O.K. So I don't play rock n roll or country, but I like to play Contemporary Christian songs for my church, however most of the songs are three or four chords, very basic and very boring without a band to play the extra parts. It's not hard to find the chords for the songs on the net, but you can't find any tabs for the melodies that are played by the piano. Any suggestions on how I can train my ears to locate the notes on the fret board.

First blog but been a member off and on for a while now.

P.S. You guys are absolutely awesome and I've learned a lot Blessings

Hey Joey, as far as ear training, start by being able to distinguish between and identify Major and Minor. Be able to tell whether the scale is major or minor and whether the chord is major or minor. In addition to that, start practicing your major scales while singing or humming the same note you play. This builds a connection between your ear and your fingers more than anything. You'll get better at locating which notes and intervals you're hearing in the melodies.
Also, as far as the cord techniques you might use..... Even a very straight forward and basic 3 chord song can me made very interesting by using embellishments and interesting rhythms. I like to use triad material and double stops or suspensions in my rhythm playing to make things a little more interesting. For me, I kinda think of it as the "Hendrix" _style_ of playing rhythm, but it comes from piano as well. Use your 2nds, 4ths, 6ths and approach notes to help make your chord work unique and interesting.
I'll also recommend a free ear training site, www.musictheory.net . Look for the scale and interval ear trainers, they're well designed, easy to use and free! Have fun!

Great reply in the ear training. Another thing you could do along with the ear training is theory. Learning how scales and chords are built can take you very far in being able to figure out melodies. The music that you most often play will not really have any tricky out of bounds theory. Songs with just a few chords generally stay pretty close to home and some basic theory would help you to get a grasp on how the whole song fits together. Eventually you will be able to determine which note is being played by hearing it and giving it a name. For instance, you may hear a note and you would be able to call it the 5th degree of the scale. If you have been applying you theory and your ear training to your guitar, you would probably know 4 or 5 different locations to play just that one note.

I believe that in this area it is 50% theory and 50% ear training that will help you to go the furthest. The combination of the two can make learning songs and recognizing what is going on in the song a natural habit, just like riding a bike. I hope this helps.

All the best,
Jeremy Laursen