How to play by ear?

Would you like the short or the long answer? Haha :P

Figuring out a song by ear makes use of two different skills that you can develop: absolute pitch (how to tell what the notes exactly are) and relative pitch (how to tell the relationship between chords/notes). For pop songs, such as the one you posted, it isn't very crucial to know exactly what's being played, because the chords used in the song are easy to decipher and fall into predictable patterns. To break it down briefly for you, using the song "Everybody Talks" as an example:

1. Figure out the key of the song by finding the root chord. This is the chord that every other chord in the song will feel like changing to eventually. Very quickly breeze through all possible root position major chords to find one that "sits" with the song. Pop songs are easy because the root chord is normally very strong, in fact, for this song it's the first chord. And to make it easier, they hum the triad of the chord for you (0:00-0:04). This song is in Eb.

2. Know what are the "normal" chords in that particular key (in music lingo, you're looking for chords diatonic to the key). For brevity, I'll just mention that there are 7 diatonic chords in every key, numerically notated in Roman numerals: the Root or I chord, minor ii, minor iii, IV, V, minor vi, half-diminished vii, back to I. Pop songs don't want to scare listeners with weird chord progressions, so they tend to be easy and stick to every possible permutation of I, IV, V, minor vi. In the case of the song, it's Eb, Ab, Bb, Cm.

3. Find the intervals of the chord changes. Long story short, when Eb changes to Ab, there's a certain "sound" to that space between the two chords. That space will sound different between Eb to Bb, Ab to Bb, Cm to Bb, etc. At first, I can assure you the process is quite laborious; I fondly remember having scrapbooks of notes I took while figuring out chords to a song. Since a guitarist can only really play one chord at a time, it's a process of elimination to find out what the next chord is (assuming you've done Step 2). In time, you'll be able to hear I-IV, I-V movements, then extend that over longer chord changes, like I-IV-vi-V.

4. Then figure out how long each chord lasts (ie does the chord last for one measure, does it play over two? Is there half/double time chord changes?) according to the time signature. Neon Trees isn't Dream Theater, so it's strictly 4/4 for the entire song.

LONG STORY SHORT:
Intro: Repetition of the I chord. Play Eb
Verse: Repeating pattern of I-IV, each lasting two measures, so ||Eb---|Eb---|Ab---|Ab---||
Prechorus ("...everybody talks, everybody talks..."): The V chord is used to enter the chorus over four measures. |Bb---|x4
Chorus: This gets a little interesting. We normally hear progressions in groups of 4 bars. This time, it's a 6-bar group
|Eb---|Eb---|Ab---|Ab---|Bb---|Ab---|
The 2nd half reverts to a familiar 4-bar group. Then they throw in a weirder chord to spice things up, the major III, in this case G7:
|Eb---|Eb---|G7---|G7---|Ab---|Bb---|Eb---|Eb---|

Hope this helps to get you started.
 
Wow Vax, you've written quite an extensive reply. I'm impressed by your willingness to share your knowledge!

Anyways, just to add on, puffia, personally, whenever I am figuring out the chords and chord progression of songs, I'll firstly find out what the key is.

When I have the key of the song, usually, I am ready to fill in the progressions with the family chords of the key. Generally speaking, most contemporary pop songs are in 4/4 time signature, and they tend to stay within a single key (unless there is a transposition of key or some fanciful chords that are out of the key... It really seldom happen).

___________________________________________________

Here is a way to figure out the chords of ANY SONG
___________________________________________________


I usually figure out the chords by their bass notes as a guide, even for slash chords.

E.g. in the key of G, the family chords are:
G Am Bm C D Em F#dim
I ii iii IV V vi viidim


However, sometimes the third and seventh family chords can be replaced (substituted) to produce family chords such as:

G Am G/B C D Em D/F#
I ii I/3 IV V vi V/7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7


*family chords is based on a system named Nashville Numbering (It's not as complex as you might think it is... really.)

___________________________________________________

So you have it,

1. Figure out key
2. Figure out chord progressions using family chords



Hope this helps. If you would like to know more, just drop me a reply, and I'll do my best to answer you!


