Maintaining a Repertoire

[Waldo]

I'm interested in how others here maintain their repertoire over time. I'm up to maybe 25 songs now and when I take on a new tune, I find I tend to ignore my other tunes, in favor of concentration on the new tune. The end result is, when I return to my "catalog", I'm sloppy and forget the fingering. Sometimes I almost need to relearn the tune. Note: I understand sheet music and can figure out the progression of notes, I am not a sight reader.

Any suggestions relative to technique, for mitigating this problem would be appreciated. At 73 yrs., I recognize most of the grey matter in my brain has leaked out into my hair, but, those with hundreds of tunes readily available, they must have some sort of technique of study. I have lately been studying/practicing the new tune for an hour or so, and then shifting over to my repertoire for several passes thru those that come to mind. This seems to be helping some, but it slows the absorption of the new song immensely, especially when I return to the new song in the next session.

Thanks for any suggestions,

Press on....
Waldo

 

[Dingo40]

Waldo, welcome to the club!??

 

[Tom]

This seems a perennial question around here, Waldo. One that plagues especially those of us of a certain age that did not learn accordion as a youth.

You did not say whether all of your repertoire are ones that you play "by memory."

It seems there are two ways to approach this.

1. Learn to sight read. Then you can never lose your repertoire. Easier said than done.

2. Play your repertoire daily (or as often as you can) "intentionally." Either from the music, from memory, or a little of both. Playing intentionally means to pay attention to your playing, noting which tunes you make a mistake on, and where. Do you consistently make a mistake on a particular tune, maybe at the same spot? That tune needs work, and is not strictly "in your repertoire." Make sure your repertoire is truly playable properly. Be brutal and thin it down. Then add tunes one by one, both those that need work and new ones.

Add one new song at once. Trying to learn too many at once is a recipe for disaster. Learn the new one every day until you get it. Sure, you also need to spend time "playing" - playing tunes you love, trying new things, playing loud and fast regardless of mistakes ?, etc.

I think many people overestimate the amount of tunes they can play well, right now. It's hard but necessary to be honest with yourself.

That's my method, not that I always do it, or am truly successful at it. The bigger issue for me these days is how to select tunes for the repertoire that I will still want to play next month.

PS. Learning 21 new tunes in 21 weeks has not proven to be that great.... It's always a learning experience which is good, and necessary.

Good luck to you!!!!

 

[Waldo]

Thanks, Tom.
Fully by memory (pattern recognition).
I'm mostly "By Ear". I use the dots to get the note order correct when my ear doesn't work. I had Ashokan Farewell down pat before I discovered I was in the wrong key and missing some important details. I now confirm Keys before working on sussing out the tune.
Probably, my problem is lack of practice.

 

[Corinto]

Actual repertoire is about ± 50 tunes (some very easy, others easy and intermediate, nothing very complicated), so after an easy warm up and before working on new stuff I rehearse some known tunes, 5 or 6 of them, ... then I work on new stuff ... and to finish I rehearse again a few known tunes. So after a week or 10 days all my repertoire tunes have been rehearsed and then I start again with the first tunes, and it never takes more than 10 days do the full repertoire. But in november my rehearse is mostly concentrated on Christmas tunes, the rest of the year it's all my repertoire. And yes I use the dots ... of course ymmv.

Edit: Oh, yes, and daily practice, or al least 5 days a week, is very important. Also I have a log book to keep track of my practice. And no, I can't master a new tune in 1 week, in 1 month maybe if easy tune, but usually for an intermediate tune it takes about 3-4 months to have it at a decent level.

 

[Giovanni]

All very good advice .....constant reinforcement of memory to maintain repertoire ......this long lock down and no small gigs to do has made me lazy , tunes that I played for years without a second thought from memory ....bits of the tunes i could not remember ....it was a shock ,thank god i had the sheet music to look up. I was horrified to find on one tune my right hand and left hand tried to play the tune in different keys ......it was scary . I'm not joking !!! I'm sure we all have some sort of set play list ...say 1-10 for example ,,,,,, when practicing don't stick rigidly to the 1-10 sequence
play them in all different orders ........that will also reinforce the memory and not just relying on habit /finger muscle memory ...know what chords and the keys are to each tune ...........and it is so easily to be distracted on live gigs and audience response .
I made the big mistake during lock down to lose all interest in playing .....due to having no gigs to keep my interest in music alive ..never ever felt this way in my life with the lack of live performance / gig it has created a loss of confidence ........it really is scary it has made me have many thoughts of stop playing all together .......I have to take a firm grip on my self and get practicing again !!......................just my thoughts

 

[jozz]

the secret: don't learn any new tunes!

 

[JeffJetton]

I'm guilty of this. I'll cram dozens of songs for, say, a French strolling gig, and then slowly forget parts or all of some of them due to not playing them much afterward.

The solution, of course, it to regularly dedicate part of your practice time to reviewing existing repertoire. Actually, this is a good idea whether you're a memorizer or a reader. Since the songs are invariably in different states of "decay", you'll want to organize things appropriately.

