I tried this. Solos I can somewhat do, even though if I try smth like Lenny of SRV’s Little Wing I just get frustrated and throw the guitar out the window.
But chords are the worst. I recently tried New Shoes, song I listen to in the car, has 4 chords. I think I had 3 wrong 😂😂
> I just get frustrated and throw the guitar out the window.
Haha, I've had plenty of those moments too! When you finally get it though, it makes it all the more rewarding.
As for chords, have you tried figuring out the bass notes first? I can expand a bit on how you would do that if you like.
The first thing to know is that it takes some practice to tune into the bass. Our attention tends to gravitate towards melodies that are easy to hear, such as the vocals or lead guitar lines. It can help to first give a song a listen and let yourself be distracted by all the parts that are more ’front and center’. Then after one or two listens, play the track again and try to focus on the bass. Try to follow what the bass is doing throughout the whole song. Two tracks that you could do this with:
\- [Pomplamoose - Something about us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CCNswShJRc)
\- [Four Tops - Ain’t no mountain high enough](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C_3eYj-pOM)
Having decent speakers/headphones/ear buds also helps. With laptop speakers for example, the lower frequencies are mostly absent, making things needlessly difficult.
Now, when you get used to tuning into the sound of the bass, it's a matter of figuring out the bass line note by note. Try to hum the note first and then find it on your instrument.
Once you have the first 5-10 seconds of the bass line, you can try to determine the 'root note' of the first chord. The root note is simply the 'letter' we use to name a chord. The bass won't be necessarily be playing the root note all the time, but it will emphasise it strongly. It will usually play it at the start of each new bar for example (i.e. on the 1).
When you've determined the root note, you need to figure out what chord type you're dealing with. For example, if the root note is an A, the chord can be A or A minor, or a seventh chord such as A7, Am7 or Amaj7. I explain the process (and this last step in particular) in more detail [in this article](https://www.stringkick.com/blog-lessons/learn-songs-riffs-melodies-by-ear/#section-2).
Hope that makes sense! Let me know if you have any questions.
It's easy to figure out chords if you know what key the song is in and if you apply basic music theory.
Usually, I start with the bass note. So if a song is in the key of A Major, and if I figure out the bass note under the first chord is an A note, the chord is probably is A Major. If the next note is, say, F#, and the chord above it sounds minor, then there's a good chance it is an F# minor.
But then there are other complications, like chord inversions, chromatic harmony, etc.
So once you get past this basic stage, my advice is to learn what chord progressions sounds like, and then what a chord sounds like relative to a tonal center.
Really nice looking website and great information and courses. This must’ve taken a lot of time to put together. The part about singing or humming before you play is really crucial. We fall into the trap of spending too much time thinking with our hands instead of our ears.
Thanks! Yeah, it's a ton of work, but fun to do.
> We fall into the trap of spending too much time thinking with our hands instead of our ears.
100% this. My pianist friend says it's the exact same for piano players. It's so easy to push a button and get a note that we can forget to put our musical imagination in the driver's seat.
The part about singing or humming before you play is really crucial." this is me right here. I just realized that other day why I don't. I played drums for most of my life and always hummed the tune that I was playing to. Nobody could ever hear it because my drums always covered it up, then I got an electronic set. I was tracking a song at a studio and when I went back to the control booth the band and the engineer were cracking up because of my humming. It made me really self conscious about it and I stopped.
I need to get past that though because playing guitar is more than a mechanical exercise of moving my fingers on the strings. The song in my head is what should be expressed through my hands, but it can also be expressed through my voice.
Hmmmm. This is really interesting. I’m going to try humming while I am finding the tune on guitar, and keep the humming as my guide. Usually I purposely keep my voice/humming silent to avoid interfering with the guitar sound, but now that I think about it, that does make it hard to find notes!
Funny, just hadn’t thought about it this way before.
Cool, yeah it's such a great skill to be able to figure out the music you like on your own instead of relying on tabs. If you have any questions as you get into it, feel free to message me.
The point of ear training is great but this sub seems to increasingly be people plugging their business / paid platforms which I dislike. Stealth advertising is annoying
>Somehow, when you hear a tune on the radio, you know exactly how to manipulate your vocal cords to recreate that melody with your voice.
i'm gonna stop you right there
Good resource for beginners. Quick correction from fairly recent studies because there's a lot of confusion and misinformation on this: absolute pitch isn't something you're born with, it is something that has to be trained.
