There are many places on the net where you can find the ukulele to chords for songs. But eventually you'll want to play a songs and not be able to find the chords for it. In those situations, it's a huge advantage to be able learn songs by ear. This article will give you a step by step guide to achieving this.

Step 1: Listen

This might be pointing out the obvious, but you have to listen to the song before you try to work it out and before you even pick up your ukulele. Try to pick out the structure of the song, when the chords change, when sections are repeated. See if you can relate the song to one you know already. Many songs are structured in a very similar way. If you can relate it to a song you know already, you're off to a head start.

Step 2: Listen to the Other Instruments

The ukulele isn't the easiest instrument to work out. If the song you are trying to work out has a guitar or bass part, listen to those. The first thing you want to work out is the root note of each chord (for example the root note of Cm7 is C). With the ukulele, it's not always clear which note is the bass note. If there's a bass guitar on the song, try to follow that on the ukulele.

Step 3: Fleshing Out The Chords

Once you have the root notes of the chords, you can build them into full chords. The first thing to judge is whether the chord is major or minor. The difference between major and minor chords is fairly clear and you're probably already familiar with the different sounds.

At this stage, knowing some chord theory is useful. Learning the harmonized major scale will mean you can quickly assess whether a chord is likely to be major, minor, seventh etc.

Step 4: Finishing Touches

Once you have the over all chord structure figured out and you know whether the chords are major or minor, you can start to work out any extra little notes in the chord. The most common variation is a seventh chord.

The best way to pick up on these chord variations is to listen to the melody. It's often easier to work out single notes than it is full chords. If you can figure out how to play the melody, all the better. Melody notes are often picked up on in the chords. So if you can find these notes, they will help you find those subtle chord variations.

Improving your ear is a great way for any musician to improve. As well as helping your work out songs, it will improve your improvisation and song-writing. Although it takes some time to develop this skill, the rewards of doing so are very large.