Guitar_Tabs

Playing by Ear!. Many people play songs by reading notes, many others play by reading tabs. Yet, there are
those that cannot read music or tabs but play by ear. Many people say why learn to play by ear. There are many
times that you cannot find the sheet music or the tabs. Then what do you do? Not play that favorite song at all?

Many people have a misconception when you hear the term: "play by ear". 90% of the people who play by ear do
not have a photographic memory and cannot just hear a song and play it. However, there are a few out of a million
or two that can. People who have a good basic understanding of music such as scales and chords can figure out
most songs at least where they can play the song very close to the original score. Its not all that hard, but like
everything else it just takes time and practice. However, most people especially beginners have no clue and have
no ear. Those are the people I'm really talking to at this point.

What do those people do? You probably play the song and try to catch the first chord, then get on your guitar
or on a key board then start out playing whatever comes to your mind or you will start out with the A chord if
that isn't it, you try B, if that isn't it you will try C and continue until you hopefully found the first chord that
sounds right. Really a slow process here, but in time it works

Some will argue that what I am going to be talking about here is totally stupid and the long way of playing by ear.
The fact of the matter is Most people who can play by ear or who can figure out a song cannot explain how they
do it. Its easy for people to critize and it very hard for some to just explain their method of doing it. They just will
tell you: "...I don't know how I do it..." Well that is a pretty good answer isn't it. It really helps you to learn how
to play by ear, doesn't it?

To make it more simple, playing by ear really is nothing more then PREDICTING what chord or notes come next!
If your not one in a million who has a phtographic memory, if your not one in whatever that has a very good or
exceptional ear. Well, your kinda out of luck arn't you?

If your reading this web page, obviously you have a computer. There are a couple of programs that you should
have. Do you have to have them of course not. However, they will make your life easier. The first program you
should have is any recording software. I use Adobe Audition. but there are many others that you could use. The
second program is Amazing Slow downer. There are a couple programs that will do the same thing. I just prefer
Amazing Slow downer.

What I do first is use my recording software to RECORD the first few bars of the song that I want to learn. Then
I will record the next few bars, then the next few bars, untill I have individual files (parts of the song) I save them
as separate files (each a different name). I try to record a few chord changes at a time! Then, 1 file at a time I will
bring up in Amazing Slow downer. This program slows down the music where I can easier hear and try to figure
out what chord or note I'm trying to find. Once I get a part figured out I bring up the next file then the next until I
have the song figured out.

First I'm going to talk about what you should know to make it easier! You first should know of course the 12 KEYS
of music form music. There are only 12 and it shouldn't take you long to learn these. If you have a bad memory like
I do, then just WRITE them down! and they are:

(A) (A#/Bb) (B) (C) (C#/Db) (D) (D#/Eb) (E) (F) (F#/Gb) (G) (G#/Ab)!

Once you have them memorized or written down. Then you should know the scales for each KEY Each KEY will have
its own scale! Again, if you don't have a good memory, write them down. I have the KEYS and the SCALES written
down and keep the paper tapped to my music stand for quick reference when I am trying to figure out a song!

Once you know the Keys/scale as above, then you need to know the major and minor chords. Now your ready to
proceed and be able to figure out most songs.using the method I will be discussing.

To make it easy, in my method I will be using the KEY OF C! However, this method will hold true to any and all the
KEYS!.

So the first thing that you have to do is to find what KEY the song is played in! Many people, especially the pros
or more experienced players will tell you that. They tell you that because they have the knowledge experience, that
good ear where they just know by listening to the song what KEY THE SONG IS BEING PLAYED IN. However, you
are not one of those persons or you wouldn't be reading this information.

Most all the time the KEY is the chord that is played at the beginning of the song or at the end of the song. Most
of the time it is the first chord or note! I always start with trying to figure out the first chord that is played and
usually I'm right! So I recorded the first say two (2) chord changes, the introduction of the song then I bring up that
recording into Amazing Slow downer. Again for my example, I'm going to say that the song I'm trying to figure out
is in the KEY OF C!

