Great video, very informative, I am a mostly self taught pianist, I taught myself to play the piano at the age of 15yrs old, I am 53 yrs old next month, I first read the sheet music first, and then iam fortunately able to memorise what I play, for instance I sight read the moonlight sonata 1st and 2nd movement over 30 yrs ago, and now for the last 30yrs ism able to recite this sonata, this iam able to do with all my pieces, about 3 weeks ago i sight read Mozarts sonata k 331 theme and 6 variations also the menuetto and rondo alla turca, I managed to play the piece there were a few mistakes and a bit patchy, but iam humbly pleased with my progress, and now iam starting to memorise parts of the sonata I have sight read before, which in my mind humbly speaking, is a wonderfull God given ability to have, and this is how I continue to learn new pieces, many thanks for video, greetings from wales uk.
I think you have explained the pros and cons beautifully. I totally agree with you that the best approach is to have a combination of both and benefit the most!
I am clasically trained so most of my life I played music from sheet, while also being able to use my pitch skills and play melodies that I heard on radio right away. But as time went on, I thought I was losing the fun in my piano playing, basically I lost my motivation to play. And so now, basically thanks to a friend who plays mostly by ear, I feel very inspired to recreate melodies by ear more!
I think both are valuable. Playing by reading teaches new techniques and fingering as well as letting you recreate legendary pieces of music. Playing by ear really reinforces theory and is great when collaborating. Many pop and rock performers improvise every time they play a piece. This requires good theory and PBE.
Honestly I didn't even know people actually learned piano just by listening, that sounds kinda crazy to me, but I'll watch your video on it to see what I can improve!
I'm one who learned to play piano by ear when very young. I was able to "hear" chords and mentally dissect them. I can read sheet music, but I'm painfully slow. Although i can play with confidence in C, F & G, I tend to transpose music into C (the advantage of a digital stage piano!) and use guitar tabs for reference. For me, the big drawback to PBE is that i can only play music I've already heard. RUclips has made that easier, though.
I like both, but it depends on my mood. Playing from sheet music is more correct. When playing by ear, I often take parts of a piece of music that I like and play them by ear. Then I improvise something around it and a "new piece" is created :-)
how is playing from sheet music more correct? I am a jazz musician, so I have transcribed hundreds of solos and whole songs with all instruments. I am pretty confident, that with tools to slow some of the hard parts down I get basically everything right. (probably not 100% though) But I get so much more information about the exact timing and phrasing than if I were to read it from a sheet. So I think transcribing is more "correct" if your goal is to reproduce a piece of music, as there is much more subtle information in the recording that can not be captured on a sheet. edit: you absolutely need to learn to deal with sheet music though in order to memorise more music in a short amount of time (If you have to learn 100 songs for a gig in 2 weeks, you want to write the things down you transcribed, so you remember them later), or to sight read someones arrangement and also to write your own arrangements.
This funny thing happened in the 80s to our saxophonist who was very very advanced in reading music. Just place any complex sheet in front of him and he would play it perfectly as if he had already rehearsed it and he always wrote down every song that we learnt. That is how good he was, anyway we had an outdoor gage one day, he was in the middle of his solo when the breeze started to blow his sheet away, he left the microphone and followed the sheet. I was on keyboard behind him, I burst out laughing..
This is great! I have been playing by ear and creating music for six years. Just a couple months ago, I have started learning and practicing how to read music.
Some interesting issues brought up in the video. When it comes to Pop music, many Pop musicians didn't have "Classical" training or traditional music lessons that require them to read music. Instead, their ideas are presented in music recordings. You find groups like the Beatles, Bee Gees or Abba who made recordings but none of their music was written down until other people who can read & write standard notations compiled these into songbooks like "Abba Gold" or "Bee Gees Greatest Hits". Many Pop & Jazz musicians had careers performing entirely by ear. 5:30 the link between inefficient fingerings & playing by ear is subjective. Few composers wrote finger # into the score. These were inserted by editors when scores were published which is helpful to students. Pop & Jazz musicians improvise & play from experience. People with years of experience playing would be able to come up with efficient fingerings whether they learn from the score or play by ear (without finger #). Talking about "visual" guide you see notes moving higher /lower on paper. When playing by ear, a good listener would anticipate notes going up or down and come up with efficient fingerings accordingly.
Jazar, Your explanation is excellent. I have been learning for over two years and have greatly benefited from your videos. I started by learning to read music (per your advice in other videos) and feel that it has helped greatly. I spent the first two years doing this using Playground Sessions. I am almost finished with the advanced section. My real goal, however, was to learn Jazz. I have been doing so for the past few months and now feel that I need to also learn to play by ear. I am using PWJ videos to learn jazz techniques. I intend to continue reading sheet music, and playing by ear. I am 84 years old and having a great time. Again many sincere thanks for your videos.
I can read music as a beginner but not fast enough to play it. I have to read each measure, play it slow then to memorize it then move on to the next measure. Once the song is learned i dont really play from the sheet but from memory.
My son plays by ear. He was playing tunes on an old piano that I got for my husband from Facebook, but now he is in piano lessons to learn to read sheet music.
I'm on week 3 of my piano learning journey as a self-taught adult, so I don't have preferences yet. I used to take piano lessons for about a year when I was maybe 7 and it was so boring I refused to continue. Right now, I'm trying to learn with sheet music and I'm really grateful for a year of boring lessons and a few years of basic music education at school because it feels like I'm starting from two instead of from zero. I hope that one day, I will be able to play some of my favourite music on piano by ear but right now, I feel that sheet music is helping me to learn the easier and smoother way to use my fingers while playing. Also, sheet music is a tool that makes me feel less lost which is important not to get overwhelmed by my anxiety and perfectionism. I'm starting to learn some easy pieces with both hands right now and having sheet music in front of me really helps. However, for many songs I like, there are no easily accessible easier versions of sheet music or I can hear notes that just feel off (on YT videos with link to sheet music) and synthesia is just terrible, slow, frustrating and confusing way to learn for me personally. So for that reason, playing by ear is necessity. But right now, I decided to wait with that at least until I can play something intermediate. We will see how quickly I can get there... But I'm definitely enjoying your videos and advice I'm getting in them!
I do both but to relax I prefer playing by ear - pick out the melody with my right hand and accompany this with chords with my left. It's not that different to what Beethoven did with Fur Elise! This was a very good tutorial Jazer, thankyou.
This is a great video, Jazer! I learn music by understanding music theory, and I find it interesting as composers can communicate ideas. The pros for Reading are true, but I think by reading music you are learning new techniques that can benefit your piano playing, and prepare you if you want to compose complex music. Music is hard, but in my opinion studying sheet music can make you an excellent musician!
Learnt by ears exclusively, then I started improvising. But my improvisation felt poor due to a lack of understanding. So I studied music theory and slowly got interested in classical music, which got me into sheet reading. I somewhat understand symbols, but what i'm struggleling the most is to read rythm, and also being way too slow at reading
My husband is a professional guitarist who plays both by reading and ear. He’s also teaching me the importance of learning by ear. I can do fairly well with chord rhythms but need to work on playing instrumental solos. Thanks for your informative videos, I’m learning.
i think generally speaking guitarists are less theory inclined and more about expression than pianists. that being said if you don't know theory at all, and can't read tabs/sheet music then you'll be lost when it comes to composing / discussing music - and writing your own songs will involve alot of trial and error rather than logically building on an idea. also if you want to be a 'professional musician' it's a bad look if you can't read any material or even know what a scale/chord etc is
I've been noodling on the piano by ear since I was a kid without any formal training. Learned to play a few simple melodies. At 40 years of age, decided to start learning fundamentals and now I prefer sight reading as this can yield much better results and you can learn any complexity/nuances. Still, both are important. You really enjoy music by listening to it, by feeling it. I hope some day to be able to transcribe music by listening to it and create my own adaptations of it.
Yeah man,I’m great ear man before I played any instrument but now as an older adult I’m really gonna learn reading music more and regularly to really compliment my musicianship.Thanks for this info as explained well to get me focussed and track and onboard with ears and now reading.Cheers
I am a guitarist and bassist(read some music(more bass clef than treble), and I played the steel drums in highschool). I have an understanding of pitch, sing, can play some piano by ear. I was told by a pianist that I should study music because he finds me talented and believes it would be a great investment. This was the push i kind of needed, and I will start leaning foundational music theory, master scales(to improve my ability to play by ear mostly and improvise better), and try to bring back my ability to sight read better again.
I’m a mostly self-taught pianist (I learned basic theory later). I used to play by ear for gigs (tell me which key). That skill has suffered since I haven’t used it too long. I don’t read well either. I improvise a lot. I think both “PBE” & “RSM” are necessary to make musicians well-rounded. I do need to watch your video about how to “PBE.” Thank you, Jazer!
I prefer to play by ear, because it's more internal and I don't need sheets for it, also I like to understand music by scale degrees, it's much more free and creative than just following a script, also I like to experiment and come up with my own musical ideas. I can see the benefits of reading music too, but it's currently not my preferred way to go about it.
