The best way to learn a fingerstyle song in the shortest time might surprise you.
It’s been fashionable for quite some time for creators to upload videos of fingerstyle songs for guitar. I've been doing that myself for a while.
And maybe you are struggling to learn a song because it takes a long time, and you see other creators learning in what seems like record time.
I'm here to tell you, starting out learning a song the wrong way can completely discourage you from playing guitar ever again.
This is because a new song can be a daunting task, and if you don't have a step-by-step process for breaking it down, it can take you much longer.
So let's speed up the process!
I'll show you my method for learning a song quickly, and also share with you my "hack" for learning faster and more efficiently.
The best way to learn a song quickly is to get an accurate transcription, and then play the individual song sections, starting with the least common section first.
Here are the steps to learn a fingerstyle song quickly.
1. Break Down the Song Sections
A fingerstyle song is usually divided up into sections, like the intro, verse, chorus and outro.
Before learning the song, you should be familiar with the sections of the song, and what order they come in.
One easy way to do this is through passive listening. Listen to the song in your free time, while doing other tasks like driving, doing chores, or working out.
By exposing yourself to the song repeatedly, you will become more familiar with its structure, melody, and rhythm.
Be careful, though. I fell on my ass once taking too much from passive listening.
I thought I knew a song well enough just by doing passive listening. But without doing active listening, such as following along with the music, I was not able to sufficiently recall enough of the song during my practice.
So, this method does have its limits.
2. Create a Transcription
Ideally, you want to create a full tab transcription of the whole song for best efficiency. That's my preferred method.
The next best thing is to create a transcription of only the beginnings of the song sections.
When creating a transcription from scratch, don't try to take in everything at once. Slow down the playback and work on only tiny sections of the song at a time.
Or, if you're hearing the song in your head, see if you can slow down the song in your mind.
3. Practice The Least Common Section First
When I started learning a song, I'd always start practicing at the beginning first, only tackling the middle and end sections after I had mastered the first sections.
And this isn't always the best method! Actually, it's a trap.
It's always satisfying to be able to play the beginning of a song perfectly, but what happens if the harder parts of the song are towards the middle or the end, like in the song Rise by Sungha Jung?
So, that's why I propose a different way: learn the parts in the middle or the end of the song, first.
Another big breakthrough came when I decided to use a metronome right from the start.
When I started recording music, I often rushed through slow parts and slowed down the faster ones. It was a bit chaotic!
The goal is to find a consistent speed for each part of the song. At the top of my tabs, I now always include the metronome marking, which tells me the song's speed.
Now, when I learn a new song, I always practice with metronome speed a little slower than the actual tempo.
4. Record Yourself Playing
The whole point of your deep practice is to memorize the song, and to test how well you are doing, you can record yourself playing.
Now, I know you can’t always play a song at full speed right away, from start to finish, without any mistakes.
But by recording a quick cell phone video, I can get a sense of how well I've learned the song. This helps me spot the tricky sections that need extra practice.
Sometimes I draw a blank, and other times it's a certain technique or tricky pattern I need to drill.
And if you're looking for a way to learn and master the techniques in fingerstyle guitar, the best way to do so is with my complete online fingerstyle course, Play Fingerstyle Guitar Now!
