There's no secret to playing by ear except by learning and practicing through trial and error. At first it's hard but don't be discouraged, it gets better with time.
The secret for me was starting by learning simple songs - "Breaking the Law" by Judas Priest was the first I recall learning by ear - simple riff, simple chords and no solo. This gave me confidence to try to learn progressively more complex songs. Also instrumentals like "Apache" by the Shadows - strong melodies that I instantly knew when I had the right note. Make sure your guitar is in tune if you're playing along to recordings - and watch out for the occasional one where the recording is shifted off standard pitch ("Highway to Hell" by ACDC had me confused for a while until I found a pitch corrected version on youtube). Like most guitarists I started out learning songs by reading tab, but the songs I've learned by ear I can play much better - I really *listened* to them, whereas learning by tab is more of a mechanical process. It's so much more satisfying to learn by ear.
I remember years ago Marty Friedman said something like, if you can sing it you can play it. To me it's like the first commandment not just in guitar playing but music in general. The reason is if you can sing a piece it means it makes sense to you, your brain already grasp it inside. That would make it a lot easier to play. But if you can't sing it, you don't get it internally or it just doesn't make any sense to you. Sure you can still play it, with trial and error, tab, video or whatever, but it's mechanical because it's not "inside" you.
You are the best DAVID. At least you are the best for me because what you're teaching is right at the level that I am at currently. You do not oversimplify and you do not under simplify if that makes sense. thank you for doing what you do.
I heard (and immediately repeated): "I've paint guitar." But that just doesn't make sense!!! However, I didn't bother. And I guess I was on the right path, or at least this is what I learnt from this lesson. It is not important to make sense in music, it is important to follow the sound. Well... did I get it right? You tell...
It's all about the interval. I studied classical in high school back in the mid 80's, and was well on my way to reading music. After that it wasn't offered anymore as schools had started whittling away any actually interesting elective courses.....(think mechanics, woodworking, music, metalwork etc.) . After that I took some private lessons but got disillusioned as I wasn't really learning anything, except for this one studio where the instructor had me start on the piano learning the difference between 3rds, 5th's etc. That always stuck with me as I knew the ability to identify notes was a really cool skill to have. While I can't actually identify 50% of the notes, I've sort of taught myself which scales and positions fit what keys, and when I hunt for notes within the scale I'm always looking at the interval as I intuitively know where the correct note is for that scale based on the interval....to explain better, I can jump all over the neck within a scale and I know what the note will sound like before I play it. EDIT: A someone who was always impressed by lead playing and the emotion it brought to my ear, I started with the minor pentatonic on the 12th fret. After getting the 'sound' well embedded in my ear, I sort of naturally sought out the natural minor scale as I liked classical, neo-classical, metal etc, and learning that was a boost. Try and learn as many scales as you can allover the neck, but learn how they _sound_ and then try and pick out the notes, referring to a chart if you have to. I always seek out whatever scale I'm trying to learn at the 12th fret, and then 'learn it out' to the rest of the neck from there. Backing tracks are freaking amazing and I wish we had youtube when I was a kid. Learn modal playing. You will notice that many 'modal scales' are all the same depending on the root and what's playing beneath it, i.e. the chord progression and key. Don't ever think that theory has no part though. You'll be heads and tails above any 'guitar player' with a solid theory background....you'll become a 'musician'. The hardest part about all of this is once you're comfortable, you now need to learn how to speak in correct 'sentences' and say 'catchy things'.
I had friends with the same fears that studying music theory meant they would stop liking rock and only be able to listen to classical music. Somehow it would make music less magical. I had just the opposite experience. Studying theory opened my eyes to the infinite combinations of notes, chords, rhythms, and scales in music around the world and throughout time. Not only is the magic still there, but now I not only enjoy rock, but many more genres.
Remind your friends that Randy Rhoads, of early Ozzy Osbourne fame, was a classically trained guitarist before he went to a rock concert and was like HELL YEAH... THAT is what I want to play. And even then, when out on tour, he would take classical guitar lessons whenever he could find a good teacher. You can hear a bit of that in many of his fantastic solos, which is why he sounded "different" from other guitarists in rock. Some of his phrasing and note choices and patterns were classically inspired... just played balls to the wall. And, he held the neck way up high, and the body slightly left of center, like a classical guitarist with the guitar resting on the left leg.
@@raysurx2010 Check out "OZZY OSBOURNE - Mr. Crowley 1981 (Live Video)" here on YuckTube. You can clearly see the 'classical' position of the guitar with the neck way up high, and several of his runs have a classical slant to them. And, on "British guitarist analyses Randy Rhoads own CLASSICAL brand of Heavy Metal!" at the beginning of the solo at 7:17 the initial run has a definite 'classical' pattern to it. Phil even details Randy's left hand thumb position, switching back and forth between "classical" behind the neck to "rock" over the top. And, at 7:44 you can see him switch from the "rock" thumb position back to the "classical" position. So sad there is very little video of Randy out there... and sad his life ended so so early. Being a passenger of a pilot that is "drunk and stoned" is NOT a wise choice :( Singers and musicians need to stay the hell off planes and helicopters. We have lost way too many in crashes!!!
