I’m here to tell you that there’s a much more enjoyable path and one that will lead you to become a better guitarist at the same time.

Transcribing a song is the process of figuring out how to play it from just listening to it and recording the notes and chords on paper so you can play it back later. Unfortunately that’s as far as a lot of guitarists go with the subject.

A better approach is to figure out what you like about the song, roughly figure out how it’s played and mix in your own ideas and interpretation to create something new based on what you like.

The end result is a piece of music that you are proud of and in the style you like.

Today I’m going to give you some tips on how to get started, some things to remember as you’re doing it and a few tools you can use to make it a whole lot easier.

How do you make a start transcribing music?

Well, there are a few things you’ll need: a pen, paper (blank sheet music/tab is a good place to start), your guitar (or voice if you’re an accomplished singer), a metronome and a high quality recording of the song. It’s also helpful to print out the lyrics for the song so you can note down chord changes above the word where the change occurs.

You don’t need perfect pitch to transcribe by ear, you just need patience and the ability to hear if the note/chord you play on your guitar matches the note/chord played in the song.

It also helps if you’ve been doing some basic ear training as part of your practice, especially in identifying major, minor and seventh chords. A great little routine is to play the chord and write down how it sounds to you, the common things people write about a minor chord are “moody, dark, sad etc…” but you’ll write down your own under the heading “minor”.

Do the same for major and seventh chords, just play a few different chords on your guitar and write down the results.

How do you transcribe a song?

The basic process goes a little something like this:

1. Find the tempo of the song
2. Figure out the first note or chord of the song
3. Use musical intervals to figure out the next note, or circle of fifths to figure out the next chord
4. Repeat step 3 for each section of the song

As you’re starting out choose songs that are going to be easy for you, and go for chords over notes. You might need to listen to the first chord … I don’t know… 20 times before you actually figure it out.

Justin Sandercoe from JustinGuitar.com gives this great tip on the subject: “The last thing you hear, stays in your ear”, so just before the chord changes stop the track and the chord will be resonating in your ear, this is the time to start trying different chords on your guitar to see if you can match it.

Now as you progress through the song (remember you’ll be going really slowly to start with) start playing along to it, and see how those chord changes sound, are they right? Does it match what you’re hearing?

It’s also helpful to start with some easy songs, check out Trouble by Coldplay, Seven Nation Army by White Stripes and Gone by Jack Johnson.

Why else transcribe music for yourself?

You want to figure out how to play a song but can’t find the tab online, or you suspect the tab is incorrect.
You want to use it as ear training practice so you can one day learn to play by ear
You want to learn how the song was put together so you can create music similar to it
You’ve found a great lick that you’d like to start using in your improvisation

Using Inspiration to Change it up

Once you’ve got the basics of the song down think about how you can change it, where do you want to add your own expression? What would sound better after the bridge, is there a part where you can improvise over the backing track, does the bridge need to be deeper, darker and moodier?

Try transposing the music into a different key, play different chords using the same pattern, try changing the strumming pattern for the same chords, add your own licks before chord changes. The options are endless, but the name of the game is to start from a strong foundation and then start messing with it, as opposed to starting with nothing and trying to get that perfect song from scratch.

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I prefer to write down the licks as I play them, I know I can just print them out from the net and keep them in a folder, but I prefer to increase the chance that I’ll remember them as I’m learning them by using every piece of memory retention available to me, and writing down what you know with a pen on paper is one of the best ways to do that.

So, get out a blank piece of tab sheet music, load up the following licks from the net and write them down as you play them.

For this bunch of licks you’ll need to know how to do Hammer On’s, Pull offs, Bends and Slides. The tempo is left out because licks are there for you to use in your own music and to jam over a variety of backing tracks, you can even transpose them into different keys to use in virtually any piece of music.

Let’s start with 3 licks from MyGuitarSolo (Lick 1, Lick 2, Lick 3 – all open in new windows), the first is in standard 4/4 time and is quite lengthy, I’ve run through it a few times on my acoustic and although the midi file is set to quite a high tempo I actually prefer to use it as more of a warm up at a lower tempo, there’s no distinct feeling to the piece so you have to add your own and break it up so it has room to breathe.

The second lick is in 3/4 time and can be used in a more traditional run leading up to something with a bit more space, the 3rd lick is in 2/4 timing and is a wicked little run all along the high E string… very easy to do and has a great effect!

Now time for a video of famous licks used by Jimi Hendrix, first played at normal speed and then slowed down. Play this video several times and pick out the ones you want to learn, look very carefully at where he’s fretting the strings and write it down on your sheet music. Personally I love the style of Jimi and couldn’t imagine playing guitar without his influence:

And now a more traditional lesson on Blues Guitar Licks from John Tuggle (a Gibson recommended guitar tutor) – This is fast and nasty, real blues like, a great continuation from the Jimi lesson above!

