How to Learn a Guitar Piece by Heart?

Often perceived as a real challenge when a musician is asked to learn by heart one or more pieces of music. Between the chord structures, the techniques to memorize, all the subtleties of his instrument, a guitarist can feel overwhelmed and totally out of his depth. Even if this is obviously exciting, this can also be destabilizing. So how do you effectively learn a piece by heart?

Is Learning a song by heart a necessity?

Some will say yes and others will say no. However, it is required that the musicians know by heart the pieces they are playing during an audition or a competition for young talents. In the same way for a concert, it is rare to see a guitarist with his scores in front of his eyes.

So how do we proceed?

To begin with, you should know that in order to learn a piece of music by heart, there is an instruction manual to follow, that of your brain. According to some studies, to be able to retain a certain amount of data, it is advisable to follow this famous golden rule which is spaced learning. That is to say, to learn a piece by heart, it is advisable to space out the learning sessions. But there is also a technique to follow because this spaced learning should not be done any which way. You must space out your sessions as you integrate your piece into your long-term memory. The fresher the learning, the more fragile it is. We have all seen this in our daily lives.

It is advisable to find the right time to learn. Some are in the morning, some in the afternoon and some in the evening. If you revise at these key times, you will optimize and especially perpetuate your learning. They allow you to memorize a maximum of information in a minimum of work, doesn't it leave you dreaming?

Don't try to learn your song in one sitting. Break it down, what is its structure, its main theme, its verses, its chorus. And learn it part by part and see where the difficulties are for you. Then you can put all these parts together and play it as a whole. Partitioning a song allows you to move forward more efficiently and integrate your song into your long-term memory.

Find your own memorization tricks and your own pace of work. It's imperative to know yourself a little bit to know how you learn most effectively.

Work regularly and at the most convenient time. This will allow you to best assimilate what you are learning.

Gradually work your way through the score, remembering that the goal is to know your piece by heart.

Avoid stress and don't go in at the last minute to learn a piece. Unless this method is right for you. Some people like to feel pressure.

And above all, choose pieces according to your level.

Know that learning a piece of music by heart is something that comes with time. So don't get discouraged and enjoy the time you spend learning.