Week 13: learning a whole song by ear
Week thirteen of a 32-week guitar practice path: taking a tune you love apart — the head or riff, the changes, and one solo phrase.
- Week
- 13 of 32
- Days
- 7
- Played as
- blues or rock
Everything so far has been components. This week is a whole piece of music, chosen by you, learned end to end, and as much of it by ear as you can manage.
Work in chunks and slow them down: the signature riff or head first, since it is usually why the song exists, then the changes underneath, then one phrase from the solo. Reaching for tab is not a moral failure, but every phrase you find by ear makes the next one faster — and making this possible was the point of the previous twelve weeks.
Blues treatment
Learn a whole blues tune or a famous solo, by ear where you can
Everything so far has been components. This week is a whole piece of music, chosen by you, learned end to end, and as much of it by ear as you can manage.
Work in chunks and slow them down: the head or signature riff first, then the changes (nearly always a 12-bar, sometimes with a quick change or an unusual turnaround — those departures are the tune's character), then one solo phrase you actually love. Reaching for tab is not a moral failure, but every phrase you find by ear makes the next one faster, and the whole point of the last twelve weeks was to make this possible.
The daily session · ~25 min
- Warm upHands + learn by ear4 min
- Learn the head by earThe signature riff4 min
- Map the changesHear the form6 min
- Lift a piece of the soloOne phrase you love6 min
- Jam, play it end to endPut it together5 min
Check yourself
- Play the head from memory, at tempo, without the recording.
- Play through the changes without checking a chart.
- Can you play one phrase from the original solo and say why it works?
Reference
Rock treatment
Learn a riff-based rock song or a famous solo, by ear where you can
Components become music. Pick a riff-driven song you actually love, and learn it in pieces: the main riff first, since that is usually the reason the song exists, then the chord movement underneath, then one phrase from the solo.
Do as much as you can by ear. It will be slower than tab for a fortnight and considerably faster forever after, and it is the skill that makes you useful at a jam. The riff is also the best possible test of the rhythm work from week four — riffs are unforgiving about timing in a way that solos are not.
The daily session · ~25 min
- Warm upHands + learn by ear4 min
- Learn the main riffThe song's hook4 min
- Map the chordsHear the progression6 min
- Lift a solo phraseOne lick you love6 min
- Jam, play it end to endPut it together5 min
Check yourself
- Play the main riff from memory at tempo, locked to the click.
- Play through the song's chords without a chart.
- Play one phrase from the solo and say why it works where it does.
Reference
How the week runs
Whichever accent you pick, the material stays the same for all 7 days and the tempo and intent move. Day one takes it slowly, day two chases clean notes, day three brings it to target tempo and into the jam, day four pushes past comfortable, and day five drops back to tempo to record and listen. Days six and seven are yours.
You can switch accent any day without losing your place — it is the same week either way, so week 13 means the same thing in both.