Hi Abargle,

I have discovered after 35 years of guitar playing that I am a beginning guitarist as well. I can't tell what chords I hear unless I have a guitar in my hands to compare with. But I can hear the changes and once I have an idea of major or minor keys I can usually suss things out.

My friend John had Asperger's Syndrome as well as perfect pitch which he found to be a curse. He could never listen to what was being played without hearing those very tiny variations in pitch with in each chord. John disappeared from my life years ago and I'd like to find him again to see if he ever overcame that worry. I find it more useful to have exact change than perfect pitch.

The point is it doesn't matter whether you know the trick of recognizing what chord is played by name. Hearing the relationship to the other chords will probably help just as much.

Don