Learning Songs By Ear: Complete Method to Develop Your Musical Ear

That guitarist who hears a song and in minutes is playing along doesn’t have a superpower. They have TRAINING. And you can develop this skill too.
Learning music by ear isn’t a mystical gift. It’s a technique that can be learned by anyone willing to practice correctly. I’ll show you the complete method.

5 reasons to develop this skill:

1. Total independence – No more depending on chord charts or video lessons
2. Musical ear develops exponentially – You UNDERSTAND music
3. Musicality increases – Internalize nuances and details
4. Improvisation becomes natural – You know what you’re hearing
5. Composition becomes fluid – Melodies from your head go to instrument

MYTH: “Either you’re born with it or you’re not”
TRUTH: Relative pitch can be developed at any age

MYTH: “Need advanced music theory”
TRUTH: Basic chords + notion of scales already work

MYTH: “Takes years”
TRUTH: In 3-6 months of consistent training you’re already learning most songs

MYTH: “Need hours per day”
TRUTH: 15-20 focused daily minutes beats 2 hours without method

Pillar 1: Interval Recognition
Interval = distance between two notes. It’s music’s vocabulary.

Pillar 2: Chord Recognition
Major (happy), minor (sad), diminished (tense), seventh (groovy).

Pillar 3: Harmonic Context Recognition

Phase 1: Interval Training (Weeks 1-4)

1. Minor Third (3 semitones) – Sad sound
Ex: “Greensleeves”

2. Major Third (4 semitones) – Happy sound
Ex: “When the Saints Go Marching In”

3. Perfect Fourth (5 semitones) – Strong sound
Ex: “Here Comes the Bride”

4. Perfect Fifth (7 semitones) – Power chords!
Ex: “Star Wars Theme”

5. Octave (12 semitones) – Same note, higher
Ex: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”

Week 1: Thirds and fifths – play, sing BEFORE playing, repeat 10x
Week 2: Add fourths
Week 3: Add seconds
Week 4: Mix all randomly

Recommended apps: EarMaster ($60 – very worth it), Perfect Ear (freemium), Teoria.com (free)

4 Fundamental Types

Major – Happy/stable
Minor – Sad/melancholic
Diminished – Tense/unstable
Dominant Seventh – Groovy/wants to resolve

Exercise (10 minutes/day)

1. Play random chord
2. LISTEN (don’t think, FEEL)
3. Major = happy? Minor = sad?
4. Confirm
5. Repeat 50x/day

Progression:
Week 5: Major vs minor
Week 6: Add seventh
Week 7: Mix all three
Week 8: Blind identification

CRUCIAL TECHNIQUE: Hum BEFORE playing. Always.

Quick Method
Step 1: Play random notes, find “home note”
Step 2: Major or minor?
Step 3: Test scale – all notes fit?
Step 4: Position on fretboard

Exercise: 10 known songs → try to find key → confirm online → analyze errors

Most common keys: E, A, D, G, C (guitar-friendly)

5 Most Common Progressions

1. I-V-vi-IV (In C: C-G-Am-F)
Examples: “Let It Be”, “Someone Like You”
THE most common progression

2. I-IV-V (Blues – In E: E-A-B)
Examples: “Twist and Shout”, “La Bamba”

3. vi-IV-I-V (In C: Am-F-C-G)
Examples: “Apologize”, “Poker Face”

4. I-vi-IV-V (Doo-wop – In C: C-Am-F-G)
Examples: “Stand By Me”, “Every Breath You Take”

5. I-IV-vi-V (In C: C-F-Am-G)
Sensitive variation
After learning 20 songs, you’ll recognize patterns automatically.

Step 1: Right Choice
• Song you know WELL
• Simple instrumentation
• Medium/slow tempo
• 3-5 chords

Suggestions: “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”, “Horse With No Name”, “Wonderwall”

Step 2: Find the Key (10 min)

Step 3: Identify Verse Progression (15 min)

• Listen 10x
• Hum the bass
• Find on guitar
• Major or minor?
• Confirm playing along

Step 4: Chorus and Other Sections (15 min)

Step 5: Vocal Melody/Solo (20 min)

Step 6: Details and Refinement (15 min)

Total first song: ~75 minutes
Twentieth song: ~15 minutes

For slowing down:

• Amazing Slow Downer ($50)
• YouTube (free! – speed 0.75x or 0.5x)
• Anytune (freemium mobile)

For isolating instruments:

• Moises.ai (5 free songs/month – uses AI)
• Lalal.ai (similar)

For ear training:

• EarMaster ($60 – the best)
• Perfect Ear (freemium)
• Teoria.com (free)

Trying too difficult songs right away
Not singing before playing
Not using slow-down
Giving up after first attempts
Not training systematically
Not confirming with chords afterward

Min 0-10: Structured training (intervals + chords in apps)
Min 10-25: Learn song (step-by-step method)
Min 25-30: Review and confirmation (check online, analyze errors)

Weeks 1-4: Identifies basic intervals, learns simple melodies
Weeks 5-8: Differentiates chords, learns 3-4 chord progressions
Weeks 9-12: Identifies key 80%+, recognizes common progressions
Months 4-6: Learns medium songs in 20-30 min
6 months+: Learns most songs easily

✓ Patience – Won’t happen overnight
✓ Error is learning – Each error is information
✓ Celebrate small victories – Incremental progress counts
✓ Compare with last week’s you – Not with professionals
✓ Consistency > intensity – 15 min/day beats 3h/week

Learning music by ear isn’t magic. It’s method + training + patience.

You now have:
• Complete method (4 phases)
• Progressive exercises
• Necessary tools
• Realistic timeline

What’s missing? DOING IT.

Start today. 10 minutes of intervals. Try to learn a simple melody. In 30 days, reread this article and see how much you’ve progressed.
In 6 months, someone will ask “how do you do that?” and you’ll answer “training”. Because that’s it. It’s just training.
Thanks for reading, and keep playing!

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Written by Caio Barbosa / CB Audio
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