Phil X on Ear Training :: Smoke on the Water and Led Zepplin Riffs

[@edgardpedrosilvajunior]

Sorry I took too long to find these videos of you Phill. You're a fantastic guitarrist. Thanks for the tips.

[@rogerlahr7177]

Phil X....you rock! Keep up the great work.

[@castleanthrax1833]

This is the very useful skill and it gets easier the more you do it. Learn the sounds of all the chord variations so you know the sound of a 7th as opposed to a major chord. Learn the sounds of intervals such as going down a fourth sounds like "amen" or going up a sixth sounds like the start of "My Bonnie". In time and with lots of practice you'll be able to listen to a song and know how to play it.

[@darrylportelli]

WOW what he says is really true about finding something with your ear, and sometimes you find it on the wrong place on the neck (still same notes) and I dont know how but thank god I manage to hear the difference!!!!

[@Mexxx65]

I'm too deff listening to all your youtube videos Phil........ Rock On !!!!!!!!!!!!

[@CURTEAR67]

Yrs later... I'm still watching ur videos! Always learning, always getting ideas... I'm 53,been playing since 9,(still suck!)but,I have fun! Your videos are refreshing!¡! ✌🏻😷

[@CURTEAR67]

Oh yeah... my nickname is EAR

[@dukeofpearl]

Phenomenal guitar player! And a really likeable guy. Very humble. I'm lucky to have an ear for music myself. But I'm nowhere near as accomplished as a guitar player like Phill.

[@buddylobos6202]

Ear training. Very Good. Many years on piano, found it hard to do. Guitar really is the perfect ear training instrument. Led Zep that's why I use dropped D Tune

[@raulx13]

Most guitars's [sic] think too much about Tech-nique and such. But to me it is most about the Soul and touch.

[@monkface]

finally someone discusses the whole lotta love lick!

[@redrock1963]

I just want to comment on other comments below - @ 2:15 Phil is speaking about TONE not correct or incorrect notes. He is saying you CAN play Smoke on the Water in other positions but the TONE is wrong - it sounds correct in the original position because the TONE of those notes in that position is correct. It's the same as Sunshine of Your Love - can be played on the 10th fret or the 7th fret. Clapton originally played it on the 10th with triads but it can be played on the 7th with just the D and F# but the TONE is not correct in that position. (caveat - there is footage of Clapton playing it on the 7th but again it does not sound correct to the original - but Clapton can do what ever the F he wants right?).

[@BurnAddiction]

dude you're awesome...and your tips and training videos really show that you love music and love sharing the experience with others....Salute!

[@jguitarlton]

I do agree ear training is super important but learning from videos and tabs will also make u a great player simply because u are playing and learning. Anything u do that requires u to play will make u better

[@rawdonwaller]

I suspect that, like learning a language and then reading a book constructed from that language, learning to read music can make it possible to replicate songs that one might want to play. That was why the printing press was a wonderful invention: it takes the guesswork out of trying to remember something that another artist has produced. Eventually, one develops one's own 'voice'. But the initial knowledge/language acquisition is critical to expeditious development of 'originality' (or whatever approximates it). Hence, I agree with Gordon Tubbs' opinion below. Signed, a recent Phil X fan.

[@aidoxD]

well ive always been too lazy to look up tabs. so ive been working my ear, and its the best!

[@telecasterbear]

i couldnt afford lessons when i was young, so playing by ear was the only way to go. that started in 1976. trust in the ear.

[@johnyboytown]

Playing by ear is one of those things that comes natural. When I was 12 I got lessons on my keyboard, my teacher used to go nuts because I would play by ear instead of reading the music. Now I started learning guitar last year and start with the tab and then do it by ear. But it works, I'm 40 now and get a raised eyebrow instead of told off, but also get a lot of tab corrected because I hear it's not right. It's helpful, but it's a double edged sword because it diverts you away from learning no

[@ryanoliver8039]

How did he learn Eruption...

[@quit293]

This man is awesome and amazing guitarist.

[@doctorbillzable]

Phil X is great! Reminds me of Sammy Hagar with dark hair.

