How I Finally Developed My Ear.
At First I Thought You Either Had It Or You Didn't
When I started playing guitar, I wasn't even aware that you could train your ear. I just assumed some people had it, and others didn't. But about six months in, I saw an ad claiming that anyone could develop a great ear — and that it would change your playing forever. I was intrigued. I bought the course.
What I Tried (And Why It Didn't Work)
The course focused on interval training — the idea that if you could recognize the distance between two notes, you'd be able to figure out any melody. So I practiced. A lot. I got really good at ear training tests — but when I picked up my guitar, nothing changed. It was like trying to draw a picture by following one number at a time. No real connection to the bigger musical picture.
Even at GIT, They Taught It Wrong
A few years later I attended GIT in Hollywood, expecting to finally unlock my ear. But their system was exactly the same. I figured if a famous music school teaches it this way, it must be right. So I kept at it. And I kept failing.
The Breakthrough: Movable Do Solfege
It wasn't until my mid-to-late 20s — while studying orchestral composition — that I discovered the system I use now. I was determined to understand written notation without an instrument, so I had to develop a way to hear music directly from the page. Through years of studying, experimenting, and score reading, I completely rewired how I heard music. When I picked up the guitar again, everything was different.
✓ You don't need natural talent to develop a great ear
✓ If you train your brain the right way, your fingers will follow
✓ This method works — if you put in the work
