Hi
I've been playing guitar for a few years now but always relied on online tabs and books to show me how to play stuff.
I would really love to get better at figuring out songs for myself just by listening to them, i think it would be a great way to improve (and to have fun!)
Are there any general tips for starting to do this? And are there any particular songs/styles that are easier than others for a beginner?
Thanks
Dom
"We all have always shared a common belief that music is meant to be played as loud as possible, really raw and raunchy, and I'll punch out anyone who doesn't like it the way I do." -Bon Scott
I never took lessons, although I did buy good books when I could find them, but I mostly learned how to play guitar from listening to records and the radio and copying what I heard. I got really good at it, and some people were amazed at how I could learn a song in just a few minutes from just listening to it. So, I think I was fortunate to have a good ear.
But I had a few tricks that used to help me. First, I always listened to the bass line. The bass guitar will almost always play the root notes for each chord. So this is a major help. Also, in most songs the first chord is also the key of the song. So if a song started with a G Major chord, it was most likely in the key of G. Somewhere along the line I found out that most songs are constructed of the three Major chords and the three Relative Minor chords.
So, in the key of C Major you have:
C, F, & G- the three Major chords
Am, Dm, Em (or E7)- the three Relative Minor chords
For other keys just transpose.
There are many exceptions to this rule, but overall you can figure out the vast majority of songs with this one rule. If you know the song is in C, then your other chords will likely be F, G, Am, Dm, and Em. And this really works. Sometimes a chord will be altered a little like a F6 for example. But this will get you really close 90% of the time.
And like anything else, the more you do it, the easier it gets. I can still figure out most songs by ear in just a few minutes.
Hope that helped.
Wes
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
