Is playing by ear a gift or a skill? can any play by ear if they tried?

Question

I was listening to David Sides playing piano on youtube just now, and i read the comments that he was playing by ear. Is playing by ear a gift or a skill that you can gradually get better at? can anybody play by ear?

Answer 1

If you have a talent for it yes. There are different types of playing by ear though, like some students can pick out note by note say Happy Birthday, but when it comes to playing it finger style playing all the notes, the complete chords their lost, some are good at figuring out the cords when they work at it .Some have a good ear for working out single notes but can't combine them with chords, others have what you call perfect pitch and can play anything that they hear. So I would say playing by ear is both a gift and a skill. Some geniuses like Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven could hear something once and play it back note for note, that always amazed me. The great cellist Jacqueline du Pre could do that at thirteen, she could look at a complicated concerto and in two days have it memorized, that's something I've always envied in people, it takes me a couple of months to memorize a complicated concerto, some people are just born that way, with that great gift "perfect pitch". You can be trained to play by ear by not everyone has the knack for it . I'm one of them, I have to have the music, I'm not lucky enough to have that talent.

Answer 2

I naturally play by ear on the piano, and I always have. Which has been a blessing and a curse in itself. I have been able to listen to stuff and play it (not note for note of corse). However, if I listen to a song long enough I can figure out the chords and make it sound just like the originall. However, when I was younger and my parents had put me into piano (because they thought I had true musical talent) I never wantedto memorize the notes. I wanted to memorize what I had heard thus not paying attention to the sheet music or theory I was supposed to learn. My piano teachers hated that. But, I did come across a teacher one time who taught not only theory but taught students to learn by ear. She had her own piano and would play notes behind me and I had to match them. I had no problem at this. I really liked this teachers method who tried to teach theory and by ear too. So the answere to your question is this. Playing by ear is a natural gift to some. But, If you find the right teacher it can become a skill that you can perfect over time. Hope this was helpful.

Jessica

Answer 3

The answer is yes - it is a gift and a skill. Some people are born with the right tools, and they can develop the skill more easily. Others have to work far harder to train their listening skills.

I have absolute pitch (some people call it perfect pitch). I can hear a pitch or group of pitches and recognize them by letter name by the way they sound. When I was young, I simply assumed that everyone processed sound the way that I did. As I worked through music school, I met many people who did not have absolute pitch but could still reproduce much of what they heard. They had simply developed a strong working knowledge of how pitches sound in relationship to one another.

I believe that ear training is as fundamental to good musicianship as note reading. The two work hand in hand. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it is best to work at both skills.

Answer 4

Playing by ear is a gift if it comes to you easily, because its damn hard to do.

After playing the piano for a few years, I can play by ear some stuff, but my ear hasn't been trained enough to play, lets say, a difficult piano piece by ear.

So in short, if you train yourself how to do it, you'll get better and better.

So it is a gift and a skill.

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Answer 5

I play guitar /fiddle by ear. I find it easier than trying to read dots, but I believe that anyone can play by ear. Listen to an easy piece, and try to reproduce it. If u can , go on to harder pieces. Don't be discouraged. All the best. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

yes its a skill that comes with time if you really want to learn it i sugest playing flok songs or marry had a little lam or something you can hum to yourself once you can play that gradually start figuring out harder and harder stuff. it takes work but i think its defenetly worth it

Answer 7

It can be learned, but your level of knowledge or talent will determine how well you can pick it up and deliver it.