Which is Better? Playing by Ear vs Reading Music
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- čas přidán 1. 06. 2024
- Do you read the sheet music or do you play by ear? Which practice is better? Find out what my answer to this popular question that my students ask me constantly. Do let me know if you are a "Read the Sheet Music" type of student or "Play By Ear" one.
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🕘 Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:50 Why Play By Ear?
1:31 Pros of Playing by Ear
2:52 Cons of Playing by Ear
6:04 Why Read Sheet Music?
7:15 Pros of Reading Sheet Music
8:05 Cons of Reading Sheet Music
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🕘 Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:50 Why Play By Ear?
1:31 PBE Pros
2:52 PBE Cons
6:04 Why Read Sheet Music?
7:15 RSM Pros
8:05 RSM Cons
Great video, very informative, I am a mostly self taught pianist, I taught myself to play the piano at the age of 15yrs old, I am 53 yrs old next month, I first read the sheet music first, and then iam fortunately able to memorise what I play, for instance I sight read the moonlight sonata 1st and 2nd movement over 30 yrs ago, and now for the last 30yrs ism able to recite this sonata, this iam able to do with all my pieces, about 3 weeks ago i sight read Mozarts sonata k 331 theme and 6 variations also the menuetto and rondo alla turca, I managed to play the piece there were a few mistakes and a bit patchy, but iam humbly pleased with my progress, and now iam starting to memorise parts of the sonata I have sight read before, which in my mind humbly speaking, is a wonderfull God given ability to have, and this is how I continue to learn new pieces, many thanks for video, greetings from wales uk.
I think you have explained the pros and cons beautifully. I totally agree with you that the best approach is to have a combination of both and benefit the most!
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Happy birthday 🎂
Subway The Way it’s Sandwich Should be, Caitlin Clark VS Uncle James Washington 🥪
I am clasically trained so most of my life I played music from sheet, while also being able to use my pitch skills and play melodies that I heard on radio right away. But as time went on, I thought I was losing the fun in my piano playing, basically I lost my motivation to play. And so now, basically thanks to a friend who plays mostly by ear, I feel very inspired to recreate melodies by ear more!
agree, those who can do both are the most complete musicians, where 1+1=3. Everybody will probably benefit from learning a little from both worlds.
I thinks it better to learn by ear first then note reading. You may not get it if you do it the other way round.
@@happypianolearninghow to start playing by ear?
@@blackcelneet sit at a keyboard and figure out which Notes match the tune you want to play.
@@blackcelneet just do it.
☆just listen to a song, then do it☆
Honestly I didn't even know people actually learned piano just by listening, that sounds kinda crazy to me, but I'll watch your video on it to see what I can improve!
I'm one who learned to play piano by ear when very young. I was able to "hear" chords and mentally dissect them. I can read sheet music, but I'm painfully slow. Although i can play with confidence in C, F & G, I tend to transpose music into C (the advantage of a digital stage piano!) and use guitar tabs for reference.
For me, the big drawback to PBE is that i can only play music I've already heard. CZcams has made that easier, though.
I think both are valuable. Playing by reading teaches new techniques and fingering as well as letting you recreate legendary pieces of music. Playing by ear really reinforces theory and is great when collaborating. Many pop and rock performers improvise every time they play a piece. This requires good theory and PBE.
I like both, but it depends on my mood. Playing from sheet music is more correct. When playing by ear, I often take parts of a piece of music that I like and play them by ear. Then I improvise something around it and a "new piece" is created :-)
how is playing from sheet music more correct? I am a jazz musician, so I have transcribed hundreds of solos and whole songs with all instruments. I am pretty confident, that with tools to slow some of the hard parts down I get basically everything right. (probably not 100% though) But I get so much more information about the exact timing and phrasing than if I were to read it from a sheet. So I think transcribing is more "correct" if your goal is to reproduce a piece of music, as there is much more subtle information in the recording that can not be captured on a sheet. edit: you absolutely need to learn to deal with sheet music though in order to memorise more music in a short amount of time (If you have to learn 100 songs for a gig in 2 weeks, you want to write the things down you transcribed, so you remember them later), or to sight read someones arrangement and also to write your own arrangements.