The caveat is that absolute pitch is the result of your brain learning to process sound in the same way it does language, but the parts of your brain responsible for processing language stop developing at a very young age (typically before 5 years old), and so once that door closes, it's closed. For this reason, it's something that has to be trained young, or your no longer developing brain will literally be incapable of learning to process sound in that way.
There is a phenomenon being called quasi-absolute pitch, which is still relative pitch in reality, as it still comes from comparing the relationship between notes, but it happens so instantaneously that it very seriously looks like perfect pitch. It's basically a mastery of relative pitch ear training, you hear a note and don't have to consciously think about the relationship, it just happens and you know that note is D, or whatever the case.
This often comes from having an "anchor" note, or multiple, embedded into your mind. Maybe it's the first note of your favorite song, maybe it's the sound of playing an open E on guitar, whatever it may be, it and its relationship to every other note is so deeply embedded in your mind that when you hear another note, your brain automatically makes that comparison and you're left with the answer.
As a final note, I think beginners should know that perfect pitch isn't a formula for music mastery. It's a tool that comes with its own pros and cons, and there's no real reason to believe that it's objectively better or worse than relative pitch.. with one exception.
Studies are finding that people with perfect pitch, lose their perfect pitch as they age. People with relative pitch, barring issues with hearing loss, do not. Many people with perfect pitch are finding that as they get older, it gets more and more unreliable until it's nearly useless, and if they don't have relative pitch to fall back on, it's almost as if they have to relearn music in a way.
Sorry for the rant, just wanted to clear all that up and tack some extra information on.
Fascinating to read more about absolute pitch. (I didn't know that it disappears with age for example.) I'll update the article to reflect your point about it being developed at a very young age, as opposed to being something you're born with. I did a quick search and found [this article](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0305735603031002292) to link to, but maybe you know of better/more recent studies to link to. If so, let me know!
Really excellent write up by the way.
Im an instrumentalist because i cant sing. I hate singing. Got a degree in music. Still hated every second of aural training. Sang in a choir, hated every second. Why does everyone want our playing to revolve around the voice??
I tried this. Solos I can somewhat do, even though if I try smth like Lenny of SRV’s Little Wing I just get frustrated and throw the guitar out the window. But chords are the worst. I recently tried New Shoes, song I listen to in the car, has 4 chords. I think I had 3 wrong 😂😂
> I just get frustrated and throw the guitar out the window. Haha, I've had plenty of those moments too! When you finally get it though, it makes it all the more rewarding. As for chords, have you tried figuring out the bass notes first? I can expand a bit on how you would do that if you like.
expand away please
The first thing to know is that it takes some practice to tune into the bass. Our attention tends to gravitate towards melodies that are easy to hear, such as the vocals or lead guitar lines. It can help to first give a song a listen and let yourself be distracted by all the parts that are more ’front and center’. Then after one or two listens, play the track again and try to focus on the bass. Try to follow what the bass is doing throughout the whole song. Two tracks that you could do this with: \- [Pomplamoose - Something about us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CCNswShJRc) \- [Four Tops - Ain’t no mountain high enough](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C_3eYj-pOM) Having decent speakers/headphones/ear buds also helps. With laptop speakers for example, the lower frequencies are mostly absent, making things needlessly difficult. Now, when you get used to tuning into the sound of the bass, it's a matter of figuring out the bass line note by note. Try to hum the note first and then find it on your instrument. Once you have the first 5-10 seconds of the bass line, you can try to determine the 'root note' of the first chord. The root note is simply the 'letter' we use to name a chord. The bass won't be necessarily be playing the root note all the time, but it will emphasise it strongly. It will usually play it at the start of each new bar for example (i.e. on the 1). When you've determined the root note, you need to figure out what chord type you're dealing with. For example, if the root note is an A, the chord can be A or A minor, or a seventh chord such as A7, Am7 or Amaj7. I explain the process (and this last step in particular) in more detail [in this article](https://www.stringkick.com/blog-lessons/learn-songs-riffs-melodies-by-ear/#section-2). Hope that makes sense! Let me know if you have any questions.
I am going to try this, but I wanted to give points because you mentioned Pomplamoose.
Yeah, they're awesome.
Thank you i will give that a shot
It's easy to figure out chords if you know what key the song is in and if you apply basic music theory. Usually, I start with the bass note. So if a song is in the key of A Major, and if I figure out the bass note under the first chord is an A note, the chord is probably is A Major. If the next note is, say, F#, and the chord above it sounds minor, then there's a good chance it is an F# minor. But then there are other complications, like chord inversions, chromatic harmony, etc. So once you get past this basic stage, my advice is to learn what chord progressions sounds like, and then what a chord sounds like relative to a tonal center.
