guitar_randy Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Whats your method to learn a new song: 1.Do you learn a new song by ear,tabs,reading music,one of those guitar trainers where you slow song speed down,other? 2.How long does it take you to learn a song completely? 3.Do you learn the song note for note or fairly close but not exact? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameswithesg Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 tabs were a HUGE help when i started playing guitar, id learn the songs note for note to see what/how other artists play i used to look up all kinds of music from metal/country/rock/bluegrass/reggae/blues to get a good sense of all types of music i still do this now that im much better than back then, i look at tabs every now and then if i think of a song i want to learn, and i usually dont learn the whole thing, but learning by ear has become much more natural, also with a higher skill level, i like to play other peoples song i learn with the band and give those songs a touch of our own style, so it doesnt sound exactly the same so were covering, not replicating EDIT: i do wish i could read sheet music better though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Excellent Question .... I personally play by ear, so I'll throw a disc in give the song a few spins to get the feel of the song. Plug in (or not) give it a lash to build a frame for the basics. After about three rounds of battle I usually have the majority figured out. I can get the rhythm down almost perfect, but never try to exactly duplicate the solos, start with the same lick and end on a similar note and all is well. I don't read tabs. (I'm legally Blind) and can't be bothered by every single note. I prefer to make the songs my own as opposed to trying to sounding exactly like the original artist. I make Otis Redding sound like AC/DC .... lolz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I used to do it by trying to pick up the song off of the record but, since tabs came about, I always look for that first. I don't play any cover note for note (little patience for that and covers aren't the focus of my band anyway) so I just get the basics down and make up the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I learn it by ear and try to get it down note for note. I do have the tab books but generally I find a lot of errors in them (not that I'm perfect; it's just that many of them have glaring errors). The time it takes is heavily dependent on the difficulty. Tunes like Texas Flood by SRV and La Villa Strangiato by Rush took me a long time while Angel Dream by Tom Petty took a whole 15 minutes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameswithesg Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 im not big on covers either (for the band) i should say there is a fine line for bands, between covering a song, ----- and performing a traditional song Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameswithesg Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 im not big on covers either (for the band) i should say there is a fine line for bands, between covering a song, ----- and performing a traditional song Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homz Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I don't even enjoy listening to a cover band trying to do note for note. Funny to me is that no one ever get pissed when a symphony interprets a piece of 17th century classical music, but if you try something new with a Zep or Stones song some people get really upset. IMHO Covers are fun. Make em your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGBENDS Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I make Otis Redding sound like AC/DC .... lolz I thought Otis was a founding member of AC/DC. 1. By ear 2. about 20-30 minutes 3. I get the rhythm almost exact and go with the flow on the solo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRom Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 i used to do it totally by ear because, well, thats all we had. Now I use 1 ear 2 tab 3 youtube Great inventions, # 2 & 3 ! I can learn the melody for most songs if they are not overly complex, note for note (or close enough) in a few minutes. Almost nobody will know if I'm not playing it exactly so I don't spend too much time on trying to be perfect. Leads take a little longer if I try to copy some or all of what the original artist played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djroge1 Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 For me it depends on the song. There are some songs that I will listen to over and over to get it in my head and then play along with the cd until it's worked out. But since I also like to play Jazz there are some (a lot) of those songs that are using chords that would not typically be played in a rock, country, or a blues song. For those I prefer to have the lead sheet with chords in front of me and a recording of the song. I'll work the basic chord arrangment out from the paper then play it with the recording, and finally it ready to either play it with others or make my own arrangment. For leads I like to start with the opening riff or close to it and totally improvise the middle trying to play in the players style and end of their closing riff or something close to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rybass Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 For me; tab and listening along with headphones so I can hear all the little things. My amplug and ipod has made a huge difference in my song learning. I've picked up 10 songs since christmas. Before that I probably learned 2 in the last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I just listen to it. I'll play with it if it's weirdly complicated. My problem as I get older is forcing my brain to remember the freakin' words. My brain hates having to remember new songs without loosing the hundreds of other ones, leads, intros, phone #'s, pin #'s, addresses, s.s. #'s, names of children, grandchildren, birthdays, tubes, user names, passwords, ect. I do better if I write the words down by hand, or type them. Damn. I'm gonna get a beer. Murph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djroge1 Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I just listen to it. I'll play with it if it's weirdly complicated. My problem as I get older is forcing my brain to remember the freakin' words. My brain hates having to remember new songs without loosing the hundreds of other ones' date=' leads, intros, phone #'s, pin #'s, addresses, s.s. #'s, names of children, grandchildren, birthdays, tubes, user names, passwords, ect. I do better if I write the words down by hand, or type them. Damn. I'm gonna get a beer. Murph.