[@Keithphotorama]

Phil X is awesome and very talented, and he is probably right about what he says. I am deaf and want to play, therefore this video no matter how truthful it is tells me that I might not be cut out for guitar playing because of my hearing loss. Well, I am gonna try anyway and the world can fukc itself!

[@spanky10940]

thanks man... dig the tips!

[@throwitinthebinUnt]

cool, didnt know about the d note with open d on lotta love.. i always thought it Jimmy was just using a special amp or effect

[@john6422]

you are silly crazy!! good stuff!

[@JesperAalborg]

Thank you so much the lesson Phil X, and thanks for the upload cleantonestrings.

[@rockcastlemusic]

I use to use my ears to learn songs of black sabbath and metallica when i was 17 years old, i got to a point where i could even recognize what strings are being hit just by listening to it. Learned almost half of all the songs of metallica by ear. 2 years later, learned about Yngwie and started listening to his songs but when i try to learn his songs by ear i couldnt recognize the solo parts, so i started looking into tabs.big mistake.

[@spudvader]

Sit down with your guitar and play along, try and figure some songs out that you don't already know on guitar. 1. u will learn a new song 2. you will train your ear to associate certain chords/notes with certain sounds. It will take some time but if you stick at it you will get there : D good luck

[@Jimmy87268]

so if I listen to a song and I am able to play along somehow, just by hearing it, I am on a good way? that works fine, but I am struggeling writing down the chords/notes just by listening. :/ I think, if you could do that, you could write a song without any instrument?

[@GuitarHeroPhenomSux]

I've been playing for five+ years and ear training is something I never got. I usually learn by watching others/tab and then I'll add my own style to it. I usually never play something exact. I just don't have the patience to learn by ear. lol

[@IronOrePickaxe]

Even Phil isn't playing Whole Lotta Love properly. Seriously, listen to the song again. Jimmy slides from a couple of frets down on the first note picked, but doesn't when he repeats it. so it goes (the way i do it): 5 5 5/7 7

[@mastertemple8369]

Hey baby, don't tell Phil, he's too cool for school.....

[@gooble69]

@@mastertemple8369 Yeah I think I'll take the pro musician over some anonymous youtube comments...

[@blunaw1]

thanks phil

[@fargeeks]

Is that guitar have fans In it?

[@johnpegus]

nice

[@Dedalusalley]

Ear training is the single most important thing if you wanna be more than just a party player. Mark this words, if you work on that you'll be amazed by how quickly you will understand music without even touching the guitar ;)

[@Jimmy87268]

but, is there a "way" to train your ear? to practice doing that

[@rrheipel]

A lot is trial and error. But you can learn chord progressions by finding the bass/root note of the chords. Also start with simple songs and licks and then build. Another thing is to pick out the melody of a vocal line in a song. Hum/sing it to yourself and find the notes on your guitar. I suck at guitar, but I learned to pick out songs by ear because when I was growing up there were no tabs/KZbin lessons or sheet music or a lot of music I liked. At the start, it would take me a lot of time to learn simple things by ear, but over time it gets easier. You gotta put in the time.

[@TekCyclo]

I agree with you.

[@JamesFerrerosa]

Hell yeah!

[@Fendera1]

That's EAR BABY, EAR!!

[@gergemall]

Hi Phil

[@jerky2112]

Smoke on the Water. He did not play it on E and A strings. Live video will show how he actually played it.

[@noahsianez1119]

Jimmy Page is like "took you guys long enough to get how I played that song"

[@jacobhoggen162]

so is it only downstrokes on whole lotta love... i heard its not

[@deadbeatdad]

Actually Phil....you're still playing it wrong. You stretch the A-string upwards the second note of the riff and when that's combined with the open D, it gives the signature riff...so you were close but the stretch contains the dissonance. Don't feel bad though, I've been playing it the way you showed as the "wrong way" for years and only learned this recently. You're a great player and funny as hell...so keep up the good work, Bro!

[@gooble69]

Er, that's exactly what he did...

[@JeltevanderVeer]

Jimmy Page is a master :)

[@DICKSLEXIA]

Write your own songs, then it don't matter how you play it!

