UPDATED
Oct 6, 2016
Playing by Ear - Chords
Recognize the sound of chords and chord progressions and be able to play these chords and chord progressions.
PUBLISHED: Jun 25, 2014 UPDATED: Oct 6, 2016 • VIEWS: 3 • LESSON CODE: UL06c •
Instruments: ukulele guitar music bass ANY drums Subjects: chords • scales • progressions • songwriting
Playing by Ear - Chords
Playing chords, chord progressions, and songs by ear is all about getting your ear to recognize the sound of chords and chord progressions and just like melodies, train the fingers and the hand to follow your inner ear and play these chords, chord progressions, and songs on demand.
This training involves the mind, hands and ear. Of the three the hands always need the most work as they can't hear or understand anything - only what they have been trained to do.
Learning to hear chord progressions and the chord changes. This is where to start and will get you off the page. Don't try and learn by ear. Learn from a position of knowledge and with an organized plan. "Playing by Ear" is for playing NOT learning.
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"Playing by Ear" vs. "Learning by Ear"
Don't get "Playing by Ear" and "Learning by Ear" mixed up. It's hit and miss to try and learn by ear. You need to train your ear and brain to understand what is going on in order to play by ear. Understanding the principles of how music works will go a long way on your ability to play by ear.
Start with training your ear to identify (hear) and sing melodic intervals.
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Related Lessons for Playing by Ear - Chords at this time.
Types of `Ukulele Chords - Chords, Chords, Chords • Updated: Dec 31, 2019
Naturally, for ukulele, all chords need to be voiced using only the four strings available. You would think that this is limiting when in actuality it's quite liberating when you learn the makeup of chords. This lesson covers the types of chords possible on ukulele. Chord can be categorized into four categories: open position chords, movable form chords, 4-part - a.k.a. jazz chords and free from chords.
Related Books
Related Books for Playing by Ear - Chords at this time.
Related Lesson Series
Related Lessons Series for Playing by Ear - Chords at this time.
Core Ukulele Chords - The Big Six
Updated: Jan 1, 2003
Core Chords for Ukulele, The Big Six - From four F7 chord voicings or shapes, your can build your massive 4-part, a.k.a., “jazz” chord vocabulary. Beyond basic open position chords, basic movable form chords and a core set of 4-part chords. There are just too many chords shapes too memorize. Learning the principles of how chords are constructed and the ukulele fingerboard are the way to go. Then you can create more advanced chords like 9#11, 7#5-9, 13b5, 7+9 on the fly as needed.
Cool Chords
Updated: Jan 1, 2003
Cool Chords are those crazy chords you won't find in a chord dictionary, software, chord chart, etc... They're a product of understanding how chords are constructed and how to derive them from known chords. These are the chords other players will say: "What's that crazy chord you're playing?".
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