Development of using your ears

[Lola]

Are you born with this quality or does it take time to develop?

I find the more I use my ears the more proficient they become in discerning note values and sounds.

 

[Longneck Tenon]

Rick Beato has a series on ear training at his YouTube channel that is very informative.

 

[JasonE]

It is a skill that can definitely be developed. I started noticing one day that while listening to a song that I could actually hear the I IV V chord progression in it and I knew it was in the key of G. This was not a song that I had ever played before. I grabbed a guitar when I got the chance and gave it a go. I was right. I then started noticing that I was hearing more things like this the more I played. I in no way have perfect pitch. I wish I did. This for me just comes from practicing scales and chord progressions.

I was also told by a guitar teacher years ago that I had a good ear and that I use it more than I think I do. I know it has helped for learning cover songs. It sucks for getting tired of hearing songs I listen to often. My Daughter got this ability as well. Before the age of digital music consumption, I would buy a CD and listen to it a dozen time or so and then would have to listen to something else for a while because the songs were imbedded in my brain and I started to tire of hearing them.

 

[Moondog Wily]

I think even those born with excellent note recognition will improve over time if they practice and focus on the topic. So I guess my answer is, everyone is developing a better ear if they are putting in the hours, but some are born with a head start ;~)) Everyone can improve in some way.

 

[Greywolf]

My high school orchestra instructor taught me , but only by request . I was a freshman and he was a Family friend, I asked as a conductor he could differentiate the instruments , with time I learned the focus . Half a lifetime as a martial artist honed it further.

 

[Lola]

I am really starting to say to myself, “I can figure this out”. I asked for help from one our most gracious members@WingerRules to help me with a solo. I came home Saturday from a party in the wee hours and picked up my guitar and figured it out by myself. I had to slow the song down to 25% and then eventually got it. This is such a milestone for me personally. Things are really starting to come together for me because I am so curious. Curiosity killed the cat but not in this case. This is just an amazing skill to perfect! Exciting!

 

[Juan Luis Vidal]

I can hear intervals, chord progressions, different scales or modes…but I'm clueless about the exact note/chord being played. I know that chord is a diminished one or a m7, I'm aware that's a fourth interval…but I have never been able to pinpoint if it was Bm7 or a G#m7 or if that Lydian mode I am listening has the root on C or B or whatever…. Seems alien to me when people easily do it, pretty frustrating

 

[DreamTheaterRules]

I am really starting to say to myself, “I can figure this out”. I asked for help from one our most gracious members@WingerRules to help me with a solo. I came home Saturday from a party in the wee hours and picked up my guitar and figured it out by myself. I had to slow the song down to 25% and then eventually got it. This is such a milestone for me personally. Things are really starting to come together for me because I am so curious. Curiosity killed the cat but not in this case. This is just an amazing skill to perfect! Exciting!

I’m glad to hear this. I was not bragging in that thread where I said music was not about math. In fact, I called myself a hack because I can’t read music well on guitar. But I did want to emphasize what FOR ME is the most important thing, and that is my ear. I think that it is VERY VERY important to have a good ear. Not just to learn music with, but to discern what you want to hear when you play your own solo.

I also think that what you did with that song is a great way to train your ear. Force yourself to learn a solo, note for note, by listening ONLY. Don’t look at tab or music or anything. More than once, I’d have one riff down, then go to the next one and find out it’s “tough to get there from here” which means I had the first riff notes correct, but needed to be played in a different place on the neck in order to flow to the next one. And to me, that was all part of learning by ear.

Also, I was not trying at all to discourage you when you said you were learning theory, but I was again emphasizing the importance of knowing how something should SOUND over the science of what to play when.

I have to emphasize again though, that I think it’s critical to develop this, but that is FOR ME. I know people who play fine and just can’t do this. Take away their music and they are lost. Ask them to improvise a solo and they are lost, but put a complex set of chords in front of them that I could never sight read, and they can play it. So you have to find what works for YOU. But boy, if you can get your ear working very well, you are SO much ahead of the game. ESPECIALLY if you want to play solos.

