Song Help Request Working out songs by ear.

Nigelapp

Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2015
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
I have been playing the Ukulele for about 16 months and made decent process. I've worked diligently through books like Ukulele Aerobics, taken private lessons and joined a Ukulele group. I have got to the point that providing I have either the chords or tab to a song I can pretty much play a passable version.

However I really want to be able to figure out songs by ear but am finding it really difficult.

Some people seem to do it instinctively but not me!

If you have worked through this I would love to know how you tackled learning how to figure out a song. I know the theory about figuring out the key and using the circle of fifths to narrow down the chord choices but its still a real struggle.

What resources have you used and what songs did you tackle first to train your ears to be able to pick out the right chords?

Any hints / tips / resources / words of encouragement would be welcome.
 
I too struggle with this. I made some circle of fifths stickers and placed it on the back of my fluke (plastic) uke. Now I can figure out an easy song quickly. There are always exceptions to this rule but having that sticker right there to look at has really helped. The more Ive used it the more it has come without looking at the sticker.

Most people that can do this on the fly are piano players that have been playing those chords below the melody for years.
 
I do a mixture really. I like working songs out by ear, and also, if it's not the right key for me, transposing up or down. Sometimes if I'm looking for a particular song I will just look up a tab online, but sometimes tabs don't give you right chords, in which case I just have to work it out by ear. Some chords will come easily, but for others, what I personally find helpful is picking out a standout note from the chord I'm hearing, I won't know know whether that note is a C, C #, D or whatever, I just find I can single it out from the chord and then find that note on the fret board. Then I try out the chords that have that note in it. It's a process of elimination I know but I usually get it within two or three chords. Knowing what a minor, a major, a diminished chord etc sounds like helps too. I don't know if that helps you. My knowledge of music theory is very limited, but if it helps, try picking out that particular note and take it from there.
 
Last edited:
besides learning from my teacher in 6th grade in Hawaii,
i learned everything else by ear.

primarily, listening to rock-n-roll songs in the 50's and 60's on the radio.

I learned to play the chord shapes from the key of C, and worked up
the neck to find a sound that matched the song on the radio.

then I learned the names of the new chords, and learned to play the
first position shapes in that key.

Now, with regard to even figuring out the sounds initially, well, there
was a lot of listening and experimenting.

I kind of knew that in the key of C, I would be playing Am, F, and G7,
D7 sometimes, etc. So armed with those basic Key of C options, I
tried to figure out the songs I wanted to play. Back then, the chord
progressions were a lot simpler than they are today, so you will truly
have your work cut out for you :)

anyway, once I had a rough progression that permitted me to sing the
song I wanted to learn using the key of C or a barred application of
the Key of C somewhere else up the neck, and having then figured out
the proper name of the Key and learned the first position chord forms
for that Key, I then played 'my' song in the new key with the new chord
forms.

(BTW, that's how I learned to play practically all the keys, since most of
the songs were written, sung, recorded in keys other than C! :( )

Bottom line, I was motivated by wanting to sing songs I was listening to
on the radio. And I stuck with it until I could do just that... for my own
pleasure. I never performed them to anyone until I got to college, but even
then it was only for those who wanted to sing along in the dorm.

I did play for my church youth group, especially during the holidays when
we went caroling, so I had to figure out the chords in my vocal range so that
I could accompany the carolers :)

it will take time and experimentation... and try not to get discouraged. you will
be training your ear/hearing.

initially, you'll be using major, minor and 7th chords mostly. As your hearing improves
to where you are able to distinguish between similar-sounding chords, you may want
to add, replace, and otherwise adjust your song sheets to reflect more sophisticated
rendition... and to make it more fun for yourself :)

keep uke'in',
 
I have made a spinning circle of fifths disk that I put in front of me to show me the major chords in a key (and to quickly transpose keys) which is at least narrowing down my options on chords!
 
besides learning from my teacher in 6th grade in Hawaii,
i learned everything else by ear.

primarily, listening to rock-n-roll songs in the 50's and 60's on the radio.

I learned to play the chord shapes from the key of C, and worked up
the neck to find a sound that matched the song on the radio.

then I learned the names of the new chords, and learned to play the
first position shapes in that key.

Now, with regard to even figuring out the sounds initially, well, there
was a lot of listening and experimenting.

