How many songs do you learn at a time?

[Ben-jammin]

I’m sure opinions can vary quite a bit. I’m curious how other people approach how many pieces of music they learn at a time.

I’ve found that I develop faster when I have several songs I’m working on. When I get bogged down on something on one of the songs, I work on it for a bit but before I get much too frustrated I switch to one of my other pieces. A lot of times I come back fresh the next day to the song with the trouble spot and get through it without much hassle. Of course that number could be too great, where your attention is too divided to make meaningful gains.

For me the magic number is between 4 and 7 depending on the mix of how challenging they are and what stage of the learning process I am with each one.

 

[jozz]

At any one time? -> 3 (new ones)

This is a number that has trickled down from numerous projects and diverse situations. It's like a mix between always doable for any participant, and realistic approach if you need to drop one, you still have two and not "only" one, which would be a bummer and doesn't feel like progress.

Other numbers are:
- typical high-quality rehearsal: 9
- high-paced rehearsal (set rehearsal): 16

 

[Tom]

Like any good drug, the answer remains: too many. Theoretically I have a repertoire of songs I play well, that is constantly refreshed by practice, adding one song at a time. Practically, the repertoire is fluid as my taste changes, and I generally have 3 or 4 songs I am working on at once. Christmas throws in a wrench. I used to have whole notebooks I was "working on" but experience has tamed my wandering mind to some effect. Generally, I practice my repertoire and concentrate on one or two "new" songs each practice session. Plus arpeggio and technique practice. I think. It's hard to keep on without performance or even playing with people. Thank heavens for zoom.

 

[Valski]

I like to learn more than one song at once because it's not as boring however I put the finishing touches on the songs one at a time. Learning songs from a specific genre or era makes it easier to learn and they "arrive " all at once. The biggest problem is resisting the urge to bite off more than I should.

 

[Sqeezer]

Gee-wizz folks. I don't know how you do that. I'm a "one tune at a time" type bloke. It normally takes me at least 2 weeks to memorise a tune (to get the best fingering and bass worked out etc.), and then it takes another couple of weeks to actually nail it, although I could be "refining" several tunes at once, for a while I 'spose.

 

[losthobos]

Both of them....?

 

[JerryPH]

Like most answers in life, the only correct answer is "IT DEPENDS"... lol

While some are 1 at a time, in my youth, I was able to get in as many as 20-30 songs a week when I first started to play professionally... I simply had no choice but do that.

Today, for me personally... it depends. I'm in a bit of a strange world between Stradella and Free Bass, so one SONG on each at a time seems right for me, that does not mean I open many new thing at a time, because I can open up 4-6 new things a week, like new exercises, scales, arpeggios, etc... so tackling 6-8 completely new things a week is not uncommon and can help keep one motivated and not stagnant, but one song at a time on Free Bass and one song at a time on Stradella is what swims my boat at this point in my life.

 

[Tom]

More important is how many tunes can you forget at once, and still have a repertoire.

 

[Ben-jammin]

More important is how many tunes can you forget at once, and still have a repertoire.

That’s the other side of the same coin isn’t it.