YOU MAY BE ASKED to sing a new song with the chorale in three days. It’s a seven-minute song, and you have never heard it before in your whole life. What will you do? Of course, you can’t just give up and hang yourself from the ceiling. Take the challenge, and along with that, take these tips on how to master a new song quickly, maybe even in just an hour or so if you’re good.

1. Obtain a copy of the song’s text and music. It can be the music sheet or a tape or a CD of the song.
2. If you have a CD copy of the song (accompaniment with vocals copy), then you’re in luck. You have the best ticket in mastering the song quickly. Get a CD player and play the song over and over again. With your copy of the lyrics, sing along every time the song is being played. Sing even if some of your notes are not yet correct at the start. It’s no use playing the song if you don’t sing along or if you don’t pay attention to what the CD player is playing.
3. If you have a cassette tape copy, play the song over and over again. Only this time, you’ll need a little patience in rewinding the tape every time the song is finished.
4. If you only have the sheet music, and if you know how to read the notes and play a certain musical instrument, study the piece and learn how to play even just the melody of the song correctly. As you play the song, record the music on a cassette tape or better yet, a digital recorder, so you can just listen to the tune over and over again, saving your fingers from getting tired.
5. If you have the sheet music and don’t know how to read notes, record the correct tune of the song during the rehearsal, so you can listen to it afterward. Or ask someone who knows the song to sing it while you record it. Or ask someone to play the melody on a musical instrument while you record it.

The secret to mastering a new song quickly is really repetitive listening to its melody and practice singing along with it. After a while, you’ll be surprised you can already memorize the lyrics of the song. That’s the magic of music.

For more singing helps, check out these sites:

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