Tip Of The Week #6 | How to figure stuff out by ear | Tips & tricks!

[@absofjelly]

I couldn't even guess what instrument it was.

[@BFHPET]

lol

[@rusiruaponsu1756]

😂😂👌

[@azizikariya6655]

it is mayonnaise

[@valebliz]

LOL

[@beejsmusic]

hahaha

[@kesienaa5073]

Masterful, you've just explained a computer science concept called binary search with a guitar 🙏🏽🗝️

[@Limpuls]

I was thinking the same, lol

[@thedude2122]

Lol

[@sach219]

Yeah 😂😍

[@chetanya2995]

haha

[@jan_Travis]

I didn't start trying to learn by ear for 3 years. I just got into a band with a guy who has perfect pitch and I was so impressed by it. One day, we were sitting at our drummer's house and our drummer played a song on his phone. Bassist told him to replay it; drummer bro complied. I kid you not, in barely a minute, bass bro had the melody down. I was stricken with awe. I was able to learn a song by ear today, Down On The Corner by CCR. I didn't use a tab or anything, i just listened to it. I was able to roughly figure the song out. I did look up a live performance of the song to see what John was doing. I had the song down quite well. I was so proud of myself.

[@Goonercry]

HOw long did it take to have that ability? How did you practice?

[@jan_Travis]

@@Goonercry I don't really practice it, I got put the headphones on and just noodle around until I get it. If you want, there's this website about relative pitch training where it'll test your relative pitch. I still don't have great ear but I can somewhat figure things out.

[@Goonercry]

@@jan_Travis I am doing the same as you did, just spend time to figure out each note in the corresponding scale, but I want somebody like you to confirm how long does it take to be at the point of fast transcribing the melody in head to the fret ?

[@DatHombre]

I'm late but just saying for anyone in the future- one thing that can make figuring out a song by ear a lot easier at least in the beginning is loading the song in a DAW like Reaper and slowing it way down along with using the time selection to continually repeat a part. Then you can just have it replay a small part while you're continually trying to find the notes (obviously). I had never learned a song by ear til very recently and this helped sooo much especially for the faster parts.

[@o0...957]

Only 3? I didn't learn to play by ear for 6 years.

[@kennethemmanuel2914]

now i realise, i am nothing

[@crittersfritters]

The good news is, with practice, you can become less nothing. I still have a long way to go myself.

[@jenshaglof8180]

That's awesome. A spiritual awakening! :)

[@auntjenifer7774]

GreendGrandine # now I realize that this paul David's is laying on the heavy accent a little thicker than he really talks .

[@mahoya1232]

knnethm 😂😂😂😂 you are really funny

[@o.b.7217]

Ethan Crowley Jeez...how about you pull the stick out of your ass? All the guy wrote was "you are really funny" in response to the op's "now i realise, i am nothing". How you can take that as a cause for your completely uncalled-for rant, will probably remain a mystery forever.

[@crazydrummer4827]

I got it all right away, but when I go with real songs I cant do it because all I hear is vocal and drums and maybe some silent improvisation on a guitar.

[@kickbam213]

Crazy drummer veoma cudnovato

[@crazydrummer4827]

prvo pitanj

[@nuurnwui]

There is all kind of crazy involved. When I am tired I can figure out notes/chords much less well than when not tired. And for some reason it helps me to turn up the bass in the eq usually. And with instruments that I don't know well (like unusual synth sounda) if find it much harder. I'm pretty sure other people's ears work differently. Meaning: See what works for you and keep at it.

[@Physik0r]

I got the chords instantly but not the single notes xD

[@ceoraaa]

Lol I'm the opposite

[@Mikey-wg2xu]

Physik0r i was opposite too. Single notes easy chords took a bit longer

[@Caaarrl94]

me too,

[@keanusiganoff]

Same!!

[@sidm2422]

Same

[@ShetaniiMadeIt]

He sounds like he’d be a khajit on skyrim

[@thursday4267]

It’s easier now more than ever to learn to play by hear. We have the best headphone technology, and with KZbin we can play almost any song we went when we want, and slow it down even. I remember reading about the old greats and how they’d just have to figure it out whenever the song they wanted was played lol 😅 Great video!

[@dabiededoo]

i not play with headphones😅 most of the time i even not plug in my guitar hahahah😂

[@rva]

thank you Mr insightful

[@obiwanjacobi]

LOL trying to guess without using a guitar. I got pretty close and bang on on some. Nice lesson!

