Learning To Play Piano By Ear
Monday, August 23rd, 2010If you’ve heard someone say learn by ear and you’ve been thinking about learning piano then you’re probably interested in understanding what that term really means?
There isn’t one clear cut description of learning by ear. So in this article I will explain the different between l earning by notation (sheet music) and learning by ear. After reading this article you should have a clear understanding of what it means to learn to play piano by ear and be able to decide which method or mix of the two you’d most like to use when learning piano.
Perfect Pitch or Relative Pitch
When you can listen to a song and begin to reproduce what you hear that is the menaing of learning by ear. This may take longer for beginners then more experienced piano players.
There are two terms used when describing players who learn by ear. They are relative pitch and perfect pitch.
If you have relative pitch you can hear the patterns of the song but not the key the song is being played in. Your skills are targeted towards hearing the pattern of the chords in the song.
If you have perfect pitch you’re able to pick out the exact key the song is being played in. More often you’ll see someone with relative pitch.
Learning By Notation
The alternative to learning piano by ear is to learn by theory, notation and sheet music. The argument goes that those who learn by ear can only play from memory and those who learn by notation can only play from sheet music.
In reality the best situation is to ensure you learn a combination of the two methods. By learning a bit of each method you’ll be able to play songs that are placed in front of you on sheet music but also pick tunes out that your hear.
Most online lessons or videos will spend time on both ear training and notation teaching. Because both ear training and notation training are specific skills it’s worth learning a bit of both and practicing them.
If you haven’t yet decided how you’re going to take your piano lessons for beginners why not consider a piano lessons dvd? DVD self study lessons are quickly becoming the method of choice for adults to learn piano at home on their own time.