What Do You Do to Learn A New Song?

What's the best way for a beginning guitar player to learn a song?

While there is no one best way, there are things you can do to help you learn.

• Listen to the song. Get a copy of the song and listen to it several times. Before you can play a song you need to be able to hear and understand it. A minimum of 10 times is what it takes before you really start to hear all that's going on. Once you can hum or sing the song you know what you're trying to make it sound like. 

•  Go slow and don't practice mistakes. This is something everyone needs to avoid. Playing the guitar is all about muscle memory so teach your fingers what you want them to do. Rushing through a passage is a sure way to have them do the wrong thing. Remember, if you can't play it slow, you can't play it fast.

•  Decide how you learn best and go with that. Some guitar teachers advocate learning a small part of the song while others would have you try to play through the whole thing. When I learn a song I try to get through all of it and then isolate the trouble spots. Keep in mind that what works for one person may not work for another. It takes patience to learn either way. Learning a short phrase and playing it over and over until it's perfect is a great way to learn a song although it can be very tedious and trying. The best advice is to experiment and refine your learning techniques.

•  Make sure you like the song. Playing the song may sound like a good idea, then for one reason or another you find you just can't get into it. There are many reasons for this, but the bottom line is if you don't like that song, find one you know you'll stick with. Don't give up on it too soon, but also don't waste a lot of time discovering that you would rather not play it. I've had students work on a song for weeks, sometimes months, and then tell me they really aren't into that song. Your teacher will have lots of songs that teach you the same thing, so make sure he or she is aware of your feelings for the music. Be aware of taking the easy way out though, I can't tell you how many times a student tells me "I hate this song" when what they mean is that it's just too hard for them.