3 Quick & Easy Steps To Playing Music by Ear

Playing by ear is the ability to play a piece of music (or, eventually, learn an instrument) by simply listening to it repeatedly. The majority of self-taught musicians began their education this way; they picked up their instrument and began playing an easy melody from a well-known song, slowly picking out the notes as they went along. And even after these musicians master their instruments or a particular song, playing by ear still plays a large role. Many pop and rock bands don't play or write their songs based on sheet music, they figure the songs out by playing by ear. It's even common among non-musicians. Ever sit down a piano and mindlessly pick out the tune to "Mary Had a Little Lamb"? What about grabbing a guitar and suddenly finding yourself playing the opening licks to "Smoke on the Water"? That's playing by ear. You're able to play part of the song just because you've heard it so often.

Since music is basically composed of 3 elements ? melody, rhythm, and harmony, it is logical that there are also 3 basic steps to learning to play music by ear:

1. Charting the contour of the melody. Tunes move higher and lower ? up and down ? as the song progresses. Being aware of that movement is the first step. Once you mentally define the parameters of the melody, you can then begin to hone in on picking it out on your instrument. As an example, think of "Joy To The World". We've all sung it a zillion times, but have you ever noticed that the melody moves down exactly 8 steps (an octave), then gradually moves back up in increments, then repeats the down movement, etc. The entire melody is contained within those 8 notes, so you now know the parameters of the song and can begin to pick out the melody intelligently.

2. Harmonizing the melody with matching chords. The second element of music is harmony, and you can harmonize any melody just by matching the supporting chords to that melody. For example, if the melody is a "G", you can harmonize that melody by using a chord with G in it, such as the G chord (G, B, D), the C chord (C, E, G), or the Em chord (E, G, B), or the Eb chord (Eb, G, Bb) and so forth. By using your ear to guide you, you can learn to harmonize the melody of most any song using matching chords.

3. Using an appropriate rhythm that matches the feel of the song. This is usually the easiest part, since most people "feel" the beat and don't have to do any mental gymnastics to come up with an appropriate rhythm for a song. But for those of us that might be "rhythmically challenged", just by knowing that there are basically two meters available ? duple meter and triple meter -- that can be combined in infinite combinations, we can give the song either a "3" feeling (like a waltz or a jazz waltz) or a "4" feeling (like swing or a march or a ballad).

Playing by ear is a valuable technique for many musicians; learning songs based solely on hearing them is a great way to understand song and chord structure. In fact, a great number of rock and pop musicians learned to play their instruments this way. Instead of picking up a book or taking lessons, they concentrated on figuring out the notes and rhythms to a song until it was mastered. Then they moved on to another song. And another. Gradually, they learned their instrument just by playing by ear -- and in the process learned how to effectively structure a song in that particular genre. Playing by ear is also beneficial in helping a musician develop his or her own style; sure, they'll at first mimic the style of the song they're imitating, but the amalgamation of the music that they're playing by ear will help them create something distinctive, something indicative of them only.

Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music courses for adults. His book-CD-DVD course titled "How To Play Piano By Ear Using Chords!" has sold well over 30,000 copies around the world. He is the author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled "Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions" with over 61,200 current subscribers.

---

Killer Piano Playing Secrets of a Chord Addict!

I wish you could have seen me play the piano... Read More

Throat Singing In Inuit Culture

Originally, Inuit throat singing was a form of entertainment among... Read More

If Setting The Gain Correctly is So Important, Why Dont Mic Preamplifiers Have Meters?

When you first learn how to use a mixing console,... Read More

Five Secrets to Playing in the New Age Style

1. Learn how to ImproviseLearning how to improvise is the... Read More

Shut Up And Sing

What is it with these performers and their politics? Do... Read More

Legend Vega Releasing New Pop CD

Legend Vega is scheduled to release her newest CD this... Read More

Silent Discos!

The press have reported this week that silent disco's are... Read More

Piano Playing and Performance Anxiety

I'll never forget the first time I played the piano... Read More

How to Buy an Electric Guitar

For most of us, making any major purchase, such as... Read More

Beginners Guide to Music File Formats

Are you confused by the various types of music file... Read More

Record Collecting Still Thriving in the Twenty-first Century

It may surprise many to find that the hobby of... Read More

Your First Guitar

Congratulations, you just bought you first guitar! Now that you've... Read More

How Many Chords Are There, Anyway?

Since chords (the main component of harmony) are one of... Read More

The Art of Music

Music is the art of arranging sounds in periodic time... Read More

Vintage Guitar Collectors Can Still Find Deals

If you're a recent vintage guitar collector, the stories you've... Read More

All About Eminem

Marshall Mathers, was born October 17, 72, and could be... Read More

Greg Koch Fender Guitar History

The Greg Koch Fender guitar began to take shape all... Read More

Play Piano As Fast As Possible!

One of the rules of practicing we all hear over... Read More

Playing The Piano Using Chord Symbols Instead of Being Tied To The Written Sheet Music

Piano improvising and arranging is an art but definitely not... Read More

The Time Machine Exist!

We call it music, ever noticed how vividly music triggers... Read More

Born to sing, Britney Spears is as big as ever today

Britney Spears was born December 2 1981 as Britney Jean... Read More

Improvising On The Piano: Jazz Musicians Do It -- Why Not Other Styles?

Why jazz piano improvisation?Why not gospel piano improvisation?Is it not... Read More

You Cant Force Play

A student once asked me; "How come sometimes the music... Read More

Memorizing Music - How Is It Best Achieved?

When memorizing music there are several things you can do... Read More

The Three 8 Mile Battles

Three battles at the end of the 8 Mile movie... Read More

An Interview with Jon Bon Jovi ? 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Cant Be Wrong

The idea originated with singer Jon Bon Jovi. Jon kept... Read More

Pakistani Pop Music

Pakistan is blessed with talent and when we talk about... Read More

Play Piano in the New Age Style

It's not what you play, it's how you play it.... Read More

The Revolution of Electric Guitars

Sometime during the 1930's electric guitars were introduced onto the... Read More

Guitar Tuning Tips

Most new guitar players and even some experienced ones have... Read More

Piano Teachers - Whats Wrong with Them?

Most of us like to use what we learn right... Read More

Art of the Recording Engineer: From Michael Jackson to Mutant Radio, Matt Forger Speaks Out

Interviewed by Scott G (The G-Man)G-Man: When people think of... Read More

Guitar Practicing or Guitar Playing?

Just because you're holding your guitar doesn't mean that you're... Read More