Playing by ear

[Kapellmeister27]

so i heard one of my classmates in a room today playing all sorts of variations on stra-spangled banner

i asked him how he was doing it and he said it was easy and was playing it all by ear.

i then asked him if he could do any jazz stuff and he just started improvising in a c7 chord in the left hand.

then he asked that i suggest a pop tune, so i gave him hey jude and he played it perfectly with all sorts of neat jazz improv stuff

i then asked if he could play it in a different key and he did so.  it was easy he said.

i realized that i have been playing for 5 years now and cant do much more than I-IV-V  chords in me head so i asked him what he was doing

anyway, he just showed me a couple of things with that c7 chords imrpov involving ninth chords and stuff, but then got carried away and started playing some really wicked stuff.

i realized i wanted to be able to do this more as i have never really had time to in the past with learning all of my regular pieces the only way i know how-by sheet music.

im 20 and i know it helps immensely to start this when youre young but i dont think its too late

i also know it helps to have an innate ability, but im hoping i can overcome the lack of this ability.

anyway, ive searched the forum and cant find many topics dealing with this.  Any help?

i know its a hard thing to do in writing, but does anyone know some tricks or websites that can help (for free) with this or with jazz theory.

i don't think i would need to much help improvising, since i am usually good at hearing a melody in my head and mentally improvising, but when it comes to playing it, i have no idea where to start.  any suggestions?

thanks

[whynot]

Playing by ear is easiest to work on by playing along with something.  If you have recordings of pop music (the more basic, the better), something SLOW that you know well enough to sing along with is perfect.  Figure out what key it's in, start playing the melody along with the recording, then start figuring out the bass, which will lead you into the chords later.   It's hard at first to listen for the lowest note, since it's not instinctive for most of us.  Maybe have a few songs to work out at the beginning.  At this might take several hours, days, but probably weeks, but after the first couple songs, you start to see how it works and then it becomes much simpler/faster.  Then you can start thinking about, what does the guitar do here for rhythm and how can I sound like that on the piano, or whatever.  I have a student who studied classical playing for many years from another teacher.  She came to me because she heard that I played by ear as well as reading, and she wanted to only play pop tunes by ear all of a sudden.  We spent weeks listening to Beatles tunes together, and I had to tell her everything at first and encourage her to listen for this, listen for that.  But once she got a few down, she got to where she could figure out complicated guitar solos in just a few listens.  She had never done any of this before, and I'm not exactly a brilliant teacher, although I like to think I'm helpful!  My point is, it wasn't her past or my instruction, just having a little experience.  I bet you can do it.  (student update:  now she's interested in classical playing again because she can do the other stuff any time she wants... yay)  I'm also a big fan of transposition.  You can learn more theory from transposing a simple song with chords than many people learn in a year of college.  Although college is good too...  I try transposing almost everything I play, just to see if I can do it.  Not right before the concert, though...

[Brian Healey]

Pick up "The Jazz Piano Book" by Mark Levine. It will show you everything you need to know about chord voicings as well as some of the principles of improvising, starting from "the ground up," so to speak. The book is obviously based on jazz, but you can apply the same techniques to almost anything else. And take whynot's advice as well. Learning to play things by ear is as simple as just doing it. Find a pop song you like and figure it out, starting with the bass line. The more you do it, the easier it becomes.


Peace,
Bri

[Bassman]

Don't feel bad.  Im 15 and can pretty much only use the I IV and V chords. Plus I've been playing serious piano for 9 years.  I even play for a Southern Gospel Quartet where everything is done by ear. 

I agree with the others,  start with the left hand to find your basic cords, and then in inconspicious places throw in some really cool licks.  It helps if you keep a tape recorder with you and when you hear those great things in your head, sing or hum them  into the tape recorder.  When you get to the piano work with it until you get it, then using your fancy chords fill in the melody.  WHen you got it down pat record it into your computer, label it as some sort of lick, and when you find a piece you can use it in, pull it out and use it.

Good Luck

-Bassman

[lenny]

your own voice has the closest connection to your inner ear

as far as melodic improvisation goes - sing along alot while playing the exact melody you are singing, eventually after doing this vith a variety of melodies and intervals, you will develop an aural connection with the keyboard, and this is the most important quality in improvisation.

as far as chords go - simply learn a variety of chords, use them alot, and you will develop an ear for them , and use them when you feel appropriate in improvisations.