Why Do I Need The First Bar?

[Guest]

I sat down to play this evening having not played for a little while (life getting in the way). As I browsed through a few of my tune books a strange thing kept happening. I would look at the music of a tune that I do know how to play and it meant absolutely nothing. Although I've been reading music for many years my mind was completely blank. Yet as soon as I started playing the tune from the music I found I didn't need the music at all and could happily play the tune. If was almost as if my brain wasn't involved in the process, that as soon as I had a bar or two to prompt me, and I let me fingers "do their thing" then there was no problem.

 

Perhaps this is just a case of knowing the music with no connection to the name/title at all, but going completely blank on the music was a little unnerving. Anyone else experienced anything similar?

 

[Maybe I just need to start getting a couple of early nights ]

 

Morgana

[Daniel Bradbury]

I don't think it is uncommon, particularly among "ear players" to not be able to come up blank on a tune that you know you know, and only being able to start playing until after someone else "kicks it off". One thing I often have found helpful is to try to remember the B part start, or else a particularly difficult or unusual phrase as the next step.

 

There have been times when a number of us just keep looking at each other and saying "I know I know this tune!"

[Chris Timson]

I always try to avoid the first bar I come to, but look for one that sells a beer I like.

 

I think I agree with Daniel, but got a little lost in the double negatives. There are an awful lot of tunes my fingers know, but my mind doesn't, at least consciously. OK in sessions when someone else leads the tune, but not much use otherwise. Frequently such a tune will drift across my mind, seemingly of its own volition, and if I can (if I am at home, say) I will go and play it a few times to keep my fingers refreshed. If a tune has a name that I can remember, then oddly enough I find it a lot easier to recover the tune.

 

Chris

[lildogturpy]

After reading this a peculiar phenomenon occurred to me. I also occasionally have trouble remembering how a tune goes but if it's started by someone else - no problem. The unusual thing is though - if I can't remember how a tune goes - I usually can remember how the B part goes and then go round the horn back in to the A. Now why would the B part be more memorable?