Are Unmemorized Lyrics Remembered?

EDIT for Clarity: ie: "Duh! ... If 'I' can't remember my (lead) lyrics, perhaps no one else will"
 
Depending on the genre, there goes my title and hook ... down the drain ...
 
Hah!  IMHO: 90% of the vox-songs (including mine) I've listened to on Songs Forum sound like they're narrated from a complex cheat-cheat, a biology text, and/or a paper towel! 
 
IOWs, the whole song seems:
... clinically fabricated
& melodically narrated
 
If you catch my drift. 
 
Or ... is it just me doing it?
 
 
 
 
 
------------------------------------------------------------
Hypotheses:
 
1) If 'my' song is difficult to understand and I submitted it to Songs Forum ... I'd hypothesize that I 'forgot' to memorize the lead-lyrics and/or the dominant element.  (Bad boy!  'I' just wrote another d&mned murky d!ssertation for Dr. Dawkins!)
 
2) Time for a re-write (depending on the genre) since 'I' can't be bothered to remember 'my lyrics'!
 
3) IOWs, 'I' am guilty of not memorizing 'my' lyrics and expecting my lowly target audience to instead.  Hah!
 
4) Ad-hoc studio lyrics are better than 'exquiste poetry'.  But either way, the main (dominant lead) gist should utterly hook one's bad self.
 
5) Many artists expect to memorize their lyrics 'in due time' ... while the audience must suffer narration syndrome.
 
6) To memorize the whole painting with all its orchestrations ... I won't go there.
 
7) Maybe I'm dreaming, but un-memorized performances are ruining us.
 
8) Too much memorizing is also fatal (as per speech theory)!
 
Any feelings on the importance of swiftly memorizing lead lyrics before publishing them?

Currently, I'm staring at Post-it notes (which I 'jotted' while driving) and will perform studio songs (publicly) ... only in my dreams (for awhile).
 
(My latest sketch is a free-style approach)
 
Too much memorizing vs. too little ...
 
... finding that sweet freshness somewhere in between.
 
... happy accidents, etc.

Thanks Mike (as always) ... for kindly sharing.

"Even Song Names"

Yeh, me too. 

I forget peoples names all the time.  Ouch!

I'm with Guitarhacker. 
Unless the gig/song is a last-minute addition, learn to memorize the lyrics.  I can still remember almost all the lyrics to every song i've ever loved.  And even some of my own...
If you can't remember the lyrics, rehearse more.
(imho)

Philip

I think the main point of this thread is:

"If 'I' can't remember my lyrics, no one else will"

Sounds to me as though you're being a little hard on yourself as to whether your lyrics are memorable.  Think of how many dozens of times (or more) you've heard your favorite songs, the ones you remember.  Have you heard your own lyrics that many times before you go to record them? 

The Kiosk Project


Here in the UK anyway, the trend started about 20 years ago, and performers started playing bars and clubs with music stands.
 

Yeah, I've heard players in symphony orchestras are doing that too.  What's the world coming to?! 

Philip


GH: Hah! Thats a cool score sheet. 

Slugbaby: +1

I think the main point of this thread is:

"If 'I' can't remember my lyrics, no one else will"

I can remember songs I've done a lot and listen to recordings of from time to time.  So I can't remember most of my songs because I only sang them once or twice and then never hear them again.

I've always found that writing out the lyrics (Even after I've already written them and/or have them printed up) helps me to memorize them.
Sometimes, if I have a new-ish song that I am not positive I will remember fully, I'll sit by myself before we go on and jot them down on paper, in a notebook, on laptop... whatever is available.

Regardless, for myself, I find that I forget lyrics when my mind is wondering to something outside of the song (rarely during a performance... but more often during practices).

I would never recommend simply reading the lyrics as you sing them.
Memorize them as best as you can. Practice it over in your head. Note where you tend to mix it up. And then glance at the lyrics  in those spots during your performance (Or, just before those spots, if you get my meaning).

And lastly... it's always better to cover it up as though you meant to do what you did, rather than worry yourself and the audience that you didn't recite the words perfectly ;)

Listen to me at your own risk... I tend to follow no rules, myself. I just notice some tendencies and practices that I've gathered.

For some reason I can never remeber my own lyrics, but if you asked me for the lyrics of any Rush song, I could probably pull them out of my cerebral cortex for you.

I know, I know - I'm  big geek, but I do love my Rush.

"I bring truth and understanding,
I bring wit and wisdom fair,
precious gifts beyond compare.
We can build a world of wonder,
I can make you all aware.
I will find you food and shelter,
show you fire to keep you warm
Through the endless winter storm.
You can live in grace and comfort
in the world that you transform."

I think what Philip is alluding to, is that some of the songs in the forum sound as though the singer was reading the lyrics while singing. The real problem with this technique is that the performer isn't "performing". Songs with lyrics tell a story, and its the singer job to relate that story thru a convincing performance. It doesn't matter what the subject matter is, if the singer isn't selling it, the listener isn't buying it. For me, a real strong example of this, is when a singer of less than great technique or perhaps poor pitch control, can draw a listener in with a great performance through emotional delivery. Think Dylan, Prine, Kristofferson etc...

Randy

rsp@odyssey.net


I think what Philip is alluding to, is that some of the songs in the forum sound as though the singer was reading the lyrics while singing. The real problem with this technique is that the performer isn't "performing". Songs with lyrics tell a story, and its the singer job to relate that story thru a convincing performance. It doesn't matter what the subject matter is, if the singer isn't selling it, the listener isn't buying it. For me, a real strong example of this, is when a singer of less than great technique or perhaps poor pitch control, can draw a listener in with a great performance through emotional delivery. Think Dylan, Prine, Kristofferson etc...

Randy

+1 for the singer selling the song.  This is a problem for some pros as well as us amateurs.

"It's about having that mental image of how the line must flow and fit the melodic/rhythmic patterns.  If I'm reading the words and stumbling to fit them in, then I don't know the material well enough.  I need to know the ideas, the feeling, and "arc" in order to tailor my performance to fit the song."


This is the way I see it... too me it's like skate boarding, or ballet dancing or something. If you don't have your moves figured out you're not going to be able to flow.

For instance....

She was OBVIOUSLY reading it from a lyric sheet, because....

I, for one, never believed that Britany was sorry....and that she'd never do it again.

Now anyone who knows me knows I'm a live and let live person, so I dont want to come over all cumudgeonly about it, but to me it is at best unprofessional and at worst, totally detracts from the art of performance and interaction and relationship building with both the song and the audience. Why this trend happened I do not know.

 
I absolutely agree.  As a live performer (who never uses a music stand) it seems like "cheating" to me.
 
I think Michael Stipe of REM may have started it all during the MTV Unplugged series.  I didn't like it then either!

Thanks Philip and DaveKing for your replies.

I think my problem with that is trying to learn late in life. That means when I learn or figure out a song, I try to find a suitable key for the voice. In doing that, I try several keys..Then days later I forget which key that was!

So lately I have been writing the key down, along with the lyrics in the text files that I do keep on such songs.