Q&A for How to Memorize Lyrics of a Song

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  • Question
    How do you remember the melody of a song?
    Amy Chapman, MA
    Singing Coach
    Amy Chapman MA, CCC-SLP is a Vocal Therapist and Singing Voice Specialist. Amy is a licensed and board-certified speech & language pathologist who has dedicated her career to helping professionals improve and optimize their voice. Amy has lectured on voice optimization, speech, vocal health, and voice rehabilitation at universities across California, including UCLA, USC, Chapman University, Cal Poly Pomona, CSUF, CSULA. Amy is trained in Lee Silverman Voice Therapy, Estill, LMRVT, and is a part of the American Speech and Hearing Association.
    Singing Coach
    Expert Answer
    Everybody has their own tricks for memorizing music quickly. For most people, it is listening to it a lot, and singing through it many times. But not only that: be active while you're doing it. Say you're walking at a park, you're just taking a walk, and listening to the music. Something about using both sides of your brain helps you remember it better. So if you're doing something else while memorizing, it can help with retention.
  • Question
    I have a callback today and only know half the song I have to sing. How do I quickly memorize the other half?
    Community Answer
    Listen to the song over and over and over again. Start to sing it. Take 15 to 20 minutes to do something else, something like taking a shower or drawing. You will most likely start humming or singing the song, because by that time it will be stuck in you head. Keep listening/singing to the song. On your way to the callback, keep listening to the song. If you aren't driving and don't get carsick, read the lyrics to yourself. Also, make sure not to strain your voice.
  • Question
    Will it help to write the song lyrics down?
    Community Answer
    Certainly! Many people find that writing something down (including song lyrics) helps them remember it later on. They find that it also helps them learn faster.
  • Question
    How do I memorize the lyrics of a foreign song?
    Community Answer
    Sing the lyrics over and over again until you never want to hear the lyrics again. Listen to it often and sing along. It will stick. Also, be sure to have a copy of the lyrics to read.
  • Question
    Can I learn the lyrics of a song in a few days?
    Community Answer
    Certainly! Just listen to the song repeatedly, and try singing along. Some people also find that writing the lyrics down by hand (not on the computer) also helps them memorize it faster.
  • Question
    Is there any way to learn it overnight?
    Community Answer
    Listen to it as many times as possible. Use the 3-3-3 rule before bed, reading the lyrics silently 3 times, then read them aloud 3 times, then have them read to you 3 times.
  • Question
    How do I memorize a song in a day?
    Community Answer
    Keep listening to the song over and over again, also try to sing along with the song.
  • Question
    I have to sing a song tomorrow and I totally failed at the rehearsal what do I do?
    Community Answer
    Just try your best. Often rehearsal nerves are worse than the real performance. You'll be fine.
  • Question
    Could I learn it verse by verse to make it easier or would it make it more difficult?
    Community Answer
    That would definitely make it easier. Once you memorize more than one verse, try singing everything you've memorized up to that point. It helps make it stick better.
  • Question
    How long does the listening often technique take until it makes me memorize staggering three songs?
    Community Answer
    Go over it and run it through your head often. Maybe find a quiet spot and just sing it a lot or sing along with the song if you don't know it well. The length of time it takes is really up to your own ability at memorization.
  • Question
    I'm learning a really long song with tons of lyrics that aren't even related -- just random phrases in about 5-6 verses. Does this still work for that song?
    Community Answer
    That's tough. To remember the order, memorize one stanza at a time. You'll want to keep reciting from the beginning as you add stanzas until you have the full song memorized.
  • Question
    Will lip syncing work?
    Community Answer
    It will help. As long as you can lip sync, you can soon memorize the lyrics.
  • Question
    I have to learn a song in French for a school presentation but I am not fluent in french. What to do?
    Community Answer
    Ask your teacher for the lyrics and look them up on Google Translate or another translating site to have an idea of what they are in English so you know what you are singing. Then, check out some videos on YouTube to hear how it sounds in French. You can also try a language app if you want to get better at pronunciation-- Duolingo is a great one that you can get on your phone.
  • Question
    How do I memorize a song when the lyrics go extremely fast?
    Community Answer
    Try to figure out what they are saying. Search up the lyrics online. Than you can read through them and try to say them faster and faster until you can sing along to the actual song.
  • Question
    How can I memorize the lyrics of a song in 24 hours?
