aban-gig-prep.md

🧠 Overview Strategy

You’ll use spaced repetition + active recall + chunking.
That means: learn in small, clear segments, test yourself often, and revisit songs at increasing intervals.

🎯 Step-by-Step Plan

1. Organize the Material (Day 1–2)

• Make a list of all 14 songs with:

  • Key

  • Tempo

  • Form (verse/chorus/bridge)

  • Any tricky transitions

• Note which are easiest → hardest.
  You’ll rotate between easy and hard to keep motivation high.

2. Weekly Structure

Weeks 1–2: Learn & Break Down

• Focus on 4–5 songs per week.

• Learn only 1–2 songs per day, 20–40 minutes each.

• For each song:

  • Break into sections (verse, chorus, etc.).

  • Identify motifs, patterns, and shapes (e.g. "descending fifths", "blues box", "pedal tone groove").

  • Play with a metronome or the track, slow first.

  • End by testing: play the section from memory.

🧩 Chunking tip:
Group similar grooves together (e.g. funk lines in A minor, walking jazz lines, etc.).
Patterns repeat more than you think — spotting them helps long-term retention.

Weeks 3–4: Consolidate & Rotate

• By now you should have all 14 roughly learned.

• Start rotation practice:

  • Day 1: Songs 1–5

  • Day 2: Songs 6–10

  • Day 3: Songs 11–14 + review any weak ones

  • Repeat and rotate sets

• Use setlist-style run-throughs (play 3–4 songs back-to-back without looking at notes).

• Record yourself — it forces focus and self-checking.

🎧 Memory reinforcement:
Listen to all 14 songs daily — even passively.
Your ear will internalize phrasing, rhythm, and form subconsciously.

Week 5: Performance Memory

• Practice from start to finish with no notes.

• Simulate a gig: full energy, minimal stops.

• Focus on muscle memory + mental cues:

  • “At the end of chorus 2, drop to F# groove”

  • “Bridge starts with the syncopated slide up”

If something slips, don’t restart the whole song — jump straight to the section that failed and rebuild it in isolation.

🧩 Extra Techniques

🪶 Visual/mental mapping

Visualize the neck positions and note shapes without your bass.
Imagine playing — this strengthens mental recall.

📚 “Anchor points”

Mark 2–3 “anchors” per song — distinct licks or transitions that cue the next section.
They act like checkpoints in your memory.

📅 Review schedule (example)

⚡️ Bonus Tools

• Anki or Quizlet: make flashcards with song titles and key patterns (“E–A–G walk”, “syncopated 16th groove”).

• DAW loops: loop tricky 4-bar sections for focused repetition.

• Practice app like Modacity or Soundbrenner: for structured daily goals.