In this lesson, we are going to learn how to play any song on the guitar by ear. This is a skill set that takes patience and persistence to master. As it will not come overnight. But with enough effort over time, it will begin to develop and you will see results.
How to play by visualizing
This is a very important skill to master. And what’s great about it is that you already have it and practice it daily. If you close your eyes, you can see images of things you want, have, or even people you know.
Music is the same way. You want to be able to visualize what you hear. It is like carefully looking at a blueprint and studying all its features. All songs have a blueprint. Being able to visualize this blueprint will help you learn how to play the song by ear.
Study music scales
When you study music scales, you train your ear to hear notes within different musical keys. Keys like C major, A minor, D major, or F# minor. These all have certain notes that give them character.
By going through scales back and forth in different keys, your ear begins to get familiar with them. It begins to recognize the pitch difference and how to play these notes to learn chords and melody lines.
Study note intervals
A note interval is the distance between two notes. On the guitar, you use frets when you play. These fret intervals can be broken down into whole steps and half steps. A whole step is two frets, and a half step is one fret.
When playing a note, you want to listen for the distance of the next note. Is it a whole step, a half step, or possibly three frets, a step in a half? It could also be further away. Four frets would be considered two whole steps.
These are the building blocks of music. How chords are made, how scales are made, and how to use these concepts to create rhythm and melody in songs.
Watch the video lesson below
Develop Patience
When it comes to learning an instrument by ear, especially a guitar, you want to make sure that you develop patience. This is a skill that is a must. The reason for this is that it takes time to train the ear to hear the notes.
Once you can hear the notes, you then want to be able to find them on the guitar and reproduce what you hear. This is not easy. Well, for some people, it might be. I have seen people be able to do this quite easily without knowing exactly how they did it. Just having the natural ability to do so.
Put in daily effort
But for the rest of us, it will take some time and effort. Be prepared to put in the time and effort, and most of all, develop the patience necessary to do so. This will be required if you’re going to learn how to play songs by ear on the guitar.
Guitar method books
Do what is stated above, and you will learn how to play songs by ear. Not just on guitar but on any instrument that you approach. If you need additional help, be sure to check out the books that I have authored and published on playing guitar.
Any of these books can help you with your guitar playing. Especially in developing the skill of playing songs by ear. More importantly than that, they will teach you how to build a solid foundation that can serve you for years of guitar playing.
Private instruction is also available
If you'd like to make learning the guitar more enjoyable, reach out. With over 20 years of teaching experience. Both online and in-person. I specialize in crafting customized lessons that cater to your musical journey. Even if you have no formal training. With your interest and availability, I can tailor our lessons to suit your pace and schedule. Just contact me at my website, and we'll set up a time to talk on the phone.
Thanks for reading, and until our next lesson, take care.
Sincerely, Dwayne Jenkins
