How to Figure Out Songs

Tabs are great, don’t get me wrong. But some people are starting to think that the only way learn a song is to get the tab for it. It is not so! I think that when you learn a song note for note off a record you remember it better and you have more of a chance to “make it yours”. So, here are some ideas to make your tab-free times easier.

• Work on something simple if you are new to figuring stuff out by ear. For instance: Orange World by Jake Shimabukuro would be a bad way to start. Instead try something like E Ku’u Morning Dew. It might be an even better idea to just work with a simple picking part like the intro for “Drop Baby Drop” or “Honey Baby”.
• Start with the key and whether the song is major or minor. Noodle around with different scales until you find one that fits. Sometimes keys sound similar, so be sure to play all of the notes in the scale to make sure you don’t miss anything. Also, most of the time the first chord dictates the key.
• Next I would listen to and figure out the chords. Most of the time all the chords will be relative to the key and on a chart like this one at EZfolk. Hawaiian music uses simple chords. Most of the time just 1, 4, 5. ‘Ukulele chord charts – major, minor, 7th.
• Once you get the key and chords, it should be simple to figure out the melody using the proper scale. “Simple” is relative though. It might take a beginner 15 minutes to get the gist of the melody, but somebody more advanced may have it in 2. Keep in mind that you usually start and stop phrases (parts of the melody) on one of the chord notes (if you are playing over C you would probably start or stop on C, E, or G)
• Now I would add the filler stuff – melody chords and articulations. Melody chords are just chords that use the melody note – usually as the highest note of the chord – and fit over the current chord in the progression (Fmaj7 would fit over F in a progression). These can range from major chords to 6/9 chords, so you are only limited by how many chords you know. Articulations are hammer-ons, slides, and anything else that is used to shape a note. Usually this can help make things smoother.