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GMC Forum _ PRACTICE ROOM _ Music Be Ear

Posted by: vampire18 Mar 12 2009, 10:07 PM

im getting better and better at recognizing intervals but my problem is recognizing the note it starts on and how high that note is. i mean there are dozens of places on the guitar where you can play any note and interval so how do i know where to play something. for example i listened to lian and gabriels Christmas song and loved the solo so i tried to get it by ear and i got it but i dont know if im playing it with the right note or in the right place (right now i play it with E aeolian from the 12 fret)
how can i know where to play it cause there are lots more places i can play the exact same riff.
btw if you see this can you post the tabs for the solo including the chord progression and rhythm play i know technically its not a lesson but i simply loved it ?

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Mar 12 2009, 10:26 PM

First of all I am very happy to hear you are picking up solos by ear - congratulations !

Now you are facing very common problem regarding positioning - like you mentioned, there is more than one way to play a single note, so you can have lots of different starting points.
Couple of advices I can give you regarding this... First and most important one, you can work out starting point based on what happens next in that solo or melodic run ! If run is going up, most likely first note you heard is on lower strings and vice verse. Second and even more important advice - these things will come with time ! Keep playing things by ear, listen to guitar music and your ear will very soon pick up individual string sounds.

You can practice this on your own also !
Play open E string on high E string then play it on 5th fret B string, 9th fret G string, 12th fret D string, 19th fret on A string and 24th fret on low E string (if you have 24 frets

Each string has special ring to it. In general, higher strings sound sharp while same note on low strings (D, A and E strings) sounds very warm !

Hope that helps

Posted by: vampire18 Mar 12 2009, 10:30 PM

im glad to hear its not just me... i think i got it down pretty good actually. im currently praticing mostly my theory, fret board knowledge and my ear because my hand hurts.
its much more satisfying this way and i feel thats the only way i can ever write songs. if i know how everything sounds and most importantly i can convert the music in my mind to notes

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Mar 12 2009, 10:34 PM

Sounds to me like you are doing right thing !
Ear training will definitely help you with writing skills besides transcribing and learning other instruments. You can just gain with strong ear training, just don't forget to sing intervals both up and down
I hope your pain will go away soon - wish you fast recovery !

Posted by: Vasilije Vukmirovic Mar 13 2009, 02:56 PM

You cannot know that always, but....there are common positions for certain kinds of licks, and some patterns can be played only in one place on the guitar fretboard, so...Another way is by sound, though that require really good ear!