Join the SAMJAMGUITAR official PATREON CLUB Patreon: www.patreon.com/samjamguitar Guitar Theory Poster Available at the MERCH STORE 🛒my-store-cb48d5-2.creator-spring.com/listing/guitar-theory-poster (also available as a print ready Digital Download) Grab one today!
The bass is litterly the most important thing to listen to. If you have the bass soprano and the chord quality then you can figure out what the chord is.
That's how a video should be made, straight to the point, 5 minutes length. Tired of watching 15-20 minutes of length videos which could have been explained in just 4-5 minutes. Great work 👍
I'm a beginner and I need to repeatedly listen and watch your video to understand clearly what you mean. However, it seems to me that you were straight to the point.
Note: I'm a voiceover agent. I have to say, your vocal delivery over the content is perfect. You have the right tone, speed and pacing. You're very easy to follow. Great editing as well.
Why doesn't this channel have a gazillion views and subscribers?!!!? The information on this channel is pure GOLD!!! People need to wake up!!!!!!!! YES, DO A VIDEO ON HOW TO FIND THE CHORDS OF A SONG!!!!!!!!!!!!
10 months after you posted this video, I was looking for this subject matter across TH-cam. Not only this particular video but all your channel videos are a godsend to help develop my guitar playing to much higher plane. Thank you.
I think this is one of the most important vids on youtube. Many players such as myself are ear players. I have got myself to 'relative pitch' and have no issue determining the next note or interval in 'the sequence', depending on what is played as the backing, and can sololver nearly anything rock, metal, blues, or jazz based.. So many players learn intrinsicly this way. It takes a little longer but when you start adding theory to it, it is like a rocket out of the stratosphere.
Ive been practicing guitar for almost 2 years as a hobby. I never knew how to find keys in songs or what they really referred to. I saw this video in my recommendations. So, I wrote down the notes and used it in about 4 different country songs (cause their easy for beginners and my novice ears) and holy cow! I was able to find the key by the 2nd song. I had to listen to the songs a few times but this tip was 1000% worthwhile. Also being able to tell if its a major or minor, makes it fun to fingerpick the scale during the song. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Great tip. Other than playing the full pentatonic scale you can pay attention to the note right bellow the root note. I.e. you found out that 10th fret (D) sounds like a main (root) of the scale. However before you stumbled on 10th fret you've also listened to 8th (C) and 9th (C#) fret. C would be the 7th note in D minor scale, while C# would be the 7th in D major. In other words, if you found your root key, and half step bellow it doesn't sound good - it's probably a minor scale and vice versa. That works if we are not talking about modes ofc
No problem! Perhaps check out my playlist Lead Guitar Tool Box: th-cam.com/play/PLcIs25jv9P96vFf7mfO0z2HBdYRoqYfWq.html you should find plenty of helpful lessons on how to play guitar solos!
Good video. My method is to hear the song, find ‘do’ in my mind (or whatever sofa begins the chord progression loop), then play that note I have in my mind. Done.
Oh my god I tried this one with 4 songs and got all the equivalent keys correct!!! I literally can't believe this as I barely have experience with music. Thank you so much.
Excellent video! About as clear as can be. Love the key icon. These types of videos are insanely useful for me. Please make more videos. You obviously have a great talent for making them.
Great lesson, as always! Yes, please, would LOVE to see a video explaining your method for finding the chords -- and, if you're up for it, the melody -- of a song. You walk us through these things so clearly. Thank you!
Pretty nice description for beginners. Eventually you get to the point where your ears and your hands have the muscle memory to just jump to the key w out you barely thinking about it, but that's easy for me to say bc I've been playing over 30 years. But that started to happen for me about 5-7 years after I began playing.
Yes this is definitely the case.... I would practice the above method in this video on adverts/commercials between TV shows as a kid and after a year or so I could jump straight to the key without any thought pretty easily. I feel most musicians that have been playing for a few years generally are all capable of this but for those who are not yet able to then this video will certainly teach you how to approach this useful skill.
Full disclosure. I'm a piano Nooby and had Zero musical experience. Just started and love learning about music. This was a great video, short and to the point. Merci beaucoup.
Used to be really be amazed when people could find the key of a song so quickly and easily. Stumbled upon your video today through my recommendations and I must say I've learned a lot today. Slowly getting the hang of this, thank you!
