Can You Play By Ear?

Doctor J

The more younger musicians I encounter the more it seems that there is a reliance on tabs, that people aren't training their ears anymore. It's been something I've noticed over a good few years and now it's always the same "Have you got tabs man?". This manifests itself in a band context where some guys just have big trouble when you're jamming and improvising and can't hear when they're playing the wrong notes, sometimes the wrong key or even the wrong rhythms. It's a bit of a surprise, to be honest, just how reliant on tabs some folks are. Is it because tabs are so readily available that it's just easier to download, read and copy than listen and learn? The old fart bit -> When I was learning, it was really hard to get tabs for the music I liked so you just worked it out or a mate showed you but, even so, in a local band context it's only been recently that I'd be asked for tablature for our own band stuff and it always surprises me to be asked. Is it an age thing?

So, can you play by ear, honestly, or are you even bothered?

Pyr0

It really depends on what's being played tbh. If it's a fast enough lick I'd be able to determine the proper position of the fretboard and neck but when it comes to maybe a change in finger pattern i'd mess around with what I think it'd be and if I can't get it then I'd go to tabs and have a look. I'm trying to learn by ear more and more but more often than not i'd find myself glancing at tabs, it really depends on the song/lick/scale.

Dord

I try to play by ear as much as I can, I'm not great at it but getting better. As for tab, that would be a last resort. I hate it. I would prefer to use sheet music.

Pyr0

Dord wrote: »

I hate it. I would prefer to use sheet music.

Smug alert ! :pac:

Dord

Pyr0 wrote: »

Smug alert ! :pac:

Paolo_M

I'm old school and play by ear, only resorting to tabs if I just can't the feel or rhythm of a lick right. When I started playing I got official tab books for Pearl Jam Ten and Nevermind and a lot of them weren't even close, the Nevermind book was particularly bad if I remember right.
The singer in my current band writes songs but doesn't play so he hums the riff, melody, harmony or whatever and I've to figure it out which is always fun!!

jarain

If playing covers and needed to play it exactly like the record I would use tab transcriptions. If there is a little more space for my own interpretation in a cover I'll learn by ear and hone it through jamming with the drummer and guitarist.

If playing original songs with a band (either after joining a new band or filling in) its all by ear and asking questions of the fella's that know it already. Once you know the key and basic chord changes learning something doesn't take that long.

Rigsby

Interesting topic. I'm lucky in that I seem to have a good ear. While I'm learning some theory at present, practically everything I've learned so far has been by ear. I hate tabs. I fall into the "old fart" category too Doctor J , so maybe this has something to do with it.

Besides, the one or two times I did check out a tab for a particularly complex song, I found it to be way off the mark (not saying I was 100% correct ).

Demeyes

Honestly, I usually go to the tab first. I can learn by ear but most of the stuff I try and learn seriously these days are pretty tricky and I'd spend ages trying to learn it, so if someone already did the work I'll be happy to pick up the tab.

As a consequence of easily available tabs, I think you can see that younger players now seem to develop their technique at a faster rate than years before. They don't spend as long picking out stuff by ear, so they can focus more on nailing the stuff and moving onto other songs.

Rigsby

Demeyes wrote: »

I think you can see that younger players now seem to develop their technique at a faster rate than years before. They don't spend as long picking out stuff by ear, so they can focus more on nailing the stuff and moving onto other songs.

What you say is probably true alright, but IMO having a good musical ear is an advantage when playing any musical instrument, and should be developed. Being able to play what you hear "unaided" leads to a good all round musician IMHO.

DeVore

I have found I have a very accurate ear and I can immediately tell when a note is off and I will happily play parts of a song I've never seen written down as if I had been practising it. BUT I'd never be able to learn anything complex or long without the sheet music which is almost like a cheat sheet for me, I look at it for the "answer" when I cant find the chords or notes.

I would have voted "yes but I still want to learn sheet music because ultimately thats the future".

I play keyboard but still, I think the same will apply to any instrument...

DeV.

Rigsby

DeVore wrote: »

I have found I have a very accurate ear and I can immediately tell when a note is off and I will happily play parts of a song I've never seen written down as if I had been practising it. BUT I'd never be able to learn anything complex or long without the sheet music which is almost like a cheat sheet for me, I look at it for the "answer" when I cant find the chords or notes.

I would have voted "yes but I still want to learn sheet music because ultimately thats the future".

I play keyboard but still, I think the same will apply to any instrument...

DeV.

I agree 100%. Being able to read sheet music (as apart from tabs) is a must for anyone seriously taking up an instrument. Tabs dont tell you the structure, tempo, rhythm ect of a piece of music, so you end up playing, at least partially, by ear anyway when using them.