[@chrissauve2346]

well practicing by ear and not relying on tabs and tutorial videos is probably a good way.

[@The2bdkid]

I don't use tabs and I still suck. rip

[@chrissauve2346]

2bdkid it's not gonna happen over night

[@aawesome_sauce]

You have to start somewhere

[@Ginjakilla1014]

I find doing it by ear or watching someone play a piece is a lot easier than trudging through tab.

[@hazmansharuddin7844]

your voice is so manly and relaxing

[@leenz8147]

@Koala Koala how insecure do you have to be in your sexuality?

[@Ash-fm6ym]

@@leenz8147 i see this opinion a lot from soyboys online, that if you say something's gay then you're secretly gay yourself . If you dislike spiders ,it doesn't mean you want to bang them. If i say anal sex is gross it doesn't mean I want shit on my penis

[@SteverRob]

This is a good approach. Use your ears. I've been playing for a loooong time, and occasionally, I still have to walk up and down the fretboard to find that one particular note. When I first started out, I'd pick a familiar song as shown in the video (but something a bit more hip lol) and listen to the bassline. I'd put a record on (yep) and listen to the bass. I'd find that note on the sixth string of my guitar, and follow along. That bass note was the root of course, and that led me to start building chords, one finger at a time. Playing along with records also gave me valuable lessons in timing/metering. If it's a song I used to know, and have forgotten, the best way to "reload" it is to disengage my brain and let my hands take over. It's amazing sometimes to sit there with a guitar and watch my hands go where my brain couldn't remember, what many call "muscle memory" but I digress. Always had music in the house as a child, and I did the same with my girls. They all have a great musical aptitude and play instruments.

[@kevinh4042]

I've definitely noticed that this got a lot easier after memorizing the fretboard note names and scale patterns. Vast majority of the notes will be diatonic so you just guess up and down within the scale patterns instead of needing to guess blindly.

[@stefanodomeni]

Also, what if the song you're trying to learn is in a different tuning or has a capo? How do you figure that out?

[@MMorgattto]

you can still find the correct notes. but you will notice that its weird to play and that may give you the indication it has a different tuning.for example having to stretch your fingers too much. Or in case of drop tunings you realize the lowest note they play you are not able to replicate with standard tuning ergo they are using drop d for example

[@adityadeodeshmukh972]

Well you'll still have the correct notes but they'll be in a lower key or in a higher key in case of alternative tuning

[@educatedgamer5107]

really its the intervals that u guess and the u adjust its pitch (im so geussing rn)

[@adityadeodeshmukh972]

@@educatedgamer5107 yes correct

[@ear-guitar]

One of the most overlooked skills! Realized it too late, now I am teaching my studetns how to play by ear.

[@releventgaming8753]

Can you give me some free tips & trick's?

[@jackofalltrades2920]

Ok, and after I have recognized the chords, how do I know the strumming pattern or the picking pattern? This is my problem for months :(

[@lukasmiklo5815]

I used to struggle with this a LOT. Then I was told to stop trying to figure out a pattern (DD U UDU), but rather just try to feel the rythm and try to play along you quickly realize what is it. *If it sounds good it is good.*

[@eric_t123]

I tried learning this song for 30 minutes and just found out it wasn't standard tuning 😑

[@voltagevillain7342]

Wise men say (the C-Em-Am) that David speaks a lot of sense. This video is such a simple idea but so useful and helpful. I have been doing exactly as he suggests for a while so feel like the kid who has been revising. I still find the notes harder to distinguish than the chords but choosing really easy or well known tunes is great advice. Thanks David!

[@caseyrauch9151]

I've never had lessons or took the time to learn from tabs. Although I don't try covers very much, this is a skill that definitely develops over time. If you love listening to music as much as playing it, it won't be hard to develop, but every craft takes time to build.

[@kylaligayo2366]

I want to make my own songs, own lyrics so I can relate more

[@maxjbg]

You seem to be a very nice person. The sound of your voice and your guitar is very nice. I really like your channel

[@c4chris177]

I knew every chord without having to hardly think about it and didn't know any of the single notes. lol

[@ryanleone3007]

Paul, I've been playing and singing for over 25 years and when I write my own songs I still have a problem recreating my vocal melodies on the guitar. I can spot all my intervals,( almost all, I still have some descending intervals that I don't know because I don't have any mnemonic to help me.) Anyhow, I would love to get better and would welcome any advice or exercises.