I'm still a beginner, and the other day a random tune just popped into my head and I kinda had to dissect it myself. What notes are these? What time signature? My play by ear ability isn't that great, so it took some effort. But I'm glad I did it because after putting it down onto paper, I can't remember it accurately anymore just a few days later. But the paper copy is still there. It's really invaluable that I get to write ideas down somewhere.
A little each day of music theory, sight reading, and playing by ear -- don't overwhelm yourself! It's amazing how much a little each day adds up over the course of even just one month.
The most useful skill would be to be able to play from the score after having memorized the piece. But I doubt it is even feasible to play from the score when the music is very virtuosic and requires one to look at the keyboard (e.g., pieces that have many big jumps).
My piano teacher required us to memorize every piece of music that we played. I always annoying when I see someone playing the piano with a page turner standing right beside them.
To learn music one should play by ear so it it is as natural as singing. Only then learn sheet music, Although one should understand concept of keys and diatonic notes whilst learning by ear.. Plus your first instrument should be diatonic (fiple flute,harmonica etc) NOT the piano.
I took piano lessons for a year or two as a child, then my mom taught me how chords worked as a teenager and I played by ear on and off for a few years, but got a little bored/frustrated because I didn't understand theory or reading well enough to play like I wanted. 10 years later and I am picking up piano again and am working towards strengthening both skills, but sight-reading and theory more because I am a COMPLETE beginner. Been at it around a month and had a breakthrough the other day: for the first time EVER I was sight-reading for a song I wanted to learn (a simplified version at a slower tempo, but still) and I was actually really enjoying the sight-reading! I had never enjoyed it before! So I am starting to get excited about improving. I am decent at one hand at a time, but always struggle when I combine both hands so I have to slow the tempo down even more to make sure I am taking in all the information and myfl fingers are doing what they are supposed to! 🤣
I played the accordion mostly by ear for many years. Then I learned to play guitar, and also started to play mostly by ear. When I was younger reading sheet music was a huge effort, because I could easily play any popular music by ear instead of investing time on ATTEMPTING to read sheet music. Now I am 70 years old, and started to play piano when I retired, five years ago. Currently, I am putting my best efforts to learn music by actually reading sheet music. Why? Well, I fully realised that when I play by ear I choose the chords on the left hand that are easier for me to master. Namely, C major, F major, and G major. I just cannot be creative with my left hand, even though after five years of sturying piano, I am getting better at that. I also noticed, that studying music "properly", practicing Hanon, arpegios, and practicing reading exercises and musical pieces, I am also getting better at playing by ear, because my tool box has been enriched. So, my take on this before listening to your posting, is that in order to get better in mastering the piano (I am very far from it...) studying music is the way to go, and being able to play by ear actually helps me to grasp faster reading sheet music. Thanks for your insightfull lessons, Jazer!
Sometimes I can't find piano sheets for some pieces so I think about playing by ear. But I think reading sheets is more important with beginners like me. Thank you for all your teaching videos.
i prefer play by ear method...which i've been doing since a young age though 2yrs ago i started learning sheet music and it was a bit difficult to understand the time signatures...and....i have almost stopped learning and playing the piano nowadays :( hope i can get back to it soon and manage my daily schedule
I'm more an ear / memory learner, but since you posted your previous video on the topic I learned to read music, and i surprised myself recently by "earing" what i was reading before actually playing it. (on a pretty simple piece tought). Regarding the fingering, there not that much indactions on the material i'm used to play, and i probably should write it more often on my sheets (but i tend to rely on memory since it's easy to remenber a fingering you struggled to find by yourself)
Another fabulous video. I love watching all your videos. So helpful and informative. I would love to play by ear, but I’m so set in my ways of reading sheet music. I would also love to memorize any song, but I just can’t get through 2 or 3 measures. Then I get discouraged and I give up.
Hi Jazer, I love your videos - greatly motivating to me! As for me (before watching this video) I would prefer to play be reading sheet music. As a guitarist, I learned that "by ear" and by people showing me how to play songs or riffs or chords or whatever. However, in piano, I greatly desire to be able to pick up a song book and be able to play the songs without having learned them prior - maybe by about 1 hour of practice with a song reading it from sheet music and being able to play it well enough that I could play it in front of family or friends and they would recognize it and be able to get enjoyment from the piece I'm playing. This would allow me to be much more "independent", not relying on tutorials about how to play a particular song and would allow me to explore music that may not be as popular, yet I would be able to play it if I could find the sheet music. Also, I would like to be able to know enough about music theory to be able to transpose a piece into a key that I would be comfortable singing in. Thanks for what you do!
I'm a self taught guitarist, just recently dipping my toes into piano. I like and prefer to play by ear.But only thanks to my decade long learning of music theory, on which I can rely on to "get what's going on" in most (basic pop/rock) songs.
Always look forward to JazerS videos. His insight on music never fail to inspire, regardless the topic. Thank you, sir. And hello from Florida U.S.A. :)
Lots of fabulous points here! I learned firstly by note and really appreciate visuals, however I am more and more leaning towards a merging of approaches. I keep thinking that music is 'a listening art' and I so want to nurture musical making in ways that connect people. That being said, I do love notation for many examples of advanced repertoire and am so thankful to be able to read notation with relative ease.
I’m just learning the piano, I can only read sheet music, slowly. but once I get this song down, basically a memorizing the song I can play the song with the book shut only way I can make it sound good is if I memorize it basically
I totally agree it's important to be able for both. I really don't get how someone can be a musician if he is not able to play by ear. Whether he prefers sheet music, he should still be able to play by ear. When I started keyboards (at 19 many many years ago), we of course learnt to play using sheet music. But I always wanted to be able to play (pop) music from the radio and so on. So I started trying this almost immediately. And I developed this skill very quickly! I still want to be able to play from sheet music, because as you say - and esp for piano and classical - you will miss many of the finer points that are on the sheet but maybe easily missed by ear. Needless to say the fingering and technique on the sheet music can be extremely helpful.
You’re missing the point on the need to communicate music. Very often people who “play by ear” often playing jazz or other songs which are meant to be improvised or not to be precisely played. This is why “fake book” / “real book” are intentionally barebones only having chords notated. Anyways, you’re correct on other points. I started with classical music, then play by ear for a while, only recently going back to sheet music. Without having piano lessons / teacher, just playing by ear didn’t improve my skills much. Reading sheet music on the other hand, enabled me to pretend to be a maestro and play a much more complex music than what I can come up with, while also enabling me to extract technical and musical skills from the sheet music. It’s fun, and it made the “play by ear” experience also more fun when bringing some of these learnings from the sheet music to improvisation plays 😊
I don't read sheet music (at all), but learn the piano by a combination of synesthesia tutorials, learning music theory, playing by ear and improvising on pieces. I think this is a very good combination where you can get the best of both worlds.
I play guitar. I taught myself to read a little because I wanted to study a few music books that require it. But I don't have much interest in reading beyond that. Maybe over the years that reading skill will become a sight reading skill.
I will vote to developing reading the music. I think being able to sight read competently will help one learn to play by ear more quickly. I think, having gone through the process of sight reading, I feel a play will already have finger skills of placement. Also, the player will have heard many musical passages and has already learnt how to play a similar section in a piece the pianist is listening to.
Before I watch, I will say I do both and pros and cons to each. I do believe working it out by ear has many benefits but then there are those incredible arrangements that I love to play. Came across Emile Pandolfi’s Silent Night. No choice but to try to figure it out as there is no sheet music (and it would probably scare me off if I could get it). I did learn a lot that day! Back to your video! Thank you!
I learned how to read sheet music years ago when I didn't play any instrument and havent used it since. I'm learning how to play the flute and doing it all by ear, to me it is just a lot more comfortable and fun. I've been considering getting into learning the theory (seems like a pain in the ass) since I could benefit from it when playing with other people. Havent watched the video yet, lets see if you convince me!!
I'm able to read, but I absolutely prefer listening and playing. That's not just for piano, but also for other instruments, and even more so vocals. Plus, it's easier for me to just feel the music when I'm listening and playing.
A well rounded musician is gonna need both skills in some capacity. Your analogy with spoken vs written language is spot on. Since it's not a zero sum game, the only question should be which to learn first. I'd say if you're looking to quickly get into the creative/improvisational aspects of music then focus on playing by ear and transition that into learning to read, write and interpret music over time. If you want to build solid technique on the piano, with the goal of eventually playing more complex music, then learning to read music will probably be the better skill to invest in right away so you have a good music foundation to compose and transcribe when you want to explore the creative side of music.
I'm a hybrid. I now play mostly by ear which allows me to be spontaneous - and it's easy. (I confess, my ear-playing comes naturally and, it seems, genetically. My Dad, his two sisters and a brother all played by ear) Playing by notes: I also slogged through piano lessons from age 11 - 14. I deeply regret having stopped. Still, the foundation that learning "notes" gave me has greatly enriched my ear-playing. I was diagnosed late in life with ADHD. While the diagnosis was life-changing for the better, I mourn for the years of instruction I never sat for. I often wonder if the synaptical business that created ADHD is in any way connected to my innate (and fairly modest) musical talent.
