are there any good resources or any insider knowledge here on how you learn to play things by ear?
i've been wanting to learn a few songs for a while but the extent of information about them online is just chords, and that doesn't help me with finger picking patterns at all so i was wondering if you had any good tips on getting started with it because i have no idea where i'd even begin. (i know i can just google "how to learn to play by ear" (and i am doing that as well) but i like to ask here as well because it's nice to hear directly frmo real people)
plus i think playing by ear is a really good skill to have in general so i don't have to rely on tabs and youtube videos to learn songs.
Start by learning melodies and solos by ear. Chains of individual notes are easier to hear, so you should start developing your ear with them. Slow them down and really try to hear and play each note. If something feels unnatural, try to find an easier way to play the same notes, usually there is one. When your ear is a little more developed, start trying to also learn fingerpicking patterns, and then chords, by ear. For chords, focus on the root note and the highest note and try to build the chord from there.
I'd also recommend learning common chord progressions and chord types besides major and minor (seventh, suspended, diminished, augmented) and really internalizing what they sound like. This way, 99% of the time you won't need to hear the notes in the chords individually, you will just hear the progression/chord as a whole and be able to connect it to a sound you know.
Finally, when you've been doing this for a while, go back and revisit old songs you've learned, just for fun. Your skills will be way better now and chances are you will find mistakes in the way you learned them.