Interesting way of explaining it. I'll definitely be sending this to other guitar friends as I've never been able to explain how I do it. I do a similar process but usually will just start playing some notes and instantly know what key a song is in based on where the note I played is in the scale. For example if the song is in D and I hit a G note, I will instantly know (from practice) that that G is the IV of the key that the song is in which means the song is in D. And if I hit a note that definitely isn't in the key, I'm only one note away from a "correct" note and can instantly still work it out from there. Knowing your Roman numerals really helps. If you know it well enough it also means you can easily play chords along with almost any song
I'm following music and studying music theory sine I was young, I read lots of books, however the way this channel explains is totally different and makes it so easy. Thanks a lot for your excellent videos
Ok, in 5 minutes you explained the topic that I was unable to understand for YEARS!! It was like black magick form me, and now I'm know what is the key and how it links with scale. You're amazing. Thank you.
Thanks Matteo Giberti! Glad you enjoyed this one as the idea came following our chat on a recent community post! so you could say this one was for you👍
@@Samjamguitar Thank YOU for this GREAT video! As I said before, your unique way of teaching guitar stuff makes me really understand what other videos and even guitar lessons I've taken in the past never did. Now I just have to train my ears and practice!
This is now my favourite video on the internet. I always thought it would be so much more difficult to figure out the key of a song so that I didn't even try to figure it out and when I did, I didn't find a good video. Now I know this technique I feel ashamed. It was all in my head. I've never had more fun playing chromatic scales to my favourite songs and I can't stop. Thank you.
This really made my day, wish I had known about it sooner. I tested this right away on a couple of songs, and strangely enough the first 3 were in C# key. I really thought I was doing something wrong until I googled the chords, but it was correct. What a strange coincidence lol! Will absolutely recommend this video if I see someone struggling with this. Thank you!
After a while, your ear will be able to hear the distinctive sound of a G chord on guitar, the distinctive sound of a C chord, D chord, E chord etc. Your ear can tell you without any help, "Oh, that song's in E, and that song is in G". Bar chords don't apply too well to the above, but chords played near the nut do. A little bit further on in time, you can oftentimes hear all the chords of a song and say to yourself "Oh, I know exactly how to play that". My ear was developed long ago by buying each new Beatle album as it came out and playing it over and over until could figure out the chords. I drove my mom nuts, but it was great way to train my ear, even though I didn't know I was doing it at the time. Keep on strumming.
Tip for beginners: sometimes you may find it easier to use this exact method, but on your treble E string instead (E1). The dissonant notes stand out more as the wrong notes, and the right notes sound more "right".
Excellent tip! I did have a little trouble with that, and I can see how this will help. Thanks! 59 yo and ‘playing’ for only 3 years. Finally can move my barre chords at a decent pace. On a good day. 🤷🏼♂️ But I still can’t play along in chords. 😵💫 Single notes are easy for a long-ago trumpeter, and far less uncomfortable. I (edit: obviously) have no self-discipline and an easy-going teacher. 😊 Have a great day!
I used this technique for many years. Now i can walk up and hear the 4th 5th minor 6th or whichever chord in a progression and use relative pitch to lock in. Once you're able to hear a progression, over time you should be able to hear which chord relative to the natural of that key is. You should be able to say that's the 4th, or the 5th, or minor 2nd/3rd/6th etc and know WHICH is the resolve from that moment.
The best video on key and scale i have seen in last 20 years I always wonder how some people instantly tell the scale of the song and i am not able to do that . I thought don't have musical sense thankyou so much brother
I as a producer mostly listen to the first note in the bass, (in pop music), and then see if its in major or minor. The same as told here in the video. Been using it for years and people still wonder how i do it
So, many people have asked me how I find out the song key and I wasn't always able to explain to them properly but you have expressed it in a simple understandable manner, Great job! Imma send this to everyone who have asked me or will ask me in the future. Great video man
Nicely done. I figured this out when I taught myself to play ~25 years ago, and I use it all the time. Currently in the process of teaching my son how to play, and this video was super handy to show him what I seemed to have a difficult time explaining.
I usually skat sing or hum the note, either physically or in a monologue type way. And usually I can find the root no with no issues. Practicing finding the note and singing it seems to help a lot, also improvising as well. I usually put on some pop songs and play over or along with them sense they're not technical and fairly easy to fill in.
I've been playing/studying guitar since the mid 80s and the absolute best advice I've ever heard about finding out the key of a song to solo over it is from a Victor Wooton bass video. "Just play any note at all. That note you play will never be more than a half step out of the key of the song." There's only 12 notes in an octave and 7 of those notes will be correct for the scale that fits the song. That's better than a 50% chance of getting a right note by random. If the note you pick is not correct just slide up/down a half step and you are in a right note. Your 2nd note to play is also the same way. As you play more you will quickly be able to hear if your next note is a whole or half step away. As you get familiar with scale shapes on the fretboard you will quickly be able to determine what scale you are playing no matter where on the neck you are. Pretty soon you will only need 2 or 3 seconds to be able to solo over any song without knowing what key it's in. Major and minor keys are a bit easier to figure out compared to some other modes but those don't take long to get used to either. It doesn't take long till you can just immediately solo over a song without any idea of the key. When just learning to solo you can just randomly play notes on the 6th string to find the note that feels like "home". That will work but it's clumsy and you will look horrible if you do this in front of others. :D The more you solo the more you get familiar with what the intervals sound like so you can hear them and find the key quicker.