I just transcribed a whole bass part of song and especially I am proud having done the bridge. Because it is beautiful and very creative. Also knowing music theory helped a lot because I knew there were octaves and I recognised a 4th and knowing the fretboard helps even more because instead of listening to the next note again and again I just figured "well maybe it goes back to G as it did earlier but just in a different position because I am much higher on the neck" and I played a G on the 10th fret on the A string and that was it. How wonderful
Everyone has method based to stuff like this. I would say ear train to tones and feel the tones and dont overthink. When learning you will second guess your self
Hello David, i would like to know , how are you now ? Is the hand therapy healing it and you feeling better than before ? Please do let the fans know. Thanks 🙏
I’ve started doing hear training, it’s trail and error, like was said in 1 of the comments- yes l can read tab etc, but I’m amazed that people can hear something played on guitar or any instrument and play what they hear, l know a guy that teaches guitar and he listen to a song and within minutes he’s playing exactly the guitar part on the cd etc, he also can transpose if that’s the correct word to use what another instrument is playing ie saxophone, trumpet etc he’s really good ( but EGO is just to much for me, but that’s another story) l like many of the comments given, like start with simple songs to build up your confidence etc, l also take a piece of paper and jot down the chords, or what key the song is in so l don’t forget and also the notes that can be played to the song, I’m not an expert at all of this but it’s fun, gives the feeling of accomplishment when I’ve figured out something for myself, again great comments the comments from others has really helped- Great instruction in the video Thanks Much!!!!
At the end when you say add a flat or sharp, that depends on the key you're in. Sometimes going up means cancelling a flat (or adding a natural) and going down cancelling a sharp. For example when going from G major to C major, the F sharp is cancelled becoming F natural.
“You can’t quit because we’re firing you!”? LOL! I was exactly the same. I had some boring teachers and yada yada… I came to theory as questions arose. I wrote a song, but didn’t know what chords were in it! My interest in chord construction began exactly when I had a use for it. Is the classical method of learning ALL of the theory (and reading) better than “hunt and peck” self taught? Maybe? Does theory “crush” one’s creativity? Only if they let it. The classical world “seems” to value highly skilled sight reading instrumental “technicians” more than relativity or improvisation. The composer creates the piece, and the conductor plays producer and director and the musicians perform the piece “as written” generally. My neighbor used to play with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, and could play anything you put in front of him. He couldn’t improvise a solo over a 12 bar I V IV tune in e minor.
There was something about him saying "I play guitar". I couldn't understand what he was saying and so couldn't repeat it. I thought it was some test that I failed and now I'll never be able to play by ear.
@@groovymoon ...well, a lot 😉 as probably with every human being. But a new guitar arrives in two day 😀 Not sure if I still gonna make the announced video 😁 Did half of it but doing a good video is like learning to play guitar, it takes a lot of practicing...
@@groovymoon Sure thing 🙂 Well... Atm I'm really working on a solo (for the first time in my life 😮). Not sure if I'll make the theory video soon. Long story short: David stretches often with the pinky finger. I learned a system where stretching the index is always prefered leading to better structured boxed shapes for the scale. Making it easier to work within only one shape and studying all the modes in each shape, etc etc... I'm pretty sure in a video he could understand what exactly I'm talking about and maybe he could profit a bit from 🙂 It's kinda more of giving something back since I got so much inspiration from him over all those years ond how to develop an individual musical voice. He's great! 🥰
Honestly it all comes back to learning shape theory....how to stay in key.. then how to transpose.. then what note/mode you come back to.. A mode equal a mode equals a chord equals a number Once you know this .just slide into the pitch n shred away
If I could relate this to words (and hence sentences). Now I know words, I understand words (well quite a lot of words). However, spelling words, I am very bad at. That I equate that to playing by ear. I can hum or sing the song but finding the places on the Fretboard where those notes exist is my "spelling" problem in playing by ear. By the time I have found the first "letter" I have forgotten the sentence.
only by ear i play since years. if you can recognize the notes u can play everything, for example tonight i played 'Room of Mirrors''-Metallica. Also many other bands, AC/DC, Guns n' Roses soundtracks from movies opera, its enough ONLY to seperate the notes to the sound. i think its something like a gift, and of course you dont stay only studing notes. you go foward, if there are others like me i want to drink coffee with them :D
I need help Everytime I’m try to guess the chord is always wrong and is so frustrating and hard and I go back to the apps where it show the chord for song 😅
2:00 my main goal in playing guitar is to replicate the sounds in my head... always has been. are the sounds in my head simply the sounds I have heard? I'm sure that they must be, but certainly chimeras of those sounds. On guitar, i'm terrible at faithful renditions of other people's work, thankfully, I'm not really interested in playing faithful cover songs. When playing guitar, I'm trying to feel certain sounds that I can imagine, so i have to figure out how to make those sounds. the sounds in my head have texture and color and shape and movement. When I was very young--3 or 4--I found an old guitar, with ancient strings, impossible to tune, but I would sit for hours with that guitar "playing." I would rest the head or neck or body of the guitar against my temple or jaw and would strum and pluck away... I would mess around with the strings and frets and tuning pegs and whatever else I could experiment with... some part of the guitar against some part of my skull, to feel the sounds. i would kinda put myself into a trance doing this... it was hypnotic. I really enjoyed doing that. I stopped doing that weird meditation, by the time I was 8 or so. I didn't actually start playing guitar until I was 12, at which point my motivation was to impress girls--having already been musically active, playing clarinet and drums. i've always felt a sort of mild-synesthesia... but B isn't always Jade Green, sometimes it has yellow edges... and A isn't always Ruby Red. F# isn't always Brick Red. D isn't always Purple. C isn't always Blue. C# isn't always a Lighter Blue. E isn't always yellowish/orangey/gold. G isn't always Forest Green. but often they are...
