Trying to pick up a particular song -

[lyronva]

So...I don't see too many people asking for chords, tabs, or sheet music and so I get the impression that it is frowned upon, so I won't ask - but please confirm this (and point me to places where I might ask such a question). There's one song that's irritating me because it shouldn't be too hard to pick up by ear but my attempts so far haven't worked completely accurately.

Thanks -

B

[TBman]

Originally Posted by lyronva

So...I don't see too many people asking for chords, tabs, or sheet music and so I get the impression that it is frowned upon, so I won't ask - but please confirm this (and point me to places where I might ask such a question). There's one song that's irritating me because it shouldn't be too hard to pick up by ear but my attempts so far haven't worked completely accurately.

Thanks -

B

Try google, or ask here or look on www.Songsterr.com

I don't like to give away tabs of songs that I bought. I want musicians to stay in business and I won't break the copyright laws. I think that's the general consensus here as well.

[Robtaylor]

Originally Posted by TBman

Try google, or ask here or look on www.Songsterr.com

I don't like to give away tabs of songs that I bought. I want musicians to stay in business and I won't break the copyright laws. I think that's the general consensus here as well.

Wait I just downloaded the app and it requires a membership to view the songs in the app but it can be viewed free online? Isn't that kind of counterintuitive?

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Robtaylor

Wait, I just downloaded the app and it requires a membership to view the songs in the app but it can be viewed free online? Isn't that kind of counterintuitive?

Yes. For me online is better. I rarely use the app.

[The Bard Rocks]

If there is something I want to learn that I don't pick up easily by ear and don't have the sheet music for, I go to Google and sometime get lucky and find what I want. Then it is a simple matter of transposing it to the key I want. Often none is needed at all.

But more often you'll find words but not the music. A shame. If you don't know how it goes, the words are not much use.

[Greg Ballantyne]

Try the Ultimate Guitar Tabs app. I use that a lot. Don't always find what you're looking for, but usually find something.

[SJ200]

Originally Posted by lyronva

So...I don't see too many people asking for chords, tabs, or sheet music and so I get the impression that it is frowned upon, so I won't ask - but please confirm this (and point me to places where I might ask such a question). There's one song that's irritating me because it shouldn't be too hard to pick up by ear but my attempts so far haven't worked completely accurately.

Thanks -

B

What is the song?

[stanron]

Originally Posted by lyronva

So...I don't see too many people asking for chords, tabs, or sheet music and so I get the impression that it is frowned upon, so I won't ask - but please confirm this (and point me to places where I might ask such a question). There's one song that's irritating me because it shouldn't be too hard to pick up by ear but my attempts so far haven't worked completely accurately.

Thanks -

B

People do ask for, and about, tabs, chords and notation here. Some frown and some don't. There is no consensus on that. It's a good idea to respect copyright, and the alternative is to develop one's personal listening skills but keeping that in mind, ask away.

[lyronva]

It's "My Baby" by The Pretenders. I have found tabs and chords, but it just doesn't sound completely correct; I think the fact that I'm trying to just get one guitar out of the two isn't helping. Ultimate Guitar actually has something that seems partially correct to me. In addition, in watching live performances it's not consistent with the tabs (with the understanding that this is not a lock by any means - there's more than one way to the Piggly Wiggly as they say). I am also assuming a standard tune for the live performance, which isn't a guarantee either -

Thanks -

B

I don't need them but I have seen the chords on the internet to various songs. Rarely do I see one that is correct. I mean serious errors like majors for minors. If a song is really bugging you, buy the sheet music. With free online transcriptions you get what you pay for.

Another tip: Often the song might be in a non-cowboy chord friendly key like Eb, but the original guy played it in C capoed on 3. The transcriptionist of the published sheet music might be a keyboard guy who put it in Eb because that's what he heard, but there are things like Abmaj7 written above the standard notation that could drive you nuts depending upon your ability level. Just be aware of this possibility and always, always let your ears be the tiebreakers of any questions or conflicts.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by lyronva

So...I don't see too many people asking for chords, tabs, or sheet music and so I get the impression that it is frowned upon, so I won't ask - but please confirm this (and point me to places where I might ask such a question). There's one song that's irritating me because it shouldn't be too hard to pick up by ear but my attempts so far haven't worked completely accurately.