Drummerboy08

Since i've started playing guitar i've been playing mostly from ear. When i was taking lessons, i was tought how to read tabs, but i usually listen to whatever i need to learn and pick it up like that.

I also play by ear when drumming too........:D

pug_

I have a good ear, but I use tabs if it's for something I'm kinda interested in but don't want to invest a lot of time into, just something to play and forget.

I find a lot of tabs on the Internet are wrong anyway so I mainly use them to get started and correct them by ear as I'm going along.

CianRyan

I haven't used tabs since god knows when.
All by ear now.

boycey

Im a 'by ear' player by default. I just cannot equate what I see on a page to what I should be playing/hearing. My brain just cant get round it and it all becomes a bit like maths to me, which was never my strong point.
I wish I could read and understand proper sheet music as playing by ear has definitely held my knowledge/skill on the guitar back big time.
I manage with rhythm/riff playing , and truth be told never have and never will be interested in learning solo's note for note, but I defo would like a bit of theory to magic itself into my addled old brain!

Ancient1

Paolo_M wrote: »

I'm old school and play by ear, only resorting to tabs if I just can't the feel or rhythm of a lick right.

And that's how it should be - tabs should be an aid and not a substitute.

I'm from the old dusty 1950s "Mel Bay publications" school, it was all that was available where I lived at the time. I was lucky in that I had an in-house music teacher (my mother!) as well, but quickly gave up learning proper theory and sheet reading because I was 13/14 and impatient, and more interested in picking my nose on the couch and chasing girls (not in that order). I've regretted it ever since.

I only discovered tabs when I met a crowd who were into guitar as well. Once I got the hang of it, I found it really useful, especially for the trickier stuff.

So basically I've no problem using any aid to help me understand stuff if I'm stuck.

padraig_f

I'm something of a beginner and didn't realise it was a really important skill 'til I saw Justin Sandercoe's video on the subject (he also thinks it's a declining skill). I did a little bit since but found it hard work compared to getting the tabs, though I can definitely see the benefits. I'm going to persist but not finding it easy so far.

Ancient1

padraig_f wrote: »

I'm going to persist but not finding it easy so far.

Stick with it, it takes time to train your ear and it's all about practice.

I was always told "if you can hum it, you can play it".

Reganio 2

In fairness I don't really play guitar and never had lessons or anything the only thing I can do is tune a guitar by ear I can't play it. I tried but couldn't do it....... I should really whip out the old guitar again

sock puppet

I'll admit that I can play by ear but I use tabs out of laziness. The only time I'll figure out a song on my own is when my internet is down or if there isn't a tab available (which is quite often I suppose). Though a lot of the time I'd use the tab as a base and make changes to it if I think it's not correct or if I just want to play the song a different way. I'd change key as well if I was singing as I've a pretty narrow range.

adox

I play by ear. My limited playing is nearly all done by ear, I just find it easier.

When learning a new song I often find myself humming that part to myself while learning it.

I`m over 40 (just!) so I suppose that explains a lot.:D

A7X

If you learn all your scales and know how to sing them. It will be alot easier for you to hum sumthin and then being able to play it but with everything it takes practice

Rigsby

adox wrote: »

I`m over 40 (just!) so I suppose that explains a lot.:D

Exactly what I said in an earlier post.

Drodan

I'm "self taught"(not in the good sense), so basically can only really play tabs. I can play some stuff by ear but it takes a long bloody time to work out. Trying to improve though.

Really have to learn scales properly......

Plus trying to figure out A Wilhelm Scream songs is just plain rediculous, way too technical, however this brazilian dude just makes me cry http://ie.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=leank2&aq=1&oq=leank

OK-Cancel-Apply

Yeah I didn't have tabs either when I was starting so I had to develop a reasonably good ear. Figuring stuff out is essential to learning and understanding IMO. After a few years you start to recognise things straight away, like, "Oh yeah...there's a 1-4-5 progression" or "Yes, that's sounds a certain way...must be C, D and Em".

And if you know your theory you can sometimes figure out a song in a couple of seconds, or even before you hear it! (Based on genre..)

But tabs are so readily available now (though it's true, they are often wrong) that it's too easy to be lazy. There have been times where I checked tabs before even trying something, only to then kick myself thinking, "Of COURSE it was that.."

Shane_C

Tab is just like getting your mate to show you, except you have never met this mate.....a bit of a lazy way out.

Wouldn't reading tab rather than playing by ear suggest you can do it in real time, which you can't because there is no rhythm in tab.