This might be my favorite guitar information channel on TH-cam. The videos get right to the point and the approach is very easy to follow. Thank you for doing this! You have another subscriber.
Hello Sam , no one can thank you enough for making our guitar journey easier... an idea for a video if you may, after identifying the key what are the options to play? And the right scales for any key and any other options.... greetings from Jordan
Bro I tried this out and it worked first time. The key was F Minor and i googled it turned out it was correct. Thanks bro! Also, please make a melody and chords one, that would be super helpful!
Thanks for the video! Sometimes I need to be reminded of these things after playing guitar for 25 years. I developed Tinnitus about 6 months ago and discovered the humming in my ear is an E note so I'm taking these lemons and making lemonade because now I can string a guitar from scratch and tune it by ear (humming).
Thanks! You really could use that E note to your advantage and use it as a reference note for relative pitch.... as close as you can get to perfect pitch without actually having it! If you are unfamiliar with this concept then have a look for my video on training your ear using intervals.th-cam.com/video/j5wPKsrkGvc/w-d-xo.html
Good lord I've accidentally done this a few times and thought I was just lazy hacking my way into playing a rhythm guitar next to my jam! Next achievement to unlock: finding out if it's in a major or minor scale. Wheeeeee!! Thanks Sam!
Great video. Not something I really need personally, but this is a question that comes up on online forums quite often, and it's important to have a video that explains (and demonstrates) this concept in a really simple way. It's difficult to communicate this through text. I mean, this is one of the most important concepts about music theory IMO. People talk a lot about keys, but I think a lot of people don't properly understand the most important thing about a key that is the tonal center. And if people don't understand tonal centers and can't hear them, then the concept of keys will make little sense. I've been looking for a video that would demonstrate this in an easy way, but hadn't found one before this. Well, there was another video that touched on the topic that was decent, but this one is much simpler, and also shows an easy method for finding it that isn't just "feel it and sing it" - which BTW I don't think is bad advice, but not everyone can do that instantly. The method shown in this video on the other hand helps with practicing hearing it if one can't find it instantly.
Wow … exactly what I need. I am blessed with the really nice acoustic guitar that has lots of settings and. An amplifier that has been used by the Lynyrd Skynyrd band and a confined area.
Thank you so much for this video. I have been playing guitar on and off for over 40 years and listening to music for even longer than that and this is the first time I have been able to easily discern the key of a song! I haven't looked yet, but I am going to see if you made that video on how to figure out the chords of a song.
I’ve been doing exactly this for some time, but man this would have been helpful when I was in that long, drawn out discovery phase. Thanks for reinforcing it for me!! 👍🏼👍🏼
That phase is where I’ve been stuck! I finally get to take the next step. Phew. Thanks for the comment from someone who’s been here, Alex. I thought it was only me. 👍 (Ok, i know we all have, but still… 🤷🏼♂️😉)
I tried this out with Signed Sealed Delivered by Stevie Wonder and got it right. That was my first time trying it. Gonna try it out with everything I can think of now.
Lots of good advice on TH-cam and very helpful, except…..many are overly complex. This was the most straightforward and practical method as well as easy to apply.
Wow I never understood just what the key was nor did I have any understanding about the key ..this video made it clear to me and I didn't know I was finding the key when I try to play along with a sound trak
Well done explaining this technique efficiently and straight to the point. This is a method I’ve used as a backup for decades but wasn’t even self-aware that it needed explanation until teaching my son guitar - so thank you again very much for the assist! We don’t know what we know until we know what they don’t know!
Dumbed down way but personally I got quite intuitive about it after learning 2 or 3 riffs by ear. Find the key, figure chords, all else is pretty easy. Did a private jam with total beginner level friends and we collectively figured all parts of the song within 40mins and played "alright version" within another hour or so (with cig breaks ofc) EXTRA TIP Once you figured the key, usually chord progression don't linger away from chord notes so either minor or major (with complex chords it's a bit tougher because it varries a little more) and usually chord progression is within chord notes. So indeed once you have the key you can dismantle the whole song from there. (Self taught guitar and bass player, so take my words with a grain of salt for I am just an intermediate level "once in two months dust cleaner of my instrument" but learning songs by ear was the best learning curve I ever had. AND the half assed basics ofc...
