OT learning songs by ear

[tkarter]

Most ear players are able to communicate what they are playing by using the Nasville Numbering system.

There is a reverse way to tune your ear if you can read. Find a keyboard. Read a note, play that note. Read and play the next note. Over and over and over until you hear that note when you read that note.

tk

 

[jsntrenkler]

Being a keyboard player as well, I could not agree more with learning the bass line first. As far as advice for quickly learning a chart and being able to transcribe it quickly I have some simple advice.

Your trusty E String ... Make sure you memorize every note on the fretboard for your E string if you have not already done so. First time through the track ride up and down the neck to find the notes, If you are playing on 11th fret, you know you are playing a D#/Eb .. 12th Fret is always the Octave so that's a easy one. Once you have charted down the notes, then go back to it and start playing it conventionally ... This trick has worked for me and never failed. I can track a chord progression very, very quickly. And then go back and work out the riffs. Obviously you wouldn't want to run around trying to play a whole song on the E string, but boy is it Easy to figure stuff out with it.

E String - (O = E) (1= F) (2= F#/Gb) (3=G) (4=G#/Ab) (5=A) (6=A#/Bb) (7=B) (8=C) (9=C#/Db) (10=D) (11=D#/Eb) (12=E) <-- Octave

I hope this helps!

-Jason

 

[muggsy]

I have the same problem, and I know the answer is practicing more. I have the Tascam Bass Trainer, which is a good tool, though even with that I sometimes have trouble hearing the details of a bass line (depends on the recording). I don't have a good ear for this stuff, but I've seen enough progress when I work at it that I know I can and will get better. It just takes time.

Start with songs you know well. When I was in a band a few years ago I just made up lines based on the chord changes for the songs we covered, but it's been instructive to go back later and try to transcribe what the bassist was playing on the original recording. I probably should have done that to begin with, but better late than never. It does get easier the more you do it.

Believe me, if there was a shortcut to all this I'd have found it by now.

 

[tkarter]

Cliff Hugo told me not to try and play his lines play what I heard on the songs.

It is fun though to cover a bass line as played by the original artist.

Doing it either way takes a pretty good ear.

IMHO

tk

 

[adouglas]

Cliff Hugo told me not to try and play his lines play what I heard on the songs.

That's really, really good advice IMHO. I've been doing that for a long time, mostly because I'm too lazy to try to analyze and reproduce some other guy's part note-for-note.

Kind of depends on the song...some songs you really HAVE to cover the bass line note-for-note or it just doesn't work, but most of the time I like to come up with my own.

The upside to that is it makes the song yours. The downside is that after a little while the original starts to sound wrong!

Oh, and nobody has ever, not once, commented on the fact that I'm playing the part "wrong," which kind of surprises me.

 

[oli@bass]

Some slightly different approach I use when I have dfficulties to find the exact notes of the bass line: Listen to the music and sing along with the bass. Once I can sing the line, its much easier to find the proper notes and fingering positions on the fretboard.

What also helps is to "know" the style of the player, i.e. it helps to listen to the same band/player for a longer period (we're talking at least weeks here!) and you "get into it". I did that with Steve Harris, Billy Sheehan and TL (though he's quite complex!!), and at some point was able to think "well, how would he play this line", and come up with something in their respective styles. That also helps to learn new songs by ear, because every player has some arsenal of patterns, a vocabulary, they like to apply and if you know it, you can pick from that.

 

[tkarter]

Experience has spoken.

tk

 

[PocketGroove82]

Good solid advice on all fronts, everyone.
I would like to point out that learning a song by ear, like the title suggests, is very different from transcribing a bass line or lead sheet.

The latter requires one to write it all down, which helps internalize the tune/changes/form, and grants a player the ability to objectively analyze the harmony and melody. It's a painfully worthwhile experience, but damn if it doesn't help you learn the tune.

It's like chipping away at a piece of rock from all different angles, and eventually it all gets broken down.

...time to go transcribe some songs!

 

[stretch80]

Lots of good advice -- one thing that sort of got mentioned that I like is to listen to and sing the bass line as part of figuring it out. That lets you separate the "what notes am I hearing" from "how do I play them on the bass"

I agree that ear playing is a must out in the gigging world. You get a tape, or if it's jazz, you get a page from the realbook (with chord changes), and you get notation only when someone wants the part played EXACTLY LIKE THIS... (which is the scariest for me as my reading is ...... not so good.

 

[hankSRay]

There is software that will slow parts down while keeping the pitch. There is also the Tascam Bass Trainer CD-BT1 that will do that as well and you can loop parts. It is very helpful to figure out basslines. But practice is really the key. The more you do it, the better you get at it.

Like it was mentioned above, having notation software can help to verify if you've got it right when you play it back in the computer. Then you can also have beautiful charts.

+1 I have the mp3 version of the bass trainer and its a pretty handy device. It's not perfect though because you can isolate the bassline, you can only boost, enhance or cut the bass frequencies. I usually just try to figure out the roots and progression first before I learn any of the licks and fills. Just practice, start with some easy stuff and work your way up.

 

[Mobay45]

I'll echo some of the same sentiments already posted.

I listen to the song (sometimes using a CD-BT) and get to where I can sing the bass line. Knowing how intervals sound really helps. Once I can sing the bass line and I have it pretty solidly in my head, I start trying to play it. If I were going to write it down, it's at this point that I would actually do that.

 

[PocketGroove82]

I just bought a set of professional studio headphones for transcription purposes and I can't even begin to tell you guys how helpful it is to have quality set of cans.

They really divide the mix and allow me to focus and hear the bass a lot better.
I would recommend a great set of studio headphones for anyone who is working on ear training, transcription, or just wants to REALLY hear your music.