So I look at my Key of C chart that I wrote down. The Scale of the Key of C is:

C__D__E__F__G__A__B

You also want to number the notes 1 through 7! you want to do this for each scale of each KEY.

1__2__3__4__5__6__7
C__D__E__F__G__A__B

If you don't know the Keys major chord. The Chord Make up: 1 3 5 notes of any scale. So for the Key of C. The
C major chord would be 1=C note; 3=E note, and 5=G note. All 3 notes played at one time would be the C major
Chord!

As I said earlier playing by ear is nothing more then PREDICTING what chords/note are played in a song and in
what order they are being played. If you have the experience, the knowledge and the good ear you can just play a
tune and figure it out. However if you don't have the the experience the knowledge and the good ear There is a
method of being able to figure out the song and thats what we are about to learn.

Ok, you have the scale/notes written down, you have listenned to the intro of first few bars and have concluded
that the first chord in the song is C, so the song is played in the key of C! You have the notes of the C scale
written down as I did before:

1__2__3__4__5__6__7
C__D__E__F__G__A__B

Now lets use some terms here:

Family chords; Cousin chords; Friend of the Family chords; and, Strangers chords!

Without giving you a big example of each, I'm just going to define them as the following:

Family chords are chords that would be most likely to be used in every song. Cousins chords would be chords
that would be the next likely chords played in a song. Friend of the Family chords would be the next likely chords
found in a song if you still need to find more chords; and, Strangers chords would be of last resortto some chords
that you haven't yet figured out!

Family chords would be the #1, #4, #5. So the first chords I would use would be the C, F and G chords. So in the
beginning, I used the first recording to find what KEY the song was played in. If you recorded more then one chord
change. I would play the first recording and play C, F, and G to see if those chords are in the first recording. The
intro if you will. If I matched up the chords I would then go to the next recording of the next few bars or chord
changes. If I didn't get all the right chords for the first recording I would then proceed to try the cousin chords!
I would also may be try the G7 chord before moving to the cousin chords. As many songs does use the
appropriate 7th, #5 in this case the G7!

The cousin chords are #2, #3, #6 and #7 which would be: D, E, A, and B chords. Note, the #6 chord is usually always
the MINOR if a minor is being used in the song! So it would be D, E, Am and B chords. I would try the #6 chord, the
MINOR first. As usually there is one minor in most songs. So instead of starting out trying the D chord, I would start
off with trying the Am chord. If this finds all the chords, then move to the next recording. However, if your still
missing chords. Then move to the Friend of the Family chords.

Friend of the Family chords are the b2, b3, b6, which are: Db; Eb, Ab chords. If these are the chords you were
missing then go to the next recording if not then try what is called the Strangers chords as the last resort:

Strangers chords are the #b5 and b7, the Gb and Bb chords. Hopefully using this method you have finally got the
song figured out! Be sure that you write the chords down as your figuring the song out! So that when your finished
with the song you know what chords are played where! Then the next step if you have all the chords and have them
written down it to play the entire song and listen and know where the chord changes are then practice playing the
song with the original recording, mp3, cd, record, or tape, etc.

There is the law of probability as well. So read the below info!

Most likely Chord Progression: 1__4__5
Next Choice: 7th
Next Choice Cousins: 2__3__6 Most likely: 2__6__3

To make it easier, there are really two parts to a song. The first part is the melody. This is the notes that make
up the song and the chords of a song to accompany the melody. Now depending upon what part you want to learn
will depend upon what you know. If you can play most chords this shouldn't be too hard to do, just a little time.
On the other hand if you want to learn the melody then this will take a little bit more time. However, if you can
hum or whistle the tune then it will be easier. So Im going to start out with this explanation: Get the chords of the
song first.

