To those who don't learn songs by ear.

[mosiddiqi]

Do it. Please. Trust me on this. Just do it. I guarantee you will become a better musician, if not, I'll give you your money back. Doing this one single thing will improve you more than any other lesson out there.

 

Nowadays, with software like "Transcribe!" you can slow things down to crawl speed and listening intently to a small section of music repeatedly will improve your concentration skills, and pitch recognition/sensitivity immensely. Those two skills will improve every other area of your playing. Guaranteed. If however,you're not interested in becoming a better musician, then fine, carry on!.

 

*rant driven by listening to brothers friends 17 year old son play excrutiatingly inaccurate versions of classic rock songs learned from internet TAB, no ears were required in the process, on questioning some of his playing by saying "Uh, cool, but I think that note should be C# and not C..was told, "but that's what the TAB says, you must be wrong" *

[JonR]

I agree totally!

I remember the old days when we had no choice but to hunch over a record player or tape deck to learn songs - bar by bar, note by note. Nobody published notation (let alone tab) of the music we were interested in. If they had, of course, we would have jumped at it. But the fact we were forced to use our ears (cloth-like though some of them were) meant our musicianship improved enormously.

In fact, I did get to enjoy the act of transcription. Even when I found sheet music for the songs I wanted, it was never complete. And transcribing songs gets you right inside the music - which is where we all want to be, right?

[gennation]

I always figure, those who don't learn...don't learn.

 

Everything you learn is part of the big picture. I think the most important thing is hanging out with players who can already play, and who 'get it'.

 

I think this is why there are so many decent guitarists out there who started out as drummers, because they got to hang around guitarists. In some cases good guitarists.

 

You can learn stuff wrong whether it's by ear or out of a book your whole life...but unless you run into someone who's playing it right, you could very well still be left in the dark playing half ass'ed renditions of stuff you didn't hear or read correctly, or the parts you gave up on or just "called it good".

[Virgman]

Can a deaf guitarist learn by ear?

 

And if not, what should they do?

[1001gear]

They most deafeningly can.

[Virgman]

Can you learn guitar by Braille?

I'm going to check youtube for deaf guitarists.

Here's one.

[YOUTUBE]5_km6_1FiO8&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

and another

[YOUTUBE]Cbfnik6p45A&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

[Jasco]

So this is how this forum works? Instead of offering people tabs to songs you douchebags tell them to learn the songs by ear.

[jeremy_green]

I agree totally! I remember the old days when we had no choice but to hunch over a record player or tape deck to learn songs - bar by bar, note by note. Nobody published notation (let alone tab) of the music we were interested in. If they had, of course, we would have jumped at it. But the fact we were forced to use our ears (cloth-like though some of them were) meant our musicianship improved enormously. In fact, I did get to enjoy the act of transcription. Even when I found sheet music for the songs I wanted, it was never complete. And transcribing songs gets you right inside the music - which is where we all want to be, right?

 

 

I hear ya JonR! Back then most of the books were all in proper notation but usually done by a piano player. Most of the ones i bought were completely off. I used to LOVE when "guitar for the practicing musician" came out! Problem was being broke I only got one every so often.

 

There really was no alternative. If we wanted to play a song - drop the needle and scratch the piss out of your record.

 

Mo, this thread is so dead on. I don't understand why people avoid it. ... well I do understand ... work avoidance and all. But if you are trying to be a better guitar player there is no faster route. For me I just always wanted to be better - that was #1.

 

If I came to a place like this when I was young and heard some of the awesome players here agreeing saying "Do X and you'll get better" You are damn straight that would be in my routine - in a heartbeat.

 

Last night I was lifting some Brad Paisley (I don't normally do country). I just wanted to get inside that sound - plus "Play" is a phenomenal album for any guitar player to hear. Walked away with learning a new tune, and gleaned several tricks for the bag - all for free!

 

Transcribe is a truly wonderful app.

[Virgman]

Last night I was lifting some Brad Paisley (I don't normally do country).

Uh huh...right...

[mosiddiqi]

I hear ya JonR! Back then most of the books were all in proper notation but usually done by a piano player. Most of the ones i bought were completely off. I used to LOVE when "guitar for the practicing musician" came out! Problem was being broke I only got one every so often. There really was no alternative. If we wanted to play a song - drop the needle and scratch the piss out of your record. Mo, this thread is so dead on. I don't understand why people avoid it. ... well I do understand ... work avoidance and all. But if you are trying to be a better guitar player there is no faster route. For me I just always wanted to be better - that was #1. If I came to a place like this when I was young and heard some of the awesome players here agreeing saying "Do X and you'll get better" You are damn straight that would be in my routine - in a heartbeat. Last night I was lifting some Brad Paisley (I don't normally do country). I just wanted to get inside that sound - plus "Play" is a phenomenal album for any guitar player to hear. Walked away with learning a new tune, and gleaned several tricks for the bag - all for free! Transcribe is a truly wonderful app.

 

The very first one I saw on a newstand in London had a transcription for "And the Cradle will Rock"..note for note..I was in heaven! ..still couldn't play it that well though! ..and they were expensive here

[~GOD~]

i learned by other methods (tab, notation, or copying hands) until learning by ear became easier, then i switched.

[-Andrew-]

i've learned everything I know by ear and couldnt agree more with the OP. I have guys that find a (wrong) tab, learn it, think they can play the song exactly right, when in all reality it sounds like total crap and is totally off. one of my biggest pet peeves!

[Jasco]

Uh huh...right...

:lol:

[jamesp]

So this is how this forum works? Instead of offering people tabs to songs you douchebags tell them to learn the songs by ear.

