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Any tips on how to figure songs out by ear?

glenson

glenson

Oct 22, 2010
65
22
San Diego
#1
At first i thought that i would add this as part of the "are tabs bad" discussion, but then i thought it would be better on its own.

I can play songs from tab, follow pretty well if my guitarist shows me the chords, and even right songs on guitar and bass. Problem is, i have a real hard time figuring songs out by ear.

Ive been working on this with my bass instructor but either he's "metering" or just not able to help me advance in this area. Whats weird is that once i know a song or an original, i can clearly hear when we are out of tune but when it comes to decyphering from step one, big problem..

Any ah hah momemts you can share, or other recommendations?

Thanks
 
#3
How I learned to play by ear: I would turn on the radio, and try to play along with whatever I heard. I would play a note, most often a wrong note. But in hearing the wrong note, I could at least tell if the right note was higher or lower than it. I would play another note, this time getting closer, and eventually be hitting the right ones. I think it was key that this was done with the radio- in that there was no possibility of pausing. The music kept moving and I had to try to keep up, not able to worry about getting it perfect but generally producing a good basic representation of what I was hearing. Having gotten a simplified version going, I could then elaborate on it, getting closer and closer each time to the real thing.
This is fundamentally different from trying to learn a part perfectly one note at a time, a method that produces musicians who only 'know' songs they have had lots of practicing time with. A player who learns parts by ear on the other hand 'knows' roughly as many songs as he can hum the tune to.
Using this method, a knowledge of intervals has been the only musical theory I have needed. I have learned the different keys and so on no less than three times in my life, and they have never stuck, because I've never found myself using the concept.
Essentially, it's just like humming. Though we never think about it, what we naturally do when we hum along to a song is produce some random pitch, then adjust up or down until we're in tune with what we're listening to, and so on. This is just humming with your hands.
Of course, I'm sure there are other methods.
 
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#4
Download "Best Practice". Slow the song down by 50% and increase pitch by an octave.

Increase speed as you learn the bass line.

Also, sing the bass line so you get it in your head. Make your fingers do what's in your head. Will be slow at first but keep trying. It's a process. Give yourself lots of time and be patient.
 
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#5
Apply what you know to every piece of music you come across. Whether you know meter, tempo, pitch, scales, modes, chords, ABA or other form - listen to ANYTHING (and everything!) that you hear, and try your best to interpret it. It could be on your car radio, out of a stranger's mp3 player on the bus, something you hear in a store, whatever. I do this constantly, and it has improved my ability to learn songs immensely.
 
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#7
Also learn the song via tab then go back over the song listening to where the notes are that you have just learned, start with bands with "simple" songs ie ac/dc, sex pistols that's basically how I learned except I had a teacher not tab to show me the right notes!ps this will make writing jamming songs(with your band) that much more easier!
 
#8
Take a song you already know and play along with it. "Connect" with the bass. Then listen to songs with simple bass lines and really focus on listening to the bass.

That first part sounds really dumb, but you really need to be able to zone in on the bass.

Next hum or sing back the bassline. It doesn't matter how bad your voice is, try to hum the note and then match it on your bass. A great song is Queen's Under Pressure. The main riff is only 2 notes!

Spend a few minutes a day trying to sound out easy songs until you get good. Experiment with headphones or speakers to see what you can hear the bass best on.
 
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#9
Get a very easy tune. Work out the root notes each time a chord changes. If you can't hear the root movement for a tune there's no point learning other stuff in the bassline because without knowing where the roots are those notes will just seem randomly chosen.

So start off for a tune working out the root notes only. Try wild thing to start off. It's very simple- just three root notes. Keep it simple and do as many tunes as you can until it's easy.

After you know the roots for a song there are basically three main possibilities for the quality of the chord coming off that root. It could be major, minor, or dominant. If you play a one octave arpeggio for each of these chords from the root note and use your ear you can decide which one fits. The more you do it, the more this stuff will become easy and instinctive.

If you find that your straining to get something then pick an easier tune. But don't be frustrated if you find it hard- struggling to do it means you're learning.
 
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#10
glenson said:
At first i thought that i would add this as part of the "are tabs bad" discussion, but then i thought it would be better on its own.

I can play songs from tab, follow pretty well if my guitarist shows me the chords, and even right songs on guitar and bass. Problem is, i have a real hard time figuring songs out by ear.

Ive been working on this with my bass instructor but either he's "metering" or just not able to help me advance in this area. Whats weird is that once i know a song or an original, i can clearly hear when we are out of tune but when it comes to decyphering from step one, big problem..

Any ah hah momemts you can share, or other recommendations?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Play what by ear? The tune or the bass line? If the tune, I'd just say good luck and ask why you need to play the tune in the first place.

Now if the bass line by ear is what you are wanting here is my recommendation. You first gotta know the key. Ryansalmond's post touched on how to find the note. Take that same method and find the tonal center.

Listen to the song and walk your G string up the neck. When what you are hearing on the radio (the whole song not specific notes of the song) and what you are doing on the G string come in sync (sound good together) you have found the tonal center. Look down at what note that happened on. That's the key.

