Playing By Ear

[Msmjfig]

Hello all,

Can anyone give me any ideas on how to improve my ear. Most everything played in my church is freeflowing, sometimes I can find the note, sometimes I'm not sure. During rehersal I can find out what key we're playing in but on sundays I can't ask if I don't know. Does anybody have any ideas to help me better develop my ear. Do you know of any exercises?

Thanks

[lildrummaboy_987]

something i found that helps is playing to cds  just buy some and play to it also try to get slome advanced cds and play to it so that way when u get used to playing to complicated songs easy songs will be no problem. the two cds i learned how to play bass to was kim burrell live in concert and jill scott 826+ to cds with the best in gospel terry tribbett and maurice fitzgerald. i did that and after playing for a year most people thought i was playin for 5-7years

[Revelationiz4u]

Another thing that I have found to be really helpful, is to just put your hands on your guitar on the low e string and then begin sliding it up. Don't stop untill you hear a note that sounds just right, most likely more than anything this is the key of the song. Then just go down to strings and 2 frets over and you can play any of the notes in between that range

ex Key of G

G-----------
D----3-----5
A----3--4--5
E----3-----6

You can play any of those notes and you would still be in the key of G but this is more of a blues scale but it works really good for gospel music. God bless I hope that is useful for your ministry

[divinemusician]

WELCOME REVELATIONIZ4U

[Revelationiz4u]

Thank you


---Also in what I posted I meant to say go up two strings and 2 frets over, by doing so you will be playing the same note just one octave higher, and the little example I gave is a little scale that you can pick and choose notes from to jam to the song with.

[B3Wannabe]

something i found that helps is playing to cds  just buy some and play to it also try to get slome advanced cds and play to it so that way when u get used to playing to complicated songs easy songs will be no problem. the two cds i learned how to play bass to was kim burrell live in concert and jill scott 826+ to cds with the best in gospel terry tribbett and maurice fitzgerald. i did that and after playing for a year most people thought i was playin for 5-7years

I did (am doing) the exact same thing and got the same comment. I'm learning how to properly mute the strings and doing walking bass with all four fingers. I didn't have to do the ear training, since I came from a different instrument, I just transposed what I knew from keyboard to bass.

[T-Block]

I just transposed what I knew from keyboard to bass.

Hey, I did the opposite of that. I just transposed what I knew from the bass to the keyboard. This is probably off topic, but I thought I would just throw that in.

Anyways, a technique that I learned when trying to find the key of a song on the bass was everytime a song is sung, I just run my finger down the first string to find what key the song is song in.  If you don't want to do that, just hit any note and go higher or lower depending on where you are and where the singer is. Either way is fine.

[crazybass]

Hello Again 8O

I think the key word is "familiarity"  
put on a song's  that you know how play, blues, gospel, R&b, etc. then close your eye's to increase your sense of hearing and play. you will
miss the mark a few times but hang in there and let your ear's do the job.

Also while listening to song's and playing try and remember patterns that
are common to a particular to that style of music. Exp: 1-4-5- most common in blues or the funky open E with a two octave slap/pop, also
you could find your vocal key in relationship to the Bass.

Just try and let your ears do the work for you, it takes a little time

crazybass (NYC)

[lildrummaboy_987]

B3 i didnt do the ear training i just went to those cds to learn how to play the bass i learnd chords major minor and dim.  runs from those cds i just know that finding the key to a song on cd will help u learn ur keys.
BUT ALL MUSICIANS NO MATTER WHAT U PLAY NEED TO HAVE THOSE TWO CDS IT HAS SO MUSCH DRUM BASS AND KEYBOARD STUFF