1. You have to shape the music. Music, the melody either stays the same, goes up or goes down!

2. Most melodies start on a chord root note! Most songs start and end on the same #1 chord! Of the C chord for
example Root, 3rd, or 5th! Chord is made up of 3 notes C_E_G, Root is C, 3rd is E
and the 5th is the G!. However the C major scale is:

C__D__E__F__G__A__B__C

It is important to understand that there are several different Scales. In my example we will be using songs that
start in the Key of C. However, a song could be written in many different Keys/scales. So it is important to memorize
or know all the KEYS and the scales. I will be using the C Scale as it has no sharps or flats in it. I'll get to the sharps
and flats later. In my numbering system each note is given a number:

1__2__3__4__5__6__7__8
C__D__E__F__G__A__B__C

Remember the Root Note is always the #1 Note = C, the 3rd =E and the 5th =G

Now just a little about sharps and flats!. Sharp (#) = fat cats go down the alley eating balony, Making a note sharp
means you raise it up a half-step

Flat (b) = bead go catch fish, Making a note flat means lowering it a half step.

So if the sound or tone goes up a 1/2 step you need to sharp the note and if the sound goes down a 1/2 step you
need to flat the note. Ok, Will discuss this more in detail later as well

The first chord we are going to learn is the C major chord, so we will look at the C scale:

1__2__3__4__5__6__7__8
C__D__E__F__G__A__B__C

C Major Chord is made up by: C-E-G notes! The 1st; 3rd; and the 5th notes of the scale. See above Remember
all chords are made up of their respective scales, so the family of the C scale would be the C, E, and G notes. So
most like if a song started in C chord, the first likely to follow would be the F or G chords. Then you have what
lets call COUSIN notes or chords. If the C, F, or G chord(s) do not follow, then look at the cousins. In the C scale
the cousins would be: 2,D; 3,E or the 6-A but experience and knowledge dictates most likely in this order:

2_Dm, 6_Am, and then 3_Em

Yes, a MINOR comes into play. Look at a lot of songs that are played:

C, Am, F, and G, See the family here

1__2__3__4__5__6__7__8
C__D__E__F__G__A__B__C

Family Chords: Dm, Em, F, G, Am, G7th
Cousins: 2, 3, and/or 6 | the D, E, and/or A
However, Most likely played 2, 6, 3, | Dm, Am, or Em
Friends:
Neighbors:
A neighbor is 1/2 step up or down

Let now take a listen to the C CHORD, Here is the chord of C:

The same holds true generally with all scales so just take the above information and put it to use with each of the
other scales. Lets do one (1)more just so that you see that the same holds true. Lets look at the Bb scale, the Bb
scale is:

Bb__C__D__Eb__F__G__A__Bb
1__2__3__4__5__6__7__8

The Bb chord would be the #1, #4 and #5 notes or the Bb, Eb and the F notes!. If the SONG was played in Bb
Key/Scale the most most likely Cord to follow the Bb Chord would be REMEMBER? The #2 or C chord; #3 or D
chord or #6 or G Chord, but most likely would be the #2 or C chord or the #6 or G chord then the #3 or D chord.
This just gives you an idea if your trying to figure out a song by ear, what chords are more likely then not! AGain,
use the same principle on every song. All you have to know is what key/scale the song is played in.

REMEMBER THIS IS REALLY NOT THAT HARD!
YOU CAN USUALLY TELL THE KEY/SCALE
BY THE FIRST NOTE AND/OR THE LAST NOTE OF THE SONG!!!

LEARN THE LADDER

This ladder below, shows you the relationship of one key to another, and one chord to another chord Notice
that the left side of the ladder lists the chords, while the right side of the ladder indicates the number of sharps
or flats in the scale of the corresponding chord. For example, the F chord is the key chord in the scale of F, which
has one flat. The D chord is the key chord in the key of D which has 2 sharps.