Agreed no comments perhaps the 3rd skills are by using ear observe U tube and try to catch the notes in slow motion especially for people who can't really read music....I always do it and it work...
Yeah ,ear people always play immotional pieces that people like , but you can't go so far in playing piano without knowing how to read sheet music ,because through reading you learn different techniques hence pro player , but both are complement you should develop both to be a full musician .
@@laughalltime_ bullshit. You can learn everything, also the hardest pieces, by ear. Maybe slow it down if you are just starting out. There are even apps that can basically "stop" the music, so you can figure out every single voicing. You can also manipulate the frequencies, if there is some other instruments covering what you want to transcribe. And you learn techniques from your teacher, not by reading music. But if you go to uni (for jazz), you will absolutely be required to do both. You will have to trancribe dozens or hundreds of solos and songs (fast bebop stuff and not just "easy, emotional pieces") and you will have to be able to sight read. So its actually not one or the other. Just do both. I do 10 mins sightsinging a day and transcribe for 1h. I also play guitar and piano, but my sight reading skills on those instruments are good enough for my purposes, so I dont practice this anymore. But if you have high aspirations in terms of sightreading for piano (like becoming a correpetitor) you might want to spend much more on this.
I mostly read sheet music as when I was taking lessons that’s what my teacher focused on. Naturally I can remember melodies in my head and I know I should use this skill to play songs by ear. Lately, I notice there are arrangements I’m learning to play and I will alter them in certain parts because I don’t like what the arranger wrote. So in that way I’m not just strictly following sheet music but being a little creative.
playing by ear is sometimes the timing and notes are not really copied from thw original.its good for playing with friends or sometimes to accompany a singer who has his own style. in orchestra piano sheet is very important😊
As a jazz piano student with a background of learning pieces by reading them, I practice transcribing by ear. And of course when I improvise, I think of things to play in the moment and then try to figure out how to play it!😬 Learning to play by ear helps to develop the listening skills I lack.
Additional pros and cons: ear people are more likely to memorize and can walk up to a piano anywhere and play, sheet people can be so tied to the score that if they forgot their books it is as if they cant play the piano at all...not impressive for a pianist! Ear people may spend a bunch of time guessing and stumbling in the dark trying to figure out what complicated chord they just heard and has to pause and rewind and listen and guess again and again. Guessticing is not the same as PRACTICING. A sight reader knows what chord it is and can see it plain as day coming up in advance and there is no question what notes are contained in the chord and you play it and move on...accurately without error the first time. No pausing and rewinding and taking your hands off the keys to hit a button on your music player...constantly interrupting your flow and train of thought. I'd like to remind you all that if you practice WITH MISTAKES, then you are PRACTICING MISTAKES. And the "stumbling around in the dark wondering whether or not you are playing it right" method that gives you no fingering and no articulation and no direction on technique or dynamics or tempo or time signature or key changes... is guaranteed to be slower, less accurate, and may develop bad habits and technique as you try to reinvent the wheel into an oval because you have never seen a wheel before...even though there are blueprints widely available and hundreds of years of musicians who have all perfected and refined that wheel...you need to make an oval because you know nothing about wheels and are CHOOSING to ignore the advice of the wheel professionals. Also, say ten years from now you have learned different 50 pieces of music. You havent played many of then in 5 or more years and one popped into your head today that you forgot. Now you get to LEARN IT BY EAR ALL OVER AGAIN! You have no idea what fingering even YOU used 5 years ago! Have fun with that. Using the same fingering causes your muscle memory to jump on board again and things start to come back quickly, but since you have no score to write your own fingering on...all of that is lost and you are back to your usual method of slowly stumbling around in the dark...after all, it slowly got you where you are today, right? LOL. A sight reader, 5 years later (or 10 or 20 or 50) can go back to their blueprint, play it slowly and accurately with their same old fingering as years ago, and that muscle memory jumps to attention. You are playing it EXACTLY like you used to and it FEELS RIGHT. Also, having all my music books helps remind me of all the pieces I play. I have learned so many pieces in 28 years that I couldnt even write you a list. But I have copies of my favorite pieces in one book, so I can just go through and play that book every so often to make sire all those pieces don't deteriorate, making maintenance of those pieces simple straightforward and easy. I guess if you play by ear only you just hope for the best and assume you will remember the 5,000 different notes and instructions in that one song by sheer luck alone... I am a piano teacher myself and I also use the example of being able to read and write in today's age as a comparison to musicians who can read and write a score. Imagine trying to give someone directions across town when you can't read any of the street signs yourself. How many "turn left by the brick building and right at the big tree" type of steps before they get totally lost? There are lots of brick buildings and big trees! In that case you would be just as useless at giving directions as you would be trying to communicate with other musicians in a group or band or ensemble. I firmly advocate the importance of reading music to any musician. It makes it quicker to learn new music and practice it effectively right off the bat and play with complete accuracy from the beginning and not second guess yourself the entire time wondering if it is right, wondering what the chord is or what inversion it is in, wondering how to finger certain passages and having to struggle to find a solution for a problem that has already been solved. Your ear is your safety net and develops passively in the background as you play ober the years whether or not you actively develop it. Sight reading does not happen passively in the background. You have to practice sight reading specifically. Because it takes more work, many people are lazy and intentionally choose to do things the hard way instead for some reason...stumbling around in the dark second guessing themselves inventing ovals and practicing a song with mistakes that they could never communicate with another musician...you should work on your weaknesses...if the hard part becomes the easy part...then it is ALL EASY. 😊
When i learnt music at school i played what i saw on the sheet and passed exams with honours. I always had a good ear and play by ear only for afternoon tea at a hotel Learning music was useful particularly when playing with other musicians who sometimes ask"what key are you in? I prefer playing by esr.
"...that they play with less of an emotional engagement to the music". That is very important point! There are more mental somatotypes of students. I belong exactly to this category. I put effort into investigation why I have this problem and found that it is probably because the two parts of the brain that are used for reading (notation) and for musical experiencing are not independent enough, thus when reading sheet music, my musicality can't be developed well enoug. Solution for me was to find proper method how to learn pieces from memory. And it is another topic.
I was taught at age seven to learn pieces by reading the sheet music. It is best to learn classical music from the sheet music, otherwise you will be dependent on someone else's interpretation, and you won't have direct access to the composer's written instructions. Without sheet music, it is impossible to play with precision -- knowing exactly how long to hold a note, knowing how loudly or softly to play, etc. The precision required for Mozart's appoggiature is unimaginable without being able to visualize the music on paper. That being said, when I was a student in Rome, I taught a student how to read music. He was strictly an ear musician. He learned the Charles Marie Vidor Toccata perfectly -- entirely by ear. I still can't imagine how he was able to do that!
Thanks for the great video/lession. I have always played with music sheet. Never rely on my ear. That could be the problem that I cannot memorize any pieces. I will watch your other video about learning by ear. Thanks again.
Jazer, do you play guitar? I learned guitar as a teen and then let it sit for 50 years. Now I'm trying piano. Can you comment on how this would affect my learning piano? Anything thing I should keep in mind?
Hi Jazer. Another delightful surprise is God’s gift, which has been instrumental in nurturing my child. Music played a vital role during her healing journey from pneumonia, supporting her day by day. As she expressed her fondness for it persistently, we decided to get her a toy piano. We found that she was able to listen to tunes on the radio/TV and work out to play them on the piano. To our astonishment, within just a month, she has already mastered playing nearly ten pieces. Seeing her have fun while listening to her favorite songs and recalling cherished memories, or even learning from online piano tutorials, brings immense joy. I was both amazed and confused when I caught my 6-year-old child, Aigis, playing the sofa syllables on her toy piano and writing her analysis of the song "Happy Cat" in sofa syllables on a piece of paper. She had stuck Scotch tape on each white key and written the corresponding sofa syllables in marker, which she plans to rewrite tomorrow since it got washed out while she was playing. For basic, she can play her own by ear, songs like Happy Cat, London Bridge, Jack and Jill, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Happy Birthday, Mary Had a Little Lamb, and Digital Amazing Circus opening. Now she wants to make me happy so she's learning little by little by herself Pachelbel's Canon in D yung 1st stanza I'm not sure how to manage Aigis at this point. Is this behavior weird? Sometimes, she goes above and beyond my comprehension, and I'm not sure how to handle it. Any advice would be appreciated.
I think that understanding theory and compositional skills is another approach --- so not only just playing by ear - but having theory/compositional knowledge helps a heap. And - just like a balanced diet - it is often beneficial to have a balance. So develop both play-by-ear AND music theory skills - which includes reading sheet music. That's the best of both worlds, or all worlds. Now - I don't know if it is true or not. But it is written that Hans Zimmer relies mainly on other approach other than reading sheet music or writing sheet music score when he composes. I think the main thing is - as long as somebody learns enough to be able to express themselves adequately (musically) using their instrument - regardless of what approach they use - and as long as they are happy with what they are able to do, then that is great. When playing be 'ear' - and if somebody doesn't follow a score, then it is certainly and absolutely possible to still play a version that is equally interesting and rich by compensating - as in introducing own/extra content. Complicated and fast is not holy grail of piano playing. There is unlimited music that is relatively slow - but rich and amazing that will match any 'complex' piece in terms of beauty, elegance, expression etc. Unlimited. And being able to express oneself adequately can also depend on own base abilities (internal) - and also experience - as in listening and paying attention to detail in various music. Understanding interesting techniques as well - including counterpoint and how to make music interesting and sounding 'good'.
