Learning By Ear

When I first started playing guitar I was ultimately frustrated that I couldn't
play the songs that I heard on the radio unless someone showed me how. This was
pretty tough, seeing as this was before the days of the Internet and guitar
publications and because I was raised by a pack of roaming wolves who were
completely tone deaf.

Then out of desperation I sat down with a tune that I knew pretty well, but
didn't know how to play (I think it was an REO Speedwagon tune.) I fiddled
around and poked and experimented and finally after three days of trying...got
it completely wrong.

But the silver lining to my otherwise gray cloud was that I figured out what it
takes to pick up tunes by ear. It just takes time. The more you try to pick out
tunes by ear, the better you get. I promise.

Chords

So how do you do it? Well, I first listen closely a few times to the CD and get
the general feel for the song, the layout, the sections, the different
instruments etc. Then I sit down with my guitar and pick out the bass line, or
even just the bass notes to the chord changes. This may take a while if the
bass is tough to hear. Sometimes headphones help. The thing about bass notes is
that there are no majors, minors, sevenths, suspensions or anything like that
to confuse you when you're just getting started. I just start at the open E and
continue up and down the string trying each note until one fits. I usually try
the common keys (E, A, D, C & G) first. Then I restart the CD and narrow it
down even more, until I have the first note, then the second, then the third.
This process usually drives my wife crazy because she has now heard the first
part of this song 14 times. So you might want to consider headphones.

So once I have the bass notes I play along with the CD and just play the bass
notes. I'll also try experimenting with other notes in case I am not sure of
some of the notes. I often pick out a note a fifth up from the actual bass note
and think it's right...until I poke around a bit more and play the right one.

With bass notes...you'll know it when it's right.

So now I have the chord changes. Now comes the easy part. If your tune is a
contemporary rock tune then most likely the chords for those bass notes are
either major or minor. Admittedly it is the minority of bands that employs a
more intricate chord selection than these few. Be careful of bands like STP who
use very creative chords.

So now I just try adding in major chords to each of the bass notes that I had
previously figured out. Certain ones will fit, others won't. For those that
don't, try playing a minor chord and see if it fits better, sometimes the
difference is subtle...try them both anyway.

There are times in songs when you hear a guitar chord change but the bass
doesn't. In this case the chords may be suspended chords that resolve to the
bass note chord. These are tremendously common in rock guitar. They usually
will be a suspended 2 or 4 chord. You can learn to recognize these by the lack
of a bass note change. The alternate to that is when the bass note changes and
the chord doesn't seem to change. This could be a mistake by the bass player,
....uh...just kidding...more likely is a chord with an altered bass note. Like
playing a C major then a C/B to an Am7. The C major sounds the same troughout
but the bass line descends.

Listen closely for notes that ring throughout chord changes. Finding a common
tone between two chords might help you find the chord type and fingering.
Usually open strings sound different and are easy to pick out. Certain chord
progressions have common notes. An example is a Dsus2 (or D9 or Dadd9) to E to
F#m7 progression. The common note is E. (This is the chord progression to "Hey
Jealousy" by Gin Blossoms).

It also helps to know a bit about the band. Does the guitarist tune up or down,
or to a different key, or use a capo? Are there certain chord fingerings that
they use often? By the way don't try to pick out any Michael Hedges tunes until
you get real good.

For more complicated tunes and tunes with lots of chord changes you'll have to
just keep working and listening very closely for the subtleties.

Melody

By now you may very likely have the chords to the tune all figured out. But now
there may be a melody to figure out too. The trick to melodies is to get the
first note. After that it gets easier. Pick out the first note of the melody
just like you did the bass line. Pick a note on your guitar and figure out if
it is higher or lower than the first note of the melody. Or maybe another
salient note in the melody is easier.

The chords will tell you what key you're in. From there you can play around in
the major or minor scale in that key and find the notes that fit. Listen to the
character of the string used to get the fingering. The same pitch will sound
brighter if played on the higher strings at a lower fret as opposed to a lower
string at a higher fret.

Solo

This works the same again for solos. Once you know the chords noodle around
with the appropriate pentatonic scale until you get the general feel for the
solo. Start with the root note (high or low) and proceed from there. If the
guitarist uses scales more interesting than the pentatonic (hopefully) then try
the major or minor scale for starters.

Don't get too hung up on scales though. There is nothing that says that the
notes in the solo have to be in a particular scale...this is art and the rules
are meant to be broken.

After a while of doing this with a number of different songs you will get to
the point where you can play a chord progression and melody on your first or
second try (really, you will). At first you may get a few of the notes wrong,
but as you continue to play the tune you will make improvements to your
transcription and to your ear in general.

Try picking out a song in your head. Play the Star Spangled Banner from memory,
or Pomp and Circumstance, or Mary had a Little Lamb, or Little Drummer Boy. It
is very useful to be able to play a melody that you hear in your head. Don't
worry about what note to start on or what scale to use. If you are playing from
memory it doesn't matter, just play the notes you hear in your head and fiddle
around until you get the melody right.

Remember that, as in life, learning music is pyramidal. Everything builds on
top of what has been previously learned. A solid foundation is essential to
proper progress...and that takes time. Be patient, yet persistent. Push
yourself, and reward yourself for all successes.

Figuring out tunes on your own is very rewarding. If you can't seem to get the
tune down one day, try again another day. Keep working at it, and soon you will
be posting tunes to this newsgroup.

 

wow! that has to be the most complete learning by ear text i have seen. :rockon:

 

Thanks Chetan..

 

hey i posted a note on another discussion of yours... please check it out!

 

Whick one??

 

the one on soloing and scales

 

Gotcha..

 

cool. i just posted a d/l link to ear-training utilities in another thread. maybe it's appropriate here too: https://www.musictheory.net/

 

One more link is www.earpower.com They have some cool stuff..

 

hey jayanth,

that was fantastic. and i used to think that only i have to listen to songs for so many time in order to pick them up

thanks

 

Thanks pWaters..

 

jayanth, i will definitely mention u as one of my gurus when my biography is published.

 

Thanks Pal..
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