One interesting technique is the "Leitner system". Basically, you put the names of pieces from your repertoire on separate index cards (or Post-It notes, or I guess you could use a spreadsheet, etc.) You then organize them into some number of different boxes (or stacks, or whatever) based on how well you can play them now. The "terrible" ones you work on every practice session, the "solid" ones you only dredge up every now and then, and the ones in the middle you work on at some frequency in-between. You could also have a box for brand-new material that you're still initially learning.

Here's the key: Once you play a piece fairly well, you "promote" it back to the next-least-practiced box. When it's time to play it again, if you still play it well, you move it back again. Or if you stink it up, you can demote it forward a box, or even all the way up to the "most-terrible" box.

Finally, there are two other things to practice/study that will help with being able to play songs from memory. First is ear training. Getting better at playing what you hear means you have to rely less on rote memorization of the "dots". Second is music theory. The more structure you can uncover in a piece, the more you can "chunk" patterns together and the fewer things you have to memorize.

 

[Tom]

.....or use a Leitner based "flashcards" app. Good advice Jeff.

 

[Waldo]

Yes, Jeff, Thank You!
I like the idea of the Leitner approach (never heard of it before) I'll be researching this some more. I like the "box" idea, too. I'm gonna make one.

 

[olivigus]

Oooh. I really like that Leitner box idea too. I made a list of the songs I know and put a star by the ones I would actually consider playing in front of other people, but the boxes make it very concrete and easier to decide what to practice.
For me, there's also the question of making time to practice how to make a song I know richer and--I don't want to say "more complex," because simple can be very beautiful--maybe "more intricate or well expressed" would be the way to put it. Now that I know the notes and chords and patterns, how do I make it really sing? Maybe I can add a box for songs I play well but want to take to the next level, especially since as a relative beginner I'm learning rather basic versions of most of the songs l like.

 

[stickista]

Couple of things…
1 Written lists are our friend.
2 Re-learning is not a waste if time. Its still learning. And its often an opportunity spot weaknesses or even mistakes in pieces you thought you’d perfected.

 

[Ffingers]

...or even, stickista, that what seemed perfect at one time, seems no longer to be so with the changing of tastes over time.

 

[Valski]

There are a few things to consider when maintaining a repertoire. First you need to devote some time to practicing the songs that you already know because it does improve your ability and at the same time it makes you feel better about your playing because you're building on a strength.

You also need to devote sufficient time on a regular basis for practice, perhaps an hour or more daily. If your session isn't going well then cut it short but make it up by practicing longer the next time. Music is supposed to be about fun so it's understandable that when the fun isn't flowing you might want to put your accordion down and go back a little later.

Another excellent method for practice is to play in front of others and or with them. Perhaps some of your friends like to sing and would enjoy the opportunity to collaborate with live music, there may be local cultural groups that you could join. This would serve a dual purpose as an outlet to perform which is practice and the need to expand your repertoire in order to play to your audience.

Use sheet music every time. When you play using sheet music, you will remember the pieces better and eventually you will be less dependent on the charts. However, that said, by at least verifying the key signatures and starting notes you will remember each song on your list better.

I have scanned most of my songs into PDF files and then assemble my songs list into play lists. There are songs suitable for singing along with and others better for dancing. Although my list of songs is well beyond your 23 songs I think that if you were to use a performance play list, you could map out a plan to help you keep your existing repertoire fresh. If your songs are disorganized in various song books you stand the chance of overlooking a piece where you start to forget the song. Plus by copying out your songs you protect the original pages from getting damaged.

Eventually after lots of repetition you will be able to play many of your songs by memory but there will be a limit to the number of these pieces. I have friends who are pros and have been playing for decades and they even busk primarily for the practice that they get by playing each song over and over.

 

[Monty [IIIII]]

Of course all of this advice presumes you are not living with someone who shouts: "Are you playing that same f***n tune again?! Don't you know anything new.......?!!!" So I go off and play with myself, excuse me, that's by myself. But I don't always have a practice room available, so I bought a midi equipped accordion to play with headphones. But that takes too long to set up, and I can't leave music paraphernalia out for the grandchild to mess with, so I never use the headphones. Anyhow, by the time I learn a tune well enough that I might want perform it, I hear that same sarcastic voice in my mind, and begin to hate the tune myself.

The answer to all this is to be a musical genius who can pick up a tune on the first hearing, remember it forever, and never have to practice it again. Let me know when someone invents a pill or surgery for that ability.

 

[Valski]

Of course all of this advice presumes you are not living with someone who shouts: "Are you playing that same f***n tune again?! Don't you know anything new.......?!!!" So I go off and play with myself, excuse me, that's by myself. But I don't always have a practice room available, so I bought a midi equipped accordion to play with headphones. But that takes too long to set up, and I can't leave music paraphernalia out for the grandchild to mess with, so I never use the headphones. Anyhow, by the time I learn a tune well enough that I might want perform it, I hear that same sarcastic voice in my mind, and begin to hate the tune myself.

The answer to all this is to be a musical genius who can pick up a tune on the first hearing, remember it forever, and never have to practice it again. Let me know when someone invents a pill or surgery for that ability.