I prefer to initially read the notes for each hand separately and then to play by ear both hands with very good synchro. even if i do not remember something by ear, i recall it through guesses or improvise until it sounds good enough..Unfortunatly i do not have enough time to practice simultanious reading and playing w/o watching my fingers or maybe i'm not that good at reading notes (to me it s looks like a literature skill to be developed then musicality or maths).
Wow, When you said you may "miss the composer's intention" when playing by ear, I had a big red flag go up. As a musician of over 50 years, I have found repeatedly that sheet music IS like the "flash cards" of the piece. Unfortunately, we have no recorded version by the original composer of most historic classical music, so all we are left with is the notes (sheet music) and a bit of oral tradition passed among piano players. If you have ever composed a piece or tried to transcribe a complex piece of music, it becomes apparent that I can't possibly give you enough information on the page for you to exactly replicate a performance. Especially in the case of popular music, the sheet music is almost never an accurate rendering of what was actually played on the recording you are listening to. While I have never been a professional classical musician, I have worked in most other genres at one time or another, and value the ability to read charts, lead lines and full scores if necessary, but always seek out a recorded version, if available, to really get the feel of a piece of music. I truly believe that a rendition of a piece of music with the right feel and a few 'changed' notes will sound more authentic than a rendition note for note accurate per sheet music, but with no feel for the original recording of the song. If you want to test the theory, get a free version of audacity or some recording program, record yourself playing a piece of music from sheet music only, then import a version of a respected pianist playing the piece and play them together to see if they come close to aligning (I bet they won't). Now listen to the recorded version for a few weeks and get it "in your head" and try it again... Better result? Personally, my reading skills (which I practiced for years, along with ear-training, solfeggio, and the like) have been useful for sight reading gigs and getting some of the details down that challenged my ear. I can't imagine though, sitting down and sight-reading a complex, up-tempo classical piano piece at tempo without error on first reading. Probably not many who could pull that off, so even when reading, we are usually memorizing as we read and rehearse and eventually, the sheet music acts as a cue for the memory. As an aside, the one skill I always recommend above all others for becoming a better musician is transcription. It teaches us so much (including the limitations of notation).
I started playing music @ 9 years old ( started on laptop keys ) now im 33 and i really feel like i need to improve my technical skills of sheet music.
I played classical piano, age 5-18. I also played the trumpet. At around age 18 I started playing by ear. I would love to relearn site reading, but I've forgotten how to do that. And since I was a trumpet player, the treble clef is "readable" but the bass clef still confuses me. A "real" pianist is accomplished at both, IMHO.
Pershendetje,nuk di anglisht ,do tju isha mirenohes qe fjalet te mi luani ne piano.Sidomos sllou me ndihmoje ,kam vetem tre muaj qe mesoj.Shume faleminderit .(Albanish)
I've been playing piano for 2 years now. I'm self taught and have gotten good enough to play for my church and volunteer to play at places like nursing homes. I've always been pretty ok at playing by ear, but I can't read sheet music to save my life. What is the best free online resource to learn to read music? Is there anywhere in particular I should start that I can keep doing everyday until I get better?
Language as an analogy works both ways - due to being always taught "proper" French I can read and write French but have great difficulty understanding real spoken French and I've been taught speaking rules that are rarely used by real francophones. Back to music, this is the issue for people who can sight read perfectly but get dropped into a jam session where minimal information is provided.
My childhood piano lessons had no aural training as far as I can remember. And my first few teachers in my adulthood had little to offer in that area as well. I definitely felt those last two talking points. I often lacked expression and emotion in my playing. And improvising was difficult because I had never really had to think for myself. It’s been a long, occasionally painful 😂 road developing these skills, but I’m improving at least 😅
I do hoth. I learned all the Ii V l combinations and dominant alterations so I can quickly read sheet music chords. Then I play all the inversions and scales. I have a good rhythmic feel for jazz. But one needs to hear how the masters play. For instance I learned The Shadow of Yoy Smile from the lead sheet and then learned Bob James version from Sarah Vaughn recording. That gives a whole new perspective. Extremely valuable. Now my eye sight is degrading and can no longer read sheet music. RUclips is invaluable to learn by ear.
Thank you so much for this great video...I love both...❤when I'm learning a new song on my piano I prefer to have some sheet music and with this I'm working out my own arrangement...🎹 when I'm playing my accordion I prefer to figure out songs by ear...🪗
Hi, I prefer to play by reading the music from the sheet but I can't. Currently I am able to play the music only after I memorize it. I take time to read the sheet to quickly/on time play it on the piano.
I think it takes a special "ear" to play by ear, I can usually pick out a melody line but not both hands. I can read pretty much any piece of sheet music though!
it is pretty similar conceptually, except you can't study yourself to it theory-wise. it requires good enough muscle memory and many hours of improvisation to 'connect' the sound you are hearing to the note you should play. i'd imagine chord progression and scale practice combined with trying to play songs you don't know through trial and error (or analyzing the song) would be a pretty effective way. personally i just grinded my way through endless shitty improv until it started sounding better and better - this approach leaves huge gaps in knowledge though!
I wish I could play by ear, but I predominantly play by sheet music. After I play by sheet music, it helps me to play better later by hearing it by ear.
I like sheet music as the notes are there in front of you, and after I've played it through once and gotten the feel, I find I'm driving the rhythm more from myself than the sheet. Maybe that's a beginner thing... Playing by ear so to speak, helps me to interpret a bit. For example I'm learning To Zanarkand and the sheet music I got online doesn't quite feel right (have heard the original countless times over the course of 20+ years) so I've been changing it, from the notes to the tempo. To be honest, when I have the notes and fingerings correct, the rhythm seems to find itself 😊 I'm a beginner so To Zanarkand will take me a while, and I'm still learning terminology so hopefully I didn't say anything too off 😅
Really interesting subject! I have learned music in Africa and most of the virtuosos that I met were illiterate, so for me reading music has never been a must to be a good musician. That being said, living in the Western world, reading and writing music is a must to access theory or not having to memorize everything before playing it. To me it is perfectly possible to speak without being able to read, but it is much more complicated to access written knowledge or communicate with your peers without it... I think to have the best of both world, it is better to be proficient at playing by ears and then be able to read and write fluently. If you think about Partimento teaching which was how classical music was taught in the past, reading was compulsory but improvising and playing on the spot was the goal of the practice.
Don't sleep on sheets. If you are looking to impress your friends with a specific piece then you will be fine playing by ear. If you are looking for long term growth and development over many years learning how to read sheets will do wonders for your overall musicality. You'll start to see and recognize patterns, intervals, and what the music should sound like when you're looking at it as well as learning theory without sitting down to grind theory. It just happens naturally. Spend a few years with this skill and it a new pop song comes out and it's catchy, you can find out what key it is in, and you'll be able to re-create it from scratch much faster by ear.
Is it possible to be an effective pianist without knowledge of how to read the sheet? I also wanted to know how to improve in my sight reading. At times, it is hard for me to read the differences in position and translate the position to a letter.
I want to be able to play by ear and am working hard towards that goal. But I am limited in my chord building skills and ability to play melodies with chord accompaniment. By reading music, all of that is taken care of by the composer.
I really need help to restart the learning process with the right fingering I feel when I play sometime I fail to follow notes the way they are and end up mixing with fake noted just do to finish a song
🕘 Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:50 Why Play By Ear?
1:31 PBE Pros
2:52 PBE Cons
6:04 Why Read Sheet Music?
7:15 RSM Pros
8:05 RSM Cons
Great video, very informative, I am a mostly self taught pianist, I taught myself to play the piano at the age of 15yrs old, I am 53 yrs old next month, I first read the sheet music first, and then iam fortunately able to memorise what I play, for instance I sight read the moonlight sonata 1st and 2nd movement over 30 yrs ago, and now for the last 30yrs ism able to recite this sonata, this iam able to do with all my pieces, about 3 weeks ago i sight read Mozarts sonata k 331 theme and 6 variations also the menuetto and rondo alla turca, I managed to play the piece there were a few mistakes and a bit patchy, but iam humbly pleased with my progress, and now iam starting to memorise parts of the sonata I have sight read before, which in my mind humbly speaking, is a wonderfull God given ability to have, and this is how I continue to learn new pieces, many thanks for video, greetings from wales uk.
I think you have explained the pros and cons beautifully. I totally agree with you that the best approach is to have a combination of both and benefit the most!
