Further Lessons - Play Piano by Ear and Make Great Music in Minutes

There’s been an ongoing debate among musicians, music enthusiasts, and music critics as to which method of learning music is the best and the most effective: playing by ear or taking formal courses? And until now, they have not reached a consensus about it. The reason? Well, learning the piano is really a matter of personal choice as well as how much time and money one is willing to spare on learning the skill. Talent and your natural musical abilities could also influence your decision on which route to take.

Most modern musicians didn't undergo formal training in music; some of them don't even know what a sheet music looks like. That's right, they just naturally figured out how to play the songs by listening to them. It's called playing my ear.

Playing by ear has been an invaluable tool for many pianists, who started playing their first music by just picking an instrument and mindlessly hitting the keys and amazingly made great melodies --- which kick started the career of some. As amateur and professional pianists hone their piano playing skills by training their ears, they also learn to develop their own music and playing style.

Of course, there will always be some advantages to having formal training in piano because it will open a lot of possibilities for you. There have been some really talented artists who lost certain projects because they relied on their natural ear playing abilities and didn’t follow it up with formal training. But in reality, in the modern world, producers, managers, and talent scouts look for raw talent. And yes, playing by ear can definitely be considered raw talent. So basically, it is your own prerogative whether you’d like to stop at learning how to play by ear or you’d love to back your skill with formal knowledge, which can definitely do wonders to developing your piano playing prowess.

Most well-known pianists, in fact, start playing by ear and then took classical piano lessons to develop their skills and music further. One example is the great Sir Elton John, who started playing classical piano pieces by ear when he was just four years old and then further developed his musical prowess by enrolling at the Royal Academy of Music at the young age of eleven. How amazing is that!

However, classical piano training will take months, and even years, to complete. Not everyone will have the patience to endure such lengthy and often rigorous training. Most busy adults would consider sitting on the piano for hours a waste of precious time and money. Yes, formal training in classical piano costs a fortune, especially if you go for the really well-known coaches. Because of these, and for some other personal reasons, budding pianists eventually lose interest in piano. This is the reason ear playing has become a rapidly growing trend. Of course, who wouldn’t want to play the piano in a short span of time without having to spend a thousand bucks? If you have a natural penchant for music, ear playing can let you play one full song in just hours --- although it may take days for some, but what’s the difference?

The famous and highly effective Suzuki method of music training is one strong proponent of ear playing. It claims that the principle behind learning music and learning language is basically the same. That is, both language and music are assimilated through years of listening to them. In the case of music, they are further developed later through formal training.

So how does playing by ear work?

Although an average person may not be able to play and develop record-worthy music by this method like professional musicians do, anyone can actually learn the skill. The most important aspect to learning how to play by ear is just being able to have a general sense of melody. That is, you should be able to recognize if the tune moves higher or lower. It is important to literally train your ear as well as your mind to automatically detect the correct melody and improve your ability to recognize out-of-place tunes. Listening to simple tunes over and over again often develops this skill. Turn on the radio and pop on a CD on the player and spend some quiet time just listening to your favorite records. You may also sing or whistle them. The goal is to familiarize your ears with every single note of the song.

Next, you should be able to match the tune that you’ve heard with the chords on the piano for you to be able to play. If you haven't memorized the keys on the piano, don't fret, it is actually not necessary in playing by ear. In fact, many seasoned ear players never use the keys. Forming chords on the piano to match the tune that’s been playing in your mind is actually a trial and error process. You will have to sit on the piano for hours and pick out tunes, chords, and rhythms as you hear them in your mind’s ear. Once you chart the shape of the tune on the keyboard, it will be easy for you to assemble your own chords and predict chord progressions, or which chord comes next.

Ear playing is ideal for those who can't wait to play right away a tune that they just heard. It is ideal for those who want to hit the piano keys and make good melody without having to rely on music sheets, pieces, chord symbols. With ear playing, you can just sit down and play or express through your music exactly how you feel. Yes, by all means, you can personalize your music. You can even play in a band and improvise the notes right then and there---at the right moment, of course.

If you can’t afford to take classical piano lessons, then don’t give up. Learning by ear is a cheap but equally effective alternative. All you need are a good set of ears and a piano.