I Learned 39 Songs in 6 Days - Here's How

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00:00 Intro
1:23 more similar to the pros than I expected
2:45 not "complex" parts
3:30 me before learning it all
4:45 is it really 39 songs I don't know?
5:44 juggling learning this amount
6:00 phase 1 - listening
8:08 realistic levels of detail
9:15 making notes
10:00 flagging the parts that need most attention
11:00 how many songs can you do in a day?
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[@1man1guitarletsgo]

I played a gig as a dep guitarist last night, and my process was pretty much the same as JNC's. I had a few weeks to learn 40+ songs, with two band rehearsals. Another aspect of depping that I hadn't considered until yesterday was: _gathering as much information as possible about the gig, before committing to it._ I agreed to play one gig, for a fee, but should have asked: 1) Where is it? 2) What time do I need to arrive? 3) What time does the gig start? 4) What time does it finish? 5) How will I get paid? In the event, the gig was 60 miles from home, and I chose to take the M6 Toll road, so my travel cost was around £27 (12l petrol @ £1.40 + £9.70 toll). Arrival time was 5pm, and we got away at about quarter past 11. Payment is to be by bank transfer, which is fine, but cash is immediate. If I'd asked these questions, I might have turned this opportunity down, but on the other hand, _what an opportunity!_ I played a gig with some fantastic musicians, and played a part in entertaining the audience. Also, while this was just one gig, I may be called upon in future by the same band, thereby making the whole exercise more cost-effective. Plus, my name's out there as someone who can stand in on guitar at short notice, so all in all, I'm not unhappy. Next time though, I'll be asking more searching questions in advance!

[@glennmartin4232]

I’ve just learnt 26 songs for a new band I’m joining . Only had 2 rehearsal’s before months of gigs. I found that It helped to have the set list format exact to the gig. Chart each song you learn with Into, verse, chorus , bridge so that you get the format memory for revision. A lot of the songs had complex solos. Most solos have a distinct intro, middle and outro . I learn that and add lib the rest. It’s not easy and you have to revise a lot. Even after lot of practise you can forget. Just do your best.

[@MaPa60]

39 is a lot, I hope there at least was a tour or some reoccurring gigs with that set. Super helpful to share your process, shows how much work that goes into it, and we got some golden tips to boot!

[@RustyMadd]

This is really interesting and helpful and it helps me confirm that I am not much different, in fact very much the same in the way I approach such tasks. Good stuff! Thank you for sharing this.

[@philbrannigan5854]

One thing I've found when doing this sort of prep, is that it's tempting to practice the songs you're most comfortable with because it makes you feel good when you nail them. The same goes for songs that you like more than others. I certainly do get the ones I'm most familiar with out the way first, because that cuts the list down to the songs that need solid work. But from there, I've found it's essential to have some sort of system. I put the songs into Excel and score each song from 0 = Never heard it before, to 5 = Ready. I'd sort the list in ascending order of that score, so the ones where I had the most work to do would appear at the top, and at the start of each practice session I would sort the list again to account for work I'd done in the previous session. Each song had a line of notes about what was needed to get it to the next level, and also as JNC says, anything specific like stabs, accents and breaks. Every practice session I would spend the most time on the lowest scored songs, and my objective was to nudge each song I worked on up to a higher score in that session. Getting a 4 song to 5 was fairly easy, so after working on some 0s and 1s, I'd try and get some 3s and 4s up to 4 and 5. If I had any time and energy left at the end of a session, I would play through some 5s to make sure I really did have them done. What the interim scores represented depended on the nature of the material. If it was a rock gig, then one of the scores would involve guitar solos. If it was a disco gig, then it was more about nailing the groove. However nerdy it sounds, if I didn't have some sort of system then I would be tempted to spend the most time on stuff that was fun, only to find myself the day of the gig panicking about songs I hadn't done enough work on.

[@Opoliades]

Wow! This i actually brilliant! ✨

[@NickGranville]

I had to do the same for a gig yesterday. Got the call on Friday night for a gig on Saturday with 3 singers. 40 songs to learn in 1 days. Luckily I’d played with them before and had played 1/2 of the tunes and had charts. So I found charts for the rest and learnt what I could and it was fine (times like this I’m glad I can read well).

[@NickGranville]

The only solo I had all night was bohemian rhapsody - but up a tone! I know, super weird playing it in another key.

[@JakeBisognin]

I’m impressed you’re gunna remember them all! If I were to get an obscure setlist, I’d kinda accept that I’m very unlikely to ever play these songs again, so I’d chart them and just read it. I always remember original/artists songs though.

[@joemiller9856]

Stab sections , yes!

[@Deep_Jimpact]

Hi mate, haven’t watched the video, but is it that you learned one AC/DC song and that sort of covers all the rest?

[@sambroxguitar]

😂

[@Zarzosa]

I would love to know what the songs in the list are. I play only as a hobby, but I have a band that sounds good enough to play gigs in bars. We would like to do so, but lack the ability, or we haven't developed it yet, to create a full show. It would also be very interesting to know what kind of music is played in other countries. Kida tired of the same Rock en tu idioma sets from the 80´s.

[@Murdernadofdeth]

I have found that I tend to forget the parts of the bridges or the whole thing. I think it’s because a person plays them a lot less times as compared to the verses and choruses. Also when I’m cramming a lot of songs in a short period, I rely heavily on the drummer for the changes. He learns songs like a drum machine and always gives me a heads up with his hats a bar or even the beat before the change.

[@Prag11]

Guitar is easy. You can get away with not knowing the whole structure, as you just glide along the top of most songs and do solos😊

[@gavitorres-olivares]

Yes, do this is you don’t want a call back for another gig lol

[@riffcodgerpetermcaleer8638]

Don't you use simple charts? Like 1 5 4 etc?

[@philbrannigan5854]

@@riffcodgerpetermcaleer8638 that can be good if the music requires you to play chords. But a lot of songs have specific guitar parts that you really need to play correctly. Think of Steve Lukather’s incredible guitar parts on Michael Jackson’s Human Nature. If you don’t get them right, the song will be lessened as a result. And chord charts won’t help.

[@BobbyCulpepper.srv3fender]

I know how you did it, you have an understanding wife

[@michaelschneider7590]

Might there be a need for a pedal that displays the music you need, in real time? Less memorising, more sight-reading…?

[@carlospellot2426]

I think that's what Jordan Rudess does with Dream Theater, he has a chart in front of his keyboard.

[@nikolaki]

Not sure if this is what you mean but there are Bluetooth pedals that you can pair with an iPad to go backwards and forwards through sheet music or charts with your feet.

[@joemiller9856]

Re chord voicings .. also realizing there are other musicians covering those bits, best to focus on the things that really need to stand out that you specifically need to cover..