The Song Fight Bulletin Board

I don't mean when you write a song ten years ago, record it, then never play it again, I mean songs or pieces that you've learned and practiced extensively.

I just realized I can't play Bach's Bouree in Em any more. Like, I can play the beginning few measures, then my brain goes "WTF?" and I can't remember how to play it. I even tried staring at the transcription and re-learning it, but I just can't get it... I used to play this piece every day during practice. Am I getting dementia?!

Yes, it has certainly happened to me. I’ve played in a band for years, learning repertoire by memory, comeback a year later and have forgotten, though usually I’ll remember the part, or at least be tipped off by the other players’ parts, the muscle memory has been lost and I’ll find myself struggling.

No. Because I never knew how to play it to begin with... but yes, sometimes I'll pickup the guitar and play my usual "practice" riffs and totally fail... and it takes me quite a few tries before I get it right... even though I play the same riffs all the time... weird.

This is more like my mind going blank in the middle of a familiar riff and not being able to play it no matter how many times I try. It alarmed me about the Bach piece because I literally knew that piece inside out, I could play both voices of the counterpoint individually or together. I don't think I have dementia or anything, because this is the only instance (that I know of so far!)

edit: I guess I should mention the whole weed thing though... I am a fan.

I've been having trouble with forgetting stuff a lot lately but I'm chalking it up to my brain meds being changed around right now. More alarmingly I seem to have forgotten how to play my chord drills on piano but I just need to, like, practice more, I think.

When I play something regularly it forms a geography in my mind. I don’t smoke but when I used to I had now and then found myself suddenly not knowing where I was in the song or how to get back to it. It would happen when I get stoned and started thinking too consciously about what I was doing. Did you eventually get it back?

WreckdoMelle wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 23, 2020 12:28 pm

Did you eventually get it back?

Nope. When I could still play it, I didn't think about it, it was pure muscle memory. That's what the problem is I think, I lost the muscle memory and haven't thought about how to play it in a long time.

I'm self-taught, never had a lesson or bit of musical schooling in my life, so I probably use bad technique and should re-learn it properly anyway

I find that when I forget the muscle memory for guitar or ukulele songs it's pretty easy for me to recover it after not too long, but I also only know like five chords so there's not a lot for me to remember.