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Happy birthday 🎂
Subway The Way it’s Sandwich Should be, Caitlin Clark VS Uncle James Washington 🥪
I am clasically trained so most of my life I played music from sheet, while also being able to use my pitch skills and play melodies that I heard on radio right away. But as time went on, I thought I was losing the fun in my piano playing, basically I lost my motivation to play. And so now, basically thanks to a friend who plays mostly by ear, I feel very inspired to recreate melodies by ear more!
agree, those who can do both are the most complete musicians, where 1+1=3. Everybody will probably benefit from learning a little from both worlds.
I thinks it better to learn by ear first then note reading. You may not get it if you do it the other way round.
@@happypianolearninghow to start playing by ear?
@@blackcelneet sit at a keyboard and figure out which Notes match the tune you want to play.
@@blackcelneet just do it.
☆just listen to a song, then do it☆
I think both are valuable. Playing by reading teaches new techniques and fingering as well as letting you recreate legendary pieces of music. Playing by ear really reinforces theory and is great when collaborating. Many pop and rock performers improvise every time they play a piece. This requires good theory and PBE.
Honestly I didn't even know people actually learned piano just by listening, that sounds kinda crazy to me, but I'll watch your video on it to see what I can improve!
I'm one who learned to play piano by ear when very young. I was able to "hear" chords and mentally dissect them. I can read sheet music, but I'm painfully slow. Although i can play with confidence in C, F & G, I tend to transpose music into C (the advantage of a digital stage piano!) and use guitar tabs for reference.
For me, the big drawback to PBE is that i can only play music I've already heard. RUclips has made that easier, though.
@@nickploeg4416 same im so slow and i sometimes get carried away by listening without my eyes following along the sheet music its frustrating haha
I like both, but it depends on my mood. Playing from sheet music is more correct. When playing by ear, I often take parts of a piece of music that I like and play them by ear. Then I improvise something around it and a "new piece" is created :-)
how is playing from sheet music more correct? I am a jazz musician, so I have transcribed hundreds of solos and whole songs with all instruments. I am pretty confident, that with tools to slow some of the hard parts down I get basically everything right. (probably not 100% though) But I get so much more information about the exact timing and phrasing than if I were to read it from a sheet. So I think transcribing is more "correct" if your goal is to reproduce a piece of music, as there is much more subtle information in the recording that can not be captured on a sheet. edit: you absolutely need to learn to deal with sheet music though in order to memorise more music in a short amount of time (If you have to learn 100 songs for a gig in 2 weeks, you want to write the things down you transcribed, so you remember them later), or to sight read someones arrangement and also to write your own arrangements.
This funny thing happened in the 80s to our saxophonist who was very very advanced in reading music. Just place any complex sheet in front of him and he would play it perfectly as if he had already rehearsed it and he always wrote down every song that we learnt. That is how good he was, anyway we had an outdoor gage one day, he was in the middle of his solo when the breeze started to blow his sheet away, he left the microphone and followed the sheet. I was on keyboard behind him, I burst out laughing..
This is great! I have been playing by ear and creating music for six years. Just a couple months ago, I have started learning and practicing how to read music.
Some interesting issues brought up in the video. When it comes to Pop music, many Pop musicians didn't have "Classical" training or traditional music lessons that require them to read music. Instead, their ideas are presented in music recordings. You find groups like the Beatles, Bee Gees or Abba who made recordings but none of their music was written down until other people who can read & write standard notations compiled these into songbooks like "Abba Gold" or "Bee Gees Greatest Hits". Many Pop & Jazz musicians had careers performing entirely by ear.
5:30 the link between inefficient fingerings & playing by ear is subjective. Few composers wrote finger # into the score. These were inserted by editors when scores were published which is helpful to students. Pop & Jazz musicians improvise & play from experience. People with years of experience playing would be able to come up with efficient fingerings whether they learn from the score or play by ear (without finger #). Talking about "visual" guide you see notes moving higher /lower on paper. When playing by ear, a good listener would anticipate notes going up or down and come up with efficient fingerings accordingly.
Jazar, Your explanation is excellent. I have been learning for over two years and have greatly benefited from your videos. I started by learning to read music (per your advice in other videos) and feel that it has helped greatly. I spent the first two years doing this using Playground Sessions. I am almost finished with the advanced section. My real goal, however, was to learn Jazz. I have been doing so for the past few months and now feel that I need to also learn to play by ear. I am using PWJ videos to learn jazz techniques. I intend to continue reading sheet music, and playing by ear. I am 84 years old and having a great time. Again many sincere thanks for your videos.
I'm on the same path (read/blues-jazz), thanks for the inspiration !
I can read music as a beginner but not fast enough to play it. I have to read each measure, play it slow then to memorize it then move on to the next measure. Once the song is learned i dont really play from the sheet but from memory.
My son plays by ear. He was playing tunes on an old piano that I got for my husband from Facebook, but now he is in piano lessons to learn to read sheet music.
I'm on week 3 of my piano learning journey as a self-taught adult, so I don't have preferences yet. I used to take piano lessons for about a year when I was maybe 7 and it was so boring I refused to continue. Right now, I'm trying to learn with sheet music and I'm really grateful for a year of boring lessons and a few years of basic music education at school because it feels like I'm starting from two instead of from zero. I hope that one day, I will be able to play some of my favourite music on piano by ear but right now, I feel that sheet music is helping me to learn the easier and smoother way to use my fingers while playing. Also, sheet music is a tool that makes me feel less lost which is important not to get overwhelmed by my anxiety and perfectionism. I'm starting to learn some easy pieces with both hands right now and having sheet music in front of me really helps. However, for many songs I like, there are no easily accessible easier versions of sheet music or I can hear notes that just feel off (on YT videos with link to sheet music) and synthesia is just terrible, slow, frustrating and confusing way to learn for me personally. So for that reason, playing by ear is necessity. But right now, I decided to wait with that at least until I can play something intermediate. We will see how quickly I can get there... But I'm definitely enjoying your videos and advice I'm getting in them!
I do both but to relax I prefer playing by ear - pick out the melody with my right hand and accompany this with chords with my left. It's not that different to what Beethoven did with Fur Elise! This was a very good tutorial Jazer, thankyou.
This is a great video, Jazer! I learn music by understanding music theory, and I find it interesting as composers can communicate ideas. The pros for Reading are true, but I think by reading music you are learning new techniques that can benefit your piano playing, and prepare you if you want to compose complex music. Music is hard, but in my opinion studying sheet music can make you an excellent musician!
Learnt by ears exclusively, then I started improvising. But my improvisation felt poor due to a lack of understanding. So I studied music theory and slowly got interested in classical music, which got me into sheet reading. I somewhat understand symbols, but what i'm struggleling the most is to read rythm, and also being way too slow at reading
Same here
Do not worry please, honestly I think that even for us sheet-readers the rhythm can be a nemesis :)
My husband is a professional guitarist who plays both by reading and ear. He’s also teaching me the importance of learning by ear. I can do fairly well with chord rhythms but need to work on playing instrumental solos. Thanks for your informative videos, I’m learning.
i think generally speaking guitarists are less theory inclined and more about expression than pianists. that being said if you don't know theory at all, and can't read tabs/sheet music then you'll be lost when it comes to composing / discussing music - and writing your own songs will involve alot of trial and error rather than logically building on an idea. also if you want to be a 'professional musician' it's a bad look if you can't read any material or even know what a scale/chord etc is
I've been noodling on the piano by ear since I was a kid without any formal training. Learned to play a few simple melodies.
At 40 years of age, decided to start learning fundamentals and now I prefer sight reading as this can yield much better results and you can learn any complexity/nuances.
Still, both are important. You really enjoy music by listening to it, by feeling it. I hope some day to be able to transcribe music by listening to it and create my own adaptations of it.
Yeah man,I’m great ear man before I played any instrument but now as an older adult I’m really gonna learn reading music more and regularly to really compliment my musicianship.Thanks for this info as explained well to get me focussed and track and onboard with ears and now reading.Cheers
Extremely helpful in addressing the 2 approaches.
I am a guitarist and bassist(read some music(more bass clef than treble), and I played the steel drums in highschool). I have an understanding of pitch, sing, can play some piano by ear. I was told by a pianist that I should study music because he finds me talented and believes it would be a great investment. This was the push i kind of needed, and I will start leaning foundational music theory, master scales(to improve my ability to play by ear mostly and improvise better), and try to bring back my ability to sight read better again.
I’m a mostly self-taught pianist (I learned basic theory later). I used to play by ear for gigs (tell me which key). That skill has suffered since I haven’t used it too long. I don’t read well either. I improvise a lot. I think both “PBE” & “RSM” are necessary to make musicians well-rounded. I do need to watch your video about how to “PBE.” Thank you, Jazer!
I prefer to play by ear, because it's more internal and I don't need sheets for it, also I like to understand music by scale degrees, it's much more free and creative than just following a script, also I like to experiment and come up with my own musical ideas. I can see the benefits of reading music too, but it's currently not my preferred way to go about it.
I'm still a beginner, and the other day a random tune just popped into my head and I kinda had to dissect it myself. What notes are these? What time signature? My play by ear ability isn't that great, so it took some effort. But I'm glad I did it because after putting it down onto paper, I can't remember it accurately anymore just a few days later. But the paper copy is still there.