This funny thing happened in the 80s to our saxophonist who was very very advanced in reading music. Just place any complex sheet in front of him and he would play it perfectly as if he had already rehearsed it and he always wrote down every song that we learnt. That is how good he was, anyway we had an outdoor gage one day, he was in the middle of his solo when the breeze started to blow his sheet away, he left the microphone and followed the sheet. I was on keyboard behind him, I burst out laughing..
Imo, should learn the basic of reading music, sheet music practice until a comfortable level, then you can start to play by ear. The talent of playing by ear should be backed up by a strong music theory and knowledge.
Exactly... I fully agree... 😊
Extremely helpful in addressing the 2 approaches.
Always look forward to JazerS videos. His insight on music never fail to inspire, regardless the topic. Thank you, sir. And hello from Florida U.S.A. :)
Thanks, Jazer.
Great upload and much appreciated man!
This is a great video, Jazer! I learn music by understanding music theory, and I find it interesting as composers can communicate ideas. The pros for Reading are true, but I think by reading music you are learning new techniques that can benefit your piano playing, and prepare you if you want to compose complex music. Music is hard, but in my opinion studying sheet music can make you an excellent musician!
Learnt by ears exclusively, then I started improvising. But my improvisation felt poor due to a lack of understanding. So I studied music theory and slowly got interested in classical music, which got me into sheet reading. I somewhat understand symbols, but what i'm struggleling the most is to read rythm, and also being way too slow at reading
Same here
Do not worry please, honestly I think that even for us sheet-readers the rhythm can be a nemesis :)
This is great! I have been playing by ear and creating music for six years. Just a couple months ago, I have started learning and practicing how to read music.
Very Informative Sirjee
Thank You 😊
Spot on
Jazer's tips are excellent
Lots of fabulous points here! I learned firstly by note and really appreciate visuals, however I am more and more leaning towards a merging of approaches. I keep thinking that music is 'a listening art' and I so want to nurture musical making in ways that connect people. That being said, I do love notation for many examples of advanced repertoire and am so thankful to be able to read notation with relative ease.
I’m learning mostly by ear; but I want to learn to read music while playing as well.
Wait, I never knew you could be doing only of the two since I've been doing both 😮😮
it rlly helps me alot :) thank u very much
I’m a mostly self-taught pianist (I learned basic theory later). I used to play by ear for gigs (tell me which key). That skill has suffered since I haven’t used it too long. I don’t read well either. I improvise a lot. I think both “PBE” & “RSM” are necessary to make musicians well-rounded. I do need to watch your video about how to “PBE.” Thank you, Jazer!
I really love your videos
Jazar, Your explanation is excellent. I have been learning for over two years and have greatly benefited from your videos. I started by learning to read music (per your advice in other videos) and feel that it has helped greatly. I spent the first two years doing this using Playground Sessions. I am almost finished with the advanced section. My real goal, however, was to learn Jazz. I have been doing so for the past few months and now feel that I need to also learn to play by ear. I am using PWJ videos to learn jazz techniques. I intend to continue reading sheet music, and playing by ear. I am 84 years old and having a great time. Again many sincere thanks for your videos.
I'm on the same path (read/blues-jazz), thanks for the inspiration !
Hi Jazer, I love your videos - greatly motivating to me! As for me (before watching this video) I would prefer to play be reading sheet music. As a guitarist, I learned that "by ear" and by people showing me how to play songs or riffs or chords or whatever. However, in piano, I greatly desire to be able to pick up a song book and be able to play the songs without having learned them prior - maybe by about 1 hour of practice with a song reading it from sheet music and being able to play it well enough that I could play it in front of family or friends and they would recognize it and be able to get enjoyment from the piece I'm playing. This would allow me to be much more "independent", not relying on tutorials about how to play a particular song and would allow me to explore music that may not be as popular, yet I would be able to play it if I could find the sheet music. Also, I would like to be able to know enough about music theory to be able to transpose a piece into a key that I would be comfortable singing in. Thanks for what you do!