Now back to some tab based licks, these two are collections of small licks from Martin Tallstrom, a guitar player/songwriter based in Sweden, check out Collection 1, and Collection 2.

Hope you get some cool ideas out of this lot! A good mixture of tab and video to keep you entertained and focused.

almost…

The problem is that 99% of tabs online are people’s own interpretations of the songs, and it’s usually a “close enough” type approach to learning a song. Read on to find the best source of guitar tabs online.

To get guitar tabs that are the real deal it takes real effort and real time to transcribe the songs, and even when a band has all the material ready to release it has to go through Lawyers, Publishers and Record Labels before it gets released… all this adds up to expensive tabs if you want the real thing.

So instead of relying on just one persons interpretation to a song it’s much better to find tabs that have been put up in community websites so that they can be collectively worked on and improved.

One of the finest examples of this is the Ultimate Guitar community, they give you a list of guitar tabs by artist, and then revisions and ratings for each song.

The higher the rating and the more reviewers generally means the tab is more accurate. I personally think this is the best way forward in terms of getting “close enough” guitar tabs.

Check out Ultimate Guitar to find guitar tabs for your favorite songs.

But, what if you’d like to find sheet music?

Ok, there’s something that’s possibly even better for finding sheet music online. But that’s probably because it’s backed by a company that profits from the actual use of their website, and not just from the advertising…

Check out Music Notes to find sheet music for your favorite guitar songs.

I honestly haven’t been able to find a decent database for sheet music like the one for guitar tabs. If you know of any great links post them in the comments section for others

Take it easy!

Adam

Head back to my learn how to play guitar for beginners guide to get the full scoop.

Take a look at what I’ve learned from my students who have all gone through the stage of learning guitar chords, I present their struggles so that you can learn from them and hasten your own success in this area.

1. Giving up too soon

Like anything you learn you’re going to suck at it when you first start out, and this goes for everyone, I don’t care if you’re Jimi Hendrix or Joe Blow from down the street, you are going to have a hard time when you try to learn guitar chords but you absolutely have to stick to it.

The critical time is when you’re almost there, you know how to make the shape of the chord, and can sometimes strum it cleanly and you’ve been practising for the past 7 days but haven’t seen any improvement… well that’s the worst time to give up because you’re so close, you just need to get over that next rise and you’ll see how it all comes together.

2. Not visualizing success

When you are forming a chord it’s really important to visualize where each finger is going to move to, and how it’s going to happen. I guarantee you will speed up your chord changes if you follow these simple steps:

Look at where your fingers are now, visualize where they need to be and figure out the shortest distance you need to move them in order to form the new chord.

Sometimes you won’t have to move half your fingers because they’ll be used in the other chord. Keep looking for these ways to speed up your playing

3. Making it too hard for yourself

Changing from one chord to another is without a doubt the best way to learn guitar chords. However if you make it too hard and pick some nasty chords it can really put you off the idea. Make sure you pick some easy ones like G to A, E to A, D to G.

4. Not working on your fingers

It seems really obvious to me that you use your fingers to form these chords and to strum them, so you need to exercise your fingers and build up some finger strength. This can be done using little finger weights, pushing down hard on the strings, doing wide scale exercises (stretch those fingers and use that pinky!), and doing good old finger press-ups (not so popular).

5. Looking at your hands too much

I always say you should be wearing a blindfold once you can play each chord. You need to be able to form the chord without looking at it. You can drive a car without looking at the steering wheel and foot pedals all the time… as the saying goes ‘practice makes perfect’.

6. Only practicing one chord at a time

This is a bad habit some people get into, and it’s not really their fault, it’s just they way their tutors have been teaching them or that they’re reading a book or tutorial that doesn’t really convey a solid learning process.

By practicing 3 chords at once you’ll find you learn the fingerings for each of them a lot faster than if you learn just one at a time. It has to do with how your brain works,  giving your brain 3 different patterns to memorize in varying orders strengthens the pathways in your brain so that when it comes to remembering that chord your brain is able to bring up the information a lot faster.

Just try it! It works.

7. Leaving your pinky out of sight

This is a weird one, but I see people doing it all of the time! Your fingers should be hovering over the strings of your guitar ALL OF THE TIME. Meaning that when you form a D chord your pinky finger should be hovering somewhere over the high E string or B.

A lot of the time people will tuck their pinky fingers under the fret board or some other weird place, and it really makes it difficult for them to learn more advanced chords later on.

8. Not understanding to root note

The root note of a chord is its bass note, it determines which string you should start strumming or picking from. An E chords root note is an E which is played as the open low E string on your guitar, this means you start strumming or picking from that note.

