How to Play Music by Ear, Intervals, Etc. Practical Hints on Music Theory.

I am offering here a tutorial on playing by ear. Many amateurs know how to pick out a melody one note at a time. I show here that sometimes the distinctive sound you here in one "note" is actually an interval (2 or 3 notes struck simultaneously). These are also known as double-stops or triple-stops on the guitar, because one will make a formation of two or three notes, usually on strings next to each other and formed by pressing down specific frets. The Chuck Berry sound is so robust because rather than just doing a single note line melody, he will throw in a number of double and triple stops. Also, Chuck did a lot of fancy finger stretches or note bends. He would stretch up or down, sometimes a half step, sometimes a whole step (2 half steps). Chuck Berry got the twang and the beat from the hillbilly music of his time and the chord progressions and boogie-woogie feel from R&B, boogie-woogie and gospel. Also, one must note that chords are what often give a certain note their "feel" or sound. A chord is usually a stack of 2 or more thirds, usually minor or major. This is just a FIRST STEP in understanding how to play and improvise rock n roll and pop music. Studying classical music is not a bad idea, but not necessary. For those of you who think classical music is "square" just know that virtually all pop, jazz, rock n roll is harmonically descended from it. These modern forms of music simply have more BEAT to them, use amplified instrumentation usually and play more loosely with the rules of strict classical music.

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Howto & Style

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• VA Arlington

[cattymanly]

I welcome any positive or constructive comments on this video. I am in the Arlington, Virginia - USA area and would love to network with folks who can help me write lyrics or notate my original melodies.

[NancyHey]

@cattymanly Good job, Kit!