I suck at learning by ear. I can't pick out notes or chords and it's frustrating. Tabs suck and for most music I want to learn, they're no books or anything, so does anyone have any tips? Is there a "Right" way to do it? BTW, I'm talkng about guitar and I can read sheet music to a certain extent. thanks in advance.
Learning By Ear ...
- Thread starter Furious B
- Start date
union9
He Who Can Not Be Named
Well...thats how i solely learnt was by ear.Transcribing songs from my fav cds.I found it quite easy to do.At first,it was hard until i knew my way around the fret board.My advice would be to learn all your chords and where all the notes are on the fret board first.Learn how to read Tab which is so basic.Most guitar books and magazines have a learners description of how it works.And when you feel confident in that you should be able to get some songs happening from cds.Some people just don't have the ear for it though,and in my opinoin,they usually get nowhere fast.One of my old mates took lessons for years but he still didn't have the "musical ear" and it really showed in his playing.It just sounded lifeless and dull.But above all,if your passionate enough you'll get there.Practice makes perfect.
7 Dying Trees
Bastard Albino Elf
Play along, find the key it's in, then when you play along enough and figure out a few things that band will become easier as all guitarists seem to have ways of playing things and certain progressions they love. Also learn your scales and modes as well, as often you can tell from the feel what is going on by listening to it and figuring that out 
Also helps to pan hard left/hard right on your stereo if there's a left/right guitar part that are different to each other
For the rest it is really trial and error sometimes!
But practice will make you better
Also helps to pan hard left/hard right on your stereo if there's a left/right guitar part that are different to each other
For the rest it is really trial and error sometimes!
But practice will make you better
Opus(sy)2
Dead and dripping
i cant be arsed to read the replies.....when i first started i was shit at learning by ear....i can read music....and i agree tabs suck cock!..they are never right...but yeah play along to find the key its in which will make it easier for you and then carry on to work out the rest of the song....im still not that good at it.....the more you do it the better you get!
SoulVomitor
Tormentor
Till Fjalls
¥¤ÆZµ
My advice:
1)Practice tuning by ear. And tune using as many different tuning styles as you can come up with, but not with a tuner. Try to match it up with a recording for reference. Over time, this should help develop your ear to help notice discrepancies in pitches. We start off hearing music as contour as kids, and over time we learn to hear pitches more finely, and the idea of learning by ear is basically just a further refining of this hearing.
2) Learn as many songs as you can that have accurate/semi-accurate tabs. You'll start understanding how certain paterns relate to certain sounds, how certain intervals feel, and you can visualize it with tab, so it helps a lot. Start with accurate tabs (from store bought books), and after a while, you will begin to notice that some tabs on the internet just don't sound right. It's mostly a matter of training, like anything else you want to do in life. Stick with it and it should come to you in time.
1)Practice tuning by ear. And tune using as many different tuning styles as you can come up with, but not with a tuner. Try to match it up with a recording for reference. Over time, this should help develop your ear to help notice discrepancies in pitches. We start off hearing music as contour as kids, and over time we learn to hear pitches more finely, and the idea of learning by ear is basically just a further refining of this hearing.
2) Learn as many songs as you can that have accurate/semi-accurate tabs. You'll start understanding how certain paterns relate to certain sounds, how certain intervals feel, and you can visualize it with tab, so it helps a lot. Start with accurate tabs (from store bought books), and after a while, you will begin to notice that some tabs on the internet just don't sound right. It's mostly a matter of training, like anything else you want to do in life. Stick with it and it should come to you in time.
Ultimate_Symphony
Rusted Angel
- Jul 18, 2002
- 4,411
- 217
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Well this is my personal experience. Take books that teach you how to read notes, read the notes and hum the name of the notes each time (try to make the sound to match the pitch of the note on a piano or even guitar) this is what I did and worked for me.
i just listen a lot. i find it easy to try to pick out notes you know in it. then build it from there, it takes a lot of practice though. and by the way, are you saying long hair is bad? your avatar gives me that impression
It came kinda natural to me. I mean... if I can hum the songs walking down the street.. why not play them on the guitar? I get the progression in my head first... and learn it from that... not the actual song. Just got easier, didn't it?
Grow your hair out and learn to sing, sing melodies and imitate them on the guitar. Also, learn to sing rhythms and drum parts, be aware of spaces. Also, take music theory and ear training classes in college. It helps to read actual music, tab is usually short on rhythm. Also, they sell samplers/riffomatic devices for learning licks.
what the hell is wrong with long hair? I cant think of one great metal band that doesnt have at least one member with long hair. its cool as hell when you headbang too!
Sonnenritter
Active Member
Maybe he's one of those Dan Lilker-esque people that have pubic hair growing on his head?
Anyway... I've only been playing for three years, but I find that playing by ear is extremely easy. The only problem I have is that I never tune to C (like Arch Enemy and Nile), so figuring out some songs just isn't possible for me. C and super slinkies just don't mix.
i suggest you work on training your ears to identify intervals. for me, the best method was solfeggio. work with the do re mi fa sol la ti on your guitar, and sing the intervals as well. once you learn to do this you will be able to play melodies by ear, and from there develop your ability to play by ear (as well as your confidence). if you do a google search, you will probably find more information on ear training and the solfeggio method.
I suggest you begin doing this:
Compose a simple melody by yourself and then try it on your guitar. Then, after doing it some times, you'll be able to do it on-the-fly with no problems. That is, you will "feel" how many steps you have to moved up or down to reach the note you're looking for, without many mistakes. That's gonna help you very much.......
Compose a simple melody by yourself and then try it on your guitar. Then, after doing it some times, you'll be able to do it on-the-fly with no problems. That is, you will "feel" how many steps you have to moved up or down to reach the note you're looking for, without many mistakes. That's gonna help you very much.......
Soilwork France
Soilwork France
For your ear try this out : www.good-ear.com ; you can train or learn from basic intervals to perfect pitch !
By listening & analyzing your fave metal bands, you will notice some recurrent patterns : Death songs are often on a D Phrygian scale, In Flames on a C Aeolian, Iron Maiden on E Aeolian, and so on and so forth.
By listening & analyzing your fave metal bands, you will notice some recurrent patterns : Death songs are often on a D Phrygian scale, In Flames on a C Aeolian, Iron Maiden on E Aeolian, and so on and so forth.