I've been trying to play music and play by ear for over 10 years. I've put the guitar down and picked it back up time and time again (for 20 years). It is a struggle nothing really clicks. I was so excited when I read the title of this video. I loved that I did not need to have perfect pitch or hours of practice. Then you said something about you're not talking about scales and then you say we need to attach sounds to scales and you go on to say (paraphrasing) the more scales we know the better. Next is your scales test. I flunked. I do not know by listening what scale or non scale you're playing. To be honest this video is confusing and deceptive. I kept waiting for the point at which I would be able to play by ear only to hear you say that I can play by ear. Let me get this right. I don't need perfect pitch but I must be able to differentiate between scale and mode types and then at the end pitches. So I do need know pitches. I don't need practice but if I already know several scales and modes then it helps. So to get to that point I need to practice. Huh?? All this and I'm still wondering why you said You Can Pay In Qutar. One thing I do know is there is a bridge between ppl who can make music and those who cannot. I bought, watched, spoke to and even tried to play with guitar music makers and nobody knows how to help others get across that bridge.
Look at the C Major Scale. 7 notes. CDEFGAB. Now hum Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in your head. Now use only those 7 notes (ONLY THOSE 7 NOTES) to translate what you are humming in your head onto the guitar. You will know when you hit a wrong note. Start off with basic melodies like this to get confidence. Pretty soon you will realise that a solo is just a long melody etc. It gets easier and easier.
@@AnxietyMentor This is the right answer. I learned it differently - that you hum a note in your head, and then you try to hum that note with your fingers on a guitar. Start with things you know like Happy Birthday, London Bridge, The Start Spangled Banner and stick to one or two strings. - ideally not G and B. When starting, it helps to actually hum because as soon as your fingers hit a note then it might erase the hum in your head. Another trick is to just hum a note and always start at either the 2nd fret or the 12 fret of the G string and then slide to the note you are humming (or have someone else play a note that you find). When you get a good idea of which way and how far notes are away from your starting points, it will help you very fast. Most of all, have fun. It's been my experience that most people can learn a song by ear on some instrument - violin, piano, trombone, something but that doesn't translate and guitar is a rare case. But it's so worth it. There's little in life that rewards your efforts more than playing guitar, but it sure takes a while to get to the reward - and half of it is in your head. Have fun.
One more thing. Learning how intervals sound helps a LOT in quickly figuring out.. well, everything. There are lots of videos and you can learn them in an hour, practice a few weeks, and never look back. It's probably the most important class for music students.
@@johnthomsen5080 thank you for commenting. I have tried the hum, whistle and slow sing method quite a few times. While it sounds easy I can say from experience it is not. I may give it another whirl though. I noticed you left another comment. What is an interval?
When i teach someone how to play guitar i sing single note and let the student find it on the fretboard if the student can't find it, i know that, that person will have hard-time learning guitar
This is the first video of yours I've watched, Holy Crap you look like Vivian Campbell, you look more like Vivian Campbell than Max looks like Glan Danzig
Great but I think you should also mention the note names in stead of only “5th fret on the 4th string” for better understanding of scales. Just my opinion.
I prefer the approach that Tom Quayle has. Keep focus on the note number. A major 7th chord consists of the 1, 3, 5 and 7. And you should know where they are and their relation to one another all over the fretboard, on all string sets.
The sentence through me! I kept playing it over and over and even slowed the play back speed to 25%... Best I could make out was what sounded like, "I have Pay-Guitar". No "L" anywhere. Not "I play guitar". Still trying to follow the rest of the idea.
Ok - now I understand why I couldn’t understand what you were saying! That hung me up for a bit. Maybe I get hung up trying to recreate sounds when I don’t recognize them perfectly.
I find vast difference between playing flute and guitar. I can play any melody on flute (im new to flute) but cant play that same melody on guitar instantly ( played guitar for 12 years). Why?
I began with classical guitar lessons in high school in the mid '90s. I progressed really fast but hit a plateau about a year in and never practiced as much as I should. I eventually got an electric and was determined to learn the two solos in "Comfortably Numb" from Pink Floyd by ear. I was able to figure out the notes pretty quickly but could never match the feel of Gilmour until a few decades later. I've become pretty good at figuring out guitar by ear (except for the super fast shredders). Now, most of my original music sound like Gilmour on downers if I'm doing rock oriented stuff. I'm more in to recording electronic music these days with sparse guitar thrown in. I would love to be able to shred but can't stick to a routine long enough. Yeah, I'm a lazy ass.
If your in the neiborhood stop by and help us dream up this new studio in dimondale..its not too far from ya and next door to the ice cream shop.sure think kaylee would love a musician like you to jam with.
Maybe you already do play by ear, but this is my experience. I think David just made a guide on how to start. It can be very rewarding, but you will always ache for the theoretical knowledge....at least I do. Just listen to a song you like, then try imitating it on the guitar. Find that first note. It doesn't have to be played correctly at first, you will smooth it out over time. The big thing that you're doing is training your ear to listen for the interval....sharp or flat. Over time it becomes second nature, you see all the scale patterns that fit into any key, and you can essentially start a solo on any note on the neck within th scale and know where to go from there. The rest is up to your imagination and skill level. I remember as a kid always having a 'thing' for that Spanish/Phrygian/Dark metal type of sound. That's what i pursued until I learned the notes of the scale by ear. Now at 53 I'm mixing the theory into what I have taught myself to try and become a better player. I say player because I'd never consider myself a musician. Listening in itself is a skill. I never really figured this out until I lived in a foreign country and had to learn the language....you learn to become very attuned to details. As far as music is concerned, I remember buying the CD of Steve Vai's Passion and Warfare, and at first I didn't really like it as I thought it was 'all over the place', but then I started listening...really listening to it and then I saw the brilliance of composition, songwriting, and the fact that it may seem 'all over the place' but it always comes home. I only saw this after becoming familiar with it. It would be in my top ten now. Just my 2 cents.