It's really invaluable that I get to write ideas down somewhere.
A little each day of music theory, sight reading, and playing by ear -- don't overwhelm yourself! It's amazing how much a little each day adds up over the course of even just one month.
The most useful skill would be to be able to play from the score after having memorized the piece. But I doubt it is even feasible to play from the score when the music is very virtuosic and requires one to look at the keyboard (e.g., pieces that have many big jumps).
My piano teacher required us to memorize every piece of music that we played. I always annoying when I see someone playing the piano with a page turner standing right beside them.
To learn music one should play by ear so it it is as natural as singing. Only then learn sheet music, Although one should understand concept of keys and diatonic notes whilst learning by ear.. Plus your first instrument should be diatonic (fiple flute,harmonica etc) NOT the piano.
I took piano lessons for a year or two as a child, then my mom taught me how chords worked as a teenager and I played by ear on and off for a few years, but got a little bored/frustrated because I didn't understand theory or reading well enough to play like I wanted. 10 years later and I am picking up piano again and am working towards strengthening both skills, but sight-reading and theory more because I am a COMPLETE beginner. Been at it around a month and had a breakthrough the other day: for the first time EVER I was sight-reading for a song I wanted to learn (a simplified version at a slower tempo, but still) and I was actually really enjoying the sight-reading! I had never enjoyed it before! So I am starting to get excited about improving. I am decent at one hand at a time, but always struggle when I combine both hands so I have to slow the tempo down even more to make sure I am taking in all the information and myfl fingers are doing what they are supposed to! 🤣
I played the accordion mostly by ear for many years. Then I learned to play guitar, and also started to play mostly by ear. When I was younger reading sheet music was a huge effort, because I could easily play any popular music by ear instead of investing time on ATTEMPTING to read sheet music. Now I am 70 years old, and started to play piano when I retired, five years ago. Currently, I am putting my best efforts to learn music by actually reading sheet music. Why? Well, I fully realised that when I play by ear I choose the chords on the left hand that are easier for me to master. Namely, C major, F major, and G major. I just cannot be creative with my left hand, even though after five years of sturying piano, I am getting better at that. I also noticed, that studying music "properly", practicing Hanon, arpegios, and practicing reading exercises and musical pieces, I am also getting better at playing by ear, because my tool box has been enriched. So, my take on this before listening to your posting, is that in order to get better in mastering the piano (I am very far from it...) studying music is the way to go, and being able to play by ear actually helps me to grasp faster reading sheet music. Thanks for your insightfull lessons, Jazer!
Sometimes I can't find piano sheets for some pieces so I think about playing by ear. But I think reading sheets is more important with beginners like me. Thank you for all your teaching videos.
i prefer play by ear method...which i've been doing since a young age
though 2yrs ago i started learning sheet music and it was a bit difficult to understand the time signatures...and....i have almost stopped learning and playing the piano nowadays :(
hope i can get back to it soon and manage my daily schedule
I'm more an ear / memory learner, but since you posted your previous video on the topic I learned to read music, and i surprised myself recently by "earing" what i was reading before actually playing it. (on a pretty simple piece tought). Regarding the fingering, there not that much indactions on the material i'm used to play, and i probably should write it more often on my sheets (but i tend to rely on memory since it's easy to remenber a fingering you struggled to find by yourself)
Another fabulous video. I love watching all your videos. So helpful and informative. I would love to play by ear, but I’m so set in my ways of reading sheet music. I would also love to memorize any song, but I just can’t get through 2 or 3 measures. Then I get discouraged and I give up.
Hi Jazer, I love your videos - greatly motivating to me! As for me (before watching this video) I would prefer to play be reading sheet music. As a guitarist, I learned that "by ear" and by people showing me how to play songs or riffs or chords or whatever. However, in piano, I greatly desire to be able to pick up a song book and be able to play the songs without having learned them prior - maybe by about 1 hour of practice with a song reading it from sheet music and being able to play it well enough that I could play it in front of family or friends and they would recognize it and be able to get enjoyment from the piece I'm playing. This would allow me to be much more "independent", not relying on tutorials about how to play a particular song and would allow me to explore music that may not be as popular, yet I would be able to play it if I could find the sheet music. Also, I would like to be able to know enough about music theory to be able to transpose a piece into a key that I would be comfortable singing in. Thanks for what you do!
I'm a self taught guitarist, just recently dipping my toes into piano. I like and prefer to play by ear.But only thanks to my decade long learning of music theory, on which I can rely on to "get what's going on" in most (basic pop/rock) songs.
Always look forward to JazerS videos. His insight on music never fail to inspire, regardless the topic. Thank you, sir. And hello from Florida U.S.A. :)
Lots of fabulous points here! I learned firstly by note and really appreciate visuals, however I am more and more leaning towards a merging of approaches. I keep thinking that music is 'a listening art' and I so want to nurture musical making in ways that connect people. That being said, I do love notation for many examples of advanced repertoire and am so thankful to be able to read notation with relative ease.
I’m just learning the piano, I can only read sheet music, slowly. but once I get this song down, basically a memorizing the song I can play the song with the book shut only way I can make it sound good is if I memorize it basically
I totally agree it's important to be able for both. I really don't get how someone can be a musician if he is not able to play by ear. Whether he prefers sheet music, he should still be able to play by ear. When I started keyboards (at 19 many many years ago), we of course learnt to play using sheet music. But I always wanted to be able to play (pop) music from the radio and so on. So I started trying this almost immediately. And I developed this skill very quickly! I still want to be able to play from sheet music, because as you say - and esp for piano and classical - you will miss many of the finer points that are on the sheet but maybe easily missed by ear. Needless to say the fingering and technique on the sheet music can be extremely helpful.
You’re missing the point on the need to communicate music. Very often people who “play by ear” often playing jazz or other songs which are meant to be improvised or not to be precisely played. This is why “fake book” / “real book” are intentionally barebones only having chords notated.
Anyways, you’re correct on other points. I started with classical music, then play by ear for a while, only recently going back to sheet music. Without having piano lessons / teacher, just playing by ear didn’t improve my skills much. Reading sheet music on the other hand, enabled me to pretend to be a maestro and play a much more complex music than what I can come up with, while also enabling me to extract technical and musical skills from the sheet music. It’s fun, and it made the “play by ear” experience also more fun when bringing some of these learnings from the sheet music to improvisation plays 😊
I don't read sheet music (at all), but learn the piano by a combination of synesthesia tutorials, learning music theory, playing by ear and improvising on pieces.
I think this is a very good combination where you can get the best of both worlds.
I play guitar. I taught myself to read a little because I wanted to study a few music books that require it. But I don't have much interest in reading beyond that. Maybe over the years that reading skill will become a sight reading skill.
I will vote to developing reading the music. I think being able to sight read competently will help one learn to play by ear more quickly. I think, having gone through the process of sight reading, I feel a play will already have finger skills of placement. Also, the player will have heard many musical passages and has already learnt how to play a similar section in a piece the pianist is listening to.
Before I watch, I will say I do both and pros and cons to each. I do believe working it out by ear has many benefits but then there are those incredible arrangements that I love to play. Came across Emile Pandolfi’s Silent Night. No choice but to try to figure it out as there is no sheet music (and it would probably scare me off if I could get it). I did learn a lot that day! Back to your video! Thank you!
I learned how to read sheet music years ago when I didn't play any instrument and havent used it since. I'm learning how to play the flute and doing it all by ear, to me it is just a lot more comfortable and fun. I've been considering getting into learning the theory (seems like a pain in the ass) since I could benefit from it when playing with other people. Havent watched the video yet, lets see if you convince me!!
I'm able to read, but I absolutely prefer listening and playing. That's not just for piano, but also for other instruments, and even more so vocals. Plus, it's easier for me to just feel the music when I'm listening and playing.
A well rounded musician is gonna need both skills in some capacity. Your analogy with spoken vs written language is spot on. Since it's not a zero sum game, the only question should be which to learn first. I'd say if you're looking to quickly get into the creative/improvisational aspects of music then focus on playing by ear and transition that into learning to read, write and interpret music over time. If you want to build solid technique on the piano, with the goal of eventually playing more complex music, then learning to read music will probably be the better skill to invest in right away so you have a good music foundation to compose and transcribe when you want to explore the creative side of music.
I'm a hybrid. I now play mostly by ear which allows me to be spontaneous - and it's easy. (I confess, my ear-playing comes naturally and, it seems, genetically. My Dad, his two sisters and a brother all played by ear)
Playing by notes: I also slogged through piano lessons from age 11 - 14. I deeply regret having stopped. Still, the foundation that learning "notes" gave me has greatly enriched my ear-playing. I was diagnosed late in life with ADHD. While the diagnosis was life-changing for the better, I mourn for the years of instruction I never sat for. I often wonder if the synaptical business that created ADHD is in any way connected to my innate (and fairly modest) musical talent.
Just as in life learn by listening and speaking first followed by reading and writing.
Agreed no comments perhaps the 3rd skills are by using ear observe U tube and try to catch the notes in slow motion especially for people who can't really read music....I always do it and it work...
