November 2022 Guitar Newsletter: Learning Songs By Ear!

Transcribing songs is definitely a skill that can be learned, and it improves the more you do it. Some songs follow well-established formulas that are recognizable by a trained ear. I notate, and then jot down a rough outline. I first notate the chord progressions with proper chord symbols (G, C, D Em etc.) and determine what part of the song they belong to. Often a song will have an Intro, a verse, a chorus, perhaps a bridge and an outro. You can designate these song parts using the letters A (verse), B (chorus), C (bridge) etc. This let’s you decode the form of the song, also called the roadmap, using the letters in the order the parts of the song are put together.