Thanks -

B

Hi, I don't see any shame in googling for chords and lyrics....they maynot always be correct but they'll save you some time and you casn adjust as you feel appropriate.

I have never learned notation, and can't stand tablature, so I don't bother with them ....further, I tend to feel that copying tab, restricts your own creativity.

By all means tell us what song is bothering you and we'll try to help.

One valuable tip : if you can identify the key, and it is a major, then you'll generally know that it will have at least some of the chords from the harmonised scale - i.e.

e.g. Key of C will have a I(C) II(d or Dm) III (Em) IV(F) V(G or G7) VI-Am, VII - Bdim.(or half dim).

If you haven't already - learning about harmonising the scale will make such things much easier.

Hope this helps - ask more questions.

[nedley]

Here's my approach for figuring out how to play a song that I really want to play but don't know how to get started.

*note - since I'm just one guitar and not a pro, I don't try to sound like the original, I focus on finding my take on it.

First I usually google for the song "abc chords Jon doe"
If I get several hits on ultimate guitar I start there and look at the ratings, if there is a 4+ rated version I pull it into onsong. I often pull in a few versions.

Then I go to Spotify and listed to a few versions of the song to get the vibe and think about what might work for me.

Then I start trying to play what I have in onsong, I'm quick to delete ones that don't work and sometimes combine parts of several version on the song.
(I put all versions in the same key first)

After noodling with it for a few days I'm down to one version that works for me.

[tbeltrans]

There is nothing wrong with using TAB or notation. Using your ears is a part of the equation, but so are other forms of getting the music.

A separate issue from the "only by ear" ego thing is the copyright issue. Getting books or DVDs solves that (unless they are pirated). Many online sites provide TAB, some cost and some don't. I don't know which are legal and which are not. This has always been an issue. Back in the 50s and 60s, there were "illegal" fakebooks sold to musicians under the counter. These had no copyright, but they became staples in the world of working musicians. Jazz musicians have long depended on the "Real Book" series that only in recent years were legally published by Hal Leonard. So there is a long history of both using printed music in the form of "lead sheets", along with learning from recordings AND those lead sheet books were often illegal.

I am not taking a stand either way on the legal issue, but simply pointing out that both parts of the TAB issue have a long history among musicians. There are some in these forums who seem to feel (at least from reading their posts) that the ONLY valid means of learning music is by ear off the recordings. I think that all of us who played guitar in the 70s or before got pretty good at this, since it was often the only means of learning many tunes for which there was either no printed music or the printed music was incorrect. But there is also nothing wrong with using printed music, as will legions of working jazz musicians who rely on fakebooks will attest despite their many many hours of transcribing by ear.

This issue has come up again in another thread here and it is just silly and ego-filled to insist that the ear is the ONLY way. It never was the only way and those who are more open-minded will be better off for it. There is an extreme position the other way too, which is that if I can't find a book on the subject, I can't learn it. Flexibility in either direction is probably the best solution.

I hope you find what you are looking for.

Tony

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

There are some in these forums who seem to feel (at least from reading their posts) that the ONLY valid means of learning music is by ear off the recordings.

This issue has come up again in another thread here and it is just silly and ego-filled to insist that the ear is the ONLY way.

Not the only way, of course not (when I played in pit bands I read a score) The best? Absolutely!

Ego? Never thought of it that way but I am proud of the ability I've acquired over the years. You want to call it ego, go ahead.

[pf400]

One way to get a song down is to play it with guitar in hand, and find the root,or bass, notes that fit the song. If the first root note is G, for example, the song is likely in the key of G. If that doesn't work out, get the last chord of the song, and that is possibly the key of the song too. Then apply the chords accordingly, expecting to find the I II III IV, etc If you find most of the chords yourself, but can't find one or two chords, don't hesitate to post a question on this forum.