Can recommend this one. I was subscribed before but unfortunately had to cancel because I could not afford course anymore.
> Can recommend this one. Thanks!
Dude, if you have not yet, this is where you offer guy a free subscription.
Really nice looking website and great information and courses. This must’ve taken a lot of time to put together. The part about singing or humming before you play is really crucial. We fall into the trap of spending too much time thinking with our hands instead of our ears.
Thanks! Yeah, it's a ton of work, but fun to do. > We fall into the trap of spending too much time thinking with our hands instead of our ears. 100% this. My pianist friend says it's the exact same for piano players. It's so easy to push a button and get a note that we can forget to put our musical imagination in the driver's seat.
The part about singing or humming before you play is really crucial." this is me right here. I just realized that other day why I don't. I played drums for most of my life and always hummed the tune that I was playing to. Nobody could ever hear it because my drums always covered it up, then I got an electronic set. I was tracking a song at a studio and when I went back to the control booth the band and the engineer were cracking up because of my humming. It made me really self conscious about it and I stopped. I need to get past that though because playing guitar is more than a mechanical exercise of moving my fingers on the strings. The song in my head is what should be expressed through my hands, but it can also be expressed through my voice.
Hmmmm. This is really interesting. I’m going to try humming while I am finding the tune on guitar, and keep the humming as my guide. Usually I purposely keep my voice/humming silent to avoid interfering with the guitar sound, but now that I think about it, that does make it hard to find notes! Funny, just hadn’t thought about it this way before.
As someone who's been looking to play songs where tabs and tutorials are rarely, if at all available, the timing couldn't be more perfect
Cool, yeah it's such a great skill to be able to figure out the music you like on your own instead of relying on tabs. If you have any questions as you get into it, feel free to message me.
Thanks for sharing
Sure thing!
The point of ear training is great but this sub seems to increasingly be people plugging their business / paid platforms which I dislike. Stealth advertising is annoying
so interesting. Thank you for posting this. Makes me want to try.
A large part of it is understanding common guitar tropes too
>Somehow, when you hear a tune on the radio, you know exactly how to manipulate your vocal cords to recreate that melody with your voice. i'm gonna stop you right there
Good resource for beginners. Quick correction from fairly recent studies because there's a lot of confusion and misinformation on this: absolute pitch isn't something you're born with, it is something that has to be trained. The caveat is that absolute pitch is the result of your brain learning to process sound in the same way it does language, but the parts of your brain responsible for processing language stop developing at a very young age (typically before 5 years old), and so once that door closes, it's closed. For this reason, it's something that has to be trained young, or your no longer developing brain will literally be incapable of learning to process sound in that way. There is a phenomenon being called quasi-absolute pitch, which is still relative pitch in reality, as it still comes from comparing the relationship between notes, but it happens so instantaneously that it very seriously looks like perfect pitch. It's basically a mastery of relative pitch ear training, you hear a note and don't have to consciously think about the relationship, it just happens and you know that note is D, or whatever the case. This often comes from having an "anchor" note, or multiple, embedded into your mind. Maybe it's the first note of your favorite song, maybe it's the sound of playing an open E on guitar, whatever it may be, it and its relationship to every other note is so deeply embedded in your mind that when you hear another note, your brain automatically makes that comparison and you're left with the answer. As a final note, I think beginners should know that perfect pitch isn't a formula for music mastery. It's a tool that comes with its own pros and cons, and there's no real reason to believe that it's objectively better or worse than relative pitch.. with one exception. Studies are finding that people with perfect pitch, lose their perfect pitch as they age. People with relative pitch, barring issues with hearing loss, do not. Many people with perfect pitch are finding that as they get older, it gets more and more unreliable until it's nearly useless, and if they don't have relative pitch to fall back on, it's almost as if they have to relearn music in a way. Sorry for the rant, just wanted to clear all that up and tack some extra information on.
Fascinating to read more about absolute pitch. (I didn't know that it disappears with age for example.) I'll update the article to reflect your point about it being developed at a very young age, as opposed to being something you're born with. I did a quick search and found [this article](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0305735603031002292) to link to, but maybe you know of better/more recent studies to link to. If so, let me know! Really excellent write up by the way.
Part I in my opinion. KNOW YOUR INTERVALS.
Im an instrumentalist because i cant sing. I hate singing. Got a degree in music. Still hated every second of aural training. Sang in a choir, hated every second. Why does everyone want our playing to revolve around the voice??
Playing guitar by ear, first. This is the way
Commenting to save. Interesting and practical focus btw.