Back when I did the picking speed video for you, I actually turned the camera away for a few seconds and asked you to figure out what I played, just to help with this aspect.

 

[JasonE]

I’m glad to hear this. I was not bragging in that thread where I said music was not about math. In fact, I called myself a hack because I can’t read music well on guitar. But I did want to emphasize what FOR ME is the most important thing, and that is my ear. I think that it is VERY VERY important to have a good ear. Not just to learn music with, but to discern what you want to hear when you play your own solo.

I also think that what you did with that song is a great way to train your ear. Force yourself to learn a solo, note for note, by listening ONLY. Don’t look at tab or music or anything. More than once, I’d have one riff down, then go to the next one and find out it’s “tough to get there from here” which means I had the first riff notes correct, but needed to be played in a different place on the neck in order to flow to the next one. And to me, that was all part of learning by ear.

Also, I was not trying at all to discourage you when you said you were learning theory, but I was again emphasizing the importance of knowing how something should SOUND over the science of what to play when.

I have to emphasize again though, that I think it’s critical to develop this, but that is FOR ME. I know people who play fine and just can’t do this. Take away their music and they are lost. Ask them to improvise a solo and they are lost, but put a complex set of chords in front of them that I could never sight read, and they can play it. So you have to find what works for YOU. But boy, if you can get your ear working very well, you are SO much ahead of the game. ESPECIALLY if you want to play solos.

Back when I did the picking speed video for you, I actually turned the camera away for a few seconds and asked you to figure out what I played, just to help with this aspect.

I suck at sight reading too. I don't use the skill enough to stay up on it. My ear has definitely been a strong part of my playing for me for many years. Learning theory actually helped my ear a good bit. I just remember things I hear. It is even that way in my career. A boss I had several years ago said something to me one day that she noticed that I never write anything down in the meetings we are in together but I remember what is assigned to me and deliver it on time. She wanted to know how I did it. I told her that I had never thought about it or realized that I did that and really don't have a system to teach her to be able to do it. This is a blessing and a curse... I tend to remember everything that happens and is said when very drunk. I wake up knowing who I have to apologize to and for what...

 

[DreamTheaterRules]

Learning theory actually helped my ear a good bit. I just remember things I hear.

This may be an excellent point for Lola! She was busy studying things and I said I didn't feel I needed the theory to play what my ear wanted to hear, but maybe learning it will train her ear like it did yours. Great point!

Again showing, there is no "one size fits all" for learning and playing music. Do what works for you. And if you don't know what that is, try different things until you figure it out.

Ha, I remember when jamming with the guy I mentioned above, I wanted to play a harmony solo part. Nothing tough, just thought it would sound cool with harmony guitar parts. I tried to "show" him the notes to play... after about 3 tries, he says "I don't play solos. That's your job." He just could not connect those dots, yet he could sight read a chord chart to a song he'd never heard before. He's also the guy that the first time I went to his house, he introduce me to a couple Christian Rock bands I'd never heard. He put on a CD and I grabbed his guitar and turned the amp on and by the second verse was playing along with them. He starts laughing and says "I figured you had heard these guys before. Do you have music or tab for this?" He was totally convinced that I'd heard the music before and that I had music to learn the song by. When I told him I'd never heard it before, his response was "well then how are you playing it, and with no music, if you've never heard before?" It was absolutely foreign to him that I could listen and then just jump in. I think it took several songs and even a couple more from other albums, before he believed me.

The point is, we're all different, and we all need to figure out what works for us. So asking questions on the internet is great if you are looking for "suggestions" or "things to try" but you can't take what the person says as THE way to do it for you, because for you it may not apply AT ALL! But, it's always good to hear what other people do, as you never know what might trigger your next "advance" as a player.

 

[JasonE]

This may be an excellent point for Lola! She was busy studying things and I said I didn't feel I needed the theory to play what my ear wanted to hear, but maybe learning it will train her ear like it did yours. Great point!

Again showing, there is no "one size fits all" for learning and playing music. Do what works for you. And if you don't know what that is, try different things until you figure it out.

