You want to play by ear for this reason above all others: it just feels good.
That's it! That's why you began playing in the first place, isn't it? You play because
you dig the sounds coming out of that assembly of wood, steel, sweat and hope. And
that's the same feeling you'll get, multiplied by 100 or so, when you first start
picking out melodies on the guitar.
Playing by ear helps you learn new tunes quicker. You're more able to scope out
a tune you've never heard before, and learn how to play it and remember it much
more easily than if you don't yet know how to play by ear.
When you start figuring out *chords* and complete songs on the guitar, you get
an even bigger rush; you become immortal, a super-hero. When you get to that point
you will realize that not only was figuring out chords and tunes not that hard,
it was pretty darn fun.
Besides the fun and satisfaction factor, why else would you want to play by ear?
Here's a good, motivating reason: you'll save money and time. The next time you
hear a tune on the radio or a CD that you'd like to play yourself, instead of spending
time digging around on OLGA for the tab, or spending money to buy the sheet music,
you'll work the tune out for yourself. Besides saving money and time, you'll also
get your fun quota filled for the week. (See the "fun" reason just mentioned.)
Here's another reason to learn to play by ear: other musicians. You'll earn the
respect of the musicians you currently play with, and you'll be more able to play
with *other* musicians.
Once you begin playing by ear, you'll be creating a connection between yourself
and the great musicians of the past like Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery and others
who played *only* by ear. Wouldn't it be satisfying to know that, by using your
ears, you're following the same path that some of the most worshipped guitarists
before you have followed?
When you catch yourself playing by ear after not *believing* before that you
could do so, you'll start to ask yourself questions like, "What *else* in my life
could I accomplish, despite not believing that I could accomplish it before?" When
you can believe that you can do just one thing you previously thought was impossible,
you start to doubt your beliefs about other "impossible" things you want to do.
You probably have your own reasons for playing by ear. The list just given is
just a sample. Writing down your reasons in a journal is a *great* way to intensify
the feelings those reasons evoke. And doing that will get you to play by ear even
more quickly.
Keywords:
Now that we know *why* to play by ear, let's begin easing into the *how* to do
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