Even more respect for the old school slow it down and learn it by ear crew!

mburekenge

I'm on a mission to rid myself of tab / guitar Pro and videos, and have recently switched to doing it by ear.

I've been too reliant on these modern tools we have at our disposal, and it's hindered my progress. I have a feeling that this is a great way to develop your ear.

I'm working on  'Sleepy Time Time' from Live Cream Vol. 1

I'm cheating slightly by using Logic to slow it down about 8 million times. It's still tough going.

Even though I'm sure it gets easier with time, I have even more respect for those guys 'Back in the day'
who had to slow stuff down on their record deck to learn songs.

One thing I've noticed, is I'm REALLY listening to the track I'm trying to play, the subtle inflections, the dynamics, the bending vibrato etc. When I use Guitar pro and what not I find I'm just worrying about getting the right notes.

This is going to take a while. But I'm sure It'll be worth it.

Danji

It's not cheating using the software it makes it easier, what learning by transcribing will do is give you little clues in the articulation that you don't always get from books.  

These clues along with getting to know the player's preferences for note choices will inform the fingering, the rhythm. It just gets addictive, well it did for me.

cruxiform

It will be worth it. I use Riffstation on my Mac which effectively does the same job. Learning by ear is so rewarding.

mburekenge

@Danji @cruxiform Yeah. It's so much more rewarding!

Like anything with this instrument it seems, the more you put in, the more you get out.

Plus, there's loads of stuff that hasn't been tabbed. I'm on a Clapton flex at the moment, really want to get 'Why does love got to be so bad' and 'Have you ever loved a woman' from the Derek & the Dominos live album. It'd going to keep me out of mischief for a while I reckon.

The there's the millions of Albert King and Freddie King tracks I want to get down. It never ends!

cruxiform

As you said there's lots of music that isn't tabbed and that's where the reward comes when you nail it. The advantage Logic et al have is that the pitch stays the same when slowed down, something we didn't have when slowing down vinyl. Good luck with it all pal.

mburekenge

Cheers! I have a feeling it's going to really help take my playing up a level. That pitch change must have been a bitch!

cruxiform

It was a long time ago so I barely remember now! I think you'll nail it quickly and it becomes easier as your listening ear develops. The next step would be transcribing what you've learnt but if you're currently learning new licks and riffs then they'll add to your repertoire. 

sweepy

Being an old fart from the days where what tab books were available were usually wrong, the fun of slowing LP's down to 16rpm on the old  Garrard turntable for those really tricky runs was enlightening to say the least

bingefeller

Fair dues to you- I'm too lazy to work it out for myself and mostly use tab books, tabs from ultimate-guitar or, when I'm really desperate, pay someone to transcribe it for me.  It's a good skill to have.