@@Samjamguitar I'll share your channel on my page if you upload the chords video as soon as tomorrow because i have some competition and i really need it asap
I'm in this conundrum where I can hear and play innit almost instantly, but have little knowledge on how to identify keys. Stoked I found your channel 🎛️❤️
Thanks for the lesson. It’s perfect! Also It would be an awesome video about how to find the other chords. I have problem finding different Chords sounds, like F5+, sus, etc. Thank you so much!
Thanks! Learning how to identify the basic chords in a key will be coming up soon and after I will definitely put together a more advanced video that explains hearing different chord types/qualities other than major and minor 👌
I deal with tinnitus, but have used this method for a while now. Or helps, but I have a hard Time playing by ear because of ringing in my ears. Music theory helps me play along but it's so frustrating. kudos, this is a great tool. 👍👍👍
Join the SAMJAMGUITAR official PATREON CLUB
Patreon: www.patreon.com/samjamguitar
Guitar Theory Poster Available at the MERCH STORE 🛒my-store-cb48d5-2.creator-spring.com/listing/guitar-theory-poster (also available as a print ready Digital Download) Grab one today!
Are there any songs that use the full circle of 5ths?
Sam take my sub :) Thanks
no clickbait, straight to the point and easy to understand. You're the real MVP
Much appreciated 👌 welcome to the channel!
@MikesEast I think because that's how you view it while playing
Yup
The bass is so easily ignored in the majority of songs, yet by simply paying attention, one can figure out a song structure quickly
Very true👍
Trying to explain this to people is unnecessary difficult
easily ignored by you!! maybe 😎
People ignore bass?
The bass is litterly the most important thing to listen to. If you have the bass soprano and the chord quality then you can figure out what the chord is.
perfect for my adhd, now just play subway surfer on half the screen and we're all set
I love the “this will sound bad” warning lol. Really shows how we’re naturally programmed to listen for “good” sounding patterns
ask the Drummer
“In the key of a beat”
That's how a video should be made, straight to the point, 5 minutes length. Tired of watching 15-20 minutes of length videos which could have been explained in just 4-5 minutes. Great work 👍
Exactly! Glad you think so too👍
agree, no filler!
or 20 min videos that dont actually seem to be of any help, this was GREAT
Same
I'm a beginner and I need to repeatedly listen and watch your video to understand clearly what you mean. However, it seems to me that you were straight to the point.
As a novice guitar player, this is the most useful video I ever watched
Thanks!
that full chromatic scale from E to E at 4:05 just to find the root... sounded amazing as an intro for that song!
Note: I'm a voiceover agent. I have to say, your vocal delivery over the content is perfect. You have the right tone, speed and pacing. You're very easy to follow. Great editing as well.
Sounds like a robotic response.
@@JoeKoOhNo Irony.
This was freaking awesome. The guy painted a visual so perfectly. Well done
Thanks!
Why doesn't this channel have a gazillion views and subscribers?!!!? The information on this channel is pure GOLD!!! People need to wake up!!!!!!!! YES, DO A VIDEO ON HOW TO FIND THE CHORDS OF A SONG!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Deltafour1212!!! The Video on Working out the chords in a song by ear will be next👍
I didn’t expect this to be helpful, but it was.
Subscribed.
@@Samjamguitar fantastic explanation to keep it simple. Theory is so intimidating. Thanks you!
Try note E and how it relates, or Bb. if you know circle 4th 5th
I learnt this playing on church
10 months after you posted this video, I was looking for this subject matter across TH-cam. Not only this particular video but all your channel videos are a godsend to help develop my guitar playing to much higher plane. Thank you.
You're very welcome!
Some of the best 5 minutes a new musician could ever spend on TH-cam. Sensational video!
Thank you very much!
I think this is one of the most important vids on youtube. Many players such as myself are ear players. I have got myself to 'relative pitch' and have no issue determining the next note or interval in 'the sequence', depending on what is played as the backing, and can sololver nearly anything rock, metal, blues, or jazz based.. So many players learn intrinsicly this way. It takes a little longer but when you start adding theory to it, it is like a rocket out of the stratosphere.
Ive been practicing guitar for almost 2 years as a hobby. I never knew how to find keys in songs or what they really referred to. I saw this video in my recommendations. So, I wrote down the notes and used it in about 4 different country songs (cause their easy for beginners and my novice ears) and holy cow! I was able to find the key by the 2nd song. I had to listen to the songs a few times but this tip was 1000% worthwhile. Also being able to tell if its a major or minor, makes it fun to fingerpick the scale during the song.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
No probs, I'm glad the video helped you out! Welcome to the channel👍
Every drummer I know understands keys perfectly well. They are the little metal things we used once to tune our drums 4 years ago when we bought them.
