I’ve been learning this tune called The Square at Cross McGlenn recently and I thought I’d share my process. Here’s my 5 step guide of really understanding a complex tune! This is my way of learning traditional folk tunes by ear, I hope some of these tips and tricks can help you.
Step 1. Listen!
You probably want to learn a tune because you’ve heard somebody else play it and it sounds awesome! Scahill played a version of this tune here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnqUmv8COP0&t=75s). Making sure you listen to a tune from many different artists gives you a better understanding of what you’re trying to play. This is honestly the most important step and really understanding the little nuances of a performance can really sell a tune!
Step 2. Sing it to yourself!
Whilst listening to the tune, see if you can sing along with some of it, try and get some of the rythm, maybe try humming too. I use a lot of, Doo, Bee and Da’s. To anyone else it probably sounds like I’m misremembering, “I’m Blue.”
Step 3. Break it Down!
First off try playing it by ear, for alot of tunes this is gonna be really difficult but it’s the best way to learn. The more you do it the easier it’ll get! If you’ve found a tune off Youtube, slowing the video down to 0.5x or 0.75x can really help.
Before you start anything try and understand which key the tune is being played in. I usually try playing different notes over a recording until until it sounds right. Common keys are A, D, G and their minor equivalents
Take the tune and break it down phrase by phrase. Start by listening to a phrase, pause, sing it back to yourself and now try playing it. Keep repeating this process until your singing and your playing match up with the recording. You’ll find that many of the phrases repeat with some phrases easier to understand than others. If you get stuck, move on, you’ll often get contextual queues for why a section was played in a certain way.
Step 4. Play it slowly with a recording!
Once you you think you’ve figured out a lot of the tune, try playing along to the recording at a slower play back speed. This really helps with timing too as it’s really easy to speed up on the easy bits and fumble through the hard bits.
I sometimes use the website thesession.org to find a sheet music version of the tune I’m trying to learn. The session is great for hard and complicated tunes and getting a base line understanding really quickly BUT if you only use it, it starts to becomes a crux.
Often tunes on the session don’t give you a very musical way of playing and lead to classical sounding playing. (Yuck!) Try comparing the sheet music on the session with a recording and see where the differences are. Try and spot where the musician has put emphasis on certain notes and why! Often a player will shift and vary different sections.
Step 5. Listen to yourself!
Now’s the important bit! Try playing it without the recording. Going back and reremembering a tune in another practice session can really help.
I find a really good way of practicing is to record a video of yourself and then watch it back. This does two really important things, first, it feels more like a proper performance and focuses your practice, second while watching it back you can pick up on what aspects of your playing you think you could improve.
I hope some of these tips will be useful in everyone’s folk journeys! Let me know if anyone has any questions!