Who can play by ear?

[bob3.1415926]

I'm asking this merely out of curiosity. By play by ear, I mean if there is a piece of music that you are familiar with but having never seen the music, could you sit down at the piano and play something that sounds like it?

I don't mean note for note perfect, but similar enough so that others would recognise it.

I can do this with pretty much any pop song I know well, and I can hazard an attempt at most tonal classical music, although I'm more likely to make mistakes with the overall harmony as it tends to be more complex. These mistakes disappear as familiarity increases though. If I'm v familiar with a work, I can normally bash out a rough transcription, although in the case of large scale or virtuosic works, these tend to be vast simplifications.

The reason I ask who else can do this, is just that I've not met many folks who can, and those who could weren't particularly good at it. I do have perfect pitch and can't help but wonder if this just an added bonus that comes with that.

[richard black]

I can bash out a recognisable version of many of the standard orchestral works.

[term]

pop songs yes (but depends sometimes), classical music generally no.
My ear is... ok, but compared to many musicians rather bad i must admit.

[soderlund]

I wish I could. But I don't have perfect pitch, not a good pitch at all to be honest. Sometimes I can find the theme melody of a piece on the piano, and I did played the entire Bach polonaise from ear (perhaps a simplified version, it was very easy, I don't know if it was the original), but it took me an afternoon and I also cheated at some places.

Edit: It was the polonaise from Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach in G minor, so not simplified but very easy.

[lau]

I think I can play by ear, but why would i want to play by ear when i can get the music.  A lot of times people ask my if i learn my peices by ear, I think that seems a bit ridiculous. Does anybody who plays classical learn by ear.

[amelialw]

I can. I have perfect pitch and it really helps.

[pianochick93]

darn you're lucky Amelia.

I can usually pick out pop songs easily. Melody and the accompanying chords anyway. Classical isn't as easy, but I can usually get the melody if I am familiar with a piece.

[invictious]

I can, even orchestral works, although I must play it back immediately after hearing it once. (i transcribed eine kleine natchmusik back then)
yes, my style of orchestration is very weird =)
Some classical pieces, ie excerpts here and there

[bob3.1415926]

Thanks for the answers. I have a follow up question for those who can:

Did you learn how to do it, or have you just been doing it for years?

I ask this because a friend of mine asked me to teach him how to do it, and I had no idea what to say. I've been picking out things on the piano for as long as I can remember, and don't ever remember there being a learning process (although playing guitar for a while really helped my ear to pick out chords better - not sure why).

[richard black]

Did you learn how to do it, or have you just been doing it for years?

I could always do it, as long as I can remember. My ability as a very small kid was limited by my ability to play what I heard in my mind on the keyboard.

[thierry13]

I could, but I can now way better since studying music in college. You have to have some sort of good ear basically, but it really is possible to learn to play by ear, really, trough some auditive formation classes(that's what we have in college). Or you can take private classes of this.

[amelialw]

"Thanks for the answers. I have a follow up question for those who can:

Did you learn how to do it, or have you just been doing it for years?"


I just could do it naturally since I was a kid.

[bob3.1415926]

I could, but I can now way better since studying music in college. You have to have some sort of good ear basically, but it really is possible to learn to play by ear, really, trough some auditive formation classes(that's what we have in college). Or you can take private classes of this.

That's really interesting. Thanks. I'll tell my friend, and I may look into them myself. I'd be interested to see how much I could improve my ability at it. After all, if you're showing off, and a Chopin etude fails to impress, knock out a hackneyed version of Bohemian Rhapsody, and they'll think you're a genius right? 
Thanks everyone else for the responses too.

[luigi_di_violini]

I also have perfect pitch and can play by ear. Have been able to since I was little and harmonize with basic chords - I, IV, V or V7.

After going to college and learning theory and keyboard harmony, I was able to improve on the harmonization with other chords like iii and vi. I think perfect pitch is a factor in it, but understanding music theory is also important. Also, listening to a lot of music helps as you come to recognize how each part of a piece should sound.

I'm currently teaching myself to play the violin, mostly playing by ear to learn where the fingerings for the notes are.

[sophie10]

Hey my name is Sophia
I'm 11 years old and I can play by ear! I worked out Fur Elise and Beethoven's fifth and lots of others of my favorite singers songs. I am teaching my little 4 year old sister how to play too. Seems to me that she can also play by hear. She worked out Old Macdonald and Mary Had a Little Lamb! it was kewl
Yes I can just sit down and work out the notes. I can play by ear but I can't SIGHTREAD to save my life!! But I'm downloading lots of songs that I listen to on the computer and then play it. But I am trying to sightread more not just listen so I can become better at theory as well. Kewl. Thanx 4 asking;)
Sophia (or Sophie10)

[lostinidlewonder]

It's funny, I meet a lot of classical pianists who can't play by ear, but then I meet Jazz pianists and almost all of them can play by ear.