    Community Answer
    If there's a video with lyrics, you can listen to that with the time you have. Try singing it whenever you can to get the feel of it, like in the shower or in bed. Practicing with someone else also helps.
  • Question
    If someone asks me to find the timbre of a song, how do I answer?
    Community Answer
    The timbre of a song is each instrument/sound that is present, so you would list all the different instruments that you hear.
  • Question
    Can I learn them in one hour?
    Vanya
    Community Answer
    Depends. If you're a person who remembers lyrics easily in general, piece of cake. If you aren't, you'd have to put everything you've got in that one hour.
  • Question
    I can memorize a song in 3 minutes, is that normal?
    Community Answer
    No, that is not normal. It is very impressive.
  • Question
    I study the song without fail, but sometimes when I hear other words, I forget one line or the tune. What do I do?
    Chesterr
    Community Answer
    This is normal. In my professional choir, I find if I hear the harmonies, I can totally forget my melody! You could try using earplugs so you can't hear others, but this can make you out of tune since you can't hear yourself.
  • Question
    How do I successfully sing a song in a talent show that is a bit too high for me?
    Community Answer
    If the song is a bit too high for you, you can transpose it to another key. For example, if the song is in a G major key, you could transpose the music to a C major key.
  • Question
    Should I listen to the song while I sleep?
    Community Answer
    There would be no benefit to this. Just try to split songs apart. Learn sections of the song one at a time and then put all the sections together. You cannot learn a song by osmosis while you are sleeping.
  • Question
    Is it possible to memorize a song that is in a different language easily?
    Vanya
    Community Answer
    If it has a lot of repetition, yes. If it doesn't, not so much.
  • Question
    Is it normal to gag sometimes when I sing? I'm thinking it's because I have a weak diaphragm, but I may be wrong.
    Community Answer
    If you run out of breath while singing, it is not abnormal. Make sure to take breaths when you need to, and don't strain your voice.
  • Question
    How do you remember your own song lyrics?
    LuluLemon5
    Community Answer
    Write them down! It is impressive that you wrote a song, and you don't want to lose it. Write the lyrics down, and then memorize them by going over them frequently. You can use the steps above to memorize the song.
  • Question
    Is tactile learning the same as kinetic learning?
    W1kiHelper12321
    Community Answer
    Yes, they both mean the same thing. It’s usually referred to as kinetic learning.
  • Question
    Would it be easy for an average person to memorize a song in one day?
    W1kiHelper12321
    Community Answer
    It depends on the length and difficulty of the song. Usually, no, unless they spend thirty minutes to two hours reviewing it.
  • Question
    I memorized the wrong words to a part of a song, how can I get that part out of my head and memorize it correctly?
    W1kiHelper12321
    Community Answer
    Keep repeating the right words. It’s fine if you have to slow down. Keep repeating those words to yourself until you can sing the words correctly.
  • Question
    How do you memorize a song in 15-20 minutes?
    Drew Hawkins1
    Community Answer
    It may be tough to fully remember a song in 15 minutes, but you can try to drill the words in your head through repetition. Print out the lyrics and sing them out loud over and over as many times as you can. If the song has a lot of verses, focus on remembering the first lines of each verse, which can help trigger the rest of the words in your memory. If the song has a lot of rhyming words, try to remember the way they sound as you memorize the song. That can help you remember the lyrics, too.
  • Question
    I have to lead worship in my teen group tomorrow, I have to learn a brand New song we have never done before, what is the best way to learn it? It's ok if I Don't have every lyric memorized.
    Drew Hawkins1
    Community Answer
    If you need to learn a song overnight, you can try drilling it over and over and singing it to yourself as you fall asleep and when you wake up to help keep it on your mind. Sing the words over and over and the repetition will help you remember them. Try to listen to the song as often as you can. Play it while you drive, brush your teeth, and when you're hanging out in your room. When you go to bed at night, sing the song to yourself until you fall asleep. When you wake up, start singing the song again. Surround yourself with the song and when the time comes, it may still be fresh on your mind.
  • Question
    My friends asked me to sing a song in church with them, and I have to learn it really fast! I'm worried I'll mess up and ruin the whole thing for all of us! How can I learn it really really fast?
    Emma Trifan
    Community Answer
    Print out the lyrics and sing it a few times. Then you can try to sing it without looking. If you tried everything in the article it might be best to tell your friends that you couldn't memorize the song and can only sing some parts, or might not be able to. Honesty is the best policy.
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