Play It By Ear
Play It By Ear
Train your ear for intervals, chords and melodies
Play It By Ear is an ear training course for guitar players, taught by Steve Stine, GuitarZoom's Master Instructor. You learn to match pitch, hear rhythm, and recognize every interval from a 2nd to a 7th. Then you learn to hear chords, chord progressions, modes and song structures, and to recognize simple melodies. The course has 39 video lessons, about 3 hours in total, in four modules.
What Play It By Ear is about
Steve breaks every skill into simple steps you can follow. In these videos, he introduces the course, explains perfect vs. relative pitch, and shows how to hear song structures.
Course intro: Introduction · 1:30
Free preview lesson: Perfect Pitch vs. Relative Pitch · 2:58
Free preview lesson: Understanding and Hearing Song Structures · 7:59
Is Play It By Ear right for you?
- Players who want to rely less on tabs. The course trains you to hear intervals, chords, progressions and melodies.
- Players without perfect pitch. The course explains perfect pitch vs. relative pitch.
- Players who want to hear chord changes. Lessons cover hearing chords and chord progressions.
- Players curious about theory. You learn intervals, the major scale chords and the modes by ear.
Skills you'll walk away with
- Understand perfect pitch vs. relative pitch
- Match pitch and hear pulse and rhythm
- Recognize intervals from minor 2nd to major 7th
- Hear chords and chord progressions
- Hear the intervals and chords in the major scale
- Recognize the Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Phrygian and Dorian modes and the harmonic minor scale
- Identify song structures
- Recognize melodies like Happy Birthday and Amazing Grace
The course, module by module
Every module and every lesson, in the order you learn them.
Ear Training Basics and First Intervals
Perfect vs. relative pitch, basic concepts (pitch, interval, harmony, rhythm), practice tips, staff notation, pitch matching, hearing pulse and rhythm, and recognizing 2nds and 3rds.
See all 18 lessons
- Introduction 1:30
- Purpose of This Course 1:16
- What This Course Is Not 1:00
- Perfect Pitch vs. Relative Pitch 2:58
- Basic Concepts: Pitch 0:26
- Interval 0:39
- Harmony 0:53
- Hearing Harmonic Progressions 0:31
- Rhythm 0:28
- Applying Concepts To The Fretboard 0:37
- Practice Tips 1:28
- Understanding Staff Notation 4:55
- Pitch Matching 13:38
- Hearing Pulse and Rhythm 8:11
- Hearing Intervals 8:11
- Recognizing Minor and Major 2nd 4:57
- Minor and Major 2nd Backwards 2:14
- Minor and Major 3rd 6:22
Intervals, Chords and Progressions
Perfect 4ths, diminished 5ths, perfect 5ths, 6ths and 7ths, then hearing chords and chord progressions.
See all 5 lessons
- Perfect 4th, Diminished 5th, Perfect 5th 4:29
- Minor and Major 6th 4:50
- Minor and Major 7th 3:49
- Hearing Chords 14:41
- Hearing Chord Progressions 18:28
Scales, Modes and Song Structure
Intervals and chords in the major scale, the Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Phrygian and Dorian modes, the harmonic minor scale, and hearing song structures with an in-depth analysis.
See all 9 lessons
- Intervals and Chords in the Major Scale 20:46
- The Lydian Mode 4:02
- The Mixolydian Mode 1:18
- The Natural Minor Scale/Aeolian Mode 1:44
- The Harmonic Minor Scale 0:27
- The Phrygian Mode 0:52
- The Dorian Mode 0:35
- Understanding and Hearing Song Structures 7:59
- Song Structure: In-Depth Analysis 15:00
Melodies and Chordal Ear Training
Hearing single-note structures, recognizing melodies like Happy Birthday and Amazing Grace, chordal ear training, power chords and single-note melodic ideas.
See all 7 lessons
- Understanding and Hearing Single Note Structures 7:24
- Recognizing Melodies: Happy Birthday 1:54
- Recognizing Melodies: Amazing Grace 1:22
- Chordal Ear Training 8:50
- Power Chords 2:34
- Single Note Melodic Ideas 2:37
- Conclusion 2:31
Learn at your own pace
Clear video lessons
Every move is shown up close. Pause, rewind and repeat each lesson as often as you need.
Learn at your pace
There are no deadlines. Take one lesson a day or binge a whole module on the weekend.
Yours for life
Pay once and come back any time, on your computer, tablet or phone. No subscription.
Steve Stine
Steve has taught guitar for more than 30 years and has helped millions of players in over 100 countries. He has a Music Education degree from Minnesota State University Moorhead and taught guitar at North Dakota State University. He's known for breaking hard things into simple steps you can follow. Read Steve's full story
What students say about Steve's teaching
Excellent · 4.8 out of 5 on TrustpilotRead our reviews"I love the way that Steve explained things and shows how to become better."
Hans-Joachim G.Germany
"It made a difference, it was worth the money. Thank you."
Kevin W.United States
"This is absolutely one of the best classes I've ever taken."
Steve D.United States
"I'm just overjoyed to come across learning material that I've yearned for."
Andy M.Australia
"Thank you for breaking down music theory and making it so easy to learn."
Travis B.United States
"I have definitely improved and I enjoy it immensely."
Melina K.United States
Play It By Ear questions
Do I need perfect pitch?
Does it cover reading music?
Which intervals will I learn to hear?
Does the course cover modes?
How long is the course?
Is this course good for beginners?
How much does Play It By Ear cost?
Can I watch on my phone or tablet?
Is there a money-back guarantee?
Where to go after Play It By Ear
Learn Songs By Ear
Pitch matching, rhythm, intervals, chords, progressions and song structure, then recognizing melodies and mode sounds by ear.
All About Intervals
Learn every interval from the minor 2nd to the octave on the fretboard, and how intervals build scales, modes and chords.
Music Theory For Life 2.0
A 12-week course on notes, reading, scales, chords, progressions, melody, improvisation, modes and ear training.
Want a full path instead of single courses? See GuitarZoom Premium, or browse all courses.
Start Play It By Ear today
39 lessons, clear steps and lifetime access. $47 once.
30-day money-back guarantee. Questions? Email support@guitarzoom.com.
