Listen
to the song you've just selected repetitively. One of the most important things
you can do is listen for chord changes. How do you know when a chord change happens?
You hear a different tone, a switch in the feel of the music. There might even
be a slight pause.
Figure out how many chord changes there are in the verses and
in the chorus. This will tell you how many chords you need to figure out and where
they are placed. Look at it as filling in the blanks on a game show.
Remember, the verse is what usually starts the song off. Then
there might be a bridge, a few lines of vocals or maybe a little guitar solo.
Then you move into the chorus, which is the most powerful part of the song.
Now, you need to figure out what key the song is in. There
are a few methods to find the key without music theory, although music theory
is by far the most reliable method. One way is to run through as many minor and
major scales as you can think of until you find a good match. The most popular
keys are C, G, D, A, E and F. Often, if you find some of the chords, you can tell
what key it is in.
Use this chart to help you:
Key
(Major)
Relative
minor Key
C
Dm
Em
F
G
Am
Bo
Db
Ebm
Fm
Gb
Ab
Bbm
Co
D
Em
F#m
G
A
Bm
C#o
Eb
Fm
Gm
Ab
Bb
Cm
Do
E
F#m
G#m
A
B
C#m
D#o
F
Gm
Am
Bb
C
Dm
Eo
F#
G#m
A#m
B
C#
D#m
E#o
G
Am
Bm
C
D
Em
F#o
Ab
Bbm
Cm
Db
Eb
Fm
Go
A
Bm
C#m
D
E
F#m
G#o
Bb
Cm
Dm
Eb
F
Gm
Ao
B
C#m
D#m
E
F#
G#m
A#o
As you can see, each key has certain chords that sound good
in it. However, most of the time you won't have the slightest idea which chords
are being used in the song. I suggest you locate the key using scales, then use
the above chart to try out some of the chords that fit well in that key.
To figure out the chords without the chart, try picking a note
on your low E or A string that sounds good with the recording you are playing.
Chances are, if it's a perfect match, it means you have found the root note. In
music theory, the root note names the chord. In other words, if you've found the
root note, you know the name of the chord you are dealing with.
If you're still thinking, " What on earth are you talking about
Jordan?" then I'll put it in different terms. Listen for the bass line. Usually,
the bass line follows the chord changes quite nicely. Even if there are extra
notes, you can soon rule them out by trial and error and find the root note of
the chord you are looking for. Sometimes the bass player won't use the root note,
and you'll have to listen to the rhythm guitar. That makes life more difficult
for you but it's all a part of learning how to play by ear.
Even after locating the name of the chord, you still don't
know the quality of the chord. The quality of the chord comes after you find its
name. Here's an example:
You know the root note of a chord in the song is D, found
on the tenth fret of your low E string. You need to find out if this chord is
major, minor, augmented, diminished, or another extension. While you know the
name, you need to figure out the rest of the name tag.
How
do you go about figuring out the quality of the chord? You try a variety of extensions.
This is where the practice comes in. Try playing popular chord extensions such
as major, minor, sevenths, power chords, etc. The more you try, the more you learn.
Eventually, you'll be able to hear what kind of chord it is
without the use of your guitar. Here are what common chord extensions sound like.
Learn to hear these and you won't have any trouble picking out the quality of
a chord on the radio.