P.s. Usually, in a typical song, there are fixed chord progressions for the various sections of the song, E.g. intro / verse / pre-chorus / chorus / interlude / bridge / outro. This is more on the topic of song arrangement, though. So, if you're able to figure out the chord progression, e.g. I-V-vi-IV, you can simply transpose the chords to fit into ANY KEY you desire to play in.
E.g. in the key of G, they are G D Em C
E.g. in the key of E, they are E B C#m A


P.p.s. The pre-requisite to understand what I was explaining is the understanding of:
- the concept of intervals (also known as Step theory),
- the major scale formulae (i.e. WWHWWWH), and
- the concept of how family chords are derived.


P.p.p.s.So if you're interested to find out more, feel free to ask! I am a private guitar instructor and I'd be glad to share with you!



Regards,
Han Yew (Peter)

www.lowhanyew.com


I need help on doing covers!! i cant really figure out the note in the songs i want to play
Trying to do a cover for this (Everybody Talks by Neon Trees)-> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tMsHwlcHp4&feature=channel_video_title
Can you guys give me some tips? D:
thxs alot! :D
 
wowowwww thxs for the reply :DD Peter , thats help alot :)
Another question , how do i figure out the key of the song?
thxs alot!
 
Hi puffia,

I guess there are many ways to figure out the key of a song. Some people have superb hearing to distinguish every note (perfect pitch hearing). Some people have to train for it.

Most of us has the basic ability to differentiate the tone intervals...
E.g. Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do,

*Take note that in a major scale, there are only 7 natural notes.

Where,
Do = 1 (also known as the root note)
Re = 2
Mi = 3
and so on...

*Take note that a root note is the "home". If C is the root, the key starts with the note C.

When we sing that, we are basically singing in major scale formulae,
I.e. W W H W W W H

*You must understand that how major scale works. I like to derive everything from major scale to make my understanding easier.

For me, I have learnt to use major scale patterns on guitar to quickly figure out the key.


How do I figure out any key fast on guitar?

Here is one of my personal tips (others may have their own preferences)
- I memorized a major scale pattern on the first three strings on the guitar (and knowing the root note).
- I "sing" the melody of the song on the guitar within that pattern.
- I shift the pattern box so that eventually when the scale can fit into the song nicely, I am certain it's in the same key.



The main thing is to take note of the root note. The root note of the key will sound absolutely resolved ("Ahhh... I'm home" kind of feeling). If you can recognize the root note, you've a better chance of recognizing the key.

Personally, I like to use the first three strings of patterns
- 6/2, and
- 5/2

*String 1 = thinnest string; string 6 = thickest string
*6/2 means on string 6, the root note is played with your 2nd finger (assuming index=1, middle=2, ring=3, pinky=4) of your left hand (assuming right-handed guitarist)


guitar_scales_major_printable.gif



There you go. That's it.
If you still want me to explain more, I'd be glad to help out.

Next time, if I write a book or make videos on these explanations, would you be interested to take a look at it? (:


Regards,
Peter

www.lowhanyew.com

wowowwww thxs for the reply :DD Peter , thats help alot :)
Another question , how do i figure out the key of the song?
thxs alot!
 
wowwww , thats very helpful :DDD i kinda understand it already , thxs alot!
I will be very interested if u make it into a book or video (prefer video though haha XD)
Thxs again!
 
Hi puffia,

Welcome. I'm glad I am of help in your journey to understanding music.

Thank you for your support. I will see what I can do to make these concepts into a book or video in my free time. (:

Feel free to contact me again!

Regards,
Peter

www.lowhanyew.com

wowwww , thats very helpful :DDD i kinda understand it already , thxs alot!
I will be very interested if u make it into a book or video (prefer video though haha XD)
Thxs again!
 
wow very good theory all of you...true for maybe pop music etc...but as you get more advance and trying to learn more difficult music riffs or solos....most of it doesnt really follow the family chord structure and straightforward scale patterns....because we do not want our solos or music sounded like scales or typical chord progression...creating new ideas melody,nice phrasing sometimes is playing something thats not inside systematic scales or chords....or else most musicians sounded the same...most pop indie music sound almost the same....
 
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