3 Guitarists Fix Their Ears in 2 Months (Real Ear Tests)

Uh, see, I just have no confidence in it.

No, but that's not 5, that's 3.

1, 6, 3. So yeah, that's as good as I get, dude.

I can't— oh my God.

1, 2, 3, 2.

Like, I can't even I'm just lost.

That's the thing, dude.

I can't find it.

I got so lost, dude.

I, I really don't know. Like, I would just be— every— I give you numbers right now, it's gonna be random.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 4, 3, 1, 2, 4, 4, 6, 1, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2.

Yes sir, very good.

1, 3, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Right, let's go.

Yeah, we'll just start with that.

Uh, see, I just have no confidence in it.

Yeah, let me give you my first note one more time.

2, 3, 2, 1, 7, 6.

Wait, you just went 3, 2, 1? I don't even—

that's the thing, it's, uh, 3, 2, like, I can't even—

I'm just lost. That's the thing.

1, 3, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Yeah.

1, 3, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Amazing.

Yeah.

Awesome, dude. First of all, how does it feel to just watch yourself do that?

Yeah, that's crazy. Like, I definitely wasn't able to do that at all. I wasn't sure if I would be able to do that.

Yeah. 1, 2, 3, 4. 4, 5, 4, 3, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

I feel like I was kind of like frustrated on ear training and kind of like accepted my fate. And now I'm the person who like is starting to see progress and is like excited for more.

Yeah.

Yeah. Just my whole approach has changed, right? There's actually like a roadmap like that I've internalized. It's like before there was just like no roadmap. It was just like, it's like, I know it's 1 out of 12, so just let's find the one.

Yeah.

Yeah, uh, one. Yeah, I got 16571. No, but that's not 5, that's 3.

163.

This is good as I can.

8.

Da da da da da da da da da. Arpeggio, uh, 1, 3, 5, 1, 7, uh, 6. 5, 3, 1.

Okay.

No, it kind of goes back.

Uh, 1, 3, 2, 5, 1.

Yes, exactly. Very good.

That was one of the ones that I showed you at the beginning that you I totally did not know.

Oh, word, okay. Yeah, so there we go, that's fire.

2, 4, 4, 6, 1, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2.

Yes sir, very good.

Finding melodies by ear has definitely gotten a lot easier. Improvising over chords, you know, finding nice little fills that I don't really have to think about. Oh, I also just know where I am, you know, I don't have to— I used to actually have to, okay, wait, hold up, this is that, so that's that, so I'm here, but now I'm kind of just, I can kind of just trust that, yeah, I know what I'm playing. I think before it would have been very trial and error, you know, I'd get the key and then go through step by step. Now I have a better sense of where things fit, even if just relative to each other, you know.

Dude, I can't— oh my God.

Mm, dude, I'm so lost. I don't know.

Is that it? There you go, yeah, yeah. Fuck. Let's do chords now.

Oh, fuck. Yeah, nah, this is the hard part for me. Is it one— I'm just guessing. The first two I really don't know. I'm guessing 1465. I don't know, like, I would just be—

every—

I give you numbers right now, it's gonna be random. Yo, this is like a humiliation ritual, man.

135 Right, I'm gonna play one more time.

2514. Yeah, 2514, exactly.

Oh, it's just the two of us. 4, 3, D6, 5 minor, 1, D, right?

Yeah, exactly.

I noticed that it's much better. And like, for example, whenever I hear a song now, it doesn't matter whatever song, if I play one random note, I know exactly what it is, right? So like, I know exactly where I'm at in this scale. So that's, that's good at least. And I believe also on piano and stuff like that.

So let's go!

That's a big win.

That's fire, that's a huge win, dude.

But I think my ear has gotten significantly like better, like the— I mean, you lock into the, to the, the world one, like, I mean, perfect, like, you know, I'm just like, yeah, it sounds like it's supposed to be there. Yeah, I'm surprised at how much progress.

I mean, wasn't it crazy to watch those videos, dude? Wasn't that freaking hilarious?

Hard watch.

Holy shit.

Yo, all right, here's how this actually works step by step.

Step 1, we're going to fix your map of the neck.

In the first lessons, we're not going start with things like ear training games. We're going to begin by getting the basics of mobility around the fretboard super solid. How do you visualize the fretboard using like the most basic units of movement, literally whole steps and half steps? Because if you're not able to visualize your neck as one continuous string, it's going to be really hard to layer things on top of that. Number 2, we are going to plug that into what's called the tonal map, and this is where the magic really happens. Once you're able to move around your fretboard, we're gonna connect this to one really simple picture of the key that is gonna help you cut through every single scale diagram you've ever seen in your entire life. You're gonna stop thinking of like, oh, I'm just playing random notes, or maybe like letter names, to I'm on note 1, I'm on note 6, I'm on note 4, because you're gonna understand that literally every single sound has a specific location in the tonal musical map. Chords, melodies, background music, and it's that same map that all 3 of the guys you saw used to pass those tests. Step 3, we are going to use the guitar to train your voice because if you can't sing it, there's no way you're gonna be able to put it on your fretboard consistently and accurately. Right, and so you'll be playing along with your voice. 1, 2, 3, 5, 3, 2, 1, 4, and then eventually you'll you'll get to this point where you can basically just sing the sounds without the numbers. You'll be able to just pick them out of thin air and drop them straight onto your fretboard, because once you have it in your head, it is dead easy to drop it on the fretboard after you have the— your foundations of mobility correct. And step 4, everything that you hear is going to become your practice, your ear training practice. And once that's in place, we're going to connect this framework to everything that you already know, right? The songs that you know, that you've written, bass lines, your favorite songs on the radio, right? It's all gonna be like, what are those numbers? Where do those things lie on the map? And literally your entire day is gonna be filled with ear training because every single sound that you hear becomes an opportunity for you to practice. It's like a game that you can play all day long. And so basically what you just watched is not talent or luck, it's literally just one process repeated repeated a lot of times until their ears literally couldn't not hear it. If you want to walk through this process in more detail and try a couple of the drills, there's a free training link below. Watch that first, and if it clicks and you're serious about actually fixing your ear and developing your ability to speak this language of music in the next few months, there's a link under it to book an Effortless Improvisation Game Plan call, and we can have a conversation and see if I might be able to help you. Peace!