Can someone learn to play the piano by ear instead of reading music?
What is easier, playing by ear or reading music? Is one better than the other?
These are questions that I often get asked as a professional musician and educator. It is possible to learn to play the piano by ear, even if you don’t think you have a good ear. You can train your ear with proper guidance along with learning some theory that will help you understand how music is structured. This foundational aspect is crucial when you learn piano, as it combines ear training with theoretical knowledge.
There are benefits of both playing by ear and reading music and I would recommend to learn both if possible. There are certain styles of music that would be easier to learn by reading music instead of by ear, particularly classical music and music that is more complicated technically and structurally. There are times when learning a song by ear is not only better but is required because there may not be sheet music available, or the sheet music may not be accurate depending on how you want to perform the song. For example, you may want to perform a song by singing and playing the piano just like the recording however the sheet music does not separate the piano part from the vocal part. Often times the melody of a song is written to play on the piano but if you listen to the recording, the piano does not play the melody, it’s only sung. Ear involves listening and recognizing musical patterns, which can be a more natural way to learn.
Additionally, ear training contributes to becoming excellent sight readers, as it fosters innate musical knowledge that aids in reading music effectively.
If someone wants to learn to play by ear, besides learning the letter names of all the key names on the piano (there is only seven letters, A – G, then it just repeats) I would recommend that they learn and practice all the major and minor scales with both hands (with proper fingering) as well as all the major and minor chords with inversions and then the arpeggios. These are all important not only for improving technique but for gaining an understanding of how music is created. Music is based on scales, chords and arpeggios, which are fundamental in learning music through different methodologies.
I would also recommend to practicing singing as you play the scales. This will help your ear training even if you do not like to sing. Firstly, I would sing the letter names, then I would sing numbers according to the degree of the scale. For example, for the C major scale, first play and sing the letter names going up and down C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C – B – A – G – F – E – D – C and then play again and sing numbers 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7- 8, 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1.
I would practice this with some of the easier scales to start with C , G, D & F. Then to help develop your ear to identify the melody of a song, it’s important to train you ear to identify intervals which is the distance from one note to another note. Here is an exercise where you play and sing the scales with the numbers but go back to number one each time when going up and when going down, go back to number 8 each time like this:
1 – 2 – 1 – 3 – 1 – 4 – 1 – 5 – 1 – 6 – 1 – 7 – 1 – 8,
8 – 7 – 8 – 6 – 8 – 5 – 8 – 4 – 8 – 3 – 8 – 2 – 8 – 1.
This is a great exercise to help your ear learn intervals and the relationship between notes of the scale.
For gaining an understanding of how to identify what chords are used in a song by ear, I would recommend to learn all the chords there are in each key. The meaning of the word key and scale are similar in that when we say for example, a song is in the key of C major, we mean that we use the notes of the C major scale. The last note and chord of a song is usually what key you are in, so if a song is in the key of C major, then the last note and chord will be C, not necessarily the 1st note though. Understanding music theory is essential for reading sheet music and grasping the structure of music.
In all major keys the chords are as follows:
1 = major
2 = minor
3 = minor
4 = major
5 = major
6 = minor
7 = diminished (minor with a flated 5th)
Therefore, in the key of C major you would find:
1 = C major
2 = D minor
3 = E minor
4 = F major
5 = G major
6 = A minor
7 = B diminished
The most popular chords found in songs are the major chords 1, 4 & 5, next would be the 6 minor chord, then the 2 & 3 minor chords and lastly the 7th diminished.
Having an understanding of the chords that are found in each key will help when you are trying to determine what chords a song has. Balancing the use of sheet music and one’s natural ability to play by ear is crucial for a well-rounded musical education. Adaptability in learning styles is also important when engaging with new music, as it enhances overall musical understanding.
Anyone can learn to play the piano by ear with the right motivation and guidance of a good instructor!
By Shawn Coughlin
Music Director