I kind of knew that in the key of C, I would be playing Am, F, and G7,
D7 sometimes, etc. So armed with those basic Key of C options, I
tried to figure out the songs I wanted to play. Back then, the chord
progressions were a lot simpler than they are today, so you will truly
have your work cut out for you :)

anyway, once I had a rough progression that permitted me to sing the
song I wanted to learn using the key of C or a barred application of
the Key of C somewhere else up the neck, and having then figured out
the proper name of the Key and learned the first position chord forms
for that Key, I then played 'my' song in the new key with the new chord
forms.

(BTW, that's how I learned to play practically all the keys, since most of
the songs were written, sung, recorded in keys other than C! :( )

Bottom line, I was motivated by wanting to sing songs I was listening to
on the radio. And I stuck with it until I could do just that... for my own
pleasure. I never performed them to anyone until I got to college, but even
then it was only for those who wanted to sing along in the dorm.

I did play for my church youth group, especially during the holidays when
we went caroling, so I had to figure out the chords in my vocal range so that
I could accompany the carolers :)

it will take time and experimentation... and try not to get discouraged. you will
be training your ear/hearing.

initially, you'll be using major, minor and 7th chords mostly. As your hearing improves
to where you are able to distinguish between similar-sounding chords, you may want
to add, replace, and otherwise adjust your song sheets to reflect more sophisticated
rendition... and to make it more fun for yourself :)

keep uke'in',

Thanks. I think that this kind of mirrors how I thought I would approach this. I am going to try and not cheat and stop looking at tabs for now. I figured if I pretend that the internet doesn't exist and I stop googling chords for songs* it will force me to spend time really listening to songs and trying and figure them out for myself. I guess if I get them to a point where they sound ok-ish to my untrained ears, as I get better at it and revisit the songs I will refine them more and more.

* for now I may allow myself to google the right key
 
More power to 'ya!

it's trail-blazing... when you may not have to, but you'll
be learning alot of Ukulele 'Woodcraft' along the way!
you'll be surprised by many 'Ah-ha' moments that will help
you in your playing-by-ear adventure.

not sugar-coating, it is hard work... initially. but as you
put more time and effort into it, you will be building a special
skill that can be very rewarding and satisfying.

after all, you'll soon be in a position to create your own song sheets,
and even be in a position to offer chording suggestions to make
the songbook(s) you're using, even more rewarding (to discriminating
listeners and players)

Caveat - not everyone will want to make changes to the songs they
already know... even if it makes the songs sound better. If it means
learning it in a new key... forget it!

so in your newly-acquired skill, tread softly with regard to sharing with
others. Take advantage of open mic opportunities, and if there's interest,
offer to do an informal workshop for those who want to learn what you're
doing to make the songs 'prettier' :) and the time will come, sooner or later :)

keep uke'in',
 
I played flute from grade school to my 20s and could always play any melody I heard. Playing just a melody on the uke is similar to that. For chords, I've been approaching it in a way similar to Uncle Rod. I also occasionally am granted the privilege of playing with Bluegrass players where no one has a gig book and you just have to figure it out. This is not only great practice, it's a good confidence booster. You know, except the part where the Bluegrass players ignore me completely because--ukulele.
 
I have not found that trying to use the circle of fifth is helpful with anything but fairly basic chord progressions. For me, listening to what I'm playing and memorizing songs was a big turning point. I learned that a lot of songs share chord progressions and that many of those chord progressions even have names. As I memorized more and more songs, I started to recognize those progressions when I saw them. After a while I might recognize that Hit the Road Jack shares some progressions with Stray Cat Strut. Salty Dog Blues shares a progression with Hey Good Lookin'. So if I could play one song and another one came up with the same progression, it was easier to memorize. So I started listening for them. I'm not to the point where I can just play anything I hear, but often times I hear things that I can play. The twelve bar blues is everywhere. Because I listen for them, I hear that all the time. Just the other night I was playing along with something on Netflix and my wife commented on it. I told her that I'd played that progression ten thousand times in a hundred different songs. Anyway, listening to what I'm playing has helped me in that direction.
 
Rllink, I believe you hit the nail on the head with the listening, paying attention, making connections, etc.
that's what playing by ear is all about. - the high cost of paying attention :)

it's nice to have things already worked out for us, but if that kind of material is not available, well, we have
to buckle down to do it ourselves. and that means a lot of experimentation, trial and error. but the payoff
can be great as we learn and trust ourselves to learn what we need to get where we want to go.

don't be afraid to make mistakes. Self-correcting is part of learning. If we don't recognize our mistakes,
how will we ever make the proper corrections and get better?

