Playing by Ear.
 

I have been learning guitar for just over a year now and I am finally about to play most of the stuff I listen to although sometimes my technical skill lags behind my ear and of course I am working on that. However, I derive most pleasure out of listening to singers and copy their vocal melody and play it as it is usually sounds very melodic to me. Just today I played the entire song "Ain't no Sunshine" by Bill Withers on my guitar and I wish to know if I am on the right track to learn the instrument by doing this? Also, My lead guitar repertoire was pretty much non existent and I feel doing this gives me more licks to learn and get those registered in my mind to pull them out whenever I seek to play something melodious.

Thats a tough one. There are not short cuts, (at least for most of us mortals). Practice and experimentation works. Try it, go for it, get your ear used to the sound of the right and wrong notes you hit. You have to play a bit not just hit the books. You will be surprised how much you can learn just by feeling out the notes and chords you think should be there.

Good plan!
100%!
Exactly. Copying melodies (ideally vocal ones) is the way to build a vocabulary of good phrases and licks you can use in solos.

Make sure you understand how they fit the chords: melodies are linked to the notes in the accompanying chords. The main notes in the melody will be chord tones.
IOW, you're doing the right thing in using your ear to copy vocals - you just need that connection with the chords to be able to apply what you're learning in other contexts.

Playing by ear is the only way to go. Would you buy a painting from a person who paints by numbers? Then why would you hire a musician who plays from tabs and sheet music. let you ears tell you what do and make that song yours.

Pretty cool man;) biggest thing is enjoy the way you play or you WONT practice. Just have fun at that one year mark! I think the desire to do different techniques and learn more advanced techniques will come soon enough.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Playing by ear is lots easier if you know how to play the scale of the key that you are playing in.

Learning the way that the OP is is the best way to develop your own style.
None of those guitar "heroes" copied ayone else.

That's the way I did it.

I guess it depends on who you consider to be a guitar hero. All my favorite guitar players learned by copying their favorite guitar players, just as many great painters have spent time copying the paintings of their favorite artists.

One guy who many consider to be a guitar hero is Eric Clapton. He is very forthright about developing his playing by copying American blues guitarists.