Playing by ear

[Twitter]

How do people actually play complicated solos and stuff purely by ear? It seems quite impossible to me but after knowing that it can be done i figure i should learn how to do that to! Not to rely on tabs!

So i was wondering how exactly do people do that. I know limited music theory, and i know to do that one must figure out the key of the song and play from scale. Am i right?

Now my question is how do people find out the key of the song and possibly the tuning of the song ( say maybe its played in drop D).

Anyway, i tried googling..Does not help much... Explanations and links are greatly appreciated

 

[soft]

10% is talent.

90% is practise.

Most learner will start with something simple. Like trying to figure out how to play "Happy Birthday" before moving on to more difficult stuff.

When I read your post, I look at the words and the sentence flow rather than looking at individual alphabets. This makes reading faster.

So, when trying to figure out the solos, try breaking them into phrases. Easier to remember.

 

[Jumpin'Jellybean]

Eh, James, then, how does one play chords by ear? Is it like trial and error or are there specifics that we have to listen to?

 

[emgee]

for chords its easier to listen to the bass note first
for solos i think you have to know more about the key the song is in and know more about the different types of scales
dropped d simply means the song includes a note lower than low E... either in riffs or a heavy/low D chord

ive been trying for ages and still cant do them though, i have to constantly refer to my instrument... be prepared to put in alot of effort

 

[Twitter]

How do you guys actually figure out the key of a song just by hearing?

This is hard!

 

[Jumpin'Jellybean]

I'm trying for the chords... Have done some songs myself (tabbed them out). But still found it very hard... Hmm, when the musician strums the chord it's really hard to hear the bass note. And with the drums, vocals distracting it's really hard... So how now?

 

[Twitter]

I managed to tab one song out by spamming youtube videos... Copying how others play..

But im still not sure how they figure out the key of the song....

 

[soft]

But im still not sure how they figure out the key of the song....

Usually, the first chord of the song is the 'key'.

Example: If the first chord is C, the song most likely be in the key of C.

 

[reevenz]

It has some sort of theory on this. but to make it simple, normally every song start with it's based chord, so the first chord is normally ur best bet. Otherwise, u can try to listen on how's the chord flowing.

It takes a bit of practise tho ...

 

[theunknown]

Key of the song: I usually figure the first chord or the most reocurring chord.

How to figure chords: I usually play the power chord to figure out. Say I don't know what chord that is, I figure which power chord sounds most similar. If I found it, I try different shapes of the chord. (This, in a sense, is also finding the bass note also).

 

[Twitter]

If the 1st chord is a power chord, which scale should you use? Minor or Major...?

 

[sept09]

If the 1st chord is a power chord, which scale should you use? Minor or Major...?

Depends on the key I guess. If for example your song is on E minor, then most probably you use the E minor scale. And it aslo depend on the song if its better to use pentatonic minor, natural minor and etc.

 

[fenderrules]

NOTE: Currently I'm studying theory under a teacher so what I'm about to explain may not be totally accurate but it is a rough and layman's idea of how to work around it and explaining it is a way of how I improve in applying theory to my own playing. For those who's theory's far more better than mine, feel free to quote and add a comment if I'm wrong at some point. Thanks.



You should not only look at what is the first chord, but the whole chord progression in general. If its an E power chord, the scale doesn't have to be neccesarily a minor scale. I could play a major scale if the following power chord after E5 is a C#5. You need to know your chord progressions before you solo, that is key.

Knowing the notes of a chord can also help you figure out what kind of scale you are going to use. Think of it as tallying the notes of a chord with that of the scale. So if you are going to be using something which doesn't, it's going to sound awful like a bad taste in your mouth, or ears that is.

The E minor chord's formula consists of the 1st root note, the flat or minor 3rd (b3) and the perfect 5th in music theory. The notes will be E, G and B. You will notice these notes when you finger them on your guitar, E, B ,E, G, B E. This is somewhat how you can use scales to solo to these chords because the common pentatonic scale works in a series of tones and semitones. It's a method of mine of how I sorta tend to know the scales to solo but if it seems to be kinda irrelevant, do feel free to drop it.

