What is "playing by ear"?-Can you play by ear? That’s a common question in musician’s circles, a phrase that’s often used. “He’s a great musician, he can play by ear” “I’ve been learning my pieces… but I wish I could play by ear instead! “I can’t read music – I just play by ear” Do these sound familiar? If […]
Want to play by ear? Well, do then!-In last week’s post I asked “Can you play by ear?” and explored what we actually mean by “playing by ear” and why you might care about this skill, sometimes assumed to be an all-or-nothing (almost magical) ability. Despite the common misconceptions, the ability to bring what you hear in your head into the real […]
What can you already play by ear? Let’s talk Melody.-Now that we’ve looked at what playing by ear is and how to learn to play by ear it’s time for us to stop and really work out where we each stand now in the journey to playing by ear. We’ll go on to look at some great ways to speed up the journey, but […]
What can you already play by ear? Harmony & Rhythm?-This article follows on from part one, on melody. If you haven’t read it yet, please start there for the explanation and background. If you’ve already started your self-assessment – let’s continue on! Today it’s harmony and rhythm to round off the skill set. Harmony If you’re a guitar player or a singer wanting to […]
Top Tech Tools for Playing By Ear-Want better ears for music? You should use the latest modern ear training tools so you get better much faster. Learn what they are and start using them today.
Top Online Courses for Playing By Ear-Want better musical ears? Get the latest methods, information and techniques for training your musical ear with these top online ear training courses.
4 Steps to Playing By Ear (Natalie Wickham)-One of the most effective ways to improve as a musician is to learn from multiple teachers, exploring different approaches and hearing from a variety of perspectives. So to continue our series on playing by ear, we decided to invite some teachers and musicians to share their own thoughts on learning to play by ear. […]
Like vegetables in your diet! (Eugene Cantera)-Today we’ve got a slightly different viewpoint on playing by ear to share with you, from Eugene Cantera of the excellent Discover, Learn, Play website. Eugene’s joined us here before, writing about ear training technology and we’ve covered the DLP programme; but today our focus is learning to play by ear. I think the phrase […]
The Sexy Secret of "One, Four, Five" (Lisa McCormick)-Being able to play by ear is one of the most desirable skills among musicians. But many people assume it’s a gift: you’ve either got it or you don’t. In this series so far I hope we’ve convinced you otherwise. You can learn to play by ear! Still not sure? Today we welcome Lisa McCormick […]
Learning to play by ear was the answer when flaming fingers left me cold-Continuing our playing-by-ear series, we’re very pleased to welcome the first of our “home team”, Easy Ear Training author Nick Long, to share his experiences learning to play by ear. I decided I wanted an electric guitar aged 14 after seeing a video of Ace Frehley playing a solo on a flaming Les Paul. Just […]
Learn to play by ear using chord tones (Part one)-This week in our playing-by-ear series guitar teacher Brad Mavin shares a process he uses for learning to play songs by ear on guitar. A fun exercise that I like to do with students is to play along with a popular four chord song. Identify the key and make music using the scales that fit […]
Learn to play by ear using chord tones (Part two)-Here’s part two of Brad’s article on playing melodies and improvising by ear using the notes of a song’s chords. It’s part of our series on learning to play by ear. You should start with part one if you haven’t already read it! Welcome back! We’re looking at how to improvise and play over the […]
The Secret Aural Life of Drummers (or "How to Play Percussion by Ear, Confessions of a Rhythm Queen"!)-Next up in our playing-by-ear series, we have another of our “home team”: Easy Ear Training author Sabrina Peña Young, sharing her perspective on playing percussion by ear. Rhythm is more than a drum set backing a jazz band, an excited crowd clapping in time, or little black notes etched on a sheet of paper. […]
Can Learning To Recognise Notes By Ear Improve Your IQ? (Rob James)-We’ve looked at how to learn to play by ear, including some great tutorials and howtos from our guest experts. Today, Rob James reveals a side-benefit of focusing on your play-by-ear skills… A bigger brain! Learning to recognise and play back notes by ear has many benefits for a musician, but one may surprise you: […]
5 Top Tips to Learn to Play By Ear (Steve Myers)-This week we have another terrific guest expert joining us to share their perspective on learning to play by ear. We’re very pleased to welcome the founder of Theta Music: Steve Myers! I started playing guitar at age 11, and learned songs by sitting down with guitarists who could show me the fingering step-by-step, or […]
Why Music Producers Need To Learn To Play By Ear (Mark Spacey)-A different perspective on playing by ear this week: music production. We welcome guest expert Mark Spacey of music production site dancemidisamples.com! When you produce music for a living, you always have to keep the grand design in mind. The big picture is made up of lots of little pieces, and every single little piece […]
What is "playing by ear"? - Can you play by ear? That’s a common question in musician’s circles, a phrase that’s often used. “He’s a great musician, he can play by ear” “I’ve been learning my pieces… but I wish I could play by ear instead! “I can’t read music – I just play by ear” Do these sound familiar? If […]
Want to play by ear? Well, do then! - In last week’s post I asked “Can you play by ear?” and explored what we actually mean by “playing by ear” and why you might care about this skill, sometimes assumed to be an all-or-nothing (almost magical) ability. Despite the common misconceptions, the ability to bring what you hear in your head into the real […]
What can you already play by ear? Let’s talk Melody. - Now that we’ve looked at what playing by ear is and how to learn to play by ear it’s time for us to stop and really work out where we each stand now in the journey to playing by ear. We’ll go on to look at some great ways to speed up the journey, but […]
What can you already play by ear? Harmony & Rhythm? - This article follows on from part one, on melody. If you haven’t read it yet, please start there for the explanation and background. If you’ve already started your self-assessment – let’s continue on! Today it’s harmony and rhythm to round off the skill set. Harmony If you’re a guitar player or a singer wanting to […]
Top Tech Tools for Playing By Ear - Want better ears for music? You should use the latest modern ear training tools so you get better much faster. Learn what they are and start using them today.
