How To Figure Out Major Chords By Ear

By Dylan Andrews

Would you like to be able to learn songs just by listening to them? 

Would you like to know what the guitar player is doing without even picking up your guitar?

Would you like to be able to figure out chords by ear?

If so… 

…then you need to train your ear to hear major chords.

 Here's why:

1. Without knowing how to figure out chords by ear, you will always rely on others to tell you how to play and hope they're right.
2. You'll never know how notes and chords will sound before you play them.
3. You'll never be able to learn a song without looking up chord charts (or tab) that are (very) often wrong.
4. Finally, you will never be the confident guitar player you want to be without knowing how to identify chords by ear.

Every guitar player wants to feel confident and have more fun when playing the guitar. 

I've found that figuring out chords by ear is one of the keys to achieving this. 

So, the first thing you need to do is train your ear to hear major chords. If you want to know how to train your ear to hear major chords watch this video. 

So in a major key, there are seven chords - 3 of these chords are major. The major chords are the 1st, 4th and 5th chords in the key, often referred to by the roman numerals I IV & V.

Next, we need to understand how each chord functions and feels. The way we do this is by understanding the categories they break down into, which are:

1. Tonic (I)
2. Subdominant (IV)
3. Dominant (V)

Tonic chords are very stable-sounding chords that have a huge sense of resolution. They are often called home and where you usually end the song. Listen out for this chord when listening to songs or practicing ear training. 

The IV chord is the subdominant and has a feeling of wanting to move to something else. Often the IV chord wants to move to the V. 

Then we have dominant, the V. Dominant chords are the most unstable and have a strong pull back to the I chord.

Now that you understand how each major chord sounds in a key let's talk about day-to-day things you can do for ear training practice. 

How To Hear Major Chords Practice Tip #1: Record exercises for yourself to listen to. 

Don't worry, you don't need any fancy recording equipment; your phone will do great. 

Here are the steps you can take:

1. Write down 12 chord progressions consisting of 2 chords that you will play. You always want to start on the 1, but the key you play can be different. For example, your list could look something like this:

• 1 - 4
• 1 - 5
• 1 - 8
• 1 - 4
• 1 - 5
• And so on until you have 12

1.  Next, you will hit record on your phone and play progression one 2-4 times. After you are done playing, say the answer. You don't have to keep track of where you wrote the answers. 
2. Create three more of these recordings, this way, you won't just end up memorizing the answers. 
3. Once you feel comfortable with two chords, repeat the same process with three-chord progressions, then 4, etc. 

I know this is a bit of work, but it is worth it. When you have this, you will be able to listen to it throughout the day, in the car, and practice ear training anywhere.

How To Hear Major Chords Practice Tip #2: Sing the chord.

You don't have to be a pro singer to do this. All you need to do is match the notes with your voice. This ear-training exercise is important because singing is one of the most powerful ways to train your ear. 

So here is what you do:

Play the one chord of whatever key you choose, and then try to sing the IV chord. Then play the IV to see if you got it. 

If not, correct yourself and try again. Do this also with the V chord.

Now you understand how each major chord sounds and have ear training exercises you can do to practice them. 

If you want to learn more about identifying intervals by ear, get my free video on my top 5 favorite exercises for ear training.

Dylan Andrews is a professional guitar teacher and teaches ear training lessons online.