As a beginner, I'm always more amazed by people who can play (not necessarily note for note) by ear than those who can read music sheets.
Yeah ,ear people always play immotional pieces that people like , but you can't go so far in playing piano without knowing how to read sheet music ,because through reading you learn different techniques hence pro player , but both are complement you should develop both to be a full musician .
@@laughalltime_ bullshit. You can learn everything, also the hardest pieces, by ear. Maybe slow it down if you are just starting out. There are even apps that can basically "stop" the music, so you can figure out every single voicing. You can also manipulate the frequencies, if there is some other instruments covering what you want to transcribe. And you learn techniques from your teacher, not by reading music. But if you go to uni (for jazz), you will absolutely be required to do both. You will have to trancribe dozens or hundreds of solos and songs (fast bebop stuff and not just "easy, emotional pieces") and you will have to be able to sight read. So its actually not one or the other. Just do both. I do 10 mins sightsinging a day and transcribe for 1h. I also play guitar and piano, but my sight reading skills on those instruments are good enough for my purposes, so I dont practice this anymore. But if you have high aspirations in terms of sightreading for piano (like becoming a correpetitor) you might want to spend much more on this.
I mostly read sheet music as when I was taking lessons that’s what my teacher focused on. Naturally I can remember melodies in my head and I know I should use this skill to play songs by ear. Lately, I notice there are arrangements I’m learning to play and I will alter them in certain parts because I don’t like what the arranger wrote. So in that way I’m not just strictly following sheet music but being a little creative.
playing by ear is sometimes the timing and notes are not really copied from thw original.its good for playing with friends or sometimes to accompany a singer who has his own style. in orchestra piano sheet is very important😊
As a jazz piano student with a background of learning pieces by reading them, I practice transcribing by ear. And of course when I improvise, I think of things to play in the moment and then try to figure out how to play it!😬 Learning to play by ear helps to develop the listening skills I lack.
for people who play by ear, they could now communicate and express their music much easily with programs such as synthesia
Additional pros and cons: ear people are more likely to memorize and can walk up to a piano anywhere and play, sheet people can be so tied to the score that if they forgot their books it is as if they cant play the piano at all...not impressive for a pianist! Ear people may spend a bunch of time guessing and stumbling in the dark trying to figure out what complicated chord they just heard and has to pause and rewind and listen and guess again and again. Guessticing is not the same as PRACTICING. A sight reader knows what chord it is and can see it plain as day coming up in advance and there is no question what notes are contained in the chord and you play it and move on...accurately without error the first time. No pausing and rewinding and taking your hands off the keys to hit a button on your music player...constantly interrupting your flow and train of thought.
I'd like to remind you all that if you practice WITH MISTAKES, then you are PRACTICING MISTAKES. And the "stumbling around in the dark wondering whether or not you are playing it right" method that gives you no fingering and no articulation and no direction on technique or dynamics or tempo or time signature or key changes... is guaranteed to be slower, less accurate, and may develop bad habits and technique as you try to reinvent the wheel into an oval because you have never seen a wheel before...even though there are blueprints widely available and hundreds of years of musicians who have all perfected and refined that wheel...you need to make an oval because you know nothing about wheels and are CHOOSING to ignore the advice of the wheel professionals.
Also, say ten years from now you have learned different 50 pieces of music. You havent played many of then in 5 or more years and one popped into your head today that you forgot. Now you get to LEARN IT BY EAR ALL OVER AGAIN! You have no idea what fingering even YOU used 5 years ago! Have fun with that. Using the same fingering causes your muscle memory to jump on board again and things start to come back quickly, but since you have no score to write your own fingering on...all of that is lost and you are back to your usual method of slowly stumbling around in the dark...after all, it slowly got you where you are today, right? LOL.
A sight reader, 5 years later (or 10 or 20 or 50) can go back to their blueprint, play it slowly and accurately with their same old fingering as years ago, and that muscle memory jumps to attention. You are playing it EXACTLY like you used to and it FEELS RIGHT.
Also, having all my music books helps remind me of all the pieces I play. I have learned so many pieces in 28 years that I couldnt even write you a list. But I have copies of my favorite pieces in one book, so I can just go through and play that book every so often to make sire all those pieces don't deteriorate, making maintenance of those pieces simple straightforward and easy. I guess if you play by ear only you just hope for the best and assume you will remember the 5,000 different notes and instructions in that one song by sheer luck alone...
I am a piano teacher myself and I also use the example of being able to read and write in today's age as a comparison to musicians who can read and write a score. Imagine trying to give someone directions across town when you can't read any of the street signs yourself. How many "turn left by the brick building and right at the big tree" type of steps before they get totally lost? There are lots of brick buildings and big trees! In that case you would be just as useless at giving directions as you would be trying to communicate with other musicians in a group or band or ensemble. I firmly advocate the importance of reading music to any musician. It makes it quicker to learn new music and practice it effectively right off the bat and play with complete accuracy from the beginning and not second guess yourself the entire time wondering if it is right, wondering what the chord is or what inversion it is in, wondering how to finger certain passages and having to struggle to find a solution for a problem that has already been solved. Your ear is your safety net and develops passively in the background as you play ober the years whether or not you actively develop it. Sight reading does not happen passively in the background. You have to practice sight reading specifically. Because it takes more work, many people are lazy and intentionally choose to do things the hard way instead for some reason...stumbling around in the dark second guessing themselves inventing ovals and practicing a song with mistakes that they could never communicate with another musician...you should work on your weaknesses...if the hard part becomes the easy part...then it is ALL EASY. 😊
When i learnt music at school i played what i saw on the sheet and passed exams with honours. I always had a good ear and play by ear only for afternoon tea at a hotel Learning music was useful particularly when playing with other musicians who sometimes ask"what key are you in? I prefer playing by esr.
"...that they play with less of an emotional engagement to the music". That is very important point! There are more mental somatotypes of students. I belong exactly to this category. I put effort into investigation why I have this problem and found that it is probably because the two parts of the brain that are used for reading (notation) and for musical experiencing are not independent enough, thus when reading sheet music, my musicality can't be developed well enoug. Solution for me was to find proper method how to learn pieces from memory. And it is another topic.
I was taught at age seven to learn pieces by reading the sheet music. It is best to learn classical music from the sheet music, otherwise you will be dependent on someone else's interpretation, and you won't have direct access to the composer's written instructions. Without sheet music, it is impossible to play with precision -- knowing exactly how long to hold a note, knowing how loudly or softly to play, etc. The precision required for Mozart's appoggiature is unimaginable without being able to visualize the music on paper. That being said, when I was a student in Rome, I taught a student how to read music. He was strictly an ear musician. He learned the Charles Marie Vidor Toccata perfectly -- entirely by ear. I still can't imagine how he was able to do that!
What is the name of the jazz piece at 6:18? I rly loved that one!
Thanks for the great video/lession. I have always played with music sheet. Never rely on my ear. That could be the problem that I cannot memorize any pieces. I will watch your other video about learning by ear. Thanks again.
Jazer, do you play guitar? I learned guitar as a teen and then let it sit for 50 years. Now I'm trying piano. Can you comment on how this would affect my learning piano? Anything thing I should keep in mind?
Hi Jazer. Another delightful surprise is God’s gift, which has been instrumental in nurturing my child. Music played a vital role during her healing journey from pneumonia, supporting her day by day. As she expressed her fondness for it persistently, we decided to get her a toy piano. We found that she was able to listen to tunes on the radio/TV and work out to play them on the piano. To our astonishment, within just a month, she has already mastered playing nearly ten pieces. Seeing her have fun while listening to her favorite songs and recalling cherished memories, or even learning from online piano tutorials, brings immense joy.
I was both amazed and confused when I caught my 6-year-old child, Aigis, playing the sofa syllables on her toy piano and writing her analysis of the song "Happy Cat" in sofa syllables on a piece of paper. She had stuck Scotch tape on each white key and written the corresponding sofa syllables in marker, which she plans to rewrite tomorrow since it got washed out while she was playing.
For basic, she can play her own by ear, songs like Happy Cat, London Bridge, Jack and Jill, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Happy Birthday, Mary Had a Little Lamb, and Digital Amazing Circus opening. Now she wants to make me happy so she's learning little by little by herself Pachelbel's Canon in D yung 1st stanza
I'm not sure how to manage Aigis at this point. Is this behavior weird? Sometimes, she goes above and beyond my comprehension, and I'm not sure how to handle it. Any advice would be appreciated.
I think that understanding theory and compositional skills is another approach --- so not only just playing by ear - but having theory/compositional knowledge helps a heap. And - just like a balanced diet - it is often beneficial to have a balance. So develop both play-by-ear AND music theory skills - which includes reading sheet music. That's the best of both worlds, or all worlds. Now - I don't know if it is true or not. But it is written that Hans Zimmer relies mainly on other approach other than reading sheet music or writing sheet music score when he composes. I think the main thing is - as long as somebody learns enough to be able to express themselves adequately (musically) using their instrument - regardless of what approach they use - and as long as they are happy with what they are able to do, then that is great. When playing be 'ear' - and if somebody doesn't follow a score, then it is certainly and absolutely possible to still play a version that is equally interesting and rich by compensating - as in introducing own/extra content. Complicated and fast is not holy grail of piano playing. There is unlimited music that is relatively slow - but rich and amazing that will match any 'complex' piece in terms of beauty, elegance, expression etc. Unlimited. And being able to express oneself adequately can also depend on own base abilities (internal) - and also experience - as in listening and paying attention to detail in various music. Understanding interesting techniques as well - including counterpoint and how to make music interesting and sounding 'good'.
