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To begin with, you should already know the basic chords, and how to tune your guitar. Make sure you listen to a lot of guitar music. Pick a recording with clear guitar sound to learn how to play guitar by ear.
Use a tuner, harmonica, or piano for standard tuning: E, C, D, G, B, E, from biggest to smallest string. Some recordings have the guitars tuned down one note, as with Stevie Ray Vaughan or AC/DC. When that happens, you have to listen to the first bass note on the recording. Then, find a chord on your guitar where the lowest note of that chord is close to the bass note. Tune that string to that note while you hold the chord, then let go of the chord and tune your guitar to that string.
That chord is the tonic or 1st chord, and is also the name of the key your song is in. You can tell if it is major or minor by checking to see which chord sounds best when played at the beginning of the song. This is the most important chord for that song.
Count 5 notes, starting with the tonic chord, to find the 5th chord. For example, if the tonic chord was E, count E, F, G, A, B. B is the 5th chord, also called the dominant chord. The 5th is always major.
Next, find the 4th chord in the same manner. For the key of E major, the 4th chord is A major. In minor keys, the 4th is a minor chord. The 4th chord is the subdominant chord.
Always remember that the tonic chord is the most important chord in any song. Everything in the song is centered around this 1st chord. In Western tonal music, changing from the 5th to the 1st chord is a fundamental movement. This chord change happens at the end of most songs, and also at key places in a song. It often appears at the end of a verse or chorus. Also, the 5th chord is often in the 7 form. In the key of G major, for example, the 5th chord will often be played as D7 rather than just D.
Whatever happens before this movement from 5 to 1 depends on the song. The most basic pattern is 1-4-5-1. Rock and country songs will usually have a variant of this pattern, such as 1-4-1-5-1. Jazz songs usually have some variation on a theme of 2-5-1. In a major key the 2nd chord, the supertonic, is minor.
The 6th chord, or submediant, is often important in rock and pop. After the other 1st, 4th, and 5th chords have been added, the 6th adds variety anywhere in the song. It is often the first chord in the bridge of the song.
As you learn more songs you’ll start to see common patterns. It will be obvious that some artists use the same pattern over and over. This makes it easy to learn more of that artists songs.
Try this stuff. You will start enjoying yourself almost immediately. The more you do it, the easier it will be to learn new songs. Trying different styles will make you even better. After a couple of months, you will be proficient at simple songs. After a few years, you will be confident about learning most songs you hear.
For more information about all aspects of learning the guitar have a look at – How To Play Guitar By Ear
or, to find out about the best online guitar course, read this – Jamorama
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May.13,2011
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