Roadmap:
Play Melodies By Ear (Intervals)

This is a preview of a Musical U Roadmap.
Roadmaps are a “big picture” guide to developing a particular musical skill. Learn more about Roadmaps here.

Phase 1: Fundamentals

Before starting to learn interval recognition and how to play melodies by ear is it important to understand how pitch works, what exactly your sense of “relative pitch” is and how it will allow you to play by ear.

Start by taking the Ear Expansion: Pitch module. You might be surprised by how powerful and subtle this simple concept is in music!

Then move on to the Ear Expansion: Intervals module which explain the “what, why and how” of this topic which will be core for you:

Phase 2: Intervals Preparation

Continue learning how interval recognition works with the Learning Intervals module. This will introduce you to three methods: Reference Songs, Solfa, and “Just Doing It”.

Note: This Roadmap is based on you starting with the Reference Songs method and moving on to “Just Doing It”. If you are keen to use the solfa approach instead then the alternative Roadmap on Playing Melodies By Ear (Solfa) will be more suitable for you.

Phase 3: Start Learning Intervals!

Now it’s time to begin practising interval recognition. You can use the Interval Recognition 1 module, or if you have an iOS device you can use the RelativePitch app.

For now, aim to pass the “ascending” and “descending” levels of each lesson until you have covered the following types of interval:

unison, semitone, tone, minor third, major third, perfect fourth, perfect fifth

Later you can continue to harmonic intervals and larger intervals, but for playing simple melodies by ear the ascending/descending forms of these intervals will be enough.

You should find that the reference songs method works well for getting you started. However, as you want to speed up your recognition or include harmonic intervals in your practice you will find you naturally begin to use the “just do it” method.

When you start using your new interval recognition skills to figure out melodies by ear you will need to be quite fast with your recognition, which usually means moving away from the reference songs method.

Phase 4: Playing By Ear Preparation

Playing music by ear is a topic which causes a lot of confusion and misunderstandings among musicians.

Before continuing with your own play-by-ear training, take a bit of time to explore two modules which will help you get 100% clear on what “playing by ear” is – and what it isn’t.

The Start Playing By Ear module gives you the full low-down on playing by ear, clarifying what this ability involves, the various skills required to do it, and helping you take your first steps in playing by ear yourself.

Then check out the Play-By-Ear Process module which provides examples of a musician going through the process of figuring out songs by ear.

As these two modules explain, knowing the key of a song can greatly accelerate the process of figuring out the chords. In Finding the Key you’ll learn a simple 4-step process to find the key of a song by ear:

Begin trying to use this process now, and then continue developing your key-finding skills as the next Phases progress.

Phase 5: Start Playing Melodies By Ear

Now that your interval recognition skills are getting solid and you understand how playing by ear works, it’s time to do it!

We’ll start off simple. Don’t worry that the melodies you really want to play by ear are more complicated than these ones you’re starting with. They are all built on the same foundational structure and you will quickly find your ability to tackle complex melodies growing, as long as you start off simple and proceed with patience.

If you aren’t aware of how scales can provide a structure for choosing notes by ear you might like to take the Ear Expansion: Scales module before continuing:

Then, focus on the first two lessons of the Melody Practice: Major Pentatonic module which will help you to start figuring out melodies by ear:

These lessons explain which intervals are present in the scale being used and you can use the “Intervals” version of the Training and Testing tracks to apply your interval recognition skills to figure out the melodies by ear.

These melodies may be simple, but you should still take pride in the fact that you are doing it! You are now playing melodies by ear on your instrument.

Phase 6: Play Major Pentatonic Melodies

The remainder of the Melody Practice: Major Pentatonic module will extend your skills to the full “major pentatonic” scale. This is a powerful stage to reach since this scale is so prevalent in music. Even when you encounter melodies which use other notes, often the major pentatonic will give you a great starting point for playing them by ear.

Finish applying your interval recognition skills to the full set of intervals present in the major pentatonic by completing this module:

Then there are two exercises you can do to connect your skills to your instrument:

You should start to feel a real sense of satisfaction, as these melodies are becoming more and more like the music you hear every day!