Why Develop Your Ears
Developing your ear early on is important. A well developed ear enables you to:
- recognize sounds (ie. major or minor notes/chords)
- chords and progressions.
- blend in well with other players
This is not something that always comes easy but it's certainly worth thinking about.
How To Develop Your Ears
One thought is to listen closely to a song that you don't know how to play. Really listen to what might be going on.
After that, pick up your guitar and try to mimic what you think you heard (without tab). Essentially, deconstruct the tune. When I was learning to play, I did this all the time. Sometimes I got it right, sometimes close, sometimes wrong. Anyway, over time, you will learn to recognize certain common elements. (ie. riffs, progressions, etc). I realize that there are times when grabbing tab is the efficient way to go but I'm talking about your ears here!
Here's a simple beginner style excercise:
The recording below is a sequence of chords. Without your guitar, jot down what you think the chords are and if they are major or minor.
Check answers here.