Mario is right. Music theory should be part of every musician's lessons. Even those without a formal teacher should invest in a good book on at least basic theory.

And yes, sitting around and playing with either the radio or a recording is a very good way to develop your ears. Add that to some good basic music theory and you should know the kind of chords that fit. For example, in the key of C Major the D (ii) chord is usually minor. So if you hear the bass note of D, the first one you should try is Dm. If that sounds wrong, there are other less common choices.

The combination of theory and ear training will eventually produce reasonably efficient results for most simple to moderate songs.

As far as memorizing. One song at a time, take the music away or you will never learn it. See how far you can get. When you get stuck check and then start at the beginning again until you get stuck again. It's time consuming I know, but if you don't put the music down, you will probably take forever to memorize it.

Muscle memory works but if your muscles don't need to remember but would rather have the brain tell them, they will probably let the brain do the work.

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Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
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