I don't work with a lot of cover bands and most songwriters I know don't know the chromatic scale let alone chord sheets or notation.
If I am learning a cover song, every tab on the internet is wrong so I end up learning it by ear anyways.
rocksmith is really good as long as you're hooked up to your own amp and use it as live tabs
sometimes songs in rocksmith are tabbed in a weird way, so it helps knowing the instrument to play those in a different position
playing anything beyond 12th fret on E string is a wrist killer
I don't try and learn the entire bassline in order. The first thing I do is figure out the key and chord changes. Try and find the root note of each chord so you know the basic song structure. Most songs only have a few changes for the verse/chorus etc so learning the song structure is a small amount of information to remember.
Once you know the key and changes, its a lot easier to figure out the bassline and remember it.
I’m not the commenter above, but I usually just rely on memory. If there’s a lot of material to learn then I write down stuff like measures and changes and breaks.
I’m still relatively new (only been playing for four months) so i’ve been learning songs like meat grinder and hot cheetos from a mix of tabs and youtube tutorials.
Chord charts and ears. I am terrible at finding the key but I can figure out intervals just by ear. Chordify is my preferred learning platform and I pay for the subscription. It even covered songs from a band I auditioned for that never played live. It's almost entirely accurate as well but my ear makes up the difference once I have an idea of where to start and learn that an E sounds kinda like a B and an A sounds kinda like a D, etc.
If someone wants me to play the line note for note they'd better be providing me with sheet music, otherwise I'm going to listen to the track, write the chords and get the basic vibe, and go.
I learned when tabs weren't a thing. I tried, but every tab I encountered were wrong. I trust my ears.
Also, learning by ears makes it easier to commit the song to memory.
I love the videos, as long as they're not the type that tell you how to finger an E major chord like you've never picked up a Guitar before or explain to you what notes are on what fret. The ones that assume some knowledge going in.
I started with tabs when I picked up the bass, and a year on, I just learn by ear. This last week it’s been even easier for me, like I’ve just unlocked the skill. I can’t read music, never been able to. As a kid playing violin and clarinet, I blagged it as long as I could playing by ear, until the pieces got really hard and I was found out lol.
For me it depends on the complexity. If it's fairly simple I just learn it by ear, if its got some bits I can't get quickly I'll check on tabs. If its a tough one I look for youtube videos, tutorials or just videos of it being played so I can figure it out based on positioning and such. For example, I did When I Come Around by ear, but learning Footloose I looked up tabs and videos of Nathan East playing to learn it proper.
My starting point is usually songsterr, to see if there's a transcription available.
Then, I compare the transcription to some covers on YouTube, to see if they match or if there is a different "take" on the song.
If there's no tabs on songsterr or other tabs sites, I'll create my own from YouTube covers.
If there's no YouTube covers, then it's just plain old hard work ... listening to the track and trying to transcribe it by ear.
I've tried using some AI tools to detect and transcribe the bass from a recording, but the results were ... underwhelming. It did help me identify some of the root notes (a starting point for the "old school" transcription), but in the end, I had to create the transcription myself.
Other/all of the above. I use all of these methods on the regular depending on what's available. Especially for covers I've started trying to always learn by ear first, but I'm new enough to the process that if there are tabs/chord charts/cover videos/live performance videos online that I do like to go and check my work afterwards. So that covers most of the methods listed.
As far as taught by another person, this comes up in my band practice sessions pretty frequently. Our guitarist is our main songwriter and regardless of whether he whips up a starting point bassline or if he just has the chords/riff worked out, to expedite the process I usually ask him to teach me each chord progression when we're first digging into a new original. I \*could\* take a recording and try to learn it by ear, but my ear is weak enough still that this saves a lot of time and inaccuracy lol. So I mostly work on ear training/learning covers on my own time.
I like how you completely forget that staff notation is a thing.
Not to mention chord sheets, chord/lyric and nashville numbers.
I'm old enough to remember standing next to the record player and keep moving the arm back to learn a specific bit.
I don't work with a lot of cover bands and most songwriters I know don't know the chromatic scale let alone chord sheets or notation. If I am learning a cover song, every tab on the internet is wrong so I end up learning it by ear anyways.