[/quote'] I'm so glad I'm not the only one who forgets the words! Just another reason why I love instrumental music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homz Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Unless it's the Eagles or Neil Young I always forget the words. Good thing I only sing about 5 or 6 songs these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Words ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 If I read it, write it, and sing it a few times I'm usually okay. If the song makes any sense. I have trouble (now) with stuff like "Come Together" that has no reason, if ya get me. Murph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Mendes Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I break the song down into sections, working on the most difficult first. And I agree with another poster, I don't want it note for note, I would like to impart some of my playing style in it as well. I'm working on some Entwhistle today, The real me . All hail The Ox! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_randy Posted January 30, 2009 Author Share Posted January 30, 2009 I learn it by ear and try to get it down note for note. I do have the tab books but generally I find a lot of errors in them (not that I'm perfect; it's just that many of them have glaring errors). The time it takes is heavily dependent on the difficulty. Tunes like Texas Flood by SRV and La Villa Strangiato by Rush took me a long time while Angel Dream by Tom Petty took a whole 15 minutes... yea,I never used tabs either,but lately been looking into them some and I also find many errors and also many different variations of the same song as far as tabs go.Some are just way off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarooster52 Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I don't play in a band because I can't fit one in the spare room. My wife won't allow them in the bedroom...I wouldn't like that anyhow. I'm a newbie so I use a combo of tabs, and by ear. Most of the time I can play by ear unless there's some weird chords. Then I'm stuck using tabs and a chord book if I can't get it quite right. Even I can tell that some...maybe lots of tabs are way out to lunch. I play along with the tune from iTunes or CD for practice. I play it long enough to get really tired of it and move on to butcher something else. Lead...what the hell is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturn Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I mostly learn by ear, unless it's a really complicated song. Then I will go to tabs or sheet music to get the main parts. I almost always end up playing it at least a little different from the original. When learning by ear I usually try to determine what key it's in. that way it's much easier to figure out the underlying chords. I never try to learn the solo without first figuring out what chords they're soloing over. Once you know the key and underlying chords, the solo almost writes itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MReynolds Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I've had formal music training (classical piano and trumpet) so I read music when available. I usually listen to the piece first then break it down into sections. Most often I do the rhythm guitar parts first then work on and leads. If the lead is really fast or difficult I'll use one of those Tascam GT-1 Guitar Trainers to slow the parts down without changing pitch. Those work really well and are worth the bucks. Most of my learning is by ear unless I need to figure out a song quickly, then I'll see if there are any tabs available. I almost always try to get the solos of well known songs or hits exactly...most people expect to hear certain parts done a specific way, but sometimes you can get by with some ad-lib as long as the most noticable parts are there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MReynolds Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I don't even enjoy listening to a cover band trying to do note for note. Funny to me is that no one ever get pissed when a symphony interprets a piece of 17th century classical music' date=' but if you try something new with a Zep or Stones song some people get really upset. IMHO Covers are fun. Make em your own. [/quote'] Homz, I don't know too many (if any) symphony players that interpret by changing the notes. Classical music by it's very nature is expected to have all the notes that were written by the composer...the "interpretation" is in the feel and dynamics of the piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 For me to learn a song, I usually have to have it in my head, once its in there its a matter of just playing it some (3 to 50) times. Which means before I learn a new song I have to listen to it repeatedly (which I usually do while driving). Whenever I have to learn a song in a hurry I am just f-cked and forced to use tabs, which I dont trust enough... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 The problem with youtube and tabs is that there are many people out there that a) cant play that good, :- cant tell the difference between G and G13, and c) have lots of time to spend posting "their (ultimate) take" on any given song. When I was younger and played lots of covers (there was no market here for bands with their own stuff) I would go and look for tabs and most of them were bad (and Im not talking they missed one or ten notes in the solo, they didnt even get the 2nd guitar right). Same goes for youtube, there are many videos of people telling how to play a song but they really are as lost as me (or any of us). Ive found some very interesting and useful exercises on youtube tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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