I've never seen a technique explained so clearly. Much appreciated
You're very welcome!
That last example of the slow climb & landing on the E when the progression started was incredibly satisfying.
Great tip. Other than playing the full pentatonic scale you can pay attention to the note right bellow the root note. I.e. you found out that 10th fret (D) sounds like a main (root) of the scale. However before you stumbled on 10th fret you've also listened to 8th (C) and 9th (C#) fret. C would be the 7th note in D minor scale, while C# would be the 7th in D major. In other words, if you found your root key, and half step bellow it doesn't sound good - it's probably a minor scale and vice versa. That works if we are not talking about modes ofc
brother i dont even know what a key is
😂
how tf do you open yo door
I’m with you 😂
Bro ur not yet a guitarist
😂😂😂@@zupppzuppp7963
you are a life saver. i had to come up with a guitar solo and didn't know where to start, this helped so much. thanks :)
No problem! Perhaps check out my playlist Lead Guitar Tool Box: th-cam.com/play/PLcIs25jv9P96vFf7mfO0z2HBdYRoqYfWq.html you should find plenty of helpful lessons on how to play guitar solos!
Good video. My method is to hear the song, find ‘do’ in my mind (or whatever sofa begins the chord progression loop), then play that note I have in my mind. Done.
this was the most straight-forward, fully answered approach that i've seen from the perspective of a guitar player. Thank you so much!
Hey! Thank you very much!!
Thanks!
Hey Bert! Thank you for the super thanks! it's very much appreciated😀
Your channel is helping me grow as a guitarist, brother many thanks.
That's awesome!
And in usual fashion, a 5 min youtube video explains it better than 15 years of books and in person tips. TY
glad to help!
INSANELY underrated channel
Thanks!
Oh my god I tried this one with 4 songs and got all the equivalent keys correct!!! I literally can't believe this as I barely have experience with music. Thank you so much.
No probs! Glad to help👌
Excellent video! About as clear as can be. Love the key icon. These types of videos are insanely useful for me. Please make more videos. You obviously have a great talent for making them.
Thanks, will do!
thought this'd be some shill for a course of clickbait but never had any tip/hint on music so easy to apply and useful. absolute legend!
Much appreciated 👌
Great lesson, as always! Yes, please, would LOVE to see a video explaining your method for finding the chords -- and, if you're up for it, the melody -- of a song. You walk us through these things so clearly. Thank you!
Hi Boomer Dell! Great idea! I will add figuring out melodies by ear to the list👍 thanks for watching!
transcribing chords is much more advanced than transcribing melodies
+1
Wow, thank you. I learned and play by ear and “improvising.” Your steps encompass all of it. Much appreciated. I learned something new today.
Glad it helped!
Pretty nice description for beginners. Eventually you get to the point where your ears and your hands have the muscle memory to just jump to the key w out you barely thinking about it, but that's easy for me to say bc I've been playing over 30 years. But that started to happen for me about 5-7 years after I began playing.
Yes this is definitely the case.... I would practice the above method in this video on adverts/commercials between TV shows as a kid and after a year or so I could jump straight to the key without any thought pretty easily. I feel most musicians that have been playing for a few years generally are all capable of this but for those who are not yet able to then this video will certainly teach you how to approach this useful skill.
Full disclosure. I'm a piano Nooby and had Zero musical experience. Just started and love learning about music. This was a great video, short and to the point.
Merci beaucoup.
Used to be really be amazed when people could find the key of a song so quickly and easily. Stumbled upon your video today through my recommendations and I must say I've learned a lot today. Slowly getting the hang of this, thank you!
Wow, thank you!
I'm so glad Sean Bean is here to help me with all my Ear Training needs, thanks Sean!!
Sean bean recommends subscribing and turning on all notifications 🤣
@@Samjamguitar Also hope you're not offended by the Sean Bean comment, you don't sound that much like him haha.
Sean bean is never offended.
Interesting way of explaining it. I'll definitely be sending this to other guitar friends as I've never been able to explain how I do it.
I do a similar process but usually will just start playing some notes and instantly know what key a song is in based on where the note I played is in the scale. For example if the song is in D and I hit a G note, I will instantly know (from practice) that that G is the IV of the key that the song is in which means the song is in D. And if I hit a note that definitely isn't in the key, I'm only one note away from a "correct" note and can instantly still work it out from there.
Knowing your Roman numerals really helps. If you know it well enough it also means you can easily play chords along with almost any song
I'm following music and studying music theory sine I was young, I read lots of books, however the way this channel explains is totally different and makes it so easy. Thanks a lot for your excellent videos
Happy to help!