[@TragedysHalo]

I've no clue on music theory but being a self taught occasional acoustic guitarist I was able to guess most notes & chord sounds. Another thing that should be addressed is that you probably know more than you give yourself credit for. That being said, I was astonished when I was correct. It made me realize I knew more than I thought, initially. However I was never 100% sure of my guesses. Still opened my eyes to how much I knew compared to how much I thought I didn't about this. Thank you for this exercise!

[@thedrules478]

my prob is hearing the guitar over excessively loud vocals or other instruments. ex tomorrow will be kinder by the secret sisters. i have teh first part, but it gets fuzzy when the vocals start.

[@brockmann4815]

I managed to do it way better than I thought I could. Thanks, now I'm motivated to figure songs out by myself.

[@ronnieryver7169]

I’ve been playing for 2 months and got most of them right, the ones I didn’t I was off by a note or so. 🤗not bad!

[@tbprodutions]

Aren't you fucking special

[@andretaissin8141]

Thank you for this. I really like your videos Paul. This was the first video about ear training I've watched and now I'm very excited to work on that. I couldn't find any exercise videos, so I've actually made one myself. Feel free to use it as well, I hope it is helpful for you too.

[@HeinGodeke]

NO WAY, I just found out my favorite yt'er is Dutch too!!! oh shit!

[@MadAboutMagic]

Hein Godeke if your Dutch how could you not realise ?!!!

[@HeinGodeke]

i dont know, probably because he became my favorite very quickly, i was just subbed for 6 weeks or so

[@MadAboutMagic]

Hein Godeke yeah your pretty fucking stupid basically

[@HeinGodeke]

tnx

[@Linnerd]

I didn't realise it either

[@MrMWhitham]

Really great lesson and something I haven't seen much of in the world of guitar KZbin... Many thanks for your time and help 🤩

[@darkvoid7398]

honestly I thought I was going to be horrid at this, but after that test I can honestly say i'm better than majority of the deaf population.

[@bigbl4ckbird]

Hello everyone, I just wanted to say if it was a few months ago or a year ago, I wouldn't guess jack shit here. I studied intervals, and played a lot of guitar, figured it by ear on spot, and found this 1 hour pitch video that might help you get the name of the notes into your brain and it helps. Don't give up and work your ass off!! :)

[@phumeoli]

I've never come across anyone who can clearly explain learning by ear, because honestly how can being a beginner be able to tell the notes?

[@ConneRRylanD]

When it comes to tuning the instrument. How do you start? If I can get my low E correct using a tuner I can get the rest but I don’t know how to start without any assistance. I need a correct note to get the rest. How do you get a correct note from nothing? I mean you must know it in your head but is there any tips or tricks on how to do that?

[@danielhamilton6958]

Nice explanation. I did pretty good without my guitar handy :).

[@danielhamilton6958]

Nice explanation. I did pretty good without my guitar handy :).

[@rubenbekkevold4455]

Chords was easy for me.. Single notes.. man.. awfull hahhah :D

[@metspin1]

Great stuff, man. I learned this on my own, but I really like all of your videos. Always something I can use on your channel. Greetings from Serbia and keep up the great work.

[@psmithphil]

Serbia? I'm from the USA and I know that Serbia is a great country with great people.

[@artemmolchanov1868]

Recently found a KZbin guitarist called TheDooo. He literally can play a song (both backing track and solos/main theme) by hearing it ONCE! How is it even possible?

[@Ryan_Perrin]

Got the G and E :p but mostly because of the different sort of resonance you get with open strings

[@joshuagodinez5867]

Heh. How to figure stuff out by ear: just try and you'll get it. I sort of thought it would be more like "if you find this first note and the next note is higher, it's likely to be the same fret on the next string (a 4th in the scale of the first note)", etc. While this method of guess and memorize is probably how everyone does it I thought there would be something more tricky. I'd like to know how long most people take to do it this way. 2 years? 10? And how much time per day devoted to this? 15 minutes? 2 hours? Just wondering.

[@mahoya1232]

U were born a teacher. You explain things and all I do is to understand them. Thenx bro

[@RingsOfSolace]

It was funny, because before watching this, I'd figured out old mcdonald randomly. I and one notes were off, but were exactly how I thought the song sounded from singing it growing up lol I feel like I've heard the first drop in the second syllable of "mcdonald."

