Ten Tips and Tricks to Remember Song Lyrics That Work

Many singers struggle to remember the lyrics of a song. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or an expert; some pieces can be difficult to remember. To help fellow musicians and singers, I have compiled a list of 10 tips and tricks to remember song lyrics.

This list is based on my own experience and the experiences of other musicians, singers, and performers.

Separately learn music and lyrics.

This applies more to singers who intend to sing with an instrument. Although learning the lyrics and music simultaneously may seem productive, it can make learning the song more difficult. When trying to learn a piece, it is best to separate the lyrics and music. This will prevent your brain from becoming overworked and make you more productive.

Begin with the music

Learning the music is going to help you remember the lyrics better. After you have mastered the melody, chords, and rhythm, you can begin to play the entire song by yourself. Once you have got the song’s chorus, theme, and rhythm, you can tackle the lyrics with the tips and tricks discussed in this article.

This is a great way to organize what you are trying to remember and prepare. It will make it easier for you to memorize the lyrics and be ready to perform them when they are needed.

Stacking the Lines (Step by Step)

I use the stacking technique to organize the lines or phrases when memorizing lyrics. Let me tell you how I used this technique for Ed Sheeran’s song “Perfect” to remember it.

Learn Music and Lyrics Separately

This applies more to singers who intend to sing with an instrument. Although learning the lyrics and music simultaneously may seem productive, it can make learning the song more difficult. When trying to learn a piece, it is best to separate the lyrics and music. This will prevent your brain from becoming overworked and make you more productive.

Begin with the music

Learning the music is going to help you remember the lyrics better. Please focus on each song’s melody, chords, and rhythm until you feel comfortable playing it all by yourself. Once you have mastered the song’s chorus, theme, and rhythm, you can begin to tackle the lyrics with the tips and tricks discussed in this article.

This is a great way to organize what you are trying to remember and prepare. It will make it easier for you to memorize the lyrics and be ready to perform them when they are needed.

Stacking the Lines (Step by Step)

I use the stacking technique to organize the lines or phrases when memorizing lyrics. Let me tell you how I used this technique for Ed Sheeran’s song “Perfect” to remember it.

This technique can be used to separate the lyrics into sections, as I did with this song. (The first four lines are Section 1). This will make it much easier to understand the lyrics and won’t be nearly as daunting as tackling the whole song at once.

Record Yourself (2 Different Techniques)

Recording yourself singing the songs you are trying to remember is a great idea. But here are some suggestions.

Talking the Lines

You can record yourself speaking the lines instead of recording your singing and then listening to it repeatedly. While it can help you memorize the lyrics, listening to the same song over and over again might affect how you deliver them when you perform. The recording will show you the same performance. You’ll be familiar with how you sang the song in the recording, which can impact how you perform it.

You might find this difficult, especially if the song is more free-flowing. You can listen to recordings of yourself speaking the lyrics. This allows you to concentrate on the lyrics and not the singing.

Pauses between each line for echoing (Creating Your Book)

This is something that I wish I had done sooner. Although it may take some time to set this up, it is a great way of memorizing song lyrics. To make recording easier, I recommend recording with no music (acapella).

Record yourself singing the song. However, you will need to pause between each line. It would be best to stay long enough to recite the same line in the recording. This will allow you to force the memory process by using multiple brain parts. Repetition of the lyrics by listening to them.

This is basically how you create your guide to help you remember the songs you are working on.

Listen to the lyrics out loud.

It can be a great way to memorize a song by reading the lyrics. You can also save energy by reading the poems instead of singing, so you can focus more on learning them and take fewer breaks to rest your voice. It is important to read the lyrics aloud when you do this. This will help you memorize the songs as you read them aloud and hear yourself saying them.

Slow and steady

You can sing or say the lyrics loudly, but it’s best to go slowly and carefully. Be sure to pronounce and articulate every word correctly. Divide the words you are speaking/singing, emphasizing vowels and consonants. This will ensure that you are going through every lyric. It will allow you to learn the songs and practice singing them in the way they were meant to be sung.

Visualize the Story in the Lyrics

A song is essentially a story told with music. It is possible to visualize the song’s story and develop a deeper connection with it. When we try to imagine the story, our minds will create images representing the lyrics. This will be helpful throughout memorizing songs because it allows our brains to associate lyrics with visual images in our heads. These images can recall the lyrics from memory when we sing the song.

Make a mental storyboard.

It can be very useful to create a mental storyboard for the songs you are trying to remember, especially if there are subtle changes in the lyrics or patterns. For example, we’ll be using “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran as a song to illustrate what slight changes in lyrics or patterns mean. A mental storyboard is a tool that can be used to help you create your own.

The changes can be subtle but enough to confuse someone. I could not remember the order of the choruses and would sometimes sing the first chorus when practicing the song.

Mental Storyboard

A storyboard is created to help you organize the sequence of shots and frames that will drive the story (in this case, the song). You can help manage the lyrics by creating a mental storyboard for the music you memorize. This is especially helpful for songs like the one above. This is how I made my mental storyboard for the choruses.

The mental storyboard I made for myself helped me remember this song’s different choruses. This helped me understand the order of each ensemble. This was the biggest challenge I had in memorizing the music. However, visualizing the demand of the story helped me remember the lyrics to Ed Sheeran’s song.

The Song’s Message:

Each song has a message it wants to convey through its lyrics. Some pieces are simple and direct, while others require more work to understand the lyrics. Themes can have multiple meanings depending on how the listener interprets them.

It is important to understand the message or meaning of the song you are trying to memorize. This allows you to interpret the lyrics and not just the words. It’s similar to reading a book. It’s like reading a book without putting in any effort to understand what you are reading. It’s like you are just moving from one page to the next, which can lead to confusion about what you’ve just read.

Music is no different. It is important to analyze the lyrics you sing to understand the meaning. When you can understand the importance of the words, the songs will stay with you longer.

Remember the Rhymes

Songs almost always have a rhyme scheme. This is no secret. Songwriters and poets have used rhyming for many years. Many believe this is because rhyming can be very helpful when memorizing.

Historians believe that rhyme was invented to allow cultures to pass on their stories from generation to generation before writing was invented.

While it is important to know all the lyrics to the song you are trying to memorize, you should also learn the rhymes. Rhymes can be used as cues to help you remember the words before them. This can be extremely helpful, especially if the rhyme scheme is simple.

Write lyrics down repeatedly.

Last but not least, try to write the lyrics on several pieces of paper. Although you can begin with only the lyrics, the goal is to memorize the whole song.

You can help your brain retain the lyrics by writing them down several times. This is especially useful for visual learners. This is especially helpful when singing songs with more complex lyrics.

This will allow you to review each line more closely as you write them. You can also consider the meaning of each line as you write the lyrics. It will allow you to memorize the songs using the old-fashioned repetition technique until they stick.

Last Thoughts

When it comes to remembering song lyrics, you shouldn’t feel lost. These tips and tricks are all great, but you should remember that not every technique will work for memorizing the lyrics of every song. Each song will require a different method of learning them. These tips and tricks should make memorizing verses easier and less daunting. Last but not least, know when to take a break. Do not overwork or burn yourself out. With the help of these techniques, take your time and let the song sink into your brain. Good luck!