Learning to Play Guitar by Ear in 3 Steps

Most new musicians seem to think that learning to play the guitar by ear is an impossible task; like learning music by ear some sort of super power that only the best and most elite musicians possess. Well the truth of the matter is that learning music by ear is a skill and like all skills it can be learned and taught. Below I am going to outline the 3 step process I follow when learning songs by ear. I also use this same process to teach my students how to learn music by ear as well.

What Does it Mean to Learn Guitar by Ear?

In a nutshell this basically means the ability to play music only by hearing it and without looking at any sort of tab or printed notation. What most people do not realize though is that you use this skill every day. Every time you sing in the shower you are using this skill. So the only real skill needed to learn by ear is the ability to hear if the notes you are playing are the same as the ones you are hearing on the recording or in your head. This is called Pitch Recognition.

The easiest way to develop this is to simply play a note and then sing it back. Then move on to playing two notes and sing each one from lowest to highest. Finally move on to three note chords using the same technique.

Getting Started Playing by Ear

First I want you to pick a very simple song that you know very, very well. Like Mary had a little lamb simple if need be. Sing the song out loud and pay attention to each note. Then simply try to duplicate the melody you just sang on your guitar. This is usually where people will get stuck, so what you want to do is pick out the song one note at a time. If you still get stuck and keep hitting a wrong note then try the note one fret below or above the note you are playing.

Repeat this process with songs you know well. You want to take your time here because doing this badly can really mess you up down the road. So be precise!

Perfecting the Skill

Once you have got the process of playing by ear down you need to use that process to learn as many songs as you can. Try and pick out at least one melody per day until it becomes easy. As you begin to improve you will want to challenge yourself with more difficult songs and melodies. Then you can even try to sing chord progressions and learn them. Start by singing the lowest note just like we did at the beginning and then pick out the chords on the guitar.

To truly understand the benefit of teaching yourself to play guitar by ear you have to go out and try it yourself. I have provided access to a free 6 part series of guitar lessons which will give you in depth knowledge of how to learn to play guitar. By the end of this course you will be able to play along with a band.

To get access to your free online guitar lessons please visit:

http://www.learninghowtoplaytheguitar.info/

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