My guitar teacher figures songs out by ear. How the hell does he do it?

Some people can do it on guitar, piano, many other instruments. They are gifted. It cannot be taught.

It's not that big a deal.

I figure songs out by ear... sometimes I write out a chart without a GUITAR being in the room.

It's more about recognizing patterns... A minor chord sounds like a minor chord... A "G" chord sounds like a "G" chord.

If you're not playing by ear by now...

You will likely NOT be doing it soon.

If you play a chord... I can tell you what the chord is without LOOKING... that's a good start.

Good luck.

I've been playing for over 45yrs. I can't read a note of music, and really I'm not very good at tab. But I can listen to a song and usually have the basics in my head in just a short time. How? I can't answer that. My wife says I "hear" it differently than others. Maybe so. My son also can play by ear. But he can read music and is really good at playing from tab. He has the best of both worlds. So in a short time, about 14yrs, he has blown by me with ease.

i never learned how to play by ear its a thing i have .....its pretty cool too ....... but i do have a friend thats not gifted and i can say she learned to play by ear it just took her a lot of practice .....try and play a note and remembering the note what also helps to to get your guitar play the cd and try to go play a long with the cd for what ever song you want to learn ... hope it helps

I used to be able to do that, im not sure about now because I dont play anymore. It takes a hell of a lot of practice, and some people can do it, some cant. Happy playing :)

some songs are easier than others. I can figure out powerchords by ear sometimes but individual notes can be kinda hard.

maybe you're tone deaf. it's not that hard. You play some notes, if it sounds like the song, you keep going. If you messup you try a different note.

I used to do it when I played violin and what I did is I kept plucking notes until I played the note that sounded right.

Sometimes humming and playing at the same time helps.

its really easy. i do it with the piano, guitar, clairnet, and drums