[@SheldonHull]

I think this is the first guitar tutorial for Old MacDonald had a farm that I'll actually upvote and enjoyed

[@dabiededoo]

wooe i had all right after trying a few before you mentioned them. except the first one.. i didnt knew i could do this.. im in week 15 or 16 only the first i had wrong i was only using the A and E strings there.. chords i had G and C wrong so have still to practice a lot

[@jobwereldtop]

Haha didn't knew you were Dutch until you played Wilhelmus. Rock on man

[@jessembuthia13]

His audio quality sounds different from his current videos. 😂 😅thats what I've heard first. I think the current ones are compressed or sth cause it usually sounds warm and thick. Let me see what will learn here though

[@kagenotatsumaki]

I said the A was a B and I knew the open E string, I don't **completely** suck! XD

[@StephenDeban]

This impossible without perfect pitch, in which case, why practice? How about a chord to tell us what the tonic is first?

[@prmmartins]

I guess all the single notes, and chords. Even the d minor. Cool!

[@martyg8137]

Paulo Martins good work!

[@prmmartins]

Tks!

[@SteverRob]

It's the saddest of all chords

[@martyg8137]

SteverRob I've usually found Am to be the saddest.

[@prmmartins]

You think just like Eddie Van Halen.

[@Kleyguy7]

How I can practice those things you mentioned - the note recognition or the chords? Unless there is somebody playing those chords for me. Also should I know the open chords instantly or can I try it first on my guitar and guess after I found a correct one. I realise this is an old video so maybe somebody else could help.

[@blaubarschbube4643]

Im playing for 2 years though im quite good, before i‘ve seen this video…

[@agatone7244]

Wth man, I’m not sitting with my guitar rn but I’m able to guess what note you’re playing anyways. It almost frightens me, I’m not supposed to be able to do that

[@samyboy7489]

I picked up a guitar for the first time and heard smoke in the water and figured it all out just by hearing the riff..... not saying this is crazy or I’m talented but it was mighty easy for me

[@Francispyr]

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 😅

[@victorodhiamboagigo1709]

I got the C, as for the Dm (I just knew that the chord was a minor chord but I couldn't figure out which one it was)

[@jaycarels]

Bro I thought your accent was dutch, got confirmed with that Wilhelmus

[@hahijoyahavivo6754]

Hi I really want to become better at guitar and I can do finger picking songs like dust in the wind and Fleetwood Mac landslide and Boston more than a feeling but I noticed that I need to know my notes and I learn all my songs from KZbin so I really want to learn to play by ear so would you be able to make a video talking about keys of c and key of g and other keys

[@teddyshamia4327]

wow i feel better about my skills :D

[@gailan8393]

9:12 chord progression for Coldplay fix you :)

[@TechFitHD]

Thank you!

[@brinojrvijayan5202]

Thank You!! I feel I got better musically by listening to this

[@victoraguilar3167]

Haven’t play in a while, but I still got it! I got all the chords and almost all the single notes without my guitar! :)

[@Wammus85]

Wow, i just realised your from the Netherlands with you playing our wonderfull anthem.:D

[@kausharalam5880]

I scored 30%

[@samitapradhan4621]

when i try to identify.. i feel like his guitar souds so different than mine😂😂

[@vibe7416]

tune it

[@nballweg5404]

lol i recognized all of the chords but i got none of the single notes right :D anyone else with the same problem?

[@lclover77]

Excellent tips ....thank you so much !!

[@cockroachdeloach5093]

Very nice. Had to pause it on the d minor but got all the single notes and chords quickly. My problem is figuring it out in the mix. My ear can't discern the guitar parts with the drums and vocals blaring along side them. When it's isolated I'm pretty good at it. But just playing a song I like, is much more difficult. Any tips for picking out the guitar parts jumbled into the mix of the band?

[@hemanthkag7738]

Weird that all the notes he played I guessed them wrong and all the chords I guessed them right.

[@bishistawagle3818]

The next chord is........... Simply piano helps you.

[@Wormweed]

I could recognize the chords, but not the single notes. So i guess thats something at least.

[@fredilly]

I have run out of nursery rhymes to practice....love this

[@haipham2209]

I have a question ! Do I have to remember the name of every single notes while I am playing the scale or I just remember their shape and position only ?

[@elcapitanmlb]

Hai Loph I would say both ways are equally important. Learning shapes and patterns are an easy way to start - running up and down a shape will help build muscle memory, overall finger positioning proficiency and strength. Learning the notes and the theory behind it will make you a more versatile player. It will enable you to play across the guitar, and make you a better player overall.

[@JerryCrow]

Still wondering how to figure stuff out via a car...