[@starbattles1]

BUt that won't get you a job with Bon Jovi

[@Dudin4tor]

Guitar sounds amazing in slo mo. Or maybe it's just me 'cus I'm a bassist.

[@Ryan_Thompson_Guitarist]

Phil X isn't playing smoke on the water right.

[@Daantjer]

rofl to that slowmo :P

[@Jimmy87268]

but, thank you very much!

[@Hello_there_obi]

smoke on the water was also picked upwards

[@chuckgearhart923]

Ahh, As long as your close no one in a barroom or a loud practice space with a drummer bashing the guts out of their cymbals will know a difference.

[@bluselephant]

But Page was one of the best players and had some of the best ideas, his best and most Lucrative was to put Baughnum and Plant in his band second IMO was to put up the fender tele for mainstay guitar because he took the stage away from everyone. Then pic up the Les Paul and old "Fenders are my favorite but of course play Les Pauls" also. Anyway that allowed to him to sound mystical with fairly simple tricks and gave much more space for lead singer Plant. what a rythem section with John Paul Jones and John Baughnum. They were bad to the tone all of the four. I'm born in 57 I was there for all their greatness. The way they treated women in their songs Yeah They were much cooler than some idiotic rapper talking bout body parts in a most ignorant manner. Sorry not prejudice cept when it comes to ignorance. Wow that's an oxymoron. Guess I already learned how to use my ear.

[@gooble69]

What the fuck is a Baughnum? Ignorance lol...

[@LUISELPOLLOLOCO]

If he ever dies... (Hope he never does) Dibs on his soul.... haha

[@johnyboytown]

-tation

[@hitnorcal]

Inside out t-shirt.

[@mood103201]

Richie doesn’t play that way....

[@bunde86ify]

Thats NOT the way blackmore plays it

[@Joako184]

Zeppelin*

[@SvenTviking]

It's amazing how many Tab writers are tone deaf!

[@gordontubbs]

Don't get me wrong, I think Phil X is self-defeating his argument here. If you were to learn how to play Smoke On The Water by ear, you would play the notes as easily as you could reach them in first position or do the power chord variation. It's not "wrong" if you're playing the right notes, it's only "wrong" in the sense that it's not how it's originally played.... which is a problem that can be solved by looking at a guitar tab - the exact thing Phil X says you shouldn't do! Playing on different frets or using different voicings for chords is perfectly acceptable. If it gets you the gig, and the people at the bar cheer when you play it because they don't know any better, who cares?

[@secallen]

Looking at a guitar tab only helps if the tab is correct - which you will be able to tell if you train your ear.

[@lithiumirl2238]

secallen amen to this one!

[@bluselephant]

I agree with Gordon and will go a step farther. if it sounds right it is right. I don't care how its played. The fretboard is chromatic circles so why sweat it?

[@Wizabeard]

Daniel Duffy He wasn't saying it was wrong, he was saying that it sounded a little thin (the same can be said about "A Whole Lotta Love"). You can play it either way, but one will sound beefier. The fretboard may repeat itself, but it sounds tonally different in each position. Many musicians use this feature to their advantage.

[@Blinkubus]

I know you posted this 7 months ago, but I still felt like commenting. First of all, what I understand is that he's not telling you to look at tabs for the correct note placement, but rather train your ears to be able to notice the difference between playing on different parts of the neck, and which one sounds closer to the original (if you're trying to replicate - and not do a version of - an original song, you probably are trying to sound exactly like it). Also, about your last sentence: "If it gets you the gig, and the people at the bar cheer when you play it because they don't know any better, who cares?" Well, for once, YOU should care, as a musician. It's all about what he says in the beginning of the video: to become a better musician. If you play it like something you don't really care about, it's gonna pass on to people. Of course most people wont notice the difference between playing Smoke on the Water on the lower or higher strings, but even though they dont notice, deep down they feel if something is more powerful and energizing than another thing. And, well.. As I said, it should matter to you, as a musician, to play it better and more correctly. ;) Just my 2 cents, no offense.

[@johnnuch1622]

Unacceptable lens flare, seems to be a pattern. Love Phil X but the editor screwed this up, disliked