Even if its an E power chord in the progression of Em, the notes that are within are just 2 or 3 notes which are the Root (E), the Fifth (B), and of course the Octave (E) again. The fifth is what is giving you the colour to that cool sounding chord, making itself known as a power chord cuz of that fifth note.

Fine, so I've been yammering on and on about chords, so what about solos? Remember how those notes of a chord sorta reoccur when you finger them. It's the same with scales. The formula for the typical pentatonic scale would be the 1st Root, Minor 3rd, Perfect 4th, Perfect 5th and Minor 7th, E G A B D.

So let's say if you happen to have a backing track in an E minor power chord progression but the problem is it starts with a G5 power chord and and even if you know it you are not allowed to use the E minor pentatonic when it plays.

If the formula for the Pentatonic Minor is E G A B D, what scale would be in the formula of G A B D E??

If you have answered this correctly, you will know what scale to use for which chord.


Cheers

 

[lester_music]

well...playing music is a combination of ears & as well as your theory and practical knowledge..

one will help the other...

if u wanna play by ears, just keep trying...if u try hundred times still can't get it....hehe..then its time that u learn more about theory...

there are some people with amazing ears(playing everything without theory).....for example playing Cmaj13#11 without even knowing what is it.. ....but so far I have only met one...

so u have to know yourself...everyone is different...

 

[Twitter]

Hey any online sites where i can learn more about theory or stuff related to this?

My teacher focus more on technique now i guess, though he taught me basic music theory before... So certain bits that you guys mention im not too clear yet =p

 

[Levent]

If the formula for the Pentatonic Minor is E G A B D, what scale would be in the formula of G A B D E??

If you have answered this correctly, you will know what scale to use for which chord.


Cheers

G major pentatonic.

Personally I think learning music theory(particularly modes) is a great asset to playing by ear, because once you 'listen out' fragments of the song you can figure out the rest.

First you hear the scale. E minor, for example. E F# G A B C D E.

Then you understand that E minor is relative to G major(E minor's minor 3rd)

Then you hear the chords(1st, 3rd, 5th). the chords; for E minor it goes:

E minor (E, G, B)
F#minor diminished (F# A C)
G major (G B D)
A minor (A C E)
B minor (B D F#)
C major (C E G)
D major (D F# A)
then back to E minor.

once you learn this pattern it becomes really easy. Minor->diminished->major->minor->minor->major->major.

Then after that you learn modes(alot and alot of guitarists like steve vai think modally), which with some experimentation you will realise are exactly the same set of notes except with emphasis on different individual notes.

E aoelian(e minor) F# locrian G ionian(g major) A dorian B phrygian C lydian D mixolydian and back to E aoelian.

this is the "'hard part'' because all the names sound so complex and everything sounds so strange. but it's so simple.

E minor is E F# G A B C D E.
F# locrian is F# G A B C D E F#.
G major is G A B C D E F# G.

and so on. bolded are the root/third/fifth; the notes of the chord, which if you look above are the same.

this is how music theory helps you play by ear. you listen to one part of a song, enough to figure out what modal pattern it is in and from there on you can probably figure out the notes for the rest of the song, given the songwriter doesn't go out of key(intentionally or not)

 

[empihsrow]

Practise, practise, practise.

Ear training takes eons to get it right. I can play rock songs with my ears, but metal and blues... That's a whole lot different altogether.

For a start, I suggest being able to differentiate intervals by singing two notes in a key that aren't the same.

Like a C and a F. Feels how it is like to hear a perfect fourth. Then a C and a D, C and a E, etc.

 

[Jumpin'Jellybean]

So mostly start off by trial and error?

 

[Twitter]

Hey, so anyone can suggest any websites for me to learn more about theory and stuff =D

 

[sarge]

Ear training

Ear training is a very important aspect in playing freely.All the scales and chord patterns you learn are sort of "maps" to guide you so that you do'nt get "lost".You could start off your ear training from recognising relative pitch aka the distances between two notes.That is achieved by studying intervals.Each interval will have a certain sound to it.So how do you memorise how high or low the pitch goes?You assosciate it with a song.For example a Major 2nd interval will have a similar tune to the starting of "happy birthday" song.This holds true in any key you play.the key hear is to hear the song and immediately recognise its intervals.It takes time,practice and commitment to get good.Have fun!