Current Events > Can anyone here play guitar by ear?

(+) Yeah! (+)

And if so how did you acquire this talent? Or do you have perfect pitch?
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well, you'll need to build callous on your ears first.

after the initial pain goes away from the callous, you should be able to strum the frets pretty effectively by using nothing but your ear
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No I cannot play a guitar, especially not with my ear.
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weapon_d00d816 posted...

No I cannot play a guitar, especially not with my ear.

lmao
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@GODTIER

He quoted me, I win
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I've been playing for about 13 years and I can only do it inconsistently. It's a skill you have to practice just like anything else.

I can play piano by ear, but not guitar

fuck.
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Dash_Harber posted...

I've been playing for about 13 years and I can only do it inconsistently. It's a skill you have to practice just like anything else.

damn. Cuz I wanna be that guy who people ask to play a top song and I can just bust it out on the spot instead of memorizing the tabs.
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Feline_Heart posted...

I can play piano by ear, but not guitar

do you have perfect pitch?
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WalkingLobsters posted...

Feline_Heart posted...

I can play piano by ear, but not guitar

do you have perfect pitch?

Yeah

Feline_Heart posted...

WalkingLobsters posted...

Feline_Heart posted...

I can play piano by ear, but not guitar

do you have perfect pitch?

Yeah

damn it.
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I've written tabs for whole songs by ear
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sure, it's not that difficult. But there are different degrees of playing by ear, I suppose. Most people aren't Mozart level, even with years of experience.
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I'm an incredibly mediocre guitar player and I'm only just starting to pick things up by ear. Really I just keep my guitar nearby when I'm listening to music and when I hear a simple melody try and find it on the neck. Sometimes I figure it out and sometimes I just strum one note that's correct over and over while at a complete loss of all the others lol.
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I started off with tabs. For the first ~5 years, I stuck strictly to the tabs and got frustrated and discouraged if I couldn't do it right.

Once I started drinking more often, I started worrying much less about messing up and practiced a lot more by trying to play along with songs by ear. I'd still occasionally look up tabs, but wouldn't stare at them the whole time. Playing along to songs and concert videos let me try learning the song myself and adjusting what I was playing if it sounded off. I also noticed that the more familiar I got with a particular band, the more I could emulate their playstyle and kind of "predict" how their new songs were played.

I've been playing for 12 years now and still never bothered to learn notes, chords, scales, etc. By playing a large variety of songs, I noticed a lot of reoccurring patterns and finger positionings that I could toy with, even if I don't know what they're called. I just fiddle with the drum looper on my multi-FX pedal and make up riffs to go along with it. I'll have my phone's voice recorder nearby incase I want to remember something and can remember how I played it based on sound.

Also, it may sound dumb, but I really think the years of Guitar Hero and Rock Band helped a lot too. It won't quite teach you how to play, but it certainly gets you used to playing in rhythm.

Vertania posted...

I started off with tabs. For the first ~5 years, I stuck strictly to the tabs and got frustrated and discouraged if I couldn't do it right.

Once I started drinking more often, I started worrying much less about messing up and practiced a lot more by trying to play along with songs by ear. I'd still occasionally look up tabs, but wouldn't stare at them the whole time. Playing along to songs and concert videos let me try learning the song myself and adjusting what I was playing if it sounded off. I also noticed that the more familiar I got with a particular band, the more I could emulate their playstyle and kind of "predict" how their new songs were played.

I've been playing for 12 years now and still never bothered to learn notes, chords, scales, etc. I just fiddle with the drum looper on my multi-FX pedal and make up riffs to go along with it. I'll have my phone's voice recorder nearby incase I want to remember something and can remember how I played it based on sound.

wow that's crazy that you don't know notes and chords and can still play. Did you just pick up a guitar and try different finger placements until it sounded like what you heard on a song when you first started playing?
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Playing a power chord ballad by ear is way different than playing something like Joe Pass by ear.
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WalkingLobsters posted...

wow that's crazy that you don't know notes and chords and can still play. Did you just pick up a guitar and try different finger placements until it sounded like what you heard on a song when you first started playing?

Tabs told me everything I needed in the beginning. It's just "put your finger here and hit it this many times." Once you get that, it's just a matter of playing it in rhythm.

A friend of mine can. Sometimes when we hang out if I randomly start humming whatever tune is on my mind he'll pick up his guitar and just play along. It's a really cool skill to have but also kinda deflating when trying to learn yourself. Though, that's probably just my self-defeatist attitude more than anything; he really put the work in at getting good.
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Ive been playing almost 10 years now. I can figure out a lot of stuff by ear, but some stuff I cant.

Like others have said its a skill that can only be acquired by developing it over the years.

yeah, to the point where I get annoyed if I'm playing an even slightly wrong note or chord. sometimes the "official" tabs sound wrong to me because I'm the actual song there'll be a layering of bass or other instruments that make the song as a whole sound different

WalkingLobsters posted...

wow that's crazy that you don't know notes and chords and can still play.

It's actually kind of common:
http://screenertv.com/celebs/lionel-richie-dave-grohl-the-beatles-13-artists-who-cant-read-music-and-why-thats-okay/

I told myself when I started that I wouldn't bother spending time on it because 1) it confused the shit out of me in school music classes and 2) I thought it would make me feel restricted; like I had to play "right." With people like Hendrix, Clapton, SRV, Slash, etc., I get the feeling that they felt the same and that it contributed to their creativity, especially with solos.