This was the most important guitar lesson I have had in my entire life, it works, thank you!
Glad it helped!
this really wasnt much of an opener for me but rather and inspiration to finally practice more. thanks alot!
also the visuals help alot!
Not sure if you already made the chord video or not but I would love to see it. This video was so helpful
just the way i play all songs by ear. congretz!
what a great video!
I would love to see a video explaining your method for finding the chords - or have you already done so? I couldn't find it!
Coming soon!
@@Samjamguitar i'm excited!
Ok, in 5 minutes you explained the topic that I was unable to understand for YEARS!! It was like black magick form me, and now I'm know what is the key and how it links with scale. You're amazing. Thank you.
brillliant! and thankyou!!
Holy! This is exactly what i needed. Makes sense now. Thank you!
Glad it helped! Check out my other videos for more like this👌
Tried this on multiple songs right after, and it worked. Amazing. Thank you.
Brilliant Thanks!
WOW! This is the ONLY channel that makes Me actually feel confident I can actually learn stuff that always seemed obscure to me!
Thanks Matteo Giberti! Glad you enjoyed this one as the idea came following our chat on a recent community post! so you could say this one was for you👍
@@Samjamguitar Thank YOU for this GREAT video! As I said before, your unique way of teaching guitar stuff makes me really understand what other videos and even guitar lessons I've taken in the past never did. Now I just have to train my ears and practice!
+Matteo Giberti Brilliant! Really pleased my videos are helping 🙂
This is now my favourite video on the internet. I always thought it would be so much more difficult to figure out the key of a song so that I didn't even try to figure it out and when I did, I didn't find a good video. Now I know this technique I feel ashamed. It was all in my head. I've never had more fun playing chromatic scales to my favourite songs and I can't stop. Thank you.
You're very welcome!
This really made my day, wish I had known about it sooner. I tested this right away on a couple of songs, and strangely enough the first 3 were in C# key. I really thought I was doing something wrong until I googled the chords, but it was correct. What a strange coincidence lol! Will absolutely recommend this video if I see someone struggling with this. Thank you!
After a while, your ear will be able to hear the distinctive sound of a G chord on guitar, the distinctive sound of a C chord, D chord, E chord etc. Your ear can tell you without any help, "Oh, that song's in E, and that song is in G". Bar chords don't apply too well to the above, but chords played near the nut do. A little bit further on in time, you can oftentimes hear all the chords of a song and say to yourself "Oh, I know exactly how to play that". My ear was developed long ago by buying each new Beatle album as it came out and playing it over and over until could figure out the chords. I drove my mom nuts, but it was great way to train my ear, even though I didn't know I was doing it at the time. Keep on strumming.
Tip for beginners: sometimes you may find it easier to use this exact method, but on your treble E string instead (E1). The dissonant notes stand out more as the wrong notes, and the right notes sound more "right".
Excellent tip! I did have a little trouble with that, and I can see how this will help. Thanks!
59 yo and ‘playing’ for only 3 years. Finally can move my barre chords at a decent pace. On a good day. 🤷🏼♂️ But I still can’t play along in chords. 😵💫 Single notes are easy for a long-ago trumpeter, and far less uncomfortable. I (edit: obviously) have no self-discipline and an easy-going teacher. 😊
Have a great day!
Any chromatic scale will do.
I used this technique for many years. Now i can walk up and hear the 4th 5th minor 6th or whichever chord in a progression and use relative pitch to lock in. Once you're able to hear a progression, over time you should be able to hear which chord relative to the natural of that key is. You should be able to say that's the 4th, or the 5th, or minor 2nd/3rd/6th etc and know WHICH is the resolve from that moment.
Concise and to the point. Well done. You have a new subscriber.
Awesome, thank you!
The best video on key and scale i have seen in last 20 years
I always wonder how some people instantly tell the scale of the song and i am not able to do that . I thought don't have musical sense thankyou so much brother
Just now learning guitar. This surely will be a great help👍
Great to hear! Keep it up👍
I as a producer mostly listen to the first note in the bass, (in pop music), and then see if its in major or minor. The same as told here in the video. Been using it for years and people still wonder how i do it
Sounds very good. Figuring out the key of the Law.
thank you. i appreciate the lack of technical terms...they usually leave me confused and frusterated, but this was easy to understand
You're very welcome!
So, many people have asked me how I find out the song key and I wasn't always able to explain to them properly but you have expressed it in a simple understandable manner, Great job!
Imma send this to everyone who have asked me or will ask me in the future. Great video man
Brilliant! Yes it can be difficult to verbalise/explain something like this so I'm glad to help👌 thanks for watching!