I will only say my opinion ..for all those who make a serious decision to learn to play this instrument, one thing is certain, every guitar produces a sound in accordance with its performance, and this is called the color of the sound, SO THERE IS NO GOOD COLOR OR BAD COLOR..THERE IS ONE THAT YOU LIKE....OR NOT, SO THERE IS NO GOOD OR BAD GUITAR?! ALL GUITARS ARE LIKE WOMEN, they suit some and some don't... with a good amplifier and a good processor, I use the AX3000G KORG on my recordings, you can get a good sound, let's say this Epiphone SL guitar.. or I use Flight (Slovenian manufacturer, shape Les Paul) I also use Ibanez Gio GRG 121, also Stagg shape Stratocaster, produced in 1995, they all sound great, depending on the purpose for which song I want to use them. All guitars has a great sound and with good parameters it can be used as a professional instrument , best regards from Edy ..and all the best in your future work
Hmmmm.....just bought a guitar and amp and always wanted to feel the guitar play the way i want it ....learning notes and scales is a waste of time as it wont be natural if you cant pick up a guitar and play any song....
I totally disagree that you need to be blessed to play it by ear because when I first started playing guitar 40 years ago I could not play it by ear. Try playing scales and singing the notes to yourself. Sit behind a piano and do that it's even easier than guitar. You'll start to recognize that note or the notes in your head the more you play in the more you practice. That's the way it was for me. I didn't start to learn music theory until about 15 or 20 years ago I wish I had started on that earlier learning the caged system and the flow of western music. Start learning that and you will be way ahead of where I am after 40 years of playing.
Yeah, I also disagree. But I agree that it wont come for free! But nothing worth learning ever does. What did it for me in the end, was searching up "ear training, intervals", and I found a page that will play you an interval, and you can guess. You will get immediate feedback. xD Don't expect to master it by a week, but if you start simple, say only "majors third, perfect fifth and octaves", and when you can get 80% on average when doing 20 questions, add in minor second, major sixth, perfect fourth. Do it again until you can consistently get 80-ish% correct, and so on. Mastery will come with patience and consistency! And that will really expand your playing😁
📌 Free Ear Training Workshop ➜ guitarplayback.com/earworkshop?Ear&G7CrTu48
as a musician who never felt that theory was fun or even worth learning... this makes alot of sense
same
I tried playing by ear but the strings made my ears raw. So I went back to using my fingers.
You could have switched to nylon strings
I’ve seen people playing with their feet.
@@jctedsap yes but you can’t hear very well with your feet
So Hendrix you ain't.
@@dingoswampheadAfter 40+ years of seeing him play with his teeth I still am in awe, plus my teeth hurt just looking at his performance.
There's no secret to playing by ear except by learning and practicing through trial and error. At first it's hard but don't be discouraged, it gets better with time.
The secret for me was starting by learning simple songs - "Breaking the Law" by Judas Priest was the first I recall learning by ear - simple riff, simple chords and no solo. This gave me confidence to try to learn progressively more complex songs. Also instrumentals like "Apache" by the Shadows - strong melodies that I instantly knew when I had the right note. Make sure your guitar is in tune if you're playing along to recordings - and watch out for the occasional one where the recording is shifted off standard pitch ("Highway to Hell" by ACDC had me confused for a while until I found a pitch corrected version on youtube). Like most guitarists I started out learning songs by reading tab, but the songs I've learned by ear I can play much better - I really *listened* to them, whereas learning by tab is more of a mechanical process. It's so much more satisfying to learn by ear.
I remember years ago Marty Friedman said something like, if you can sing it you can play it. To me it's like the first commandment not just in guitar playing but music in general.
The reason is if you can sing a piece it means it makes sense to you, your brain already grasp it inside. That would make it a lot easier to play.
But if you can't sing it, you don't get it internally or it just doesn't make any sense to you. Sure you can still play it, with trial and error, tab, video or whatever, but it's mechanical because it's not "inside" you.
You are the best DAVID. At least you are the best for me because what you're teaching is right at the level that I am at currently. You do not oversimplify and you do not under simplify if that makes sense. thank you for doing what you do.
I wasn't able to repeat the sentence, it confused me 🤣 still, great points!
Count me in. LOL
Same. I heard, “Are you wearing pants, and if not, why are you here.” Maybe I’m better suited to the sitar?
I heard (and immediately repeated): "I've paint guitar." But that just doesn't make sense!!! However, I didn't bother. And I guess I was on the right path, or at least this is what I learnt from this lesson. It is not important to make sense in music, it is important to follow the sound. Well... did I get it right? You tell...
It's all about the interval. I studied classical in high school back in the mid 80's, and was well on my way to reading music. After that it wasn't offered anymore as schools had started whittling away any actually interesting elective courses.....(think mechanics, woodworking, music, metalwork etc.) .
After that I took some private lessons but got disillusioned as I wasn't really learning anything, except for this one studio where the instructor had me start on the piano learning the difference between 3rds, 5th's etc. That always stuck with me as I knew the ability to identify notes was a really cool skill to have.
