How to dissect a tune

[Deliberate1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqig...eyRiddle-Topic
I heard this tune this evening and then read about it. And is one I just need to learn. So I did what I usually do given my inexperience in fingerstyle (and guitar, in general). I Googled the tune with the hope that there would be tabs - basically that someone had done the work for me already. But I could find none, and maybe that is a good thing. Time that I suck it up and learn how to do this myself. And I am fine with that. It is a skill I should have.
So, I am all ears. How would you approach a tune like this. If y'all will permit me a stab at it. The first thing is to figure out the chords and then progression, which repeats. Suggestions on how to do that?
Then figure out the melody. I can slow down the vid to get a better handle on it. So it is just a matter of focusing on the bass line pattern, and then figure out the treble or melody side?
Lyrics are obvious.
So that is my rough outline. Thanks for shining a light.
David

[rick-slo]

If you have decided to go at it first figure out the tuning the guitar is in. In this recording it's standard tuning with a capo on the second fret. So get your
guitar in standard tuning and then capo the second fret.

Then listen for the basic chords (or more likely the notes being played and figuring out how to fret those notes - you don't necessarily need to know what
the names are).

However name wise for example starting off I am hearing F# and F#7 and B7.

Then realize the backbone of the song is really only about twenty seconds long (lots of repetition). First get the basic song down from the intro (before he
starts singing). You then can decide which variations he uses are of interest to you.

[Doug Young]

This is always an interesting challenge, and a great learning exercise. It helps to recognize common chord progressions. For example, this is clearly a standard blues I-IV-V progression. That should get you started. As Rick says it's in F#, so the chords would be F#, B and C#. But that seems unlikely for this style, so he's probably playing with a capo on the 2nd fret and playing as if he's in E, (E, A, and B, with any of those being 7ths as well) pretty standard for country blues. Of course, as Rick also points out, it may not be in standard tuning. A lot of this style of playing maybe an open tuning, perhaps Open E. Or it could be in Open G, but tuned down a half step. (He could also be playing in "G" in standard tuning, but tuned down a half step)

As far as how to approach, I'd start by identifying the chords, just the bass notes. Then try to pick out the treble line, the highest notes you can hear, and piece by piece try to see if you can find what fingering he's playing. If the fingerings seem impossible, then you start exploring whether a non-standard tuning is involved. It's all a bit of detective work, and can be fairly tedious.

There are tools that can help. Transcribe! is one I find useful. It lets you isolate and loop a section, change the speed without changing the pitch, and also gives you some assistance at identifying the notes at any point. it can also transpose without changing the speed, so you could pull this tune down to E without needing to capo (or up to G without needing to tune your guitar down).

[rick-slo]

Some things that you may hear to help figure out the tuning (or at least the most likely tuning):

Open string notes: often you can tell when you are hearing open strings being played. In this recording the the sixth string being played pedal
like and a bit of sound of the open 5th string near the start of the piece.

Notes that overlap (even if just for a bit): i.e. to help distinguish an arpeggio like note sequence from a single string note sequence (this helps
sort out one string from another and the fingering likely used)

Also listen for what notes (if any) that sound like slides, or hammer-ons, or pull-offs. That helps figure out what is going on.

In certain cases it will be possible to hit the notes in more than one tuning however the result of each won't sound the same and the ease of playing
likely won't be equal either.

[Deliberate1]

Doug and Derek, thank you very kindly for your tutelage. I will do as you both suggest. I think "dissect" was the right word to describe this effort. I will give this a strong go. Will probably have q's along the way.
Thanks again.
David

[tbeltrans]

For slowing down without changing pitch and looping portions of a tune, Sonic Visualizer works very well and is Open Source (free) on Linux, Windows, and Mac platforms. Since I switched to Linux from Windows, I don't know how it looks on a Windows platform, but in the Linux environment it looks quite good.

https://www.sonicvisualiser.org/download.html

Tony

[Deliberate1]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

For slowing down without changing pitch and looping portions of a tune, Sonic Visualizer works very well and is Open Source (free) on Linux, Windows, and Mac platforms. Since I switched to Linux from Windows, I don't know how it looks on a Windows platform, but in the Linux environment it looks quite good.

https://www.sonicvisualiser.org/download.html

Tony

Tony, thanks for that reference. A couple weeks ago I posted in the Amplification forum suggestions for some kind of hands-free device to control on-line content. I am tired of having to manipulate the computer while trying to learn something. The Vidami seems to be a good option - control the video progress without having to set the guitar down. It has other features as well:
https://vidami.com/
Ever heard of it?
Cheers,
David