What song was being played in 6:22 ?
Hey ! Can you make a video on the pros and cons of being a piano teacher ?
I prefer to initially read the notes for each hand separately and then to play by ear both hands with very good synchro. even if i do not remember something by ear, i recall it through guesses or improvise until it sounds good enough..Unfortunatly i do not have enough time to practice simultanious reading and playing w/o watching my fingers or maybe i'm not that good at reading notes (to me it s looks like a literature skill to be developed then musicality or maths).
Wait, I never knew you could be doing only of the two since I've been doing both 😮😮
Love this topic! Will you give more tips and pointers to build on learning how to play by ear after we finish your nursery rhyme homework? 😃
Jazer's tips are excellent
Wow, When you said you may "miss the composer's intention" when playing by ear, I had a big red flag go up. As a musician of over 50 years, I have found repeatedly that sheet music IS like the "flash cards" of the piece. Unfortunately, we have no recorded version by the original composer of most historic classical music, so all we are left with is the notes (sheet music) and a bit of oral tradition passed among piano players. If you have ever composed a piece or tried to transcribe a complex piece of music, it becomes apparent that I can't possibly give you enough information on the page for you to exactly replicate a performance. Especially in the case of popular music, the sheet music is almost never an accurate rendering of what was actually played on the recording you are listening to. While I have never been a professional classical musician, I have worked in most other genres at one time or another, and value the ability to read charts, lead lines and full scores if necessary, but always seek out a recorded version, if available, to really get the feel of a piece of music. I truly believe that a rendition of a piece of music with the right feel and a few 'changed' notes will sound more authentic than a rendition note for note accurate per sheet music, but with no feel for the original recording of the song. If you want to test the theory, get a free version of audacity or some recording program, record yourself playing a piece of music from sheet music only, then import a version of a respected pianist playing the piece and play them together to see if they come close to aligning (I bet they won't). Now listen to the recorded version for a few weeks and get it "in your head" and try it again... Better result? Personally, my reading skills (which I practiced for years, along with ear-training, solfeggio, and the like) have been useful for sight reading gigs and getting some of the details down that challenged my ear. I can't imagine though, sitting down and sight-reading a complex, up-tempo classical piano piece at tempo without error on first reading. Probably not many who could pull that off, so even when reading, we are usually memorizing as we read and rehearse and eventually, the sheet music acts as a cue for the memory. As an aside, the one skill I always recommend above all others for becoming a better musician is transcription. It teaches us so much (including the limitations of notation).
6:31 does anyone know what song he's playing? Great video, thanks for the help!
I love playing by ear as I play for myself.
I started playing music @ 9 years old ( started on laptop keys ) now im 33 and i really feel like i need to improve my technical skills of sheet music.
Thanks, Jazer.
I played classical piano, age 5-18. I also played the trumpet. At around age 18 I started playing by ear. I would love to relearn site reading, but I've forgotten how to do that. And since I was a trumpet player, the treble clef is "readable" but the bass clef still confuses me. A "real" pianist is accomplished at both, IMHO.
Pershendetje,nuk di anglisht ,do tju isha mirenohes qe fjalet te mi luani ne piano.Sidomos sllou me ndihmoje ,kam vetem tre muaj qe mesoj.Shume faleminderit .(Albanish)
Great upload and much appreciated man!
I've been playing piano for 2 years now. I'm self taught and have gotten good enough to play for my church and volunteer to play at places like nursing homes. I've always been pretty ok at playing by ear, but I can't read sheet music to save my life. What is the best free online resource to learn to read music? Is there anywhere in particular I should start that I can keep doing everyday until I get better?
I’m learning mostly by ear; but I want to learn to read music while playing as well.
For me ...I'm beggining to learn how to read music...but I combine it with with visual and hearing videos of instruments and fingering
Language as an analogy works both ways - due to being always taught "proper" French I can read and write French but have great difficulty understanding real spoken French and I've been taught speaking rules that are rarely used by real francophones. Back to music, this is the issue for people who can sight read perfectly but get dropped into a jam session where minimal information is provided.
learning to play by reading gospel and play it by ear is best of both worlds.
Nashville numbers inversions.
My childhood piano lessons had no aural training as far as I can remember. And my first few teachers in my adulthood had little to offer in that area as well. I definitely felt those last two talking points. I often lacked expression and emotion in my playing. And improvising was difficult because I had never really had to think for myself. It’s been a long, occasionally painful 😂 road developing these skills, but I’m improving at least 😅
I prefer to read sheet music first and then change things from that base.I also try to learn songs by ear so that I can actually do both
I do hoth. I learned all the Ii V l combinations and dominant alterations so I can quickly read sheet music chords. Then I play all the inversions and scales. I have a good rhythmic feel for jazz. But one needs to hear how the masters play. For instance I learned The Shadow of Yoy Smile from the lead sheet and then learned Bob James version from Sarah Vaughn recording. That gives a whole new perspective. Extremely valuable. Now my eye sight is degrading and can no longer read sheet music. RUclips is invaluable to learn by ear.
Thank you so much for this great video...I love both...❤when I'm learning a new song on my piano I prefer to have some sheet music and with this I'm working out my own arrangement...🎹 when I'm playing my accordion I prefer to figure out songs by ear...🪗
Reading sheet music for me. I've studied a couple of languages, and I've always considered music a language. I need to "read" a piece first.
Hi, I prefer to play by reading the music from the sheet but I can't. Currently I am able to play the music only after I memorize it. I take time to read the sheet to quickly/on time play it on the piano.
This video is very helpful.
I think it takes a special "ear" to play by ear, I can usually pick out a melody line but not both hands. I can read pretty much any piece of sheet music though!
it is pretty similar conceptually, except you can't study yourself to it theory-wise. it requires good enough muscle memory and many hours of improvisation to 'connect' the sound you are hearing to the note you should play. i'd imagine chord progression and scale practice combined with trying to play songs you don't know through trial and error (or analyzing the song) would be a pretty effective way. personally i just grinded my way through endless shitty improv until it started sounding better and better - this approach leaves huge gaps in knowledge though!
I wish I could play by ear, but I predominantly play by sheet music. After I play by sheet music, it helps me to play better later by hearing it by ear.
I like sheet music as the notes are there in front of you, and after I've played it through once and gotten the feel, I find I'm driving the rhythm more from myself than the sheet. Maybe that's a beginner thing...
Playing by ear so to speak, helps me to interpret a bit. For example I'm learning To Zanarkand and the sheet music I got online doesn't quite feel right (have heard the original countless times over the course of 20+ years) so I've been changing it, from the notes to the tempo. To be honest, when I have the notes and fingerings correct, the rhythm seems to find itself 😊
I'm a beginner so To Zanarkand will take me a while, and I'm still learning terminology so hopefully I didn't say anything too off 😅
Really interesting subject!
I have learned music in Africa and most of the virtuosos that I met were illiterate, so for me reading music has never been a must to be a good musician.
That being said, living in the Western world, reading and writing music is a must to access theory or not having to memorize everything before playing it.
To me it is perfectly possible to speak without being able to read, but it is much more complicated to access written knowledge or communicate with your peers without it...
I think to have the best of both world, it is better to be proficient at playing by ears and then be able to read and write fluently.
If you think about Partimento teaching which was how classical music was taught in the past, reading was compulsory but improvising and playing on the spot was the goal of the practice.
Don't sleep on sheets. If you are looking to impress your friends with a specific piece then you will be fine playing by ear. If you are looking for long term growth and development over many years learning how to read sheets will do wonders for your overall musicality. You'll start to see and recognize patterns, intervals, and what the music should sound like when you're looking at it as well as learning theory without sitting down to grind theory. It just happens naturally.
Spend a few years with this skill and it a new pop song comes out and it's catchy, you can find out what key it is in, and you'll be able to re-create it from scratch much faster by ear.
Very Informative Sirjee
Thank You 😊
Is it possible to be an effective pianist without knowledge of how to read the sheet? I also wanted to know how to improve in my sight reading. At times, it is hard for me to read the differences in position and translate the position to a letter.
I want to be able to play by ear and am working hard towards that goal. But I am limited in my chord building skills and ability to play melodies with chord accompaniment. By reading music, all of that is taken care of by the composer.
I struggle to play by ear and so prefer to read sheet music. I wish I could do both!
I really need help to restart the learning process with the right fingering I feel when I play sometime I fail to follow notes the way they are and end up mixing with fake noted just do to finish a song
I tend to read the music, but I also realize that I have a certain talent for playing by ear which I really need to develop more