Hi Monty, With a larger repertoire you will tend to hear "#$&% same tune! " a lot less. It's all about practice, practicing new songs and practicing how to store your accordion when it's not being played in a way that simplifies your setup before each practice session. I'm sure that you were tonge in cheek with your post however remember that a true artist suffers for their art.

 

[saundersbp]

simplifies your setup before each practice session

For what its worth, I've found that my repertoire and practice has been revolutionised by getting rid off all the scrappy bits of sheet music and just getting a cheap tablet and page turner pedal, organising it into setlists. For me these are Freebass, Stradella Bass, Songs and Woodshed - the latter for things I am learning before they go into a setlist. I was always suspicious of tablets but have really found its removed all the distraction of bits of paper falling off music stands and getting lost in a big pile of junk. It also means I have all my music with me and can annotate it and de-annontate as I go along.

 

[Valski]

For what its worth, I've found that my repertoire and practice has been revolutionised by getting rid off all the scrappy bits of sheet music and just getting a cheap tablet and page turner pedal, organising it into setlists. For me these are Freebass, Stradella Bass, Songs and Woodshed - the latter for things I am learning before they go into a setlist. I was always suspicious of tablets but have really found its removed all the distraction of bits of paper falling off music stands and getting lost in a big pile of junk. It also means I have all my music with me and can annotate it and de-annontate as I go along.

Exactly as you say. I also use a tablet however since I also own a laser printer it's cheap and easy to print sets on paper. You said it better than I did but organizing your sheet music is paramount.

 

[Monty [IIIII]]

Joking aside, we've probably all known musicians who can sight read and play nearly any moderately difficult music book or score almost perfectly on the first pass. I assume they are not only gifted, but spent many years taking lessons and practicing all sorts of boring exercises -- scales, arpeggios, etc.. I, on the other hand, started with simple tunes and gradually learned more difficult tunes without spending much time on exercises. Now each tune is a unique challenge instead of an extension of all those practice exercises. Thus, I have to spend hours and hours working out an effective fingering and practicing it over and over until get it. I regret not learning "the old fashioned way" with scales and exercises first. But I think if I had played exercises for several years to develop the right skills, I would have lost interest. The penalty I pay now is having to work on the same tune until I and anyone listening begins to loathe it.

On the other hand, I knew a musician couple who split up because one of them played exercises for hours every day and the other couldn't stand the repetition. Wouldn't it be nice to have a sound proof music room in every home. My solution is to try to practice at times when nobody is around. I play a few boring scales and phrases over and over without an audience. Then when people are around I stick to music I can play reasonably well. I try to move around in my repertoire -- a few new tunes -- a few old chestnuts -- some waltzes -- some polkas etc. all the while listening for the banging of the pots and pans to tell me when I've practiced enough.

 

[Valski]

Joking aside, we've probably all known musicians who can sight read and play nearly any moderately difficult music book or score almost perfectly on the first pass. I assume they are not only gifted, but spent many years taking lessons and practicing all sorts of boring exercises -- scales, arpeggios, etc.. I, on the other hand, started with simple tunes and gradually learned more difficult tunes without spending much time on exercises. Now each tune is a unique challenge instead of an extension of all those practice exercises. Thus, I have to spend hours and hours working out an effective fingering and practicing it over and over until get it. I regret not learning "the old fashioned way" with scales and exercises first. But I think if I had played exercises for several years to develop the right skills, I would have lost interest. The penalty I pay now is having to work on the same tune until I and anyone listening begins to loathe it.

On the other hand, I knew a musician couple who split up because one of them played exercises for hours every day and the other couldn't stand the repetition. Wouldn't it be nice to have a sound proof music room in every home. My solution is to try to practice at times when nobody is around. I play a few boring scales and phrases over and over without an audience. Then when people are around I stick to music I can play reasonably well. I try to move around in my repertoire -- a few new tunes -- a few old chestnuts -- some waltzes -- some polkas etc. all the while listening for the banging of the pots and pans to tell me when I've practiced enough.

Exactly! I'm sure that I've annoyed others with my playing. Definitely not a virtuoso, but there are important little tricks and tips that have helped me over time. While I see the value of scales and exercises, they also bore me and although they should be a part of my practice sessions are not generally played. I took lessons many years ago but much of that education is long forgotten and although I can read music reasonably well my efforts at sight reading leave a lot to be desired. Like you my repertoire was built up slowly after returning to the accordion after a long break to and I also had to replace almost all of my sheet music so part of the task was finding useful charts.

I challenge myself by learning songs outside of my comfort zones. Waltzes and polkas are great, but they can become boring and I try to learn things that challenge me although I may be reluctant to play them in public until they feel comfortable to play even though it may take months before they are heard outside of my house. My good friend, who was a professional pianist summed up the secret to become proficient by saying that if you have enough desire to play you will play your songs often enough that they start to sound good.

I'm very fortunate that my wife and my dog both appreciate my playing and don't seem to mind the mistakes heard in the early stages of learning something new. Actually it seems that when my German Short-haired Pointer jumps in to sing along heartily, the song is ready to be unveiled to the public. If other members of your household complain, use your headphones and it will not only not bother them but will also make it more difficult to hear their complaints.