How many people out there can play an instrument by ear?

Question

I play piano and sing, (go to a high school of the arts) and the other day my piano teacher told us in great detail how extraordinarily hard it is to play by ear. I don't know about anybody else, but I find this task quite easy. I can listen to a song on the radio and after about twenty minutes playing on the piano, trying to pick out the right notes, be able to play the first part or so of it in both hands. Is this unusual?

Edit: I can also read music, for those who are saying it is best to be able to do both.

Answer 1

It is if you don't need any reference note to identify the first note of the song/piece you hear. But it isn't that uncommon if you need to be given a pitch (name and sound) before you're able to play the subsequent notes by ear. I play piano, violin, viola, harp and I sing - I can play all of them/sing by ear, quite easily. I'll just hear something, take out my instrument and play back what I just heard immediately. I usually get the melody first, then after a few minutes, I figure out the accompaniment (listening for harmonies takes more time than identifying a single melody - you got more notes to listen for). But that's because I have perfect pitch so I know immediately upon hearing any music what key it's in, what notes are in the melody/accompaniment, etc. It (playing by ear) is a gift - some find it easy, others find it hard, yet more cannot do it no matter how much they train. The person who said any trained musician will be able to tell any pitches by listening is a bit misleading. In order to tell exactly what pitches they are without being given any reference tone, you need perfect pitch. Few have it (you're either born with it or you don't have it - you can't 'train' to have perfect pitch). Most trained musicians develop relative pitch, which is the ability to relate a pitch to a known/given one and hence figure out what the subsequent notes are - but only when they're given the name and sound of a pitch first. Orchestral musicians can mostly 'memorise' the sound of the concert A (concert Bb in the case of concert/symphonic bands), so they'll be able to relate other notes to that sound and determine their pitches. This ability is often misunderstood as having 'perfect pitch', which is not true at all. They are 2 rather different things. In any case, you're one lucky girl :).

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Perfect pitch is the ability to identify a note by sound, not to be able to sing in key. Sometimes, playing by ear can be detrimental as to learning sheet music. It's funny, but I often hear about someone knowing how to play every musical instrument and, if you play by ear, you can play every instrument. That is not uncommon. A student of mine could sing in key, and after some practice, was able to know where the subdominant chord was on the guitar as well as the dominant chord. Now we're working on identifying other relative chords. Since most students want to play the guitar right now, it's so important to know the mathematics of music first. My granddaughter took guitar lessons for four months from a local music store teacher and could only pluck out Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. What a waste of money and time. With a little help on the mathematics end of things, she could have moved on with the satisfaction of figuring out the fingerboard by herself. If anyone is really interested in learning music, the piano is one of the best to start with.

Answer 4

Yeah man, just listen to the vocals, that's the easiest way to hear the melody. But if the instrument you're playing can be heard in the song, its best to try and pull it out. Doing that will train your ear to know what to listen for and as time goes on it'll become easier and easier and you'll be able to play the notes directly rather than just guessing the notes based on what you hear in the vocals. Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Its a gift Hun. I have been playing by ear for 40 years. But there does come a time when reading music can come in handy. Especially if you want to get serious. I only play for fun and enjoyment. I can hear a song on the radio and pick it up in 5 or 10 minutes.

Answer 6

No, it is common for someone with a trained ear to be able to identify pitches and play them on the instrument. The better your ear is the shorter amount of time you'll need to recognize each pitch or pattern. For example on the song "billie's bounce" either herbie hancock or oscar peterson will take the other's improvised pattern and play it back to them or continue it where they left off immediately (I think by ear) while they're soloing.

Answer 7

I dont know how many can or cant, but i know it is a gift.
for some people this takes years of perfecting, others are born with it. like being able to move your ears or something.
it helps to create music by hearing it in your head and being able to transfer it to an instrument. The music you play should reflect what you hear in your heart and in your head.

Answer 8

Yes it is a wonderful gift. But a word of advice- DO study written music as well. I play professionally now (contemporary music) and haven't laid eyes on sheet music for so long I think i have almost forgotten how. The use of a good ear as well as some knowledge of music theory will make you a phenomenal musician!!!!

Answer 9

I'm a sophmore in high school and in my opinion its a very great thing to have, i'm also able to play by ear but i do it on brass insturments and I my brother made an appointment with some orchestra director and I ended up making the principal horn for that orchestra just because my brother told him I could ply by ear he tested me and I proved it. My private lesson teacher says its a very rare thing to find some one that can play by ear but its a very great ability to have.

Answer 10

I would say so...people with this ability are said to have perfect pitch...wow, what I wouldn't give to have that, I could pick out the melody from a piece but that's about it...if I heard a complicated Bach piece for classical guitar I couldn't just sit and listen to it and then play it...I'd have to have the sheet music...so good for you...your one of the lucky ones !!!!!!!! Slash is a rock guitarist who has this ability....and I think he's fabulous !!!