Nicely done. I figured this out when I taught myself to play ~25 years ago, and I use it all the time. Currently in the process of teaching my son how to play, and this video was super handy to show him what I seemed to have a difficult time explaining.
Great! Hope your son enjoyed the video!
This is something I figured out myself after years of practice, but it would’ve been super nice to have known it earlier.
Great to hear!
I usually skat sing or hum the note, either physically or in a monologue type way. And usually I can find the root no with no issues. Practicing finding the note and singing it seems to help a lot, also improvising as well. I usually put on some pop songs and play over or along with them sense they're not technical and fairly easy to fill in.
You are a genius and always on point...you are easily the best guitar teacher in the world...Thanks for helping in my guitar journey
Happy to help👍
I've been playing/studying guitar since the mid 80s and the absolute best advice I've ever heard about finding out the key of a song to solo over it is from a Victor Wooton bass video.
"Just play any note at all. That note you play will never be more than a half step out of the key of the song." There's only 12 notes in an octave and 7 of those notes will be correct for the scale that fits the song. That's better than a 50% chance of getting a right note by random.
If the note you pick is not correct just slide up/down a half step and you are in a right note. Your 2nd note to play is also the same way. As you play more you will quickly be able to hear if your next note is a whole or half step away. As you get familiar with scale shapes on the fretboard you will quickly be able to determine what scale you are playing no matter where on the neck you are.
Pretty soon you will only need 2 or 3 seconds to be able to solo over any song without knowing what key it's in. Major and minor keys are a bit easier to figure out compared to some other modes but those don't take long to get used to either. It doesn't take long till you can just immediately solo over a song without any idea of the key.
When just learning to solo you can just randomly play notes on the 6th string to find the note that feels like "home". That will work but it's clumsy and you will look horrible if you do this in front of others. :D The more you solo the more you get familiar with what the intervals sound like so you can hear them and find the key quicker.
This might be my favorite guitar information channel on TH-cam. The videos get right to the point and the approach is very easy to follow. Thank you for doing this! You have another subscriber.
Wow, thanks!
Hello Sam , no one can thank you enough for making our guitar journey easier... an idea for a video if you may, after identifying the key what are the options to play? And the right scales for any key and any other options.... greetings from Jordan
Noted! plenty of videos on the way to explain what you can do after finding the key!
@@Samjamguitar 🙏🏾 bless you
Bro I tried this out and it worked first time. The key was F Minor and i googled it turned out it was correct. Thanks bro! Also, please make a melody and chords one, that would be super helpful!
Great! And the more you do it the better/quicker you will become at it! I will follow up with a Chord + melody version soon👌
Thanks for the video! Sometimes I need to be reminded of these things after playing guitar for 25 years. I developed Tinnitus about 6 months ago and discovered the humming in my ear is an E note so I'm taking these lemons and making lemonade because now I can string a guitar from scratch and tune it by ear (humming).
Thanks! You really could use that E note to your advantage and use it as a reference note for relative pitch.... as close as you can get to perfect pitch without actually having it!
If you are unfamiliar with this concept then have a look for my video on training your ear using intervals.th-cam.com/video/j5wPKsrkGvc/w-d-xo.html
Like the video and would love to see more on figuring out the chords also.
Working on it!
@@Samjamguitar we are eager to get it!
Good lord I've accidentally done this a few times and thought I was just lazy hacking my way into playing a rhythm guitar next to my jam! Next achievement to unlock: finding out if it's in a major or minor scale. Wheeeeee!!
Thanks Sam!
No probs! Glad it helped!!
Great video. Not something I really need personally, but this is a question that comes up on online forums quite often, and it's important to have a video that explains (and demonstrates) this concept in a really simple way. It's difficult to communicate this through text. I mean, this is one of the most important concepts about music theory IMO. People talk a lot about keys, but I think a lot of people don't properly understand the most important thing about a key that is the tonal center. And if people don't understand tonal centers and can't hear them, then the concept of keys will make little sense.
I've been looking for a video that would demonstrate this in an easy way, but hadn't found one before this. Well, there was another video that touched on the topic that was decent, but this one is much simpler, and also shows an easy method for finding it that isn't just "feel it and sing it" - which BTW I don't think is bad advice, but not everyone can do that instantly. The method shown in this video on the other hand helps with practicing hearing it if one can't find it instantly.
Thankyou! this was definitely the intention of this lesson!
Wow … exactly what I need. I am blessed with the really nice acoustic guitar that has lots of settings and. An amplifier that has been used by the Lynyrd Skynyrd band and a confined area.