While I can't actually identify 50% of the notes, I've sort of taught myself which scales and positions fit what keys, and when I hunt for notes within the scale I'm always looking at the interval as I intuitively know where the correct note is for that scale based on the interval....to explain better, I can jump all over the neck within a scale and I know what the note will sound like before I play it.
EDIT: A someone who was always impressed by lead playing and the emotion it brought to my ear, I started with the minor pentatonic on the 12th fret. After getting the 'sound' well embedded in my ear, I sort of naturally sought out the natural minor scale as I liked classical, neo-classical, metal etc, and learning that was a boost.
Try and learn as many scales as you can allover the neck, but learn how they _sound_ and then try and pick out the notes, referring to a chart if you have to. I always seek out whatever scale I'm trying to learn at the 12th fret, and then 'learn it out' to the rest of the neck from there. Backing tracks are freaking amazing and I wish we had youtube when I was a kid.
Learn modal playing. You will notice that many 'modal scales' are all the same depending on the root and what's playing beneath it, i.e. the chord progression and key.
Don't ever think that theory has no part though. You'll be heads and tails above any 'guitar player' with a solid theory background....you'll become a 'musician'.
The hardest part about all of this is once you're comfortable, you now need to learn how to speak in correct 'sentences' and say 'catchy things'.
I had friends with the same fears that studying music theory meant they would stop liking rock and only be able to listen to classical music. Somehow it would make music less magical. I had just the opposite experience. Studying theory opened my eyes to the infinite combinations of notes, chords, rhythms, and scales in music around the world and throughout time. Not only is the magic still there, but now I not only enjoy rock, but many more genres.
Remind your friends that Randy Rhoads, of early Ozzy Osbourne fame, was a classically trained guitarist before he went to a rock concert and was like HELL YEAH... THAT is what I want to play. And even then, when out on tour, he would take classical guitar lessons whenever he could find a good teacher. You can hear a bit of that in many of his fantastic solos, which is why he sounded "different" from other guitarists in rock. Some of his phrasing and note choices and patterns were classically inspired... just played balls to the wall. And, he held the neck way up high, and the body slightly left of center, like a classical guitarist with the guitar resting on the left leg.
@@donf3877 Thanks for this insight! Now gonna listen more intensely to Rhodes!
@@raysurx2010 Check out "OZZY OSBOURNE - Mr. Crowley 1981 (Live Video)" here on YuckTube. You can clearly see the 'classical' position of the guitar with the neck way up high, and several of his runs have a classical slant to them. And, on "British guitarist analyses Randy Rhoads own CLASSICAL brand of Heavy Metal!" at the beginning of the solo at 7:17 the initial run has a definite 'classical' pattern to it. Phil even details Randy's left hand thumb position, switching back and forth between "classical" behind the neck to "rock" over the top. And, at 7:44 you can see him switch from the "rock" thumb position back to the "classical" position. So sad there is very little video of Randy out there... and sad his life ended so so early. Being a passenger of a pilot that is "drunk and stoned" is NOT a wise choice :( Singers and musicians need to stay the hell off planes and helicopters. We have lost way too many in crashes!!!
Man, I have to say you are one of the best guitar pedagogues on RUclips.
Awesome video DaveW.
Keep on playin.👍✌
Really good stuff. Newish to guitar and really happy to have found these candid and helpful videos. Thanks
I ate pig star 💀
David as soon as I open RUclips you should be always there always at the Top
Thanks for the lesson, very cool. Love your modern looking Strat.
Great lesson. Thank you
Can't believe this is is new. Dave your looking really good/healthy!
You have a very interesting way of teaching that I enjoy! Thanks!
Thank you so much!
I just transcribed a whole bass part of song and especially I am proud having done the bridge. Because it is beautiful and very creative. Also knowing music theory helped a lot because I knew there were octaves and I recognised a 4th and knowing the fretboard helps even more because instead of listening to the next note again and again I just figured "well maybe it goes back to G as it did earlier but just in a different position because I am much higher on the neck" and I played a G on the 10th fret on the A string and that was it. How wonderful
Nice ear buddy thanks for sharing.great lesson.🎸👍
Perfect dissection
Great video!
This is actually really good advise
Bruh, I needed this video! Subscribing now.
OMG THANK YOU!
This man is a wizard 🎉
Thats cool. That little g pentatonic excersise, i immediately played on the second octave of the scale, and got it mostly right.
Everyone has method based to stuff like this. I would say ear train to tones and feel the tones and dont overthink. When learning you will second guess your self
ty brother
Now that you mention it, we are kinda like babies learning to speak. The countless experiences and Trial and error. Thanks alot for opening my mind
Any tips for super busy persons and helping complete beginners?
Thank you LOVE the free videos you gave because of covid. Excellent teachers thank you from my heart.
Hello David, i would like to know , how are you now ? Is the hand therapy healing it and you feeling better than before ? Please do let the fans know. Thanks 🙏
I’ve started doing hear training, it’s trail and error, like was said in 1 of the comments- yes l can read tab etc, but I’m amazed that people can hear something played on guitar or any instrument and play what they hear, l know a guy that teaches guitar and he listen to a song and within minutes he’s playing exactly the guitar part on the cd etc, he also can transpose if that’s the correct word to use what another instrument is playing ie saxophone, trumpet etc he’s really good ( but EGO is just to much for me, but that’s another story) l like many of the comments given, like start with simple songs to build up your confidence etc, l also take a piece of paper and jot down the chords, or what key the song is in so l don’t forget and also the notes that can be played to the song, I’m not an expert at all of this but it’s fun, gives the feeling of accomplishment when I’ve figured out something for myself, again great comments the comments from others has really helped- Great instruction in the video Thanks Much!!!!