9. Not picking the chord

Sometimes by strumming the chord you will notice you are hitting a lot of dead notes, however most beginners will stop there and keep strumming until they get it right. It’s kind of like a brute force way to learn guitar chords.

As a more learned student (and reader of my blog) you will know it is better to pick each note separately so you can quickly analyze what string is giving you the dead note. You can then apply more pressure or move the finger slightly to get it into a better position. This can save you a lot of time and heartache.

10. Not using all your senses

I believe the best way to learn is to engage all your senses in the activity, you should be seeing the guitar chord in a photo (of someone playing it) in a diagram (of where your fingers should be) and even in a video so you can see how the person gets their fingers into position.

Although sight is a great way to learn, when trying to learn guitar chords you can’t get very far without being able to hear the guitar chord being strummed or picked so you can compare yourself to a professional. Getting information into your brain from every angle is the best way to succeed at learning how to play guitar chords in the shortest amount of time.

Look for tutorails and courses that use a multitude of ways to teach you, not just text!

Conclusion

I haven’t put these tips in any particular order; they’re all solid gold tips to being able to learn guitar chords faster than anyone else. I’d suggest writing down each method onto a piece of paper and start using it in your daily practice, you’ll be surprised at how fast you can see results.

Check out my full guide to learn how to play guitar chords.

Learning guitar can be much easier when you have the right guitar tools on hand and there’s been some guitar tools in my studio that are like staple foods for me, I couldn’t live without them. Some of these things are obvious, like you should always have a good collection of picks, but often overlooked, sometimes it’s easy to get attached to one pick when you might benefit from changing picks for different styles of music.

5. Heaps ‘o’ Picks

I use thicker picks (generally) for the acoustic, unless I listen to the song and it’s got a softer strum, then I’ll use my fingers or a thinner pick. And of course I change again to either fingers or a stronger pick when doing picking exercises and songs.

4. Spare Pack of Strings

I don’t often wait until my strings are about to break before I replace them, strings are cheap enough that you can replace any string as soon as it gets a bit worn, or starts underperforming compared to the rest of your strings.

Having said that it does only happen rarely so I just make sure I have a full set of strings on hand for my acoustic and electric guitars.

3. A Well Worn Strap

I hate new straps… grrr!

I like a nice well worn strap that feels comfortable, and is easy to put on.

2. QUALITY Guitar Leads

I used to play with cheap leads… in fact I got given a box of old leads from a music studio and I’d go through those until they got too crackly, but now that I’ve forked out some decent money (it was about $60 I think) I got a beautiful lead that never coils and it even has a circuit breaker at one end, so if you start getting some mad feedback through your amp you can just cut the signal… it’s also handy for unplugging quickly, you just hit the switch and rip it out, no need to turn it down on the mixing desk or amp.

1. Ring Binder Practice Book

I have a stack of these down the back of the studio, I’m a great one for hoarding things, and when it comes to my practice notes and study I can’t bear the thought of throwing them away.

I use the ring binders so I can quickly print pages off websites, punch a couple of holes in them and put them in the ring binder. I usually make a few notes as well. So if I’ve just printed off a new guitar lick that I liked the sound of, I might also make a couple of notes about how to improve it, like: “needs to be more moody at the end, notes are too far apart in the middle, etc…”

I also have a bunch of clear files for keeping tabs and sheet music in, I find them easy to flick through and if you get them with a matte finish they don’t reflect annoying light.

Learning how to play guitar standing up not only gives you the buzz of showmanship it reinforces the techniques you’ve learned while sitting down, which improves your flexibility as a guitarist.

What gives the best results?

Many people who learn how to play the guitar begin practicing their chords while sitting down. It’s a natural and comfortable position when you are trying to concentrate. If you have an acoustic in your hands it’s customary to sit and strum, sitting down to practice with an acoustic is almost expected. You should practice standing because you already know how to sit and practice, see how it feels and determine which one is best for you.

Although sitting does allow you to concentrate more on your playing and less on your body movement you might find that standing gives you a chance to be more mobile. The best results come from practicing period. If you’re more comfortable sitting then try standing. It will help your posture and force you to concentrate on your chords without looking at them. Sitting down while practicing requires the same amount of discipline while standing up, your arms are just stretched out more, your position has changed, and that’s all.

Electric guitars are generally more heavy or weighted than an acoustic, some are light depending on the brand but solid wood gives it a heavier base. Sitting down to practice with an electric allows you better hand movement if you’re playing a certain style. It also allows you to hone your craft and really work out the kinks and make practicing fun. You can probably practice with an electric better while sitting down.

