How to Figure Out Any Song's Chords by Ear: 5 Ear Training Strategies
To figure out a song's chords by ear, first mark where the chords change and find the song's scale, then narrow down each chord using the bass note, cadences, the melody's landing notes, the chord's quality, and its sense of tension or rest.
Key points
- First mark where chords change and how long each lasts, then find the song's scale and list its diatonic chords.
- The bass usually plays the chord's root, so singing the bass note often gives you the chord directly.
- A melody's landing note narrows the choice to the few chords that contain it.
- Chord quality and the feel of tension or rest help you choose between the remaining options.
- Ear training is gradual: each song you work out makes the next one much faster.
This lesson by Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music shows you how to work out the chord progression of a real song using only your ears, your music theory and a little patience. It suits students who already know their major scales and basic triads and want a reliable method for working out chords from recordings, rather than relying on chord apps or online charts.
Preparation Before You Hear a Single Chord
Find when the chords change
Before naming any chord, work out where the changes happen. Count along with the beat. Most songs change chord every two or four beats, but passing chords can move on every beat, and some songs group beats unevenly, such as three counts followed by four.
Write it down as a chord chart. One useful convention is a percentage sign to repeat the previous chord for a bar, and a bracket to show several chords sharing one bar. Two bracketed chords usually get two counts each. If they split differently, for example three beats plus one, mark that too.
Set up a focused environment
Listen to the song a few times and simply enjoy it first. Use good headphones, sit somewhere calm and keep a notebook ready. Treat this as the only thing you are doing.
Find the scale and list its chords
Most progressions come from one scale, so identify the key first. Then write out its diatonic chords. In F major these are F major, G minor, A minor, Bb major, C major, D minor and E diminished. Start with pop songs, which are far easier than bands with complex harmony such as Queen or the Beatles.
Strategy 1: It Is All About the Bass
The bass usually plays the root of the chord and often holds it for a whole bar, which makes it easier to hear than the melody. Go down to the low register, find the bass note and sing it. If you are in F major and the bass sings F, the chord is very likely F major.
You do not need perfect pitch. Sing the note into a tuner app to check its name, or use your relative pitch and knowledge of the scale. To hear the bass more clearly, turn down the treble on an equaliser rather than boosting the bass, or use a stem-separation app such as Moises to solo the bass and drums.
Strategy 2: Listen in Two-Chord Cadences
If there are too many chords, mark each change with a question mark and listen in tiny chunks of two chords: cadences.
- Authentic (V to I): stable and complete.
- Plagal (IV to I): also stable and complete.
- Deceptive (V to vi): moves into new territory, from major to the relative minor.
- Half (ending on V): open-ended, like a question mark.
Strategy 3: Use the Melody's Landing Notes
The melody is the easiest thing to hear. Find its landing notes: the important notes that fall on strong beats, are held longer and often carry a key word in the lyric. Pause the song on that note.
A chord that fits must share that note. In D minor (relative of F major, one flat: Bb), a landing note of D points to D minor (D F A), Bb major (Bb D F) or G minor (G Bb D). F major (F A C) will not fit. Now you only have three chords to compare by trial and error. If the sound is bright and happy, Bb major is the likely answer.
Strategy 4: Hear the Chord's Quality
Every chord type has a mood. Major sounds happy and settled; minor sounds pensive or sorrowful; a dominant seventh yearns to resolve to its I, so C7 points to F. Major sevenths feel dreamy, diminished sevenths sound confused, and minor-major sevenths have that spy-film colour. If you start on the tonic in F major and hear another major chord, it is almost certainly Bb (IV) or C (V).
Indian classically trained musicians can use swaras the same way. In A major, A is Sa; a bass note on Ga (C#) is the third degree, whose chord is C# minor.
Strategy 5: Follow Tension and Release
Music, like a film, moves between tension and resolution. Dominant chords feel unstable and lead towards stable chords. The jazz ii-V-I is the classic example: the ii is pleasant, the V builds tension, the I lands. Once you recognise this shape, you will spot it in song after song.
How to Practise
Be patient. Your first song may take hours, but each one gets faster. Work until your brain feels a little tired, then try again the next morning, when things often fall into place. If something fails, try again.
Questions about this lesson
Do I need perfect pitch to figure out chords by ear?
No. Relative pitch is enough: once you know the key and one reference note, you can work out the rest from your knowledge of the scale. You can also sing a bass note into a tuner app to confirm its name.
What is the easiest part of a song to listen to for chords?
The bass is often easiest because it usually plays the chord's root and holds it for a long time. The melody is also easy to hear, and its landing notes tell you which chords are possible.
How do I choose a chord for a melody note?
List the chords of the song's scale and keep only those that contain the melody note. For example, a D in D minor or F major fits D minor, Bb major or G minor, and you then compare those few by ear.
What kind of songs should I start with?
Start with pop songs, blues and jazz ii-V-I progressions, which are predictable. Leave harmonically complex music, such as Queen or the Beatles, until you have more experience.
Practise it
- Cadence LibraryCompare piano cadences across keys and listen to how different chord movements create closure, suspense or a turn in a new direction.
- Nathaniel Music QuizTest ear training, theory and notation with interactive questions.
- All free music apps40 practice tools for harmony, rhythm, ear training and more.
Related lessons
- 10 Types of Cadences Explained: Theory, Ear Training and PianoA cadence is a short chord progression of two to four chords, such as V–I (authentic), IV–I (plagal), V–vi (deceptive) or i–bVII–bVI–V (Andalusian), used to end, extend or redirect a musical phrase.
- A Healthy Reality Check for Figuring Out Chords by Ear (Harmonic Ear Training)To figure out chords by ear, first find the key and scale, list the chords that belong to it, sing the bass note of each chord within the real song, judge its quality by its emotion, and use theory and familiar two-chord cadences to narrow your trial and error.
- Harmonic Ear Training: The Fastest Way to Hear Any ChordTo identify chords by ear quickly, ignore the melody and top notes, find and sing the lowest bass note of each chord, then use theory and your sense of major, minor, diminished or augmented quality to name the full chord.
- 5 Ways to Make a Basic Chord Progression Sound BeautifulYou can make a basic two-chord progression like Bb major to D major sound richer by adding passing chords in between: relative minors, plagal (IV) chords, authentic (V) chords, secondary dominants, and ii-V-I approaches to the next chord, all found easily with the Circle of Fifths.