[@benmaxwell9594]

This is a great video for help in beginning to play by ear/recognise by ear. Keep up the good work! You're video's are great!

[@kryptik6935]

Thank you so much i got the first ones right thanks to God ❤

[@rahmanazhar86]

Just watching this vids, i can say that I got 2 chords correct. I am going to study more. Thanks Paul

[@Idiomatick]

Lol I got every single note 1st try and got 0 of the chords at all....

[@100chuckjones]

I am floored that guessed every note and chord correctly. I have to credit learning the pentatonic minor in all 5 positions. it has not only opened up my ear.. but also opened up a road map for the fretboard. I know where every note is up and down the neck.

[@psmithphil]

Really, Chuck? I just started to learn the 5 positions; I'm working first with the 5th position of G. In the back of my mind I was wondering how valuable learning this was. Now you have inspired me to hit it harder. Thanks!

[@Brayden329]

Thanks, Paul! This is helpful and encouraging for a skill that feels out of reach sometimes.

[@Brayden329]

Happy birthday is now in my repertoire ;) on to Solitude by Black Sabbath!

[@MattTheLizard]

"How to figure stuff out" proceeds to tell you to guess

[@prithvineo]

As always, great video and an amazing tip

[@varunagrawal7036]

Idk Paul... Your national anthem sounds very like the 12 days of Christmas! Not trying to be offensive tho. 😊

[@Geoff]

But is there a way to double check your transcription work for instance using some kind of app to see if the original source is the same as what you are playing? How do we know if what we "think" are the right notes is what is correct/actually being played?

[@maheranam318]

Very helpful, Thanks a lot man!

[@zaviercadorin6244]

Man you are a great teacher keep it up 👍

[@ryaflexy9501]

Wow just discovered i have perfect pitch

[@igorgodfig]

Hello Paul, I follow your channel for some time because I am getting back to my guitar rotine after 12 year away from it and you speak with passion about it! By watching this video I was pretty surprised that you are Dutch because I am leaving in the Netherlands for almost 6 years now and I have been looking for some good music sang in Dutch to help me to improve the language, if you have some recommendations I would be grateful! Keep on with the great work!!

[@malcolmbenson6368]

Very useful, I have bought the Learn, Practice, Play course you designed and, even thought I have been playing for decades it is opening up my confidence and making sense of theory and techniques I have never mastered. I highly recommend it to all guitarists. These KZbin freebies are enhancements and very motivating. THANKS Paul

[@jacobthomas9364]

I am able to read chords however I fail in ear training. I couldn't play with worship team cause they don't practice with written chords they just play by ear.. as they always played from childhood it's easy ...I lost...:(

[@LightSpinAngler]

How come I guess all the chords but not notes smh lol need to play less rhythm

[@benirodriguez9516]

haha.. nice exercise for those in need to learn.. I have no problem with this.. never had.. learned my songs by ear from day 1.. but then I can sing too.. so I've always thought it was that I can sing in tone (aka. have a good ear), that made me able to identify tones on the go.. So I thought those who couldn't sing.. wouldn't be able!.. yes.. they can surely learn if the interest is there, but.. they may struggle a lot!.. cause they won't even know when they are doing it wrong!..

[@cpamiseso]

Y’all need to play many things a lot repeatedly to memorize by hands and ears, then you’ll somehow could guess and catch up things. Of course, music theory would be useful, to make your guessing more accurate. Oh stop using tabs, try music notes (the traditional one).

[@gabriel_jns]

Damn i did the test without the guitar and got everything right but i don't have perfect pitch and it works only with guitar can somebody explain ?

[@thedude2122]

You practice a lot? And you know you note names on all 6 six strings?

[@feezo]

so it's kinda just like trail and error

[@auntjemimahungryjacks5038]

..yeh, i find its my alphabet that needs work more than my pitch identification.. haha.. serious question tho, love your work.. i hsve a song that says, six = D.. my sixth string should be tuned to low D.. does that change the other strings.. what should i do?..

[@varunagrawal7036]

At 9:13, I'm hearing a very weird sound. Anybody else? I think one of the other guitars is picking up the harmony.

[@luciustitius]

Didn't know the Netherlands possess such a beautiful national anthem - and an ancient one it is. Very impressive. Little embarrassing for me beeing there so often and liking your country and your people very much (and not for the reason lots of people visit Amsterdam, never been there to be honest, have to do this one time beautiful city i've heard). Love to watch your channel. Got a lot of inspiration from from you tutorials. Dank je wel!