Living the dream👍👍👍
Thank you so much for this video. I have been playing guitar on and off for over 40 years and listening to music for even longer than that and this is the first time I have been able to easily discern the key of a song! I haven't looked yet, but I am going to see if you made that video on how to figure out the chords of a song.
You're very welcome! The video is in the works!
Thank you! I have had trouble finding the right key for over fifty years. This is a great way to do it and i'll start working on it now.
Cheers!
I’ve been doing exactly this for some time, but man this would have been helpful when I was in that long, drawn out discovery phase. Thanks for reinforcing it for me!! 👍🏼👍🏼
Thanks!
That phase is where I’ve been stuck! I finally get to take the next step. Phew.
Thanks for the comment from someone who’s been here, Alex. I thought it was only me. 👍 (Ok, i know we all have, but still… 🤷🏼♂️😉)
Simple?Yes.And so is a bicycle.
Once you see it.
I tried this out with Signed Sealed Delivered by Stevie Wonder and got it right. That was my first time trying it. Gonna try it out with everything I can think of now.
Fantastic!
This is a great video! Short and precise! Really good, nicely done
Thank-you it's very much appreciated!
Lots of good advice on TH-cam and very helpful, except…..many are overly complex. This was the most straightforward and practical method as well as easy to apply.
Your mechanism of teaching is just mind-blowing...the voice over with great illustration is very helpful...i have learnt a deal from you... 🙏
Thank you!
wow the simplicity, it's so good thank you
Glad you like it!
Nice and short, concise, to the point, ... Well done. (I've been playing music for years.) Count me as a new subscriber.
That is very much appreciated Micheal!
Visually and audibly concise. Pretty much a perfect tutorial.
Thanks!
If anyone ever asks me again how to identify the "key" of a song, this is the video I'm sending them. Awesome tips!
Cheers!
OMG so Easy . Thank you 🙏🏽 for that
no probs👌
Great tutorial! Please do make the next video about finding the chords of a song!
Will do! It's in the works 👌
Wow I never understood just what the key was nor did I have any understanding about the key ..this video made it clear to me and I didn't know I was finding the key when I try to play along with a sound trak
Brilliant 👌
Well done explaining this technique efficiently and straight to the point. This is a method I’ve used as a backup for decades but wasn’t even self-aware that it needed explanation until teaching my son guitar - so thank you again very much for the assist! We don’t know what we know until we know what they don’t know!
Glad to help!
Dumbed down way but personally I got quite intuitive about it after learning 2 or 3 riffs by ear. Find the key, figure chords, all else is pretty easy.
Did a private jam with total beginner level friends and we collectively figured all parts of the song within 40mins and played "alright version" within another hour or so (with cig breaks ofc)
EXTRA TIP Once you figured the key, usually chord progression don't linger away from chord notes so either minor or major (with complex chords it's a bit tougher because it varries a little more) and usually chord progression is within chord notes. So indeed once you have the key you can dismantle the whole song from there.
(Self taught guitar and bass player, so take my words with a grain of salt for I am just an intermediate level "once in two months dust cleaner of my instrument" but learning songs by ear was the best learning curve I ever had. AND the half assed basics ofc...
3:42 Did not think i would stump on a meme in a middle of a lesson. This is gold
Even tho I learnt nothing from watching this because I was already doing it, it was very clear. Nice vid!
Glad you enjoyed it!
This was so helpful in so many ways. Really puts things into perspective. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
certainly subscribed and activated the bell right after i figured the key of like 5 of my favourite songs. can't wait to find the chords now!
Great!
@@Samjamguitar I'll share your channel on my page if you upload the chords video as soon as tomorrow because i have some competition and i really need it asap
I'm in this conundrum where I can hear and play innit almost instantly, but have little knowledge on how to identify keys. Stoked I found your channel 🎛️❤️
Excellent!
Nicely done. More like this please. Short, sweet, effective. A+ instruction. Subscribed!
ขอขอบคุณ
Thank you very much!!!
Thanks for the lesson. It’s perfect! Also It would be an awesome video about how to find the other chords. I have problem finding different Chords sounds, like F5+, sus, etc. Thank you so much!
Thanks! Learning how to identify the basic chords in a key will be coming up soon and after I will definitely put together a more advanced video that explains hearing different chord types/qualities other than major and minor 👌
I deal with tinnitus, but have used this method for a while now. Or helps, but I have a hard Time playing by ear because of ringing in my ears. Music theory helps me play along but it's so frustrating. kudos, this is a great tool. 👍👍👍
thankyou!
You're video's are nothing short of brilliance so clear and easy to understand thanks .keep them coming .
Cheers...and yes I will keep them coming your way👌
Only a legend would be articulate exactly how to develop such a skill. Thank you.
Much appreciated!