Why most players can’t memorize changes (and the fix)

This weeks workshop: We're putting our memory to the test, and playing Body and Soul by using the memory tricks we learned the last two weeks. RSVP below.

Reader,

Ever gotten lost mid-solo because you blanked on the next chord? It happens to everyone. But the players who sound confident and free are not memorizing endless chord symbols. They are hearing the movements in their head.

Last week we worked on memorizing the melody of Body and Soul. (If you missed it, you can read last week’s newsletter here.) This week we are tackling the other half. The chord changes. In many ways memorizing the changes is even more important. Our solos live inside those changes.

Movements, Not Chords

A common mistake is trying to memorize chord changes like a grocery list. One chord, then the next, then the next.

Roman numerals are useful. They help us think in relative terms so we can play in any key. But just like with melody, rote memorization is not sticky.

What really sticks is the sound.

Chords do not live in isolation. They move in short progressions that show up everywhere in jazz standards.

• ii-V-I
• V-of-ii (and other secondary dominants)
• Turnarounds
• Major to Minor shifts
• Backdoor ii-V's
• And more...

Once you know what these movements sound like, you do not need to memorize every chord symbol. You just remember the sequence of movements like the beats of a story. Your ear fills in the details.

Applying to Body and Soul

Let’s try this with the A section. Last week we saw the melody sits in Db major. Now let’s scan the chord changes for common movements.

Here’s what we find.

• Bar 1: Our tune is in Db major, but starts on Eb minor, the ii chord. That Bb7 in the second half of the measure is a V-of-ii secondary dominant.
• Bars 2 - 3: A ii-V-I that brings us to our I chord.
• Bars 4 - 5: A very common chromatic walkdown from from iii to ii with a diminished passing chord in between.
  • A bit more advanced, that Gb7 chord leading into the Fm chord is a V-of-iii tritone substitution. That Fm chord is the iii chord. The V-of-iii would be C7, which we've tritone subbed as Gb7. (The dominant resolving down a half step gives it away)
• Bars 6 - 7: We're heading towards our vi chord, Bb7, and getting there by a minor ii-V-i in front of it.
• Bars 7 - 8: The last 2 beats of bar 7 are a ii-V-I back to our home key of Db. As we loop back to the top, remember the song starts on the ii chord, so we need that V-of-ii again (Bb) to resolve us back.

If we reduce it to movements, the story might sound like this.

Start on ii. Use that ii in a ii-V-I. Walk down iii-ii. Head to vi by ii-V-I. Head back to I by ii-V-I.

That is much easier to remember than 17 separate chord symbols. Once you hear that story in your head, you will always know where you are.

I demonstrated this over the tune Secret Love in last weeks YouTube video which you can watch here.​

Save Your Seat for Friday's Workshop

This Friday, Sep 26 at 1pm ET, we will put all this together to play Body and Soul by memory. Come hang out, play along, and prove to yourself you can memorize changes this way.