At the end when you say add a flat or sharp, that depends on the key you're in. Sometimes going up means cancelling a flat (or adding a natural) and going down cancelling a sharp. For example when going from G major to C major, the F sharp is cancelled becoming F natural.
Awesome great music song playing guitar 🎸 so sound great audio
What is pentatonic?
“You can’t quit because we’re firing you!”? LOL!
I was exactly the same. I had some boring teachers and yada yada… I came to theory as questions arose. I wrote a song, but didn’t know what chords were in it!
My interest in chord construction began exactly when I had a use for it. Is the classical method of learning ALL of the theory (and reading) better than “hunt and peck” self taught? Maybe? Does theory “crush” one’s creativity?
Only if they let it. The classical world “seems” to value highly skilled sight reading instrumental “technicians” more than relativity or improvisation. The composer creates the piece, and the conductor plays producer and director and the musicians perform the piece “as written” generally. My neighbor used to play with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, and could play anything you put in front of him. He couldn’t improvise a solo over a 12 bar I V IV tune in e minor.
There was something about him saying "I play guitar". I couldn't understand what he was saying and so couldn't repeat it. I thought it was some test that I failed and now I'll never be able to play by ear.
Such a good video! ❤ Wished I could make my announced video on modes, but my guitar broke 😥 And can't afford a new one atm... 😬
What's wrong with it?
@@groovymoon ...well, a lot 😉 as probably with every human being. But a new guitar arrives in two day 😀 Not sure if I still gonna make the announced video 😁 Did half of it but doing a good video is like learning to play guitar, it takes a lot of practicing...
@@TheSubconsciousness I will follow you to see it :)
@@groovymoon Sure thing 🙂 Well... Atm I'm really working on a solo (for the first time in my life 😮). Not sure if I'll make the theory video soon.
Long story short: David stretches often with the pinky finger. I learned a system where stretching the index is always prefered leading to better structured boxed shapes for the scale. Making it easier to work within only one shape and studying all the modes in each shape, etc etc... I'm pretty sure in a video he could understand what exactly I'm talking about and maybe he could profit a bit from 🙂 It's kinda more of giving something back since I got so much inspiration from him over all those years ond how to develop an individual musical voice. He's great! 🥰
Honestly it all comes back to learning shape theory....how to stay in key.. then how to transpose.. then what note/mode you come back to..
A mode equal a mode equals a chord equals a number
Once you know this .just slide into the pitch n shred away
If I could relate this to words (and hence sentences). Now I know words, I understand words (well quite a lot of words). However, spelling words, I am very bad at. That I equate that to playing by ear. I can hum or sing the song but finding the places on the Fretboard where those notes exist is my "spelling" problem in playing by ear. By the time I have found the first "letter" I have forgotten the sentence.
only by ear i play since years. if you can recognize the notes u can play everything, for example tonight i played 'Room of Mirrors''-Metallica. Also many other bands, AC/DC, Guns n' Roses soundtracks from movies opera, its enough ONLY to seperate the notes to the sound. i think its something like a gift, and of course you dont stay only studing notes. you go foward, if there are others like me i want to drink coffee with them :D
also i can play human voices!~ and yes you are so right in everything about this method!~
I need help Everytime I’m try to guess the chord is always wrong and is so frustrating and hard and I go back to the apps where it show the chord for song 😅
I do believe you
2:00 my main goal in playing guitar is to replicate the sounds in my head... always has been. are the sounds in my head simply the sounds I have heard? I'm sure that they must be, but certainly chimeras of those sounds. On guitar, i'm terrible at faithful renditions of other people's work, thankfully, I'm not really interested in playing faithful cover songs.
When playing guitar, I'm trying to feel certain sounds that I can imagine, so i have to figure out how to make those sounds. the sounds in my head have texture and color and shape and movement.
When I was very young--3 or 4--I found an old guitar, with ancient strings, impossible to tune, but I would sit for hours with that guitar "playing." I would rest the head or neck or body of the guitar against my temple or jaw and would strum and pluck away... I would mess around with the strings and frets and tuning pegs and whatever else I could experiment with... some part of the guitar against some part of my skull, to feel the sounds. i would kinda put myself into a trance doing this... it was hypnotic. I really enjoyed doing that.
I stopped doing that weird meditation, by the time I was 8 or so. I didn't actually start playing guitar until I was 12, at which point my motivation was to impress girls--having already been musically active, playing clarinet and drums.
i've always felt a sort of mild-synesthesia... but B isn't always Jade Green, sometimes it has yellow edges... and A isn't always Ruby Red. F# isn't always Brick Red. D isn't always Purple. C isn't always Blue. C# isn't always a Lighter Blue. E isn't always yellowish/orangey/gold. G isn't always Forest Green. but often they are...
😶
I heard u play a song called spiritual ent something u used a delay what kind was that I was amazed at your sound Tom ohio
Thanks! Man I don’t remember, it was years back. Sorry!!