Can't go wrong with the classics.


http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showpost.php?p=40308411&postcount=3

[meganutt7]

I need to do this more myself. I try to do things by ear but often get seduced by notation/tabs... It depends on how much time I have to learn something, the level of complexity, the purpose, the arrangement I am potentially working to create, etc.

[Jerry_L]

 

Can a deaf guitarist learn by ear? And if not, what should they do?

 

 

Only perform for deaf audiences.

[Virgman]

Only perform for deaf audiences.

This makes sense.

[gschmittling]

Last night I was lifting some Brad Paisley (I don't normally do country). I just wanted to get inside that sound - plus "Play" is a phenomenal album for any guitar player to hear. Walked away with learning a new tune, and gleaned several tricks for the bag - all for free! Transcribe is a truly wonderful app.

 

 

Wow Jeremy, I've been actually lifting some stuff off of play too. There are some awesome tracks and real smokin' licks off that one. I can fake my way through most about anything pretty convincingly, country is by far my weakest (because it's the way I play least) I have enough country licks and sensibility to get through a couple choruses of Folsom or something but not much more.

 

I actually met his old keyboard player awhile ago at a show of mine and we were talking about jazz and jazz/pop and he was just saying how much Brad hated it. He was also telling me that he would be behind his amp five minutes to showtime soldering his amp to switch the ohms, and he was like "I can do that, hurry up and get out there". Cool stories though.

[DL2]

I find I have a much harder time learning a song properly by ear alone, however glancing through a tab before attempting to learn helps enormously.

Obviously one should read tabs with a grain of salt, considering the guy who wrote it had to do the exact thing that you're trying to avoid by reading tabs.

Some songs are just a bitch to learn by ear. You've got to have a good ear to isolate melodic lines in songs with really layered, dense arrangements, as well as understanding what chord is being playing where in what inversion and what strings to leave open, muted, ect.

I dare someone to tab The Way Young Lovers Do by Jeff Buckley. Songs like that are the reason I use tabs from time to time.

[Virgman]

DL2,

 

I agree with you that some songs are really tough to figure out. Having a tab available can save the day sometimes.

 

I think it also takes some experience with the instrument to permit transcribing unless it's a really simple song. A newbie just can't do it unless it's simple. You need an understanding of chord forms, voicings at times.

 

It's all good.

 

Heck, if you have a full toolbox use the best tool for the job.

[mosiddiqi]

I absolutely agree that Tab can be useful. It's just that for a lot of players nowadays it seems to have become a crutch and that's who I was aiming at really..the guys that have maybe never even tried to learn an AC/DC riff by ear..cos it's too hard.

[Virgman]

I absolutely agree that Tab can be useful. It's just that for a lot of players nowadays it seems to have become a crutch and that's who I was aiming at really..the guys that have maybe never even tried to learn an AC/DC riff by ear..cos it's too hard.

 

 

Mo,

 

You hit the nail on the head. Tab can definitely be a crutch.

 

Everybody should transcribe as the first option.

 

In most cases it will be doable to a great extent.

 

And so what if your interpretation is not exact? It does not have to be exact. It doesn't.

[jeremy_green]

Wow Jeremy, I've been actually lifting some stuff off of play too. There are some awesome tracks and real smokin' licks off that one. I can fake my way through most about anything pretty convincingly, country is by far my weakest (because it's the way I play least) I have enough country licks and sensibility to get through a couple choruses of Folsom or something but not much more. I actually met his old keyboard player awhile ago at a show of mine and we were talking about jazz and jazz/pop and he was just saying how much Brad hated it. He was also telling me that he would be behind his amp five minutes to showtime soldering his amp to switch the ohms, and he was like "I can do that, hurry up and get out there". Cool stories though.

 

 

Great story Garrett! Yeah I hear Brad is a tweaker. He is one of the Dr Z Disciples (as am I!) so I am not surprised to hear him doing stuff like that. I am surprised to hear Brad isnt a jazz guy at all. He does a pretty good job of it on the Les Paul tribute on play. Jazz, Blues & Country all share the same roots so I am not surprised he can make the switch.

 

My country feel generally sucks pretty hard. I generally never got into country music as a whole but country guitar playing, "chickin pickin" and dudes like Albert Lee have blown me away for years.

 

I always remember being young and getting my hands on "Steve Morse - The Introduction" album and it blew me away. General Lee is such a great track and I have been a closet country guitar fan since.

 

When all the other guitar hero's fell through the 90's it didnt happen in country. Those boys have been slammin it for years. My hats off the the genre as a whole for keeping the playing in.

[jeremy_green]

Using a tab to check your work - sure. Personally I think you are FAR better off cutting the chord completely. In the early stages it is hard for sure - but if you always fall back on the tab, or the search of it, you may never bust through the threshold.

To help you:

- Learn to identify keys and which basic chords they contain
- Learn your major scale forms in 7 positions going up the neck
- Inside those 7 forms learn the chord shape that starts off each note of the scale
- Understand the genre a bit (blues/rock minor pentatonic soloing, Country Major pentatonic etc) this makes educated guesses possible.

Your ear is HUGE of course. But when you are having a hard time hearing it you must turn to the application of theory in practice. This makes you drive it in there and truly get a deeper understanding of the way players play. THIS is the real gold that makes you a better player beyond the obvious ear training.

This has been my experience at least.

[gennation]

My ear has always been great, as was stated that was the only way to 'do it yourself'. Although, I played with a lot of great guitarosts growing up that showed me many tricks of the listening trade. But there's more than just the ear, there's the hands and the heart. One without the other leave a gap in your playing big time.

 

The band I'm in leaves me learning about 30 new songs over a weekend for a new show run. In those cases I use every resource I can find to push things along at a speedy pace...IOW...

 

I end up correcting a lot of stuff that's on the web.

 

Someday I need to post back the corrections, or just start a "Genn straightens out the Internet" site