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Deliberate1

Tony, thanks for that reference. A couple weeks ago I posted in the Amplification forum suggestions for some kind of hands-free device to control on-line content. I am tired of having to manipulate the computer while trying to learn something. The Vidami seems to be a good option - control the video progress without having to set the guitar down. It has other features as well:
https://vidami.com/
Ever heard of it?
Cheers,
David

Yes, I think I have seen reference to it around here somewhere. I use a Samsung S8 Ultra tablet, which is a 14.6" page size tablet (finally!). Since Android is a stripped down Linux targeted specifically for mobile (i.e. phones and tablets) application, I pretty much just point with my finger to do what I need. There is no mousing around at all. On that device, I use Amazing Slow Down (often referred to as ASD). It has a UI that is very, very well optimized for mobile use so I don't need additional devices for hands free operation.

I never cared much for using music applications on a computer, whether Windows or Linux because I don't like that workflow for music. However, a tablet is perfect for me.

Recently, I posted here about a youtube video in which the guy uses a tablet with a tablet pen to write his arrangements while working it out. I have always preferred pencil and paper since, for me, it is SO much faster and immediate than messing with a notation program. However, once again, the tablet came to the rescue. I found an app called WriteOnPDF that allows me to have a PDF of blank staves and with my tablet pen, I can write on that to work out arrangements. When I write on the PDF, I am not modifying the original PDF at all, so I can quickly erase what I wrote without affecting the underlying PDF. I can save the whole thing and it looks just like a handwritten piece of sheet music.

Tony

[b1j]

YouTube itself lets you slow down the tempo without changing pitch.

You picked a great song to learn on: loaded with authentic blues idiom. Once you get this down you’ll be able to bring that sensibility to other 12-bar blues in E (my vote for how this was likely played). Take it slow and have fun.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by b1j

YouTube itself lets you slow down the tempo without changing pitch.

You picked a great song to learn on: loaded with authentic blues idiom. Once you get this down you’ll be able to bring that sensibility to other 12-bar blues in E (my vote for how this was likely played). Take it slow and have fun.

True, youtube does that. Any material I intend to work with, I download to my laptop and on to my tablet. I do this with Udemy and any other courses I purchase too. With my tablet, once I have on it what I want to work with, I shut off wifi so I have no distractions and get down to it. I tend to get easily distracted and if not careful, can spend way too much time browsing youtube and other sites. So having my tablet not connected really helps with my focus.

Tony

[rllink]

There are a series of books called Flatpicking Essentials, and volumes one and two are dedicated to playing by ear. The author goes to great length on how to do that with both the chord progression and picking out the melody. Most songs follow a formula within the key, and even if they don't the foundation of the song is there.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by b1j

YouTube itself lets you slow down the tempo without changing pitch.

Yes, and it does a pretty good job. Some of the software programs out there that do this offer more features, tho, including fine-grained control over the speed, not just a few preset speeds, setting sections for looping, analysis that will show you what notes are being played at any point (to a certain extent), and so on. You Tube could be all one needs, tho, and a good place to start.

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

Yes, and it does a pretty good job. Some of the software programs out there that do this offer more features, tho, including fine-grained control over the speed, not just a few preset speeds, setting sections for looping, analysis that will show you what notes are being played at any point (to a certain extent), and so on. You Tube could be all one needs, tho, and a good place to start.

Audacity also although perhaps a bit more steps involved. On occasion I will record something off the internet into Audacity.
In Audacity if you wish you can select whatever size section of the recording you would like and loop playback of that, speed
it up or slow it done.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Audacity also although perhaps a bit more steps involved. On occasion I will record something off the internet into Audacity.
In Audacity if you wish you can select whatever size section of the recording you would like and loop playback of that, speed
it up or slow it done.

Audacity is decent and has been around a long time. I used to use it at work for creating and/or editing tones for use in embedded system medical equipment.

Unfortunately, I don't care for its workflow for figuring out tunes by ear. Sonic Visualizer is more like Transcribe! with a (in my opinion) more suitable and streamlined workflow.

Tony

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

Audacity is decent and has been around a long time. I used to use it at work for creating and/or editing tones for use in embedded system medical equipment.

Unfortunately, I don't care for its workflow for figuring out tunes by ear. Sonic Visualizer is more like Transcribe! with a (in my opinion) more suitable and streamlined workflow.

Tony

Yes, I use Audacity on occasion but mainly for other things than looping stuff. Still beats placing, lifting, placing, lifting... a record player needle over and over though.