Classical musicians seem to be slaves to the sheets, where jazz learn about tools used to create sound. However an experienced classical musician who has memorised a lot of routine in the keyboard has a lot of tools to play music by ear, or even transpose their playing into any key.

I don't like to think of playing by ear as a mystical talent you cannot study and achieve. I certainly find I can play much more accurately by ear as my memorize repertoire has increased.

[rachfan]

I am a classical pianist and could play by ear from a very early age.  I don't capture the exact notes of a piece, and might transpose it to an easier key, but can end up playing a reasonable approximation of the actual music--enough to please myself anyway.  Sometimes I'll create a paraphrase, for example, of a Rachmaninoff song for voice and piano accompaniment, combining the two parts into a piano version for my own pleasure.  Technically, a paraphrase does not rise to the level of a transcription, where one would use the actual score to more accurately combine the parts into a piano piece.  Film music is another fertile ground for fooling around with paraphrases by ear.

Lately, though, I haven't been doing any playing by ear--too busy studying formal repertoire!  There are a couple of dangers, particularly for young students, who play by ear and create paraphrases.  That is, if they eventually learn the actual music, they might also have to unlearn the habits ingrained from their own "by-ear" versions, which can make the process more difficult.  This kind of doodling can also rob precious time.  Looking back, when I was studying with my first teacher for 10 years and had a great propensity to play by ear, had I applied that time instead to learning pieces, I would have a larger repertoire today.  As it turned out, I expanded repertoire with my second teacher (studied with him for 7 years) later in life when I had greater self discipline, and continue that effort now while studying on my own.  So playing by ear can be a benefit, but also a curse.  There's no question that it's fun though, just as much as improvising.

[richard black]

Art Tatum learned and played largely by ear.

We are not worthy.....

[pianorin]

people who can play by ear are blessed.. 

 I cant play by ear..   

[aewanko]

well i can (sort of) but only the first few measures I tried the first few notes of Waldstein and etc...

[nocturnelover]

Well when I was 7 I bought a little keyboard and I used to fiddle around on it but everything I played on it was learnt by ear - chop sticks, joy to the world etc. Then later before I started getting lessons I found that I actually played The Glasgow Love Theme from love actually in the key it was in when I worked it out by ear and then later saw the sheet music! I can also do pop songs and I've found (since I'm apalling at sight reading) that when I do scales I use my ear rather than the notes infront of me! But yes I use my ear alot. I think it would be a strange thing to try and teach and like someone's else's response I also learnt guitar too before formal lessons on the piano and tuned it by ear and it does lend familiarity with chords. But for anyone who wishes to be able to play by ear I can only describe how I do it which is first you have to be fairly familiar with the actualy piece then hear it in your mind and then find that beginning note on the piano and keep going. Also when I hear chords I try to hum the individual notes that make up that chord and then find the right keys! Works quite well! But I suppose you might have to be able to sing! Which I can - on key - which is important. But I do come from a line on my mother's side that have perfect pitch. My Grandfather had a magnificent ear!

[dan101]

Perfect pitch helps.. I have it. However, it is by no means a necessity. I really enjoy playing by ear.

[nyonyo]

I could, but I can now way better since studying music in college. You have to have some sort of good ear basically, but it really is possible to learn to play by ear, really, trough some auditive formation classes(that's what we have in college). Or you can take private classes of this.

For those who really have good hearing does not need to take any class in college. They can easily copy (without thinking) whatever they hear. I have perfect pitch and I can basically can copy whatever crazy harmonization.

In addition, with good hearing, one can devise many unusual harmonization that regular people cannot do. People with good hearing also can memorize pieces easier than regular people.

If some needs to figure out the notes on a piano, it means that person cannot play by ear. The process should be :

1. Hear
2. Play right away..

If not this way, means your hearing is not that good.

But good hearing does not mean good playing...Good playing involves many other thing...taste, voicing, muscle etc....Good hearing really helps.....though...
I cannot imagine those people who are musically deaf...it will take foreve to memorize a piece..Because you really need your brain and muscle to remember the notes...

By the way, there are many famous musicians who do not have good hearing....But they have good muscle and taste.