Great advice everyone. learning to play by ear is a skill well worth the effort. Also, there's a certain
amount of Music Theory that will be acquired along the way :)

keep uke'in',
 
Rllink, I believe you hit the nail on the head with the listening, paying attention, making connections, etc.
that's what playing by ear is all about. - the high cost of paying attention :)

it's nice to have things already worked out for us, but if that kind of material is not available, well, we have
to buckle down to do it ourselves. and that means a lot of experimentation, trial and error. but the payoff
can be great as we learn and trust ourselves to learn what we need to get where we want to go.

don't be afraid to make mistakes. Self-correcting is part of learning. If we don't recognize our mistakes,
how will we ever make the proper corrections and get better?

Great advice everyone. learning to play by ear is a skill well worth the effort. Also, there's a certain
amount of Music Theory that will be acquired along the way :)


keep uke'in',
At least for me and from my own experience, we often times just follow the chords on the page in front of us and listening is an afterthought. For too many music is a visual exercise that they need to break away from. But I just wanted to add that I think it helps if one plays a lot of songs. The more songs that one becomes familiar with, the more chord progressions they also become familiar with and are able to recognize in other songs.
 
Last edited:
So far I have managed to work out a couple of songs to a decent level of accuracy and got part way through a handful of others. I feel like its slow and painful but it is progress and I feel like I am learning.

I stumbled across this video tonight. It starts at the very basics but does break things down well so if, like me, you struggle with this it's a good place to start.

 
Slow and painful is about right. I remember working on a single song for hours and being SO pissed that I couldn't figure it out. But the more you do it, the better you get. There are really no shortcuts for this one!

I haven't seen it mentioned above so I'll throw it out there: another approach is to pick around for notes that sound right (not worrying about chords) until you have eliminated enough "bad" notes to tell what scale you're playing in. This is usually the key of the song and from there you'll know what your I IV V chords are. This was always kind of my approach. Don't know if it's faster or better, but it got me to where I am now.

Another thing you can do to force your ear to work is put on the radio or your iPod on shuffle and play along - in any way, shape, or form. It will be like a chainsaw massacre at first, but your goal is to use your ear to find ANYTHING that sounds pleasing.
 
Yah, It gets easier once you learn to recognize the I, IV, and V chords in songs. Then, any other chords must be either ii, iii, or vi. :cool:

Sometimes there's a flat VII chord, which is a major chord a whole step down from the I chord (a C chord in the key of D, or an F chord in the key of G, etc).
 
Last edited:
Most pop songs and standards use certain sets of chord changes. I ended up having to play keyboard for my last 20 plus years as a music educator. I had no formal keyboard training except for 4-5 piano lessons as a teen. I was a trumpet major in college. The more I played keyboard over the years the more I began to recognize patterns in many songs. I still use keyboard to figure out chord changes for ukulele pieces from time to time. I think for me the keyboard works better as I can see the entire keyboard.
The more you work on playing by ear the easier it gets.
Many well known musicians don't read music at all. Glen Campbell and George Benson come to mind. Neither can read music. Glen was part of the Wrecking Crew and played on hundreds of record dates for a who's who of pop music before his solo career took off. He did everything by ear.
 
Two things have helped me:
- Jim D'Ville's course at playukulelebyear.com - unconventional and entertaining ways of thinking about the circle to derive emotional connotations to chords to expect what's coming next.
- Complete Ear Trainer app for Android (there are several similar ones for Android or iOS) - test your ear for note and interval recognition.
 
Relying on I-IV-V doesn't work for me. Nor does the circle of fifth, which seems to me to be the same thing. I had the circle of fifths taped to the back of my uke at one time. I just run into way too many songs that don't follow that formula. You don’t have to go too far to escape from it.
 
Last edited:
for me it is a process.

I usually start with the A string and figure out the melody I am hearing.

Then I learn to play it correctly with all my strings.

Then, once I have a melody, I start looking at the melody and seeing what key it is in.

From there it is fairly elementary to noodle around with chords and figure out which variation (maj, Maj7, dom7, min) is being used.

One tool that I've had since I was a kid in one form or another is the chord wheel. It is very helpful. It is basically a circle of fifths with a lot of other supplementary information such as good substitution voicings, all the intervals for all keys, how many flats or sharps are in every key, etc.
 
Top Bottom