Memorizing Tunes - What Could be Easier

   Jazzers need to know lots and lots and lots of tunes - we have a huge shared repertoire that we need to draw from when we show up to a gig or session, particularly if we are working with musicians of varying ages.   Staring down at a fake book lead sheet while playing a tune looks unprofessional and it alienates the audience and communicates that you really don't know the music, which you don't. Reading music on the gig interferes with the creative process by engaging a "non-listening" more analytic part of the brain and it locks you in to the gross simplification of chords and melody that is the nature of the "lead-sheet".  There is much time and confusion with the shuffling of papers and books which also looks unprofessional and can be stressful and a lot more junk to carry around.
     The jazz repertoire spans almost a hundred years and is a daunting volume of music - the debate that needs to happen is whether to expect young musicians to clutter their brains with this information, but that is another topic.

Andi Bell - World Champion Memory Expert

    Conveniently, the brain is quite capable of storing thousands of songs complete with chord changes and customary styles and fills.   And memorizing music is really not daunting at all!  Think about it.. do you have any problem remembering The Star Spangled Banner or Happy Birthday or Home on The Range?  Not at all, I'm sure. Playing it is another matter!  For a musician that can play what he or she can hear
(this is what we train for), it's a simple matter of just playing the tune as the playback runs along in your head.  It is essential, of course, to have this ability to translate what you are hearing in your head, to your instrument, otherwise, memorization is ridiculously hard.  Ear training, equal fluency in all keys,  playing by ear, chord recognition, interval recognition, progression recognition, recognition of what degree of the chord the melody is, what degree the low note is etc. can all be learned and is the backbone of playing any kind of improvised music.  I believe that the goal of all the scale theory, the chord exercises, the voicing practice, transcriptions, and all the "practice" etc is to achieve the skills I just described.  Without the direct connection between basic intuitive hearing and playing, it is all, frankly, for the aspiring improvising musician,  a waste of time.
   So the KEY to MEMORIZATION, with these skills in place, is simply LISTENING.   What could be easier?
  I have an upcoming gig where I would like to know all of the songs by memory, on a list of  nearly 100 tunes in specified keys. My strategy for this is not to go over and over the lead-sheets,  ( I have about 2 weeks), but it is to load versions of the songs into my Rhapsody Playlist and go on long walks and just listen to them.  I've chosen versions that I will enjoy listening to - this is very important if you're trying to burn new brain-cell connections, to establish an emotional connection that commands your attention.  The songs will carve a path in my head, much like the one the Happy Birthday has permanently chiseled out, and, when the gig happens, I will simply play the tunes and be creative with them as well.  When this works, there will be no need for lead sheets or fake book and the musical experience will be much more natural and expressive because of the process. 
 The best way, fortunately, is the EASY way.  But isn't that always true?  

Andi Bell Memorizing the Positions of all Cards in a Full Deck