I had a couple questions, well, is it bad that I can't learn songs by ear? I mean if there is two or three chords it's not hard but anything higher than that is really difficult / nearly impossible. But, I can learn by watching, if I sit there and watch someone play the song I can pretty much put it all together, so am I completely doomed? And should I practice learning by ear unless it's something you just have? Also if I should practice anyone wanna point me in a good direction?
Learning by ear
- Thread starter ainokeato
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Ukulele JJ
Super Moderator
Hardly anyone just magically and instantly can figure out every song by ear. It's a skill, and it sounds like you've already got a bit of it developed, since you can do two and three chord songs (which puts you ahead of a lot of folks who don't even bother to try to get that far).
Keep at it. You'll get better.
JJ
Keep at it. You'll get better.
JJ
Lanark
Well-known member
Repeated for greater emphasis.
A lot of times it's going to come down to trial and error to find the right chords. It's always been a struggle for me, but I find the right chords and I fix a lot of bad internet tab for myself that way.
You're doing fine. It's a skill. You're learning it and are better than you think.
Poke
Member
I'm not sure if this helps. But it helped me. Focus on the bassline of the song. Most times this will lead you to the chords. Pluck out the bassline. Find out what notes they are.Then find the chords. Also A MAJOR chord sounds happy! A minor Chord sounds sad!
buddhuu
Super Moderator (Retired)
:agree:
The guys speak truth. It comes with practice, and there are odd tips you'll discover that can help, as Poke points out.
Stick with it and it'll come.
Maybe learn major and minor scales, as that'll help you to associate where to place a finger to get the note that comes next. Hard to explain, but it happens.
And get to know the distinctive sound of the main chord types: major, minor, dom7, min7, diminished/diminished7.
I don't mean to learn to recognise the pitch - like, oh that's an Am7 - I just mean learn the sound character of the chord type. (Oh, that's a minor7 chord)
The guys speak truth. It comes with practice, and there are odd tips you'll discover that can help, as Poke points out.
Stick with it and it'll come.
Maybe learn major and minor scales, as that'll help you to associate where to place a finger to get the note that comes next. Hard to explain, but it happens.
And get to know the distinctive sound of the main chord types: major, minor, dom7, min7, diminished/diminished7.
I don't mean to learn to recognise the pitch - like, oh that's an Am7 - I just mean learn the sound character of the chord type. (Oh, that's a minor7 chord)
Poke
Member
I love the fun of learning by ear. Stick with it. You can do it. 
I get what you're trying to say, I need to get on making my chord diagrams lol. thank you all of you for renewing my hope lol, I mean, it's easy for me to learn through tabs, after a few tries with the majority of tabs i've got it pretty much down. But when it comes to learning by ear I can but it's just like intensively hard depending on the song. I figured I didn't have the "gift" lol but knowing that i'm at a pretty good start with learning those songs with just a few chords really helped.
hoosierhiver
Well-known member
When I started I couldn't discern one chord from another by ear. It gets better over time.
Harold O.
Well-known member
I've been at it for about a year and can strum fairly well. It took awhile for me to recognize chord changes in a song. I never knew what made music work before.
So I'm sitting with my guitar buddy the other day and he picks up my uke and starts strumming/picking. I told him my uke never sounds like that when I hold it. He said "You're farther along than you think. Continue your current technique and practice schedule, add 30 years, and you'll be right there."
It doesn't make me better right now, but it did provide some perspective.
So I'm sitting with my guitar buddy the other day and he picks up my uke and starts strumming/picking. I told him my uke never sounds like that when I hold it. He said "You're farther along than you think. Continue your current technique and practice schedule, add 30 years, and you'll be right there."
It doesn't make me better right now, but it did provide some perspective.
It gets better
I used to have a lot of trouble picking out melodies and chords. I would just try every chord I knew until I found the right one. Now, years later, I find I can make a pretty educated guess on where to find the melody, and which chords to use. It will come with experience, and knowledge. You will find that, depending on the key, you can narrow down the choices considerably. So, if you notice that F, B flat, and C7 (and adding Dm, Gm, Am) is used in songs a lot, then next time you figure out a song, and it starts with F, you automatically try the B flat and the C7 (or maybe C) along with the possibility of Dm, Gm, and Am. So, learning chord groupings is a great way to advance your skills in this area (Check out "The Chord Wheel" by Jim Fleser). The knowledge saves you time, and you will naturally develop the instinct for when to change to a new chord. The melody can often be found in the notes of the chord, with maybe a few extra ones thrown in between chord changes.
–Lori
I used to have a lot of trouble picking out melodies and chords. I would just try every chord I knew until I found the right one. Now, years later, I find I can make a pretty educated guess on where to find the melody, and which chords to use. It will come with experience, and knowledge. You will find that, depending on the key, you can narrow down the choices considerably. So, if you notice that F, B flat, and C7 (and adding Dm, Gm, Am) is used in songs a lot, then next time you figure out a song, and it starts with F, you automatically try the B flat and the C7 (or maybe C) along with the possibility of Dm, Gm, and Am. So, learning chord groupings is a great way to advance your skills in this area (Check out "The Chord Wheel" by Jim Fleser). The knowledge saves you time, and you will naturally develop the instinct for when to change to a new chord. The melody can often be found in the notes of the chord, with maybe a few extra ones thrown in between chord changes.
–Lori
It's also easier if you can find the melody note, then work from there, most likely the melody note is in the chord and if it is a simple major, minor etc. then there are only a certain amount of combinations.
and also recognizing chord patters like I, IV, V, V7.
once you get all that stuff down, it really helps for composing also.
and also recognizing chord patters like I, IV, V, V7.
once you get all that stuff down, it really helps for composing also.
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