I just counted the tunes I’ve committed to memory and I’m up to 26. Not counting the ones I kinda or somewhat know. Pretty good from the only one I had in my repetoire 6 months ago.
How many do you guys know?
Nick
Other than “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” and its ilk, I think I can hack out 3-4 Irish-style tunes from memory, but not without mistakes. This is in a month; I hope to expand my repertoire a lot more than that. I’m wondering what are considered to be “essential” tunes to be able to play from memory?
Robin
In a year of Mandolin playing I thought I got to about 40 individual tunes, but later discovered I’d forgotten them after a lay off, so I guess I didn’t know them well enough.
I think 26 in six months is pretty good. I don’t think I have that many on the whistle in a year and a half, though I have been neglectful. For dance tunes, I’m now trying to learn sets rather than one off tunes, so I can play 3-4 tunes back to back.
I find that I can only keep 10-20 tunes in “finger memory”. After that the “hard disk” begins erasing tunes to make room for new ones. I may be able to play more tunes by ear, but not without plenty of “flubs”.
Tantus, 26 in that amount of time is great! Pretty soon, have to many too remember all the names and will start keeping a long written list. Then, you’ll have to many to write them all down. The secret is to keep listening and listening to music, then eventually so many of the old ones won’t fall out of your head to make room for the
“new”, because you’ll hear all the patterns of tunes and how simliar they are, it just brings the others back. Hmmm, however, then you start getting a’s and b’s of other tunes mixed up… but that’s all part of the fun. Eventually, you’ll have hundreds of tunes you can play… and can’t quite put the name to…or can play as long as someone else starts it. Haha, the trick is to build up the sets you can start and lead yourself. It’s a ways away yet but keep going… it’s a great ride!
I’m keeping a written list myself. Right now the number is up to 16.. not including some random Beatles, Simon & Garfunkle, etc. 
Confessions of a tune-aholic:
I’ve reached the point where I need to make a conscious effort to maintain my memorized tunes. Memory blips are becoming more frequent, as are instances of “I know that tune but what is it??”. Lately I’m trying to remember to look through my list and play each tune at least once every couple weeks. Some tunes definitely require more maintenance than others, though.
I counted my tune list this weekend and I’ve forgotten the exact number, but it was around 170. (Those are melodies that I have memorized and can play on hammered dulcimer – I’m working on about a dozen of them on whistle so far.) I don’t claim to play them WELL, but I do have them memorized! It would be cool to learn a tune a day for the next month so that by the end of February, at the one-year anniversary of my music obsession, I’d have 200 tunes, but I don’t think I’ll try. One or two new ones a week is more my speed lately, to give some time to prevent losing the older ones.
So, for those who are bound to wonder, here is my secret for absorbing tunes:
OBSESSION
Embrace your inner obsessive-compulsive self. Look at the things you are expected to do in life and say, “I could do X, or I could work on that new tune” and if your priorities are correct you’ll choose the tune.
Sarah
A great thread. I just asked a similar question on a different thread. Nick: 26 tunes is something to be proud of, especially so quickly! Perhaps you have the talent and “obsession” of Sarah. Sarah, oh my gosh, that is amazing, knowing all those tunes! I am impressed! Do you play with other musicians/sessioners? I have known the same 30 tunes by memory for 4 years. I’ve been too afraid/lazy to learn more since I don’t know how many I can keep up with! And I’ve just started playing regularly in session again this year so I’ve been lacking in inspiration. So now I know 31 1/2 tunes I try to play every tune I know once a week to keep them in “finger memory.”
lawhistle: you are so right that the secret is to listen. I have never been able to play by ear. I memorize the sheet music which is a terrible limitation. I am struggling to develop a better ear so I can learn tunes more effectively and so I can adapt to all the different versions people play.
Whistling is a lot of things, but never boring
Jill
One of the greatest pianists of the recent century was Sviatoslav Richter. Old and retired, he admitted in one of his latest interviews :
“I have a pretty wide répertoire; I know over 20 pieces by heart”.