Top Online Courses for Playing By Ear - Want better musical ears? Get the latest methods, information and techniques for training your musical ear with these top online ear training courses.
4 Steps to Playing By Ear (Natalie Wickham) - One of the most effective ways to improve as a musician is to learn from multiple teachers, exploring different approaches and hearing from a variety of perspectives. So to continue our series on playing by ear, we decided to invite some teachers and musicians to share their own thoughts on learning to play by ear. […]
Like vegetables in your diet! (Eugene Cantera) - Today we’ve got a slightly different viewpoint on playing by ear to share with you, from Eugene Cantera of the excellent Discover, Learn, Play website. Eugene’s joined us here before, writing about ear training technology and we’ve covered the DLP programme; but today our focus is learning to play by ear. I think the phrase […]
The Sexy Secret of "One, Four, Five" (Lisa McCormick) - Being able to play by ear is one of the most desirable skills among musicians. But many people assume it’s a gift: you’ve either got it or you don’t. In this series so far I hope we’ve convinced you otherwise. You can learn to play by ear! Still not sure? Today we welcome Lisa McCormick […]
Learning to play by ear was the answer when flaming fingers left me cold - Continuing our playing-by-ear series, we’re very pleased to welcome the first of our “home team”, Easy Ear Training author Nick Long, to share his experiences learning to play by ear. I decided I wanted an electric guitar aged 14 after seeing a video of Ace Frehley playing a solo on a flaming Les Paul. Just […]
Learn to play by ear using chord tones (Part one) - This week in our playing-by-ear series guitar teacher Brad Mavin shares a process he uses for learning to play songs by ear on guitar. A fun exercise that I like to do with students is to play along with a popular four chord song. Identify the key and make music using the scales that fit […]
Learn to play by ear using chord tones (Part two) - Here’s part two of Brad’s article on playing melodies and improvising by ear using the notes of a song’s chords. It’s part of our series on learning to play by ear. You should start with part one if you haven’t already read it! Welcome back! We’re looking at how to improvise and play over the […]
The Secret Aural Life of Drummers (or "How to Play Percussion by Ear, Confessions of a Rhythm Queen"!) - Next up in our playing-by-ear series, we have another of our “home team”: Easy Ear Training author Sabrina Peña Young, sharing her perspective on playing percussion by ear. Rhythm is more than a drum set backing a jazz band, an excited crowd clapping in time, or little black notes etched on a sheet of paper. […]
Can Learning To Recognise Notes By Ear Improve Your IQ? (Rob James) - We’ve looked at how to learn to play by ear, including some great tutorials and howtos from our guest experts. Today, Rob James reveals a side-benefit of focusing on your play-by-ear skills… A bigger brain! Learning to recognise and play back notes by ear has many benefits for a musician, but one may surprise you: […]
5 Top Tips to Learn to Play By Ear (Steve Myers) - This week we have another terrific guest expert joining us to share their perspective on learning to play by ear. We’re very pleased to welcome the founder of Theta Music: Steve Myers! I started playing guitar at age 11, and learned songs by sitting down with guitarists who could show me the fingering step-by-step, or […]
Utterly Integral: Playing by Ear with Steve Lawson - Steve Lawson is one of the world's leading solo bassists and a forward-thinking music educator. Here's his ear training advice.
Why Music Producers Need To Learn To Play By Ear (Mark Spacey) - A different perspective on playing by ear this week: music production. We welcome guest expert Mark Spacey of music production site dancemidisamples.com! When you produce music for a living, you always have to keep the grand design in mind. The big picture is made up of lots of little pieces, and every single little piece […]
