Song Retention

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Murphy's Misfits

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This group is for all of us that believe in the Murphy Henry Method banjo lessons. I am having a blast learning.

272 Members, Created 3/7/2011 -

Administrators: Oalbrets (owner)

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From KYSLOWFINGERS on 3/29/2016 1:10:28 PM

Just wanted to share a personal observation. This is my eighth year of trying to play. Over that time, have learned many songs from several methods. Friday, I ordered two custom lessons from Casey, of songs I would like to learn. Both are intermediate level, but I think I can handle them. Anyway, I got to thinking, seems the songs I have learned using the MM are the ones I retain the best, and several I can play without too much thought. The ones I've learned from tab, if I don't play them on a regular basis, they soon leave me. Not sure if it's the building block method she uses, same lick in different songs, or just the total learning by ear. Even if I haven't played one of her songs for some time, I can usually fool around long enough to get it started, and it comes back. I think maybe it's the pause/rewind effect that causes this, and learning each phrase, no matter how small, before moving on. I've caught myself trying to learn a complete part A/B, verse, chorus, etc. in one night and it doesn't work. Slow and METHODical wins the race LOL At 42 years old, I could barely play the radio, now at 50, I can play a few basic chord songs on guitar, a little bit of mandolin and more than I ever imagined on the banjo. My schedule doesn't permit regular lessons, but I have a personal teacher 24/7 in Murphy. Plus she never rips my butt and 99% of the time knows when something is going to take a little more effort than usual, if I've never done it before LOL Thanks Murphy, Red, Casey and the rest

4 Comments
	gazcwatson says: 3/30/2016 12:50:40 AM Got to agree with you on that
Poco50 says: 3/30/2016 6:48:25 AM Its the same with me, i can learn a song 5 times faster with the MM than tab and retain it better too. I had to be talked into buying the MM teaching dvds at first, with the person telling me that if i couldnt learn from the MM they would buy the dvds from me, to my surprise a song that i couldnt hardly learn in a week i could now learn in 2 nites and retain it...go figure. Gary Morse
	caseyhenry says: 4/9/2016 1:11:17 PM You're very welcome!! It is definitely the repetition that helps burn it into your brain. Happy picking!
Tam_Zeb says: 5/8/2016 12:00:09 PM I find I can play most of the tunes I learned as I was acquiring the skills needed to play the banjo using the Murphy Method. These tunes come to me easily without having to think about it. Definitely ear training. The tunes I learned from TAB take more effort to recall unless I have learned them using TabEdit. Having the ability to hear the TAB play thru Midi makes a huge difference. I struggled with TAB in the beginning, and I believe the Murphy Method really helped me when I was learning to read TAB as I tried to figure out the licks. My focus was on listening to the licks I was reading from the paper. Much in the same way a child learns the letters in the alphabet, forms words and learns to string the words together to make sentences. My advice to all beginners is learn the fundamentals from the Murphy Method it is by far the best teaching method out there, then after you have grasped the basics you will be ready to explore other teaching materials to further your knowledge and skills.
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