How can I learn to play piano by ear?

Question

I took lessons in middle school but my piano teacher was bad, and she didn't teach me the many techniques and many things that go hand in hand when playing music. She just taught me to memorize some notes that's all. I stopped playing in the 9th grade, but now as a senior in high school I want to pick up on it again. I have discovered at other piano lesson schools or whatever they're called, they teach you to play by ear as well. I don't know if I can afford lessons at the minute so can someone tell me how I can play piano by ear? Or how I can sight-read notes well, without having seem before (that means play notes for the first time and get them right without practice). HELP ME please! :) 10 POINTS..i PROMISE!

Answer 1

teach yourself on youtube

Answer 2

You can learn to make this connection. Most people don't realize that music is not just an art, but a science too. If you don't know the names of the note's letters (the keys of the piano), you will need to learn these. Once you do that, you will need to learn what notes make up chords. Playing by ear is about learning the relationships between notes- the distances between them. If you can take a sightsinging class at a local music studio or a college, I would recommend that. I took piano for a very long time (over 10 years), but I could not play by ear at all.... then I took some sightsinging classes. Sightsinging teaches you to sing a piece of music that you've never seen before, and it does that because you learn to analyze the piece by the key that it begins, and then you keep going up or down each note, and you get better with practice (It's easier than it sounds) How does this relate to playing? Even if you are not a singer, those skills that you learn in a sightsinging class- what a song sounds like, how to analyze what key it is in, etc.- that will help you play by ear. Just trying to play with the radio to learn - you can try that, but believe me, it will take forever, and it isn't the quickest way to learn how to play. If you don't have access to a class, you can go to your local music store, tell them you want to learn how to play by ear, and they will probably show you some software to teach you sightsinging (aka "aural skills"- aural meaning ears). Yes, some people are born with the ability to play by ear, but everyone can learn how to do it. Not everyone will be as great at it, but with time, effort, and practice you can learn it. If any of this is unclear, or if you don't understand what I've written, go to your local music store, and ask a staff member- they can clear up the confusion! Good luck!

Answer 3

First, you've got to improve your ear training. Practice intervals, chord identification (major, minor, aug, dim, etc), and melody playbacks. After your ear training is good enough, you can try to identify intervals in any music you hear. Eventually you'll be able to play them.



For sight reading, you've just got to practice. For me, I would practice every day for a week, and then stop for 2 days. When i start sight reading again, I could feel that I've improved in that week.

Answer 4

My sight-reading is better than my aural, so I just tell you how to sight-read. First, look at the time signature, feel the rhythm, and than try to play it slowly. Usually I play it twice, once I play slowly, and then I play according the tempo written. Some passages have pattern, so you can analyze it (example Alberti bass). There are different methods on sight-reading. I suggest you to read a lot about it. Honestly I cannot sight-read some difficult passage and get them right in all aspects.

Answer 5

1

Answer 6

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