My first attempt at teaching myself a song on the piano was mainly by ear. At this point in time my familiarity with sheet music was not solid enough. I could decipher notes on the staff but at a very slow rate. In particular, I had a difficult time dealing with simultaneous clefs (treble and bass) and their respective notes for the piano. It was hard for me to coordinate them together. Compared to sheets however, the concept of learning by ear was not new to me. This is because my past experiences and lessons with guitar have enabled me to strengthen my ear.
An “E note” on the guitar would sound similar to an “E” on the piano. Sometimes in guitar, there weren’t any tablature or sheets for a particular song that I wanted to learn. Therefore, learning by ear was the only option for me. The same scenario can be drawn to piano as well. Learning by ear usually involves the repetition of listening to a song in order to recreate the notes, melody, bass line, and rhythms that are being heard. But why even bother learning by ear?
In the long run I think that learning by ear has the ability to improve the overall musicality of an individual. It takes time to develop though; it is still something that gives me trouble. However, I think that the benefits of this ongoing process are worthwhile. These are just some of the few aspects that I consider when trying to play by ear.
1. Become more acquainted with the individual sounds of notes.
2. Improvement of aural skills and intervals
3. Chord structure and rhythm recognition
4. Pitch and key recognition
5. Encourages creativity for interpreting different songs
6. Allows you to learn songs that do not have sheet music
7. Helps with improvisation and spontaneity of music
This is not to say that learning by ear is the only way; music theory and the ability to read sheet music are probably just as important than trying to learn by ear. Maybe others out there will have different experiences and ideas about this topic. All insight is welcome as I am still in the long process of learning as well! This is just how I initially started my journey in trying to teach myself how to play.
Notes of My Life 