What are some techniques to make standing up easier?

First you have to remember posture. Your grade school teacher and your parents all telling you to “sit up straight” wasn’t just a request, it’s a necessity. If you slouch while sitting you might do the same standing up. Good posture is what allows you to stand while playing guitar. To begin learning this important feat you’ll need to practice more standing than sitting. You already know how to sit while practicing playing your guitar, practice standing. Hold your guitar in hand and walk around with it strapped to you, your body will get used to having something hand on your shoulder.

Make sure your strap sits on your shoulder and not on the end of your shoulder. This will cause the guitar strap to dig into you and you’ll be uncomfortable. Most electric guitars have a cut-away section in the middle, if your axe does then fit that part right up against your body under your ribs. Stand up straight and don’t slump your shoulders, arch your back and stick your chest out, this allows your electric guitar to be centered at your core. If you have an acoustic you’ll have to get used to the bulkiness, its not as heavy as an electric but it still requires you to teach your body how to stand. A good rule of practice is to stand with your back against the wall you’ll have a better understanding of how straight you need to stand. Since this will be something new for your body to adjust to make sure to keep a stool near by so you don’t wear yourself out. It takes time to get used to standing while playing.

If you primarily have your guitar hooked up to your computer for practice and your chosen piece of software doesn’t come with a tuner (for whatever reason) then you should check out these free online guitar tuners, which often do more than the label says.

There are a bunch of free online guitar tuners out there, and for me, there are two types of tuners. There are those that play a note, or a sound file that you match with your guitar by ear and there are the tuners that ‘listen’ to the sound coming out of your guitar and tell you to either tune up or tune down.

Personally when it comes to online guitar tuners I’m a little miffed why they can’t be the second, more interactive type of guitar tuner. I think I might have to have a talk to some flash developers about that and see if I can get one put up on this website.

But for now, here are the best free online guitar tuners I have come across (ones that play a tone and you tune your guitar by ear).

Giesen Tuner
Chord Book Tuner
Hot Frets Tuner

Plus there’s a whole host of Guitar Tuners just like this that are available for download on the PC, Mac or Linux. You should be able to find a bunch of free guitar tuners, but if you get stuck just give me a yell and I’ll do a post with links to some of my faves.

Cheers!

The tabs will open up in a new window so you can play along to the song.

Hey There Deliliah @ Ultimate Guitar

Let me know if you find better tabs, there are always guitarists out there who submit their own versions, some are better than others.

Check out some easy guitar solos by some artists you’re sure to recognize

7. Island in the Sun by Weezer

It’s pretty easy to find the video clip for Island in the Sun, the hard part is finding JUST the solo. So I’ve got the full video linked to here (it will open in a new window), you just need to fast forward to 1:55 which is just a couple of bars before the solo kicks off, you’ll know you’re in the right place if you see a gigantic bear licking River in the back of the head.

Btw, I can’t embed the video here because it’s copyrighted

Now that you’re familiar with the solo I want you to take a look at the tabs for it, click here to load them up in a new window.

6. Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers

This guy does an awesome job of breaking it down for you and showing you exactly how to play this solo, the only thing I’d recommend is listening to the solo before and after so you get the context and timing right.

Oh… here’s a link to listen to the full version of Californication (Apparently you have to be in the US to watch it due to Copyright restrictions… what a load of shit!)… Songza to the rescue!

5. When I Come Around by Greenday

If you don’t already know the song, start listening to it now:

And open up the tabs to the song here… try and read the tabs in time with the music to get a good understanding of how the solo is structured. One thing tablature lacks is the ability to show time… which is also one of its advantages.

Oh, and this song is tuned down half a step, so you might want to try it after the other ones.

4. Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana

Umm, here’s the song:

Here’s the tabs

Now get to work! Oh… and here’s a series of videos showing you exactly how to play it:

3. Money by Pink Floyd

Believe it or not, this is actually a pretty easy guitar solo, maybe not as easy as the ones above, you’ll want to learn this in parts, there’s a lot to remember but when you start chunking it down you’ll be able to nail it.

It’s a real shame this video is so out of sync… you get the feeling its fake… but its not.

Click here to open up the tabs in a new window.

2. Fade to Black by Metallica (The beginning Solo)

Check out this dude nailing the solo to Fade to Black… he’s got a good backing track too (and some nice guitars!)

This one is also kind of long, but worth the time. Click here to open the tabs in a new window.

1. Live Forever by Oasis

This is a pretty good rendition of the solo in Live Forever… Check it out to get a good idea of what you’re supposed to do, and what it sounds like:

And check out the guitar tabs here.

So that’s it! I hope I gave you some cool resources and things to practice tonight, let me know how you get on in the comments section.

Cheers