Some people already have pretty good aural skills without ever spending time on ear training exercises. It’s all about listening, understanding, and playing. And transcribing is also a really valuable skill. Knowing how to play by ear, and where to put your fingers on your instrument when you improvise, also feels like magic. If one of your band members ask you to add a 9th to a chord or sing a minor third, then you instantly know what they are talking about. Be it chord charts, melodies, you name it.īeing able to communicate with your band members is crucial. You will be able to write down the music you hear.
You will be much more confident in your improvisation when you know what notes to play over which chords.
When I wanted to learn a new song I listened to it and tried to imitate the chords, bass line and melody. Why should I care?” So I didn’t.īut even though I wasn’t studying ear training I was still doing it unconsciously. In the beginning I was like, “I never heard Jimi Hendrix or Kurt Cobain talking about training their ears. I just wanted to learn some songs so I could impress girls. When I first started playing the guitar, around age 16, I had never heard about ear training. I know plenty of talented musicians who never studied ear training and they are doing just fine. Maybe you just want to play a few songs on your instrument and have fun with it. Well, first of all, maybe you shouldn’t bother about ear training.