The above ladder can also be used to determine how many sharps or flats are in any particular key. For example,
the key of B has 5 sharps, while the key of Bb has 2 flats. Also notice that while key of Gb and F sharp are
enharmonic--they are written differently, but sounds exactly the same as does the:

(A# and Bb) | (C# and Db) | (D# and Eb) | (F# andGb) | (G# and Ab)

The below chord prediction chart was designed to be used in conjunction with the ladder – that’s one reason
it is so important to learn the ladder well. Before studying the chart, let’s define which are used in the chart:

Tonic – This is the formal name given to the key chord in a song. If you are playing in the key of E flat,
then E flat is the tonic chord. If you are playing in the key of G, then the G is the tonic chord.

Dominant 7th – This is the 7th chord which is located one rung above the tonic on the ladder. If you are playing
in the key of G, the dominant 7th chord would be D7. If you are playing in the key of B flat, the dominant 7th chord
would be F7.

Sub – Dominant – This is the chord one rung below the tonic on the ladder. If you are in the key of C, the
sub-dominant would be F. If you are in the key of A, the sub-dominant would be D.

Sub-Chords – This refers to any chord below the tonic in the ladder.

The below chord predicting chart was designed to be used in conjunction with the ladder -- That's one reason it
is so important to learn the ladder well. Before studying this chart, let's define four terms which are used in the chart:

TONIC -- This is the formal name givein to the key chord in a song. If you are playing in the key of E flat, then
E flat is the tonic chord. If you are playing in the key of G, the G is the tonic chord.

Dominant 7th--This is the 7th chord which is located one rung above the tonic on the ladder If you are playing
in the key of G, the dominant 7th chord would be D7. If you are playing in the key of B flat, the dominant 7th would
be F7.

Sub Dominant-- This is the chord one rung below the tonic on the ladder. If you are in the key of C, the
sub-dominant would be F. If you are in the key of A, the sub-dominant would be D.

Sub chords-- This refers to any chord below the tonic of the ladder.

Notice that the chart breaks down chord likelihood into three segments:
1. Usually | 2. Sometimes | 3. Rarely

For example, after a 7th chord of any kind, the most likely chord is to be found one chord down the ladder. So if
you were to guess which chord follows the A7, what would your response be ? Look at the ladder, and you will see
that the next chord is very likely some form of the D chord (could be D major, D minor, D7, Dm7, etc. By using this
chart along with your ear, you will learn to predict with accuracy what the next chord will be.

The more you study the LADDER and the PREDICTING CHART the easier you will begin to understand the
importance of both of them.

What we are going to do here, is practice listening to the MAJOR and MINOR CHORDS! Listen to each of them
many many times. Get that particular sound of each Chord down. This will of course take a lot of time and
practice. But if you can tell what a particular Chord sounds like that will cut your timedown in learning
a particular song!

You may have to turn up your volume in order to hear the CHORDS! You also may have to move your mouse around
the PLAY button of each chord in order to activate the SOUND!

THE MAJOR CHORDS

Here Is The Chord Of A

Here Is The Chord Of B

Here Is The Chord Of C

Here Is The Chord Of D

Here Is The Chord Of E

Here Is The Chord Of F

Here Is The Chord Of G

You may have to turn up your volume in order to hear the CHORDS! You also may have to move your mouse around
the PLAY button of each chord in order to activate the SOUND!

THE MINOR CHORDS

Here Is The Chord Of A Minor

Here Is The Chord Of B Minor

Here Is The Chord Of C Minor

Here Is The Chord Of D Minor

Here Is The Chord Of E Minor

Here Is The Chord Of F Minor

Here Is The Chord Of G Minor

Practice listening - Practice Listening - Practice listening
Over - And Over - And Over - And Over

Now lets see if you can figure out the Chords to this MELODY. When you think you have it, e-mail me your
answer. Lets see if you can figure this out. If you already know the Chords, don't cheat and write to me.

