Platinum Author
Are you frustrated trying to learn guitar from printed music and confused by all the 'easy play' online videos with the "instructors" busy playing everything as fast as possible; do you wonder it you will ever be able to play a song?
Don't worry 75% of people who take up guitar ask themselves the same question; but what if there was a much simpler way to approach the guitar, a way that would enable the guitar player to 'play what they hear', well the great news is playing the guitar by ear is much easier than you think.
I'm sure you have seen people sit down with a guitar, listen to a song and play the song in a matter of minutes, how do they do this are the naturally gifted, do they have a natural 'ear' for music are they musical geniuses?
The answer is a definite 'no'; after observing hundreds of guitarist at all levels of playing proficiency from the absolute beginner to the professional player I can say with absolute confidence it all comes down to this:
"those who know how to do it, get it and those who don't know how to do it - never can!"
That's the truth, no natural talent, no specially gifted player, no child prodigy blah, blah, blah.
So how do you learn how to play by ear?
Whether the 'play by ear' guitarist is aware of it or not they have developed the following essential skills.
Secret 1. Have an accurate sense of musical intervals
Secret 2. Pay attention to musical pitches as they play or hear them
Secret 3. Mentally pigeon hole songs into musical templates
Secret 4. Observe the art of 'practicing s-l-o-w'
Secret 5. Constantly work on perfecting secrets 1 to 4
Let's take a closer look at the number one secret all professional guitarist have developed - intervals.
Intervals:
It's quite possible you have heard the term 'intervals' mentioned at a music class, sometimes intervals are referred to briefly in a music theory book text but nobody seems to make a big deal about them and believe me they are a BIG deal!
Intervals are the things that make the difference between a lame guitar solo and a great solo, it's not the flashy fingers or the expensive video that stuff is forgotten as quickly as yesterday's news or at lest until the next fastest solo in the world comes along.
What are intervals?
Intervals are a system of musical measurement, a way for musicians to communicate what they are hearing; just as a builder has a system of measurement musicians must be able to describe the 'space' between notes.
If you develop a highly refined sense of intervals and can translate that to your guitar fretboard it's possible to play anything you can hear.
The very first step is to develop a reference point on the guitar fingerboard, this reference note will be our musical springboard that will help us judge the distance between our starting note and other musical pitches on the guitar.
The major problem for most guitarists is whenever they try to do 'ear tests' usually a piano is used for the reference notes and since the guitar actually sounds one octave lower than written in musical notation the guitarist has difficulty recognizing the notes being played on the piano.
Practice playing and listening to middle 'C'.
The term middle 'C' comes from the note 'C' that is located in the middle of a piano keyboard (just to the left of the keyhole for locking the lid of the piano).
Here is how you get the correct pitch of middle 'C' on the guitar fretboard.
middle 'C' = third string; fifth fret
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--5----
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O.K. now you know how important intervals are and you have learned where your first reference note is located on the guitar fingerboard it's time to apply secret number 4 - practice listening carefully to this note when next you practice your guitar.
About this Author
And now I'd like to invite you to get free access to my "How To Remember 1,000 Songs" eCourse. You can download the course for free at: http://www.guitarcoaching.com
You'll learn about hit song templates, easy chords, simple scales, red hot rhythms, and successful practice strategies in text, audio and video.
From Mike Hayes - The Guitar Coaching Guy & the Express Guitar System
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_P_Hayes
