Submitted by TheCommunistDJ t3_10yepeb in Music
I just bought a really nice electric piano, one 12-string guitar and a cheap 6-string guitar.
I’m trying to learn how to play them with relative pitch, instead of reading sheets. I strongly desire the ability to hear something, and then mimic it to the best of my ability.
How would you guys recommend I go about doing this?
I can’t properly play any instruments yet, but even now I’m already notably better at recognizing and creating patterns. I can only imagine what this is like for a skilled musician
The term is "transcription" or "audiation" and you don't learn it by ear, traditionally it's learned by singing solfege along with certain intervals so that your voice is trained to recognise intervals via singing. If you're purely "by ear" and might feel learning theory is bad, this might be a very tricky thing to learn.
Whatever solfege is, that sounds perfect! I’ve been learning how to sing too, after discovering how to use my voice as a baritone.
So you would suggest learning how to sing by the method of transcribing, and then to do the same thing with an instrument and just match up the two?
Instrument is good.
You sing "do re mi fa so la ti" to scales up and down scales, but also sing intervals like do mi so mi do which is a major chord and by singing it you'll better recognise what a major arpeggio sounds like. Likewise, singing do fa do will also teach you to recognise the perfect fourth, which can be confused for a dull perfect fifth for some people.
Also, if you don't want to use solfege names for whatever reason, then numbers work almost as well. Ie one two three four five and then one three five for the arpeggios.
Singing to learn audiation is traditional... I think they stopped forcing singing lessons in the 20th century, so a long, long time ago. In my high school class, which prompted me to self teach rather than rely on teachers, we were told to just know what the intervals are. No explanation how. Just know. Obviously some kids had a pretty severe advantage.
solfège is DO RE MI etc
The syllables are notes in a scale
I can play piano and drums by ear, but can't grasp the basics of guitar, its like teaching a dog latin to me. That said I don't know how to explain it. I can't read or write sheet music; I just feel it. But yeah practise. You'll notice patterns and progressions as the other fellow said, and eventually make your own. One day I was fumbling around on the piano and realized I was playing the brokeback mountain theme without realizing it.
Woaaaaah!! This is exactly what I’m looking for.
Were you learning how to properly play the piano, messing around and then BAM, realized you’re playing that theme to brokeback mountain. Who are you just generally messing around, for several months or whatever, and then bam.
at first, it'll likely be easier to play the piano along with some music you're listening to - first, find out which seven notes are in the song that's playing, (the key signature)
if you can start playing two or three notes at once that fit into what you're hearing, you've found the chords.
then find different ways to play the chords
Sing along with your playing, don’t worry about if you’re a good singer, it’s to help you internalize pitch. When you are away from the instrument, practice hearing (audiating)and visualizing small pieces of music like scales, arpeggios, riffs and patterns. Practice singing an A440 before you pick up the instrument. Test yourself against a good reference pitch, like your keyboard. Correct if you are off, and repeat the corrected note. Learn some standard chord progressions and try to find them in popular music. Practice and play, find joy in learning and improving. If you get frustrated, take a break. Good luck on your musical journey. 🎶🎶🎶🚀
Lol, it’s this simple, I think, it’s been forever since I started doing this, learn some basic chords, listen to music, and play along with it. You’ll be surprised at how much you can finger out on your own, what you do will be wrong most of the time for awhile but slowly you can transcribe with your ear what’s right and wrong. Can’t stress enough that learning some basic theory won’t hurt you, but help you better understand what you’re doing, it’s not the gospel, it’s literally a tool to be used when you need. In western music there is only 12 notes, it won’t effect you negatively to learn them.
I studied the CAGED fretboard logic system, and then just did stuff. Have always "played by ear", but the above really broke it loose. Never learned to sight read, but can manage a fake. Just another tool. The key is to try stuff and play often.
If you want to learn something, you do it. That's it. I have very little formal training and after wanting something bad enough, PLUS THE INTERNET now, you can figure anything out. "There's only 12 notes a man can play."
Learned how to play trumpet in marching band. Was a first chair for 4 years until I moved to live with my mom. Her friend she visited a lot had a piano and i liked to just sit and mess around on it. Learned how to notice familiar sounds from just playing with the keys and knowing what I already knew about music. Been playing piano since I was 13 by ear, I’m 33 now. Just picked up on certain notes and pitches from what I already knew and had seen many piano players so I just knew a little about hand placement from that
Learn to recognize intervals. When learning a melody, it's good to imagine the melody as a wave or contour that goes up or down. Something like this. Learning to recognize intervals helps you to catch these melodies faster because you know whether the melody note leaps or move in a certain direction as examples. Everytime you learn a melody, analyze the crap out of it, identify the interval & notes used.
It takes time to be able to get used to playing songs by ear so don't worry if you suck during the early stage.
As for harmony, learn & internalize the sound of the chords(major, minor, augmented & diminished). Also learning basic music theory helps when you try to identify chord progression.
It’s easy if you become obsessed. Lol
Learn the chording, which is foundational to theory. Get used to intervals, 1st and 3rd, 1st and 5th, et cet. This will key your mind to know which note to play based on how it sounds. Play along with the radio or songs you like and experiment with playing with what they play and eventually, you will make up your own stuff to play along with. Playing by ear and improvisation are tightly connected.
One thing I used to do was always have the guitar in hand and without thinking too hard on it, play along to the commercials while the TV was on.
Why reluctant to learn how to read sheet music? One thing does not subtract from another. By learning basic music theory and notes it is also easier to then play by ear because you “know” where the music is going. Music theory is logical, like math and once you learn it it’s gonna stay with you the rest of your life.
Learn to play the bass guitar first.
orcusporpoise t1_j7xo600 wrote
Practice. The more you play, the more you recognize patterns, melody, progressions, etc. And then one day you will be listening to some music and you’ll be like, “Hey, that’s in the key of A!”