[xooxooxo]

I use a mnemonic technique to remember song forms when I'm playing drums. I draw a map of the song, each measure is a square. Squares are arranged in lines in such a way that it makes sense musically (usually 4 squares per line). The parts of the song (verse, chorus, etc.) are separated. The squares are mostly empty, except when they contain something important to remember.

The drawing takes up more space than the typical informal drummer notation (for example: intro 4 bars; verse 8 bars; chorus 8 bars, etc.), but it is much easier to remember (at least for me).

If I'm learning a song that isn't recorded yet, I sketch this map during rehearsals. Before each rehearsal I try to visualize the maps of all the songs.

If I'm learning a challenging song from a recording I use a simple python program that draws the map from a given text file and allows me to play a loop over selected measures. This way my brain starts constructing a map of the song without conscious effort.

This sort of maps are some kind of constructed memory palaces in 2 dimensions. I personally wouldn't use an existing memory palace to remember a song, because the songs already have enough structure.

I need this technique only to remember the big picture. When I need to learn the changes or the melody, I try to rely more on music theory and "audio memory". If you are interested in learning jazz standards, you might want to check the book "Insights in Jazz" written by John Elliott.