Read on to learn how to slow a YouTube video down or speed it up like this clip of Lessonface drum teacher Mike Smith.

Learning to play a cover song is a great way to become tight as a band or to add fun to an album or live show. It breaks up the monotony, allows you to showcase your personality and tastes, and takes away the stress of having to write the perfect song.

With that in mind, here are our six steps to learning a cover song:

Use Technology

This could be as simple as listening to your chosen song on your iPod or smartphone as you commute to work or school. Maybe it’s using free guitar tabs online. Whatever technology is available to you, use it.

One great option is utilizing HTML5 and YouTube. If you search for a song you want to learn on YouTube, you can actually slow it down to half or quarter time to make figuring out each note that much easier. Here’s how:

Scroll to the bottom of the homepage and click on the “Try something new!” option.

Next, click on the HTML5 video button.

Now, click on the “Join the HTML5 Trial” button.

Last, type your search into the browser. Once your video page loads you can go to the bottom righthand corner of the video and choose options like .5 time or .25 time.

Here’s the video of Lessonface guitar teacher and Gavin DeGraw’s musical director Billy Norris laying down an incredible solo in their cover of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy.”

Be Realistic

Not every cover song is a good fit for you, and it’s up to you to decide which song to choose. If you’re a beginning drummer, you’re almost certainly not going to be able to cover a song featuring Kevin Talley, Mike Smith, or Todd Isler. But, there are plenty of powerful songs that are easy to play and sound great. A song like “Grandma’s Hands” by Bill Withers is as simple as can be but fun to play. You’ll need to set a realistic goal and stick to it.

Don’t Give Up

This is obvious, right? Well, not really. Very few songs can be learned in two minutes (perhaps “Grandma’s Hands” breaks this rule), and even if you figure out all the notes, you’ll still need to learn to play the song with passion and to make it your own. If you truly plan to learn a song, stick with it until you’ve achieved your goal.

Make It Your Own

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but it’s important to make a song yours. You don’t have to play every improvisational note exactly as the original is written. In fact, it’s probably better to add your own flavor and style to any cover song - otherwise people will wonder why they’re not listening to the original anyway.

Set Small Goals

A small goal could be to learn the first four measures of a song. Depending on the difficulty of the cover song and your abilities, you could accomplish this in a matter of moments or need a half hour. It doesn’t matter, just create a list of goals and start checking them off. The best way to do this may actually be to spend the first session you’ve blocked off for practice brainstorming and creating a learning plan.

Get Help

It’s always good to enlist outside help in your musical pursuits. If you want to cover a song on the guitar, consider booking a guitar class with John Paolilli or a piano lesson with Aaron Levy, who constantly learn new covers with their bands, or a voice lesson with Naomi Gillies - who knows a thing or two about covers after competing on American Idol.

Comments or questions about this article or online lessons? Tweet us @lessonface or sign in to your profile to comment below.

Related:

• Mike Smith's booking page
• Q&A: How do you stay motivated and disciplined to practice?
• Our complete hand-picked list of music teachers