Sooooooo, there will always be an element of playing by ear in any tab reader.

-=al=-

bit of both really

Blackhorse Slim

I play in a covers band, so I often have to learn new songs quickly. I find its (usually) quicker and easier to get the chords/tab first, then play along by ear and make corrections as I go. Then when Im done, I have a correct version of the tab for future reference. Cos I tend to forget songs if Ihavent played them in a while.:o

Red Sleeping Beauty

I'm sorta 50/50, I'll have a look at a tab to give me a hand (use it as a crutch I suppose) but I can't learn a whole song with a tab, especially solos.

but...
Sometimes I can pick up a chord progression or riff by ear and can't learn using a tab or reading the chords.
Sometimes I can only learn a song,progression or riff with a tab and can't equate what I hear with what I should be playing.

I think "official" tab books only came on the market around the late 80s when the superguitarists appeared.

I have known people who refuse to use tabs and only play by ear but they don't always get it 100% .It would annoy me not knowing exactly the right chord and/or riff.

Red Sleeping Beauty

Also, I love those backing track CDs you get with the likes of Guitar Techniques. I've got a few blues and blues based rock tracks that I usually stick on to play along with.

Rigsby

alan dunne 27 wrote: »

I have known people who refuse to use tabs and only play by ear but they don't always get it 100% .It would annoy me not knowing exactly the right chord and/or riff.

You wont always get it 100% correct with tabs either. Lots of tabs on the net are put there by ordinary "joe soaps" and not the original artist.

Red Sleeping Beauty

I know. I've even seen horrible mistakes in "official" books. What I'm saying is I use both methods

cautioner

I used nothing but tabs when I started (2~3 years ago); lately, however, sometimes I find I'm just messing about and I'll suddenly think "Hey, that sounds like..." and if I'm lucky I'll accidentally figure out a song So yes, sometimes I can sit down and figure out a song on my own, and it's immensely satisfying too. More often I'll need to resort to terrible tabs online.

stevejazzx

in my later years playing jazz i find that I sould've been doing it a lot more..there's a great app for the iphone called karajan which is kind of an ear exam training thing, very helpful and a good test..try getting 100% right!

in jazz you simply have to have to have a good ear and also an ear that's ready for different sounds ready to process them and understand. try playing a whole tone scale over anything, that spacey progressive sound is very challenging..think of alan holdsworth or something like that

interesting that people still think that the minor melodic scale sounds 'wrong' yet it's fundamental in the jazz sound..listen to pat martino in particualr, he 'minorises' everything!

it's hard to believe how good/accurate some musicians ears can get
when metheny improvising it is awesome the sounds he hears over the chords he blows me away..he can translate that immediately onto the fretboard..john coltrane is another step further along, playing outside takes a really special understanding..when improvising they say that a great jazz musician can process multiple chord (trans)positions every second!

Fingers Mcginty

alan dunne 27 wrote: »

I know. I've even seen horrible mistakes in "official" books. What I'm saying is I use both methods

+1 on that....Picked up the official SRV 82 and 85 Montreaux concerts on tab.....lots of mistakes on the leads. Slowing it down with software is what i do these days with the cover band suff

Piste

Because it's really hard to get free piano sheet music for popular modern songs I usually have to rely on my ears. It can be annoying as often the bass of the piano is drowned out by bass guitar. Guitarists have it easy, you can get tabs for everything

Red Sleeping Beauty

Fingers Mcginty wrote: »

+1 on that....Picked up the official SRV 82 and 85 Montreaux concerts on tab.....lots of mistakes on the leads. Slowing it down with software is what i do these days with the cover band suff

Slowing the song down on a computer like ?
Interesting, good one. I think you can buy some kind of "trainers" that play CDs but can slow it down.

freshcream

I use tabs for really boring songs or songs that I don't like (cover versions for the band) but if I like a song, I learn by ear and it generally doesen't take long and stays with me for a long time where as a tune learned from tab can be gone outta my head in less than a month.

Although I do check tabs sometimes mostly for reassurance after I have learned the song.

I don't think we would have as many guitarists out there if it weren't for tab though, my son and all his mates play guitar seems like everybody does these days.(not well though)

A Primal Nut

I find it impossible to play by ear - I've tried learning stuff, even basic chord progressions but I always get it wrong. Then again, I can't sing either. Probably tone deaf or something.

DeadSkin

I find it very difficult to play by ear. I try, but then laziness takes over if I'm being honest.
I must say though, without tab I would have never picked up the guitar.
Tab is an excellent tool that can be used for starting off. When I started off, I just wanted to play a few recognisable riffs and tab was the way.