The course › Unit 12: Accompanying like a pro

Finding chords by ear

Lesson 71 of 72 · The bass, the color, the degree: work out a chord chart without sheet music

In this lesson, you will:

Hear a chord’s bass note and its color, major or minor
Recognize I, IV, V and vi, and the most famous progressions
Find the chord that goes under a melody

1. Learn: Working out the chords: three questions

You hear a song and want to accompany it, with no sheet music. Musicians call this working out the chords. The secret: don’t hunt for all three notes of the chord right away. Ask yourself three questions, in order.

1. Where is home? Find the tonic, the chord where the song comes to rest: often the first one, almost always the last. It tells you the key.
2. What’s the bass? Sing the lowest note, then find it on the keyboard. Most of the time, it’s the chord’s root.
3. Major or minor? Once you have the bass, listen to the color: bright or melancholy.

In C major, the bass tells you almost everything: on an F, it’s probably F (IV); on a G, G (V); on an A, Am (vi). These four chords, I, IV, V and vi, make up a huge share of all songs on their own.

Why this way: Edwin Gordon used the word audiation for hearing music in your head, the way you think in words, and he had students recognize the tonic and the dominant before learning any chord names. You hear a chord in relation to home, not on its own: that’s why every exercise in this lesson starts with the C chord.

2. Practice: The bass note

The computer plays the C chord (home), then another chord. Sing its lowest note, then play it, in any octave. Careful: the bass isn’t always the root!

3. Quiz: Which degree?

Home (C), then a chord. Which degree?
This time, home is G. Which degree?
Home is G. Which degree?
Listen: major or minor?

4. Learn: The progressions you hear everywhere

Some chord progressions come back in thousands of songs. Once your ear knows them, you can work out a whole song in seconds. Here are the five most famous:

I – V – vi – IV (C – G – Am – F): the hit-song progression, from Let It Be to Someone Like You.
vi – IV – I – V (Am – F – C – G): the same one, starting on the minor chord. Darker, more intense: that’s Zombie (in G: Em – C – G – D).
I – vi – IV – V (C – Am – F – G): the ’50s progression, from doo-wop to Stand by Me.
The Andalusian cadence (Am – G – F – E): four chords stepping down, with E major at the end. Think Hit the Road Jack.
The 12-bar blues: I, IV and V, twelve measures, and the color of sevenths.

Tip: First, spot the first chord: major (I) or minor (vi, or the Andalusian cadence)? Then the bass of each measure. Two clues are often enough.

5. Quiz: Which progression?

Listen: which progression?
This time in G major: which progression?
And this longer one?

6. Practice: Which chord under the melody?

Listen to a short melody, then play the chord that goes with it. Look for the notes on the strong beats and the long notes: they belong to the chord. Any octave.

7. Quiz: Work out the chords: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Measure 1: C, C, G, G. Which chord?
Measure 2: A, A, then G (a half note). Which chords?
Measure 4: D, D, then C. Which chords?
Measure 5: G, G, then F, F. Which chords?
Measure 6: E, E, then D. Which chords?

8. Piece: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, with chords

You worked out the chords by ear: now play them under the melody. That’s exactly what a pianist does when accompanying a song they’ve never seen written down. The computer plays the melody; you play the chords you just worked out, in the left hand: C (5-3-1), F inverted (C – F – A, 5-2-1) and the short G7 (B – F – G, 5-2-1). Your little finger hardly ever leaves the C.

To practice

The hit-song progression: C – G – A minor – F, without moving your hand
The Andalusian cadence: Your first black key: A minor – G – F – E
Zombie: The Cranberries: E minor – C – G – D
Stand by Me: Ben E. King: A – F♯ minor – D – E
The 12-bar blues: A boogie bass in the left hand

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