Knowing the key you can assume the progression. If you need help assuming the progression ask here, that's best handled on another post. Once you know the key and the progression start with just roots. If you need more add the five R-5-R-5. Need more the eight is always a safe bet. R-5-8-5. Trick to this is to recognize the chord changes. Cheat and look at the rhythm guitar's hands and change chords when he does.

No that is not exact, but, after your ear begins to recognize the chord changes you will be able to function in any jamming circle --- and be able to play songs you've never heard before. The director says; "OK next song is Kiss Ole Kate in G, ready 1 & 2 &... You have never heard Kiss Ole Kate, but, you know it's in G so you assume the progression will be a I-IV-V as that is a progression used in Country and Kiss Ole Kate is a Country song. Play that and listen to see if it works, if not, adjust.

What I outlined above won't be exact, but, in jamming close enough is close enough. The beat is more important than the actual note you sound. If you get lost revert to the tonic I chord and play it's root-five, to the beat of the song, till you find your place.

Good luck.
 
#11
I use the Amazing Slow Downer and I really like it especially when I get stuck. Also learn to recognize common chord progressions. Knowing what chords you are working with is a big part of of determining the correct notes. Trial and error is a tried and true method as well. Personally, unless you are "cramming" and are in a hurry, tabs will rob you of ear training. Just MHO.
 
#13
I have no idea how to explain. It's pretty much how I learn how to play everything.
I can't read, not interested in tab either.

I learn the song inside and out to the point where I can hum along to all the notes.
I break songs into sections. I'll write down individual notes at certain sections or entire sections.
After awhile I put it all together with a ton of repetition and after awhile I have learned the framework. Once I can get through a song with the framework and where any changes are and I am satisfied with my progress, I then start figuring all of the spaces inbetween and more tricky things like individual licks. I make sure that I learn transitions too. There might be a song that repeats a part but the slight differences in it between them are important to get because the small details are the icing on the cake for me.

I have no idea whether I said anything that makes sense but perhaps theres something you can take from my ramblings.

Bottom line for me is to know the song in my head before I try to play it.
 
#14
OK, you've been given some good advise. I'm going to give it a shot. A lot of what I say will just reinforce what others have said.

I am assuming that you know basic chords in keys.

Here is the way I would suggest you learn songs by ear.

Before you even pick up the guitar, make sure you listen to it a lot. Know the song well before you even start trying to play the tune.


1. Pick a simple song. I would suggest a really simple OLD country song. Many of them are songs with a 3 chord progression.

2. Keep playing notes down a string (preferably a higher string) until you find the root chord. This is the key center.

3. Now, lets pretend the song you are working on is in the key of C. If that is the case, you can assume that there is a good chance the other chords will be one of the following:
C D E F G A B
If it is a simple country song, it is probably C F & G.

4. Break the song down into portions, like 1st verse, chorus, 2nd verse, outro. Practice one section at a time until you get it and then move on to the next section.

I hope this helps.
 
#15
My amp has a cd-in, so I jack my laptop in on it and play the song, and play along with it. The amp does my mixing, so it's very easy to hear if you're off. I start off usually taking a wild stab at what key to be in, and from there depending on the song you can make a relatively good guess at chord progression. I also don't worry about getting it down to the last little improvisation in the song, I want the basics out of it, and I'll do my own improv on top :)
 
#16
Stumbo said:
Download "Best Practice". Slow the song down by 50% and increase pitch by an octave.

Increase speed as you learn the bass line.

Also, sing the bass line so you get it in your head. Make your fingers do what's in your head. Will be slow at first but keep trying. It's a process. Give yourself lots of time and be patient.
Click to expand...

Great suggestion re: the octave key shift!! I use BestPractice all the time but never got the idea of the shift to make it more perceptible! I also tend to use the karaoke mode to suppress some of the vocal and guitar level.

Just a reminder to those who are new to it, BestPractice software is free. Just Google it.
 
#18
A summary of the process I follow:

Listen to the song a few times to get familiar with song structure and "how many pieces you have to decode". By this i mean, intro/outro, verses, choruses, bridges, raves, etc.

Then plunk along with root notes til you sort out the key and the chord sequences.

Once you know the key and chord sequences, it gets easier, since most notes will be variations on the notes in the key.

Make sure you've learned the basics. Scales, arpeggiated chords, major/minor pentatonic scales and ultimately modes. When you are familiar with those, you'll be amazed at how many songs "jump off the page" at you as familiar elements of those constructs. Go to studybass.com if you are not versed in these.

My example is once i was plunking along to get the notes of Sunshine of Your Love by Cream. When it dawned on me that it was exactly the minor blues scale, I was done. Boom.
 
#19
I also start with getting down the chord progression and structure of the song, then fill in from there. As mentioned above, I listen for major or minor third, and the seventh (major vs. dominant/minor).

The one thing that I will add is that often times, the part will be about the transitions from one chord to the next, rather just riffing on the one chord, then another (Layla comes to mind as an example). I don't presume to know how every bass line was derived, but I imagine that this is a process that is similar to the way the original line was created, with exceptions, of course.
 

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