Of course, one should consider how many “tunes” one should measure against a single “piece” like Rachmaninov’s 3rd concerto piano part…
“take a little piece of my heart…”
I was listening to a tune a few days ago, and I knew it was one I play, but I just couldn’t remember which. Turned out to be “Absent-minded Woman.” How appropriate!
I counted how many I can play a couple of days ago and the total came to 42. I’m pretty sure I can play most all of them from memory, but I do make mistakes often.
I have been playing for a little of a year and half.
\
“Tell me, did you sail across the sun
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is over-rated” - Drops of Jupiter
[ This Message was edited by: Sara on 2003-01-25 20:37 ]
I’m right at 50 but I’ve been working on learning them for about 4 years…so that’s only about one a month on average.
It usually takes me a week or so to learn a tune and if I don’t play it frequently thereafter for a few weeks it will leak out of my brain pretty fast. If I get one down and then play it regularly for a couple of weeks it’s usually in there for good.
There are a few great tunes I learned (5 part Cunla/Frieze Britches comes to mind) that I hardly ever play and have now mostly lost. They’d probably come back pretty quick if I worked on them tho.
-Brett
About 300 here… yikes!
I’ve found out that I can actually play more tunes than I know!! My brains does a mix-and-match thingie with my fingers. My fingers will start with one part, the brain kicks in and says, “that’s not the tune you really wanted to play”, and then I’ll end up with something completely different.
Would that be considered creative genius or spontaneous stupidity???
On 2003-01-25 20:42, Bretton wrote:
There are a few great tunes I learned (5 part Cunla/Frieze Britches comes to mind) that I hardly ever play and have now mostly lost. They’d probably come back pretty quick if I worked on them tho.-Brett
OK, the name “5 part Cunla/Frieze Britches” sounds intriguing…any idea where I can find it?
R.
[quote
OK, the name “5 part Cunla/Frieze Britches” sounds intriguing…any idea where I can find it? R.
[/quote]
JC’s Tune Finder has it … search under “Cunla” or “Frieze Britches” .
http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/music/abc/FindTune.html
-Brett
One tip for memorizing tunes: when you’re in high school and college, suffer through years of marching band.
Okay, the other tip: I have about 100 tunes memorized, and to keep practicing them I have flash cards. It won’t do to simply keep a list: if I don’t choose randomly, I won’t practice the ones that really need work.
Caj
While I might get a tune learned and memorized in a week or so, I think it takes me about a year to burn it into long-term memory. That is, if I don’t continue to play the tune regularly (almost daily) for a year, it won’t stick with me for good.
I learn about 40 new tunes a year, but probably only end up remembering 20 of them in the long run. Still, after 30 years of playing, that’s a lot of tunes.
My question is: What do people mean by “memorized”? I “know” probably 50-60 tunes, mostly slow and only a few traditional Irish. That said, there aren’t over a dozen I can play immediately from memory without glancing at a score or someone feeding me the first 3-4 notes. After that it comes back and I’m usually OK.
And that dozen isn’t fixed. If I get to feeeling I’d like to play something better, with more emotion or embellishment, and practice accordingly on that piece, it’s likely to slip to the forefront and something else be pushed into the “assist needed” buffer.
It’s like cooking. I “know” hundreds of recipes, but still keep the cookbooks on hand because sometimes I need a little “push” to get started.
(edited for spelling)
[ This Message was edited by: Chuck_Clark on 2003-01-26 11:13 ]
Started playing about two months back. Memorized (on tinwhistle) - 14 or 15, I think (still working to nail down “Off to California”). It doesn’t mean I play them well - but that I know them well enough to play from memory without hesitation and that I catch and correct my own mistakes.
I can play quite a few more from sheet music, but even if I don’t need much of a prompt, I can’t play those without one. The thing is, ones I know I can spend more time on phrasing, rhythm, and breath control.
I do suspect that if I laid off for a while I’d start forgetting fairly fast, though listening to someone else playing seems to nail it in a lot better.
Long-term, if I can learn one a week and improve my basic technique I’ll be happy.