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Learning Lyrics
By Daniel K. Robinson (2006)

Ah Yes! Is it just me or are lyrics the Bain of every singers existence? Ask any of
my close friends and they’ll tell you that lyrics and Daniel don’t seem to mix too
well. It is true...I do struggle to get lyrics into my memory banks, and even
harder is getting them to stay there over a long period of time. A student
recently asked me how I go about learning my lyrics and whilst I have certainly
not perfected the art, I have picked up a couple of effective keys along the way.
So Rachael, I hope this is helpful if not full proof.
1. General Listening: where possible (and it often isn’t) spend a lot of time
familiarising yourself with the tune and lyrics. I generally have a number
of songs to learn at any one time, so I compile the original versions onto a
CD (an mp3 player is great for this also) and listen to it over and over
again. Please note that I am not using this time to imitate the original
artist, moreover I am simply allowing the song to become familiar.
2. General Practice: Once I have been listening to the piece and I feel that I
am familiar with the general form and melody I will begin practicing the
piece with lyrics in front of me. I make sure the lyrics are always typeset
(Arial 12pt) so that my brain can slowly digest and remember the order.
3. Focused Listening & Practice: step three of my lyric learning regime sees
me clear the room of all distractions and zero in on etching the words into
my long term memory. I generally start with verse one and systematically
work through the song. If I’ve had time to work with steps 1 & 2, step 3
will only take me 30mins to 1hr to learn a full song. I’m a slow learner, so
many of you will be able learn your lyrics a lot faster than I do.
There are many ways to learn your lyrics and my way is only one of many. There
is no ‘right way’, but hopefully the keys that I’ve listed will be helpful...happy
lyric learning everyone.

© Daniel K. Robinson - 2010 Page 1 of 1