Here is a 10-second tip for you.
It’s all about developing your ear.
Just one of the key things that separates beginner from intermediate guitarists I find is this…
The ability to hear pitches and find them on the fretboard
It’s a skill that is absolutely worth developing.
If you get good at this, there are multiple benefits…
These include being able to work out songs faster, jam what you hear in your head more accurately, and improve your confidence and all-round sense of “musicality”.
“Musicality” is one of the 5Gs of guitar playing (along with “Technique”, “Planning”, “Motivation”, and your “Repertoire”, which are the rest).
So how do you begin with ear training?
Well, there are multiple ways to improve your ear.
…But a good way is to work out short little riffs and melodies that you hear and find those notes on the fretboard.
When doing this, my big tip is to stay on one string as much as possible.
You can then move up and down the frets on this string until you find your target note – one at a time.
Of course, if the note is not on that string, then try another string…
…But avoid hopping from one string to another when trying to work out things by ear.
This method applies when working out melodies – for chords, it’s a little different.
I talk more about this method of working things out in a new podcast episode of the Acoustic Asylum.
Plus, in the podcast, I give you a little ear training challenge on this exact thing with a prize for whoever gets it right first.
If you want to improve your aural skills, get some more help with this sort of thing, and if you like a challenge with prizes…
Then you can give it a listen below…
Listen to the Acoustic Asylum on Apple podcasts
…Or you can listen in a variety of other ways HERE.
Enjoy and keep training those ears.
Remember, a little practice on this each day can go a long way!
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. If you want more help with the technical and musical side of your playing, and you enjoy the wonderful sounds of fingerpicking guitar, then you may like to check this out…
Fingerstyle 101 – a step-by-step guide to beautiful fingerpicking guitar playing
P.P.S. This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming, and learning guitar more enjoyable (especially if you are over 40) join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE.
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