Play Piano By Ear
Play
Piano By Ear: What It Really Takes
"I want to learn how to play piano by ear."
Perhaps
the #1 statement I receive via email by approximately 70% of my site
visitors...
And
it's understandable. After all, when you can whip out a tune off the
top of your head without being a "slave to the page" (without sheet
music), it feels pretty good. It not only makes you feel in command,
but it's pretty impressive to anyone who happens to witness you do it
:o)
Here's
a misunderstanding many people have about playing music by ear: it
takes years of experience even before one can think about playing by
ear effectively.
It
simply isn't true. You see, training your ear is something you're
always doing, whether you are aware of it or not. When you are playing
music by ear, your brain is making "sound distinctions." You
may not be completely focused on what's going on with them,
but each time you listen to music, your brain is going through this
process.
However,
the process of actually learning how to play by ear can indeed be
accelerated by making it a point to FOCUS ON THESE DISTINCTIONS. That's
really the key.
For
example, many of the songs you hear consist of many of the same chord
progressions (when one chord progresses to another - actually patterns
of these sequences).
When you train yourself to effectively focus on these patterns, then
your recognition of them becomes a whole lot quicker. Taking this at a
very basic level, my manuscript "How To Play Piano In All 12 Keys
Without Knowing How To Read A Note Of Music" puts you in touch with a
first phase of this. If one actually was to apply the simple steps in
little eBook as suggested, he or she would be on the right track. It's available here,
by the way, if you don't already own it:
Now,
in order to focus on these distinctions, you need to be made aware of
them first. If you've ever been regularly been around someone smoking a
pipe with a certain quality tobacco, you may have found yourself in a
different environment recognizing that same tobacco aroma. It works
kind of like this!
What's
important is that there are LOTS of these distinctions for you to
recognize... the more you train yourself to recognize them, the more
competent you become when it comes to playing by ear (since you can
duplicate them!) A good system of learning these distinctions is in
order if you really want to apply yourself to this art (and
verrrrry well worth the time!). After all, if you're going to do it, do
it right. A program like Ryan Cameron's "Pitch Master Pro" should be a
consideration. Invest one time in a program like that and USE it...
apply the concepts... you'll reap the rewards... no doubt about it.
It's
important to understand that training the ear is an ongoing process and
you need to give yourself credit for each bit of of progress that you
realize. Also, this process does not have to preoccupy all of your
time. Anyone who has a few minutes here and there can certainly beneift
by learning this kind of
"listening
focus."
There's
no time like the present to begin such a journey. One thing is for
certain... if you start now, a few months from now, you'll be at a
level of understanding that you wouldn't have been otherwise. After
all, if you engaged in a program devoted to "getting your ears tuned" 3
months ago, would you look back now and be glad you did? Of course you
would!
By
the way, "Pitch Master Pro" is available here
I
have to agree... nothing compares to being able to sit at the piano,
reflect on a song you heard on the radio earlier in the day, and within
a few minutes have those piano keys obeying your command!
Any
effort that you make toward getting yourself to recognize those "sound
distinctions" will pay off big time. And, like I said, it's always a
great time to start.
Okay,
let's go have fun at those keys!
And
remember...
Always...
ALWAYS...
PLAY
WITH PASSION
Musically,