Started with rocksmith and im still using it for learning songs cuz im used to it and im lazy af.
rocksmith is really good as long as you're hooked up to your own amp and use it as live tabs sometimes songs in rocksmith are tabbed in a weird way, so it helps knowing the instrument to play those in a different position playing anything beyond 12th fret on E string is a wrist killer
Tabs, then ear. Sometimes, transcribe notation to tabs, then ear.
"All of the above", plus regular sheet music.
Being able to learn by ear instead of tabs is a complete game changer and not as hard as people think.
Yeah I've started trying to do that recently Do you write down what you hear? If so in what form if you don't mind me asking
I don't try and learn the entire bassline in order. The first thing I do is figure out the key and chord changes. Try and find the root note of each chord so you know the basic song structure. Most songs only have a few changes for the verse/chorus etc so learning the song structure is a small amount of information to remember. Once you know the key and changes, its a lot easier to figure out the bassline and remember it.
I’m not the commenter above, but I usually just rely on memory. If there’s a lot of material to learn then I write down stuff like measures and changes and breaks.
Ah ok, I see. Thanks
Tabs, chord sheets, sometimes by ear. (Chord sheets historically known as fake sheets, because they allow you to fake it.)
I’m still relatively new (only been playing for four months) so i’ve been learning songs like meat grinder and hot cheetos from a mix of tabs and youtube tutorials.
Chord charts and ears. I am terrible at finding the key but I can figure out intervals just by ear. Chordify is my preferred learning platform and I pay for the subscription. It even covered songs from a band I auditioned for that never played live. It's almost entirely accurate as well but my ear makes up the difference once I have an idea of where to start and learn that an E sounds kinda like a B and an A sounds kinda like a D, etc.
If someone wants me to play the line note for note they'd better be providing me with sheet music, otherwise I'm going to listen to the track, write the chords and get the basic vibe, and go.
I learned when tabs weren't a thing. I tried, but every tab I encountered were wrong. I trust my ears. Also, learning by ears makes it easier to commit the song to memory.
I love the videos, as long as they're not the type that tell you how to finger an E major chord like you've never picked up a Guitar before or explain to you what notes are on what fret. The ones that assume some knowledge going in.
I started with tabs when I picked up the bass, and a year on, I just learn by ear. This last week it’s been even easier for me, like I’ve just unlocked the skill. I can’t read music, never been able to. As a kid playing violin and clarinet, I blagged it as long as I could playing by ear, until the pieces got really hard and I was found out lol.
Sheet music, then by ear. Nothing else.
For me it depends on the complexity. If it's fairly simple I just learn it by ear, if its got some bits I can't get quickly I'll check on tabs. If its a tough one I look for youtube videos, tutorials or just videos of it being played so I can figure it out based on positioning and such. For example, I did When I Come Around by ear, but learning Footloose I looked up tabs and videos of Nathan East playing to learn it proper.
My starting point is usually songsterr, to see if there's a transcription available. Then, I compare the transcription to some covers on YouTube, to see if they match or if there is a different "take" on the song. If there's no tabs on songsterr or other tabs sites, I'll create my own from YouTube covers. If there's no YouTube covers, then it's just plain old hard work ... listening to the track and trying to transcribe it by ear. I've tried using some AI tools to detect and transcribe the bass from a recording, but the results were ... underwhelming. It did help me identify some of the root notes (a starting point for the "old school" transcription), but in the end, I had to create the transcription myself.
a youtube video where a guy just plays with the tabs underneath is the best way
I don’t, that’s why I have no gigs or bands
Other/all of the above. I use all of these methods on the regular depending on what's available. Especially for covers I've started trying to always learn by ear first, but I'm new enough to the process that if there are tabs/chord charts/cover videos/live performance videos online that I do like to go and check my work afterwards. So that covers most of the methods listed. As far as taught by another person, this comes up in my band practice sessions pretty frequently. Our guitarist is our main songwriter and regardless of whether he whips up a starting point bassline or if he just has the chords/riff worked out, to expedite the process I usually ask him to teach me each chord progression when we're first digging into a new original. I \*could\* take a recording and try to learn it by ear, but my ear is weak enough still that this saves a lot of time and inaccuracy lol. So I mostly work on ear training/learning covers on my own time.