This Test Is For Beginners

AGAIN THIS IS FOR BEGINNERS WHO DON'T KNOW THE SONG OR ITS CHORD PROGRESSION - Good Luck

There are many different progressions that chords can be played in as well as there are many different KEYS that
music can be played in. Many songs can be played using the C, Am, F and G chords. As well as G, Em, C and D
chords! The problem with the old school of taking lessons bore most people because they just want to learn to
play songs and don't want to spend hours learning scales and they get aggravated after awhile and quit. Most
people just want to start off playing songs but you at least have to learn the basic chords first. The basic chords
in my opinion are:
C, Am, F, and G or G, Em, C and D

With these chords you can play hundreds of songs.

I believe the majority of kids and adults if they start off learning how to play their favorite song(s) and begin
right off the bat having fun, then they will continue playing with any instrument theywant to play. Down the road
they can learn the scales as well as the theory of that particular instrument! But lets start out learning a few
chords, learn how to play a couple of favorite songs,then learn scales and theory! Doesn't that make more sence?

If you want to learn songs from a CD or from an MP3 file. I have found that you must first have a very well tuned
guitar! If your guitar is tuned you should be able to play right along the song once you figured out what chords
are being used in the song.

So you must start off with a good tuned guitar and second you must learn the chords. There are only 7 major chords
and 7 minor chords and from there you can learn all the other chords there are. While your practicing the chords
listen to each of them as your playing. Learn the sound of each and you should make this a daily habit. Break them
up into small groups. Learn to play 2 or 3 chords a day. Just play them all day until you can make them sound clear
without making any mistakes. The next day learn 3 or 4 more and so on. It won't be long and you will get the
chords in your mind and your fingers will hit the right strings and frets! After you being knowing the chords.
DON'T LOOK AT YOUR FINGERS, get your fingers to REMEMBER where they should be placed. This is known as
FINGER MEMORY!Your fingers will in deed in a short period of time know where they are suppose to go!

The good key to remember is PRACTICE playing your GUITAR daily!

Start off by being sure your guitar is in tune. By a cheap electronic guitar tuner is a great aid!

Learn at least 3 to 4 new chords daily

For our NEXT LESSON learn the following chords and in this progression:

Am, C, D, F, Am, C, E

When I have received 5 e-mails from people using this page to learn. I will add the next Lesson Plan
You can write to me at the E-mail address listed below - Good luck, you can do it

LEARNING THE MELODY OF A SONG
Learning the melody of a song is also a very slow process. However, if you can whistle or hum, then you can learn
a melody.Learn a few bars at a time. Of course you should know where the notes of a major scale is on your guitar
or any instrument that you are playing. So your first task is learning a scale and knowing where the notes of the scale
is on your instrument. Then one note at a time find that note on your instrument. What I do is chart the
contour of the music on paper first.

A melody that stays on the same pitch gets boring pretty quickly. As the melody progresses, the pitches may go up
or down slowly or quickly. One can picture a line that goes up steeply when the melody suddenly jumps to a much
higher note, or that goes down slowly when the melody gently falls. Such a line gives the contour or shape of the
melodic line. You can often get a good idea of the shape of this line by looking at the melody as it is written on
the staff, but you can also hear it as you listen to the music.

Arch shapes (in which the melody rises and then falls) are easy to find in many melodies. To understand what I
am talking about. Listen to this easy melody, "Down in the Valley""

It starts on a given note, and then goes up three times before going down.
Do you hear that? Play it again. If you were going to chart it it would look like this:

Hope you get the idea. I'm using this song because it is a pretty easy song and when charting it as you see it goes up
and goes down. Now try to whistle or hum the phrasing to get the right notes one note at a time while trying to find
the note on your guitar. If you have a piano or key board this would be easier. Just take a few bars at a time
until you figure out the entire melody of the song.

Questions & Comments? Email: ltb999@hotmail.com