When you can't find a song's tab, you can always learn it by ear!
Steps
Step 1. Listen carefully to the song
Listen to it several times. Identify all the different parts and choruses. This is the structure of the song. If a song is structured like this: intro, verse, chorus, verse and ends with a chorus, you will need to learn three parts. The structure of the song is important because some songs are composed only of a riff or a chord progression played throughout the song. Other songs have no chorus.
Step 2. To learn the chords, extrapolate the bass line
The bass line helps you understand the key of the song. Once you understand the key of the song, some theoretical concepts will help you to transcribe the correct chords. Since most light music pieces use scales, especially major ones, each subsequent chord on the 7 intervals of the scale will use the notes of the scale of that specific key. In other words, if a song is in E, the notes will be E, F #, G #, A, Si, C # and D #, and these are the notes you need to use to build 1-35 chords on each interval. of the staircase. This means that the chords used on the 1-7 intervals will be E, F # minor, G # minor, A, B, C # minor and D # diminished (a diminished chord is a minor chord with a diminished fifth). Of course, songwriters often use variations as suspended chords (replacing the third with the second or fourth) or dominant seventh (major chords with diminished seventh). Therefore, you will have to learn music theory.
Step 3. Study the rhythm
To do this, pay no attention to notes and chords, try to understand the rhythm by tapping your foot to the rhythm or tapping your fingers on something.
Step 4. Leave phrases and solos for last
After you've transcribed everything else, transcribing solos and embellishments shouldn't be a problem.
Advice
- Don't give up after just 5 minutes. Depending on your level of theoretical / practical musical knowledge, it may take you hours just to learn a small 3 minute piece.
- Try in a quiet environment where you can focus.
- Learn the songs in baby steps. First of all, begin to understand the structure of the song and to transcribe the chords. Don't try to learn each solo note by note right away, or you will be hard pressed to learn the song unless your name is Eddie Van Halen.
- Try learning the names of all the notes on the fretboard of the guitar.
- Study music theory. Everything will become easier. Don't get too square, however. If you think something sounds good, play it anyway.
- Learn all the chords. You will need to learn concepts such as major, minor, suspended second, fourth, sixth and seventh chords (note that for minor scales, other chords are used instead). There are other chords such as augmented chords (sharps on the fifth), which are dissonant, and not even very common. There are also ninth and thirteenth chords, used in Jazz, but rarer in pop music. Each chord has its own sonority, and after learning them all you can easily recognize them in the songs.
- Open chords are taught on guitar methods. Also learn the power chords, or fifth chords that are transportable over the whole neck.
