning. I usually sit when playing, and for shows and concerts I use a 10" notebook computer discreetly placed in front of me with PDFs of lyrics in bold Arial font to all the songs I sing. It's been a lifesaver....or rather... show saver. I can remember most of the lyrics but when unsure, a quick glance at the screen will provide that "oh, yeah...now I remember" moment. DC
sjl200 Posted October 2, 2014 Posted October 2, 2014 Getting old .......check Forgetting "stuff" ........check The I song app helps me , But sometimes I forget how IT works.....🙈🙉🙊
tpbiii Posted October 2, 2014 Posted October 2, 2014 Sometimes I forget stuff ... and sometimes I forget stuff. My wife and I have been playing and singing together for nearly 50 years, and we love lyrics. We do a lot of jamming and some performing -- less than when we were younger. We keep an excel spread sheet to remind us what we know -- it has about 400 songs on it, but we know more. During our whole life together, we have "refreshed" these songs (lyrics, melody, harmony) on a regular basis -- sometime just playing around the house and often a capella when driving. Through all our performing life, we have occasionally had verses that seemed to temporarily "go away" on stage. This did not happen much, but when it did it was usually not on a newly learned song but on something we have had done zillions of time -- so often that we normally don' think about the lyrics at all. When jamming, we like to pull out old obscure songs and there are sometimes issues there, but that is part of the fun. We find if we are going to perform a song, we need to I guess you would say "warm up" the song once -- preferably within a few hours of the performance. For us, this generally addresses the lyric memory issues. Another interesting memory aging effect is that I no longer remember song titles. In a jam session, I identify he song in some ethereal way, but I can't recall the title, melody or words. Normally the first thing that happens is I recall the kickoff -- and then it is all there. It usually takes a few seconds, but sometimes much longer. Here is an example in a jam session. (Note -- also contains 1936 AJ content.) Let's pick, -Tom
j45nick Posted October 2, 2014 Posted October 2, 2014 Sometimes I forget stuff ... and sometimes I forget stuff. Another interesting memory aging effect is that I no longer remember song titles. In a jam session, I identify he song in some ethereal way, but I can't recall the title, melody or words. Normally the first thing that happens is I recall the kickoff -- and then it is all there. It usually takes a few seconds, but sometimes much longer. Here is an example in a jam session. (Note -- also contains 1936 AJ content.) Let's pick, -Tom Almost fell out of my chair laughing on that one, Tom. I can identify big time. I'll remember lyrics, but not titles.
blindboygrunt Posted October 2, 2014 Posted October 2, 2014 nurse !! NURSE!!! he's out of bed again! !! nice harmony tom. enjoyed that a lot . thanks for sharing. buy that guy a metronome for his shoe though :D
duluthdan Posted October 2, 2014 Posted October 2, 2014 Tom : Excellent example of how things escape us. Great music.
Poopsidoo Posted December 31, 2014 Posted December 31, 2014 Happens quite frequently. When I do an open mic, if I really concentrate on my playing, then I will forget where I am in the song! The main reason I don't play without my iPad and onsong in front of me!
BluesKing777 Posted December 31, 2014 Posted December 31, 2014 Another old thread? I use to be young and forget the lyrics, and sometimes when I was in a band, I often forgot what my name was...... BluesKing777.
j45nick Posted January 1, 2015 Posted January 1, 2015 Another old thread? I use to be young and forget the lyrics, and sometimes when I was in a band, I often forgot what my name was...... BluesKing777. There were probably other causes for your forgetfulness back then. What's your excuse now? My excuse is that my mental hard drive is almost full, and I have a slow, outdated processor. My mind is still running DOS......
BluesKing777 Posted January 1, 2015 Posted January 1, 2015 There were probably other causes for your forgetfulness back then. What's your excuse now? My excuse is that my mental hard drive is almost full, and I have a slow, outdated processor. My mind is still running DOS...... Full hard drive - HA! Maybe delete some of those old files to make space, get some more RAM! I have to say that the New Year is 12 hours past here and it was a real dud compared to old band New Years, but I am headache free and sitting here tapping on a forum, instead of waking up in the back of a van! Some good some bad, at about 3 drinks in last night, the boss mentioned vacuuming the carpet this morning? :mellow: Things have changed! BluesKing777.
blindboygrunt Posted January 1, 2015 Posted January 1, 2015 count me in also BK. fell asleep on sofa. as you say though , no headaches this morning. I havent been able to enjoy new year since I stopped gigging. anyone else the same ? best new years I ever had was playing and watching it all from the sides.
BluesKing777 Posted January 1, 2015 Posted January 1, 2015 count me in also BK. fell asleep on sofa. as you say though , no headaches this morning. I havent been able to enjoy new year since I stopped gigging. anyone else the same ? best new years I ever had was playing and watching it all from the sides. Me too! Start a thread on the subject BBG and we will all fill it memories and a bit of bitter and twisted to go with it......but a New Years eve gig is a hundred lifetimes worth of playing sometimes! Might have to put up with a years rubbish to have a seat! BluesKing777.
fretplay Posted January 1, 2015 Posted January 1, 2015 They say we don't forget anything just the ability to find it in the mystery of the mind. It is interesting how if you forget something you forget it again. We used to play Waiting in the Weeds and Eagles song. I always forgot the complicated D chord in the middle of the song but never the long outro. Strange! The answer, if there is one, is to keep trying to remember as much as possible each day.
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