In my most recent article on memorization, I mentioned creating cue cards that contain the most minimal information you need to get through a song or review it … basically a list of chords with lyric ‘cues’ underneath in key places. Here is my 3×5 cue card for Singin’ in the Rain:

I knew this song fairly well already, so the lyric cues are extremely minimal. No one is going to learn a song from such a minimal set of chords/lyrics, however, copying the song out from the sheet music by hand is a great way to firm up the structure/patterns in your brain. By the time you’ve done that, you should be a lot farther along in your memorization.

And … if you don’t care about being completely memorized, a cue card is a great way to minimize what’s between you and you’re audience:

• Rig some way to clip the card to your mic stand.
• Make a cards on a full size sheets of paper and tape them to the floor to glance at in performance.
• Put the cards on your phone or tablet and use a mic stand clamp designed for your device.

Anyway, I’ll be posting some more of my cue cards as I make them. I have a lot of songs to memorize this Summer for performances coming up in the Fall.

See also: Singin’ in the Rain Ukulele Sing-along

Enjoy!

Post filed under All UkulelePlay! Blog Posts.