How to learn by ear?

[ZeroSymbolic]

Obviously listen to it and try to emulate, but outside of that, do you guys have a routine or approach?

[Ric5]

play along with youtube

[simmerdown]

learn your intervals...this helped me more than anything

when you can tell where the notes are in relation to eachother, its just a matter of finding the root

works for me anyway.....

[905]

Originally Posted by ZeroSymbolic

Obviously listen to it and try to emulate, but outside of that, do you guys have a routine or approach?

Play along without stopping for a few times, then if there's anything in the bass I haven't deciphered, just listen and try to find the first note of a phrase.

[maxgrant]

Don't just learn intervals. Learn scales. It's easier to find the key of a song and then work your way out from that.

[Skitch it!]

There have been a few threads on ear training and intervallic recognition here, have a look, some good points there. Seeing how it's played visually is a bonus for recognizing the hand positions/fretting used, if you stick to semi-legit videos that is

[ZeroSymbolic]

Threw in Alice in Chains today, figured out Man in the box, which is a groovy but very simple song.

Them Bones is what Im working on now. Cant seem to get it figured out. This thing is not in 4/4 is it?

[Skitch it!]

Use your fu skills, information is power.

Them Bones - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[ZeroSymbolic]

*puts on noob hat* how does one count 7/8 Time?

[Skitch it!]

Tap your finger down for count one, lifting your finger is count two, tapping your finger is count three, lifting is count four....continue to seven, back to the one which may fall on the tap, or lift because of the odd time signature. Very simplified version there.

Set a metro to 160 bpm, count each click in groups/bars of 7 for the feel of the track.

[ZeroSymbolic]

The key seems to be that the bass drum (I listen to my drummer as he is the other half of the rhythm team) doesn't always fall steady. Really weird. Could one think of it as 4/4-4/3 alternating?

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by ZeroSymbolic

Threw in Alice in Chains today, figured out Man in the box, which is a groovy but very simple song.

Them Bones is what Im working on now. Cant seem to get it figured out. This thing is not in 4/4 is it?

7/8 with a 4/4 chorus

[Skitch it!]

Count the bar of 7 as 1234123 for a more natural flow. If the drummer is dragging, that won't help, count in 7's for the verse, 4's for the chorus.

[ZeroSymbolic]

HA HA. I got it, after listening to the metronome for a while, then figuring out it was in 16th at the start. got .

1a2a3a4a5a6aSev.

[Skitch it!]

Don't bother with the 'a' just count it in 7 at 160pm, then 4's at the same bpm for the chorus, easiest way to feel it.

[kraigo]

Originally Posted by ZeroSymbolic

*puts on noob hat* how does one count 7/8 Time?

One thing I learned watch a Rod Morgenstein video was to not use the second syllable of "seven". "one, two, three, four, five, six, sev" and repeat.

I don't usually count. I listen for where the "humps" are. Even things in 4/4 can have humps, like the clave in Latin music. Sevens will typically be broken up into groups of two beats and three beats. 2+3+2, 2+2+3 or 3+2+2.

KO

[ZeroSymbolic]

And onto Rooster. Which sounds like a song where Mike Starr is just grooving around at the beginning, so I can sort of adlib anything in key. Sound good?

[ZeroSymbolic]

DBL POST (sorry)

[ZeroSymbolic]

Originally Posted by kraigo

One thing I learned watch a Rod Morgenstein video was to not use the second syllable of "seven". "one, two, three, four, five, six, sev" and repeat.

I don't usually count. I listen for where the "humps" are. Even things in 4/4 can have humps, like the clave in Latin music. Sevens will typically be broken up into groups of two beats and three beats. 2+3+2, 2+2+3 or 3+2+2.

KO

I think I watched that very same video.
Beginning Drum Beats : 7/8 Drum Beats - YouTube

[MonetBass]

Originally Posted by kraigo

I don't usually count. I listen for where the "humps" are. Even things in 4/4 can have humps, like the clave in Latin music. Sevens will typically be broken up into groups of two beats and three beats. 2+3+2, 2+2+3 or 3+2+2.

Right there. Counts can be 1-2 1-2-3 1-2 or 1-2 1-2 1-2-3 or 1-2-3 1-2 1-2 depending on where the accents are.