We all know about those god-like guitar players that can let what’s in their mind flow through their fingertips. How do they get to that level? Do you really need to go down to the crossroads and make that deal with the devil?
Becoming truly in sync with your guitar doesn’t happen overnight, for most it takes years, if not decades of practice. Some guitarists develop this skill very gradually as a byproduct of just playing the instrument so much, but this is a really slow and inefficient method.
You wouldn’t expect to become fluent without any conscious effort or focus, right? You need to intentionally learn the fundamentals (alphabet, words, phrases), and then practice using them in context i.e. having real conversations with native speakers. Musical fluency works the same way.
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Unfortunately, ear training is either neglected altogether, or the methods commonly suggested (such as interval ear training) are totally unfit for developing real musicality as they are based on exercises that don’t create a real musical context, therefore are not applicable to real musical situations. You don’t want to just pronounce a couple of syllables, you want to be able to have an engaging conversation, right?
The good news is; there is a foolproof way to really learn how to play guitar by ear (no matter your age or current level), and that's what we'll be exploring today.
Some want to know how to play any song on guitar by ear, others want to be able to improvise without boundaries. Essentially, we all just want to be as efficient as possible with our guitar, whether it be input, or output.
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When the answers to these questions become second nature, you will be completely unrestricted and can focus all your attention on the music, not the theory or instrumental technique.
, this is not really playing by ear, it is at best, pitch-matching. Pitch-matching is useful but isn’t a seamless process like playing by ear.
Wouldn’t it save so much time in the long run if you could just bypass all the wrong notes and instinctively land on the right ones, every time? This is how great musicians do it. You don’t see them messing around playing random notes for half a minute until they get the right one - they hit it right away on the first try.
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Achieving this intuitive level of musicality is totally possible! And with a well-designed ear training method that guides you step-by-step, you can build this skill steadily using tailored exercises.
If you want to make certain muscles stronger, you do exercises that target them directly, right? They won’t develop without focusing on the right areas, in the right way - the principle here is the same.
Like building strength, it doesn’t happen overnight, it takes hard work and perseverance, but the effort will be rewarded, and all aspects of your guitar playing, and overall musicality will improve.
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The trial & error approach is just one of many ineffective approaches people take when trying to play guitar by ear. There are others too, keep reading as we will discuss them later in this post.
Perfect pitch is talked about a lot online these days, but there seem to be some misconceptions, so let’s clear a few things up.
Lots of people want to know how to develop perfect pitch as an adult, and soon find out that if you don’t already have this skill, it’s not something you can really develop later in life - this is true. Scientific research shows that perfect pitch can only be developed in early childhood when our brain’s plasticity is at its highest.
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After learning that, many musicians feel deflated like if they don’t have perfect pitch, they’ll never be able to effortlessly express themselves through their instrument.
Relative pitch allows musicians to develop an excellent level of musicality and it is obtainable by anyone at any age (you don't need to have innate talent to develop it). Indeed, most professional musicians (even the most famous ones) only have relative pitch skills and don't have perfect pitch. Other than that, relative pitch in some ways has benefits over perfect pitch, here are a few examples:
As we mentioned earlier, one of the most common mistakes is practicing interval-based ear training exercises. Interval-based ear training just doesn't develop your musical ear in a helpful way. These types of exercises never have a fixed tonal center, and so there is no reference point to anchor to.
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Relative pitch is developed when the notes you're hearing revolve around a key (just like in real music). If that tonal center is changing every time you hear a new note (like in interval ear training) then you're not internalizing how each note sounds relative to the key. This could seem a trivial issue, but in reality it’s the main reason musicians get stuck with ear training. It’s nothing to do with talent, the real problem is practicing ineffective exercises. There are plenty of scientific studies showing why it’s essential to practice ear training using a tonal approach as opposed to archaic interval based exercises.
Another mistake is not listening to what you’re playing. It sounds ridiculous but it’s quite common for guitarists to look at everything as patterns and shapes. Of course, this is how we learn our chords and scales, but it’s vital to teach your ears what you’re learning, not just your fingers!
This brings us back to the ‘trial and error’ method that we mentioned earlier, it’s just a brute force technique. All you’re learning with this approach is how to play the one thing you’re working on at that moment in time, there is no reusable skill being developed, and no advancement in your musicality.
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Initially, ear training should be totally separate from instrumental technique. Like the language analogy, you need to understand the fundamentals first, get comfortable with them, then apply them through contextual practice. You've got to walk before you can run - you shouldn’t try to learn how to play guitar chords by ear without knowing how to hear and identify the tonic note of the key first.
That being said having an instrument nearby for reference if you get stuck is good, and of course, we need something to provide our pitch (or tonal center). Just be careful not to use the instrument as a crutch or revert back to that ‘trial and error’ approach when practicing some of the exercises we’re about to show you.
The foundation for building this skill is first internalizing scale degrees in relation to the tonal center, a great way to do this is through singing a scale over a tonic note.
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Once you feel confident with that exercise you can move away from linear sequences of notes (1234567). Instead, try singing a scale degree at random and then immediately playing the corresponding note on the guitar.
If you get really good at that, then you can start singing random sequences (melodies) and playing them back on the guitar. If at any point you find yourself searching for the right notes on the fretboard, then you need to take a step back. There should be no trial and error when it comes to landing on the notes, it defeats the purpose of the exercise.
Keep in mind that achieving this level takes time, and performing the task above requires relevant sub-skills such as: tonic recognition, tonic retention, short-term musical memory, etc.
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As we’ve just explained singing scales over the tonic is a great way to start internalizing the feeling of each scale degree. This will also force you (and your ears) to find the notes yourself instead of relying on your guitar to do it for you.
Here's the bottom line: a proper ear training routine is going to improve your overall musicianship. If your ears are becoming more refined then so is your musicality, and this will naturally flow over into your playing. Not only that, but your perspective will broaden, so you may see things you previously learned in a whole new light! Lastly, things like memorizing songs, solos, melodies, etc. become far easier as you begin using your auditory memory - not just visual and muscular memory (as most guitarists tend to).
It all depends on your current skill level, the amount of time you can dedicate to ear training, and the effectiveness of the ear training method you are adopting.
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The main thing is laying down a good foundation from the start, and not wasting time on exercises that aren't adequate to your current skill level, or inapplicable to real music. Good guidance is essential for establishing your current level and setting out a practice routine that will be optimized for you.
It doesn’t take forever if you follow the right methods. You will develop essential skills within the first few weeks of practice, and will immediately be able to use them in your jams, songwriting, etc. If you follow the right approach, you don’t need to practice for years before you can start recognizing notes and chords by ear.
If you're ready to take the next step we’re here for you! Our science-based method
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