I've been trying to play music and play by ear for over 10 years. I've put the guitar down and picked it back up time and time again (for 20 years). It is a struggle nothing really clicks. I was so excited when I read the title of this video. I loved that I did not need to have perfect pitch or hours of practice. Then you said something about you're not talking about scales and then you say we need to attach sounds to scales and you go on to say (paraphrasing) the more scales we know the better. Next is your scales test. I flunked. I do not know by listening what scale or non scale you're playing. To be honest this video is confusing and deceptive. I kept waiting for the point at which I would be able to play by ear only to hear you say that I can play by ear. Let me get this right. I don't need perfect pitch but I must be able to differentiate between scale and mode types and then at the end pitches. So I do need know pitches. I don't need practice but if I already know several scales and modes then it helps. So to get to that point I need to practice. Huh??
All this and I'm still wondering why you said You Can Pay In Qutar.
One thing I do know is there is a bridge between ppl who can make music and those who cannot. I bought, watched, spoke to and even tried to play with guitar music makers and nobody knows how to help others get across that bridge.
Look at the C Major Scale. 7 notes. CDEFGAB. Now hum Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in your head. Now use only those 7 notes (ONLY THOSE 7 NOTES) to translate what you are humming in your head onto the guitar. You will know when you hit a wrong note. Start off with basic melodies like this to get confidence. Pretty soon you will realise that a solo is just a long melody etc. It gets easier and easier.
@@AnxietyMentor This is the right answer. I learned it differently - that you hum a note in your head, and then you try to hum that note with your fingers on a guitar. Start with things you know like Happy Birthday, London Bridge, The Start Spangled Banner and stick to one or two strings. - ideally not G and B. When starting, it helps to actually hum because as soon as your fingers hit a note then it might erase the hum in your head.
Another trick is to just hum a note and always start at either the 2nd fret or the 12 fret of the G string and then slide to the note you are humming (or have someone else play a note that you find). When you get a good idea of which way and how far notes are away from your starting points, it will help you very fast.
Most of all, have fun. It's been my experience that most people can learn a song by ear on some instrument - violin, piano, trombone, something but that doesn't translate and guitar is a rare case. But it's so worth it. There's little in life that rewards your efforts more than playing guitar, but it sure takes a while to get to the reward - and half of it is in your head. Have fun.
One more thing. Learning how intervals sound helps a LOT in quickly figuring out.. well, everything. There are lots of videos and you can learn them in an hour, practice a few weeks, and never look back. It's probably the most important class for music students.
@@johnthomsen5080 thank you for commenting. I have tried the hum, whistle and slow sing method quite a few times. While it sounds easy I can say from experience it is not. I may give it another whirl though. I noticed you left another comment. What is an interval?
@@johnthomsen5080 I just tried watching a video about intervals. My head hurts.
Maybe they have intervals for dummies.
David: "I'm sure that you can do that very easily" Me: "What?"
When i teach someone how to play guitar i sing single note and let the student find it on the fretboard if the student can't find it, i know that, that person will have hard-time learning guitar
This is the first video of yours I've watched, Holy Crap you look like Vivian Campbell, you look more like Vivian Campbell than Max looks like Glan Danzig
I failed the pentatonic v diatonic test
Great but I think you should also mention the note names in stead of only “5th fret on the 4th string” for better understanding of scales. Just my opinion.
I prefer the approach that Tom Quayle has. Keep focus on the note number. A major 7th chord consists of the 1, 3, 5 and 7. And you should know where they are and their relation to one another all over the fretboard, on all string sets.
That’s how I see it too! All interval based!
The sentence through me! I kept playing it over and over and even slowed the play back speed to 25%...
Best I could make out was what sounded like, "I have Pay-Guitar". No "L" anywhere.
Not "I play guitar". Still trying to follow the rest of the idea.
Having watched a bit more of the video I realised it wasn't supposed to make sense lol
I actually cannot understand what you said when you said “repeat after me”!
I had to read subtitles!
Ok - now I understand why I couldn’t understand what you were saying! That hung me up for a bit. Maybe I get hung up trying to recreate sounds when I don’t recognize them perfectly.
He meant, we trying to playing what he played in Guitar. He is basically discussing about replicating a sound in guitar what you hear by ear.
I can't understand most of his videos... he's in outer space most of the time. Strange.
Hahaha!
Try to learn "Ride" from Atte Tamminen if it is so easy to play by ear 😂
I find vast difference between playing flute and guitar.
I can play any melody on flute (im new to flute) but cant play that same melody on guitar instantly ( played guitar for 12 years).
Why?
Tabs?
4:00 music?
I couldn't understand that phrase that was supposed to be repeated.
I ag pay guitar
????
I began with classical guitar lessons in high school in the mid '90s. I progressed really fast but hit a plateau about a year in and never practiced as much as I should. I eventually got an electric and was determined to learn the two solos in "Comfortably Numb" from Pink Floyd by ear. I was able to figure out the notes pretty quickly but could never match the feel of Gilmour until a few decades later. I've become pretty good at figuring out guitar by ear (except for the super fast shredders). Now, most of my original music sound like Gilmour on downers if I'm doing rock oriented stuff. I'm more in to recording electronic music these days with sparse guitar thrown in. I would love to be able to shred but can't stick to a routine long enough. Yeah, I'm a lazy ass.
Couldn’t repeat what you said
7:32
Wait. What?
If your in the neiborhood stop by and help us dream up this new studio in dimondale..its not too far from ya and next door to the ice cream shop.sure think kaylee would love a musician like you to jam with.
Dimondale, MI?
Still 17 hours away.. :)
When I last had time to explore videos I thought you were from kalamozoo .always enjoyed them now getting back to them.
