Q&A for How to Figure Out a Song by Ear

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Is playing by ear a gift?

Michael Noble, PhD
Professional Pianist
Michael Noble is a professional concert pianist who received his PhD in Piano Performance from the Yale School of Music. He is a previous contemporary music fellow of the Belgian American Educational Foundation and has performed at Carnegie Hall and at other venues across the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Michael Noble, PhD

Professional Pianist

Expert Answer

Playing by ear is a gift but it can also be acquired through studying aural skills.

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Question

How do you score a song perfectly?

Michael Noble, PhD
Professional Pianist
Michael Noble is a professional concert pianist who received his PhD in Piano Performance from the Yale School of Music. He is a previous contemporary music fellow of the Belgian American Educational Foundation and has performed at Carnegie Hall and at other venues across the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Michael Noble, PhD

Professional Pianist

Expert Answer

Figuring out how to score a song takes an advanced knowledge of instrumentation. I would recommend taking an online course or purchasing a book explaining how to do this.

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Question

How do you find the tonic of a song?

Michael Noble, PhD
Professional Pianist
Michael Noble is a professional concert pianist who received his PhD in Piano Performance from the Yale School of Music. He is a previous contemporary music fellow of the Belgian American Educational Foundation and has performed at Carnegie Hall and at other venues across the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Michael Noble, PhD

Professional Pianist

Expert Answer

This can be determined by the key signature or, usually, by the last note of the song.

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Question

Is the key of a song the first note played?

Michael Noble, PhD
Professional Pianist
Michael Noble is a professional concert pianist who received his PhD in Piano Performance from the Yale School of Music. He is a previous contemporary music fellow of the Belgian American Educational Foundation and has performed at Carnegie Hall and at other venues across the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Michael Noble, PhD

Professional Pianist

Expert Answer

The first note is not necessarily the key. However, for most songs/pieces, the last harmony (or chord) will be the key of the song/piece. To know for certain, however, you should familiarize yourself with key signatures (the sharps and flats) that are in each respective key.

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Question

Is there any application to find out guitar tunes?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

Try a program like the Guitar Ear Training app. Anytune is also a good general app for learning music by ear.

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Question

By hearing a song several times how we can plan the song in violin

Community Answer

Transcribe the score carefully as you listen. Write down all the notes you hear, remembering to place them on the correct lines, and spaces on the musical stave. Also if you do know how, write any and all markings down on your sheet music. After you're done transcribing, practice as much as you can. You can make slight adjustments if you like. From then on, you can perform your version of the song in front of anyone.

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Question

How do I find out the rhythm of the song?

Community Answer

First figure out the time signature and tempo, then turn on a metronome and figure it out based on that. It's usually easier if you know how to count music.

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Can I find guitar notes with software?

Community Answer

Unfortunately, the technology isn't good enough yet. There are various web applications which claim to generate the chords to a song, but usually they're quite far off. However, if you have a midi file, loading it into MuseScore will get you the notes (not the tab though).

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