Originally Posted by: gregmchir

First off I would like to thank guitar tricks ,I have gotten to the point where I can play at least a dozen songs . There is a slight problem though. I can only play the songs in performance mode where the tablature scrolls . The problem is not timing or chord changes but knowing where to go next To clarify right now I am playing acoustic songs that don't have a distinguishing riff but do recquire a singer beginner /easy ie Wild horses ,,Imagine ,Losing my religion ,Wide open spaces,Every rose has its thorn

I am at a standstill now because I want to learn new songs but I feel I should memorize what I know first . Do I learn each song section by section or do I play along with the scrolling tablature?. Do I memorize one at a time or two or three? I try to pick up cues from the singer and not look at the scrolling tablature but sometimes I play the wrong chords and then I lose the rhythm If I just played along to the track without visual cues I get lost . If these songs get removed then technically I wouldnt know any songs except for ones that have the same chord structure over and over

I rely on performance mode or jam mode because I cannot sing at all This enables me to play songs that I never would have considered I am handicapping myself because I can't play in front of anyone without the scrolling tablature .

Thank You

Yeah, Me too. I think I am slowly getting better at that but am not sure but remembering what to do has been at least as much of a challenge as learning how to do it. I believe I am finding that the more I figure out a song myself (versus just copying the chord changes off a googled document or something) the easier it is to retain it. That's not surprising as it's multiple processing channels and so on....stuff which educators know is effective.

I've also tried using mnemonics to help with certain sections in certain songs. Like on "For What It's Worth" (a pretty easy song), I would often mix up a particular chord order. There's a part where the chords are E-D-A-C but I would sometimes strum EADC or something different. But you can pronounce EDAC (EE-dak) so now I say that internally when I get to that section to help remember the order of those chords, and I never get it wrong anymore. The other thing that I suspect is true, is that as you learn and play more songs, the connection between what you are hearing in your head (because if you're like me you can accurately reproduce the song in your head) and what your fingers do is strengthened, eventually bypassing the clunky part of your brain that tells you what to do. Eventually, you end up just moving to the correct chords without thinking too much about it. That may come slowly, after years of playing (and maybe I'm wrong and it doesn't come at all) but it seems to be true of other types of motor learning like playing sports, swinging a tennis racket or just walking. Things start off kind of clunky and with conscious intent, but eventually become more automatic, smooth and accurate. I don't know how age enters into the calculation. At almost 60, I wouldn't be surprised if my ability to learn new (guitar) tricks is more limited than it once was. Only time will tell I suppose.

Dave