Thanks so much Jim! I live in Colorado. :)
Iron Maiden is still Heavy Metal. Let the young make their own name for their rock.
I like you
"I have pay guitar" is what I hear
bon
Yea this didn't help me recognize chord changes at all so that's cool
How did you manage to use both ears at the same time?! 🤭
Yo
"How to Play Guitar By Ear in 5 Minutes "
makes a 10 minute video.
There you go man, I changed the title just for you! ;)
I like how the beginning like me have zero idea what he is talking about 😅😭😭😭😭
And you think that people who can't play by ear, can do so now after this video???? Seriously???
Maybe you already do play by ear, but this is my experience. I think David just made a guide on how to start. It can be very rewarding, but you will always ache for the theoretical knowledge....at least I do. Just listen to a song you like, then try imitating it on the guitar. Find that first note. It doesn't have to be played correctly at first, you will smooth it out over time. The big thing that you're doing is training your ear to listen for the interval....sharp or flat. Over time it becomes second nature, you see all the scale patterns that fit into any key, and you can essentially start a solo on any note on the neck within th scale and know where to go from there. The rest is up to your imagination and skill level.
I remember as a kid always having a 'thing' for that Spanish/Phrygian/Dark metal type of sound. That's what i pursued until I learned the notes of the scale by ear. Now at 53 I'm mixing the theory into what I have taught myself to try and become a better player. I say player because I'd never consider myself a musician.
Listening in itself is a skill. I never really figured this out until I lived in a foreign country and had to learn the language....you learn to become very attuned to details.
As far as music is concerned, I remember buying the CD of Steve Vai's Passion and Warfare, and at first I didn't really like it as I thought it was 'all over the place', but then I started listening...really listening to it and then I saw the brilliance of composition, songwriting, and the fact that it may seem 'all over the place' but it always comes home. I only saw this after becoming familiar with it. It would be in my top ten now.
Just my 2 cents.
it’s like being married for 40 years you have to develop a thick callous
Chords,scales, Riffs,,,these are tools,,,You can use some or all of them ,,,,its ALL about the SONG,,,,,The end result,,,,,,,,MUSIC. - RJ.
In 5 minutes
Video being 10 minutes long:
I play and don't think of why. It slows me down. I'm a self entertainer.
I will only say my opinion ..for all those who make a serious decision to learn to play this instrument, one thing is certain, every guitar produces a sound in accordance with its performance, and this is called the color of the sound, SO THERE IS NO GOOD COLOR OR BAD COLOR..THERE IS ONE THAT YOU LIKE....OR NOT, SO THERE IS NO GOOD OR BAD GUITAR?! ALL GUITARS ARE LIKE WOMEN, they suit some and some don't... with a good amplifier and a good processor, I use the AX3000G KORG on my recordings, you can get a good sound, let's say this Epiphone SL guitar.. or I use Flight (Slovenian manufacturer, shape Les Paul) I also use Ibanez Gio GRG 121, also Stagg shape Stratocaster, produced in 1995, they all sound great, depending on the purpose for which song I want to use them. All guitars has a great sound and with good parameters it can be used as a professional instrument , best regards from Edy ..and all the best in your future work
I ate pig star 💀
Hmmmm.....just bought a guitar and amp and always wanted to feel the guitar play the way i want it ....learning notes and scales is a waste of time as it wont be natural if you cant pick up a guitar and play any song....
I’m pretty sure we share the same brain.
Oh my god just go to your points
That would kill my watch session
I was broken down on 6:50 riff. It was complete impossible to pick note. Not a single. I play 15 years. You just need to be blessed to play by ear.
I totally disagree that you need to be blessed to play it by ear because when I first started playing guitar 40 years ago I could not play it by ear. Try playing scales and singing the notes to yourself. Sit behind a piano and do that it's even easier than guitar. You'll start to recognize that note or the notes in your head the more you play in the more you practice. That's the way it was for me. I didn't start to learn music theory until about 15 or 20 years ago I wish I had started on that earlier learning the caged system and the flow of western music. Start learning that and you will be way ahead of where I am after 40 years of playing.
Yeah, I also disagree. But I agree that it wont come for free! But nothing worth learning ever does. What did it for me in the end, was searching up "ear training, intervals", and I found a page that will play you an interval, and you can guess. You will get immediate feedback. xD
Don't expect to master it by a week, but if you start simple, say only "majors third, perfect fifth and octaves", and when you can get 80% on average when doing 20 questions, add in minor second, major sixth, perfect fourth. Do it again until you can consistently get 80-ish% correct, and so on. Mastery will come with patience and consistency!
And that will really expand your playing😁
stopit
With all due respect, i didnt understand a thing, now im just mad at me and my guitar🙂
6:25 not easy
Wow 😂😂I have learn to play guitar by ears😂 dude your 5mns learn by ear in 5mns bring me back to my first time holding a guitar🙄😔
I sprayed m' car...🤔
Bro said 5minutes but the video is 10 minutes long
Don't you dare call Iron Maiden classic rock.
Haha! I know right! Back in my day it was so metal!
Music is very mathematical.
This is twice as long as you said
Made for a good comment!
*10 minute video to show you how to play in 5 minutes?* 😶
Sorry couldn't understand you.
Dude awesome videos. But please drink more water the cotton mouth is hard to listen to
I teach "the rule of wank" ... one uses feeling when one is pleasing him/her self 😁
That's scummy. You barely taught the concept and then linked to five videos.
you're teaching trained players , no idea what you are doing