Ha, I remember when jamming with the guy I mentioned above, I wanted to play a harmony solo part. Nothing tough, just thought it would sound cool with harmony guitar parts. I tried to "show" him the notes to play... after about 3 tries, he says "I don't play solos. That's your job." He just could not connect those dots, yet he could sight read a chord chart to a song he'd never heard before. He's also the guy that the first time I went to his house, he introduce me to a couple Christian Rock bands I'd never heard. He put on a CD and I grabbed his guitar and turned the amp on and by the second verse was playing along with them. He starts laughing and says "I figured you had heard these guys before. Do you have music or tab for this?" He was totally convinced that I'd heard the music before and that I had music to learn the song by. When I told him I'd never heard it before, his response was "well then how are you playing it, and with no music, if you've never heard before. It was absolutely foreign to him that I could listen and then just jump in. I think it took several songs and even a couple more from other albums, before he believed me.

The point is, we're all different, and we all need to figure out what works for us. So asking questions on the internet is great if you are looking for "suggestions" or "things to try" but you can't take what the person says as THE way to do it for you, because for you it may not apply AT ALL! But, it's always good to hear what other people do, as you never know what might trigger your next "advance" as a player.

I have a similar story. I stopped playing for a decent number of years after my daughter was born. When I decided that I really missed it she was probably 6 or 7 ish... I bought an acoustic guitar to promote me picking it up and playing it to get back into it. She asked me why I bought a guitar when I didn't know how to play one. My wife told her that I did know how to play it. She didn't believe her because she had never seen me play guitar. We were setting in the front room one day and she had one of her CDs playing on a boom box type of player I had bought her. I can't even remember what the band was on the CD. I grabbed the guitar and started playing along with the songs after hitting a few notes to figure out what key the song was in. After doing this for three or four songs my daughter said she wanted to play guitar. I told her it was a lot harder than it looked. She eventually learned that what I told her was true. She didn't stick with it.

 

[DreamTheaterRules]

I have a similar story. I stopped playing for a decent number of years after my daughter was born. When I decided that I really missed it she was probably 6 or 7 ish... I bought an acoustic guitar to promote me picking it up and playing it to get back into it. She asked me why I bought a guitar when I didn't know how to play one. My wife told her that I did know how to play it. She didn't believe her because she had never seen me play guitar. We were setting in the front room one day and she had one of her CDs playing on a boom box type of player I had bought her. I can't even remember what the band was on the CD. I grabbed the guitar and started playing along with the songs after hitting a few notes to figure out what key the song was in. After doing this for three or four songs my daughter said she wanted to play guitar. I told her it was a lot harder than it looked. She eventually learned that what I told her was true. She didn't stick with it.

I only gave this a "like" because of the last sentence. If she had stuck with it, you would have earned the much coveted "love" emoji.

 

[JasonE]

I only gave this a "like" because of the last sentence. If she had stuck with it, you would have earned the much coveted "love" emoji.

I really wanted her to stick with it. I bought her a guitar and amp. It was a daddy daughter trip to guitar center and I bought her a guitar she loved the look of. It is a Daisy Rock and it actually plays really well, after I set it up. She still has it even though she doesn't play it. She won't get rid of it because she has fond memories of the day she got it.

I also have a Gibson Hummingbird that she really likes the look of. There is a picture of me playing it in a band that my wife hung on to that will probably go in the case with the guitar at some point. I promised it to her years ago. I thought she had lost interested and asked her last year if she still wanted the guitar because I was thinking of thinning some out. She said she still liked it so it is still hers at some point. I will keep it and give it to her when I feel she is financially stable enough that it won't get sold, although I probably wouldn't be really upset if she sold it and bought something nice for herself with the money.

 

[archtop]

For a few it is something they're born with, for most of us it is learned and developed skill. Ear training, and transcribing, used to be commonly taught but in today's age of "Youtube + online lessons = instant gratification" we don't see ear training as a priority because ... it's a lot more work than watching a video of how to play a song.

Take it slow and you'll get it, and you don't have to only train your ears by listening to recordings - you can train you ears by listening to yourself while noodling. Soon you'll recognize intervals, chords, scales, etc.