I’m just learning the piano, I can only read sheet music, slowly. but once I get this song down, basically a memorizing the song I can play the song with the book shut only way I can make it sound good is if I memorize it basically
"...that they play with less of an emotional engagement to the music". That is very important point! There are more mental somatotypes of students. I belong exactly to this category. I put effort into investigation why I have this problem and found that it is probably because the two parts of the brain that are used for reading (notation) and for musical experiencing are not independent enough, thus when reading sheet music, my musicality can't be developed well enoug. Solution for me was to find proper method how to learn pieces from memory. And it is another topic.
Yeah man,I’m great ear man before I played any instrument but now as an older adult I’m really gonna learn reading music more and regularly to really compliment my musicianship.Thanks for this info as explained well to get me focussed and track and onboard with ears and now reading.Cheers
Love this topic! Will you give more tips and pointers to build on learning how to play by ear after we finish your nursery rhyme homework? 😃
Another fabulous video. I love watching all your videos. So helpful and informative. I would love to play by ear, but I’m so set in my ways of reading sheet music. I would also love to memorize any song, but I just can’t get through 2 or 3 measures. Then I get discouraged and I give up.
When i learnt music at school i played what i saw on the sheet and passed exams with honours. I always had a good ear and play by ear only for afternoon tea at a hotel Learning music was useful particularly when playing with other musicians who sometimes ask"what key are you in? I prefer playing by esr.
Lovely
Cool!
Before I watch, I will say I do both and pros and cons to each. I do believe working it out by ear has many benefits but then there are those incredible arrangements that I love to play. Came across Emile Pandolfi’s Silent Night. No choice but to try to figure it out as there is no sheet music (and it would probably scare me off if I could get it). I did learn a lot that day! Back to your video! Thank you!
Thank you so much for this great video...I love both...❤when I'm learning a new song on my piano I prefer to have some sheet music and with this I'm working out my own arrangement...🎹 when I'm playing my accordion I prefer to figure out songs by ear...🪗
i prefer play by ear method...which i've been doing since a young age
though 2yrs ago i started learning sheet music and it was a bit difficult to understand the time signatures...and....i have almost stopped learning and playing the piano nowadays :(
hope i can get back to it soon and manage my daily schedule
Sometimes I can't find piano sheets for some pieces so I think about playing by ear. But I think reading sheets is more important with beginners like me. Thank you for all your teaching videos.
Thanks for the great video/lession. I have always played with music sheet. Never rely on my ear. That could be the problem that I cannot memorize any pieces. I will watch your other video about learning by ear. Thanks again.
My husband is a professional guitarist who plays both by reading and ear. He’s also teaching me the importance of learning by ear. I can do fairly well with chord rhythms but need to work on playing instrumental solos. Thanks for your informative videos, I’m learning.
i think generally speaking guitarists are less theory inclined and more about expression than pianists. that being said if you don't know theory at all, and can't read tabs/sheet music then you'll be lost when it comes to composing / discussing music - and writing your own songs will involve alot of trial and error rather than logically building on an idea. also if you want to be a 'professional musician' it's a bad look if you can't read any material or even know what a scale/chord etc is
I took piano lessons for a year or two as a child, then my mom taught me how chords worked as a teenager and I played by ear on and off for a few years, but got a little bored/frustrated because I didn't understand theory or reading well enough to play like I wanted. 10 years later and I am picking up piano again and am working towards strengthening both skills, but sight-reading and theory more because I am a COMPLETE beginner. Been at it around a month and had a breakthrough the other day: for the first time EVER I was sight-reading for a song I wanted to learn (a simplified version at a slower tempo, but still) and I was actually really enjoying the sight-reading! I had never enjoyed it before! So I am starting to get excited about improving. I am decent at one hand at a time, but always struggle when I combine both hands so I have to slow the tempo down even more to make sure I am taking in all the information and myfl fingers are doing what they are supposed to! 🤣
Very good
A well rounded musician is gonna need both skills in some capacity. Your analogy with spoken vs written language is spot on. Since it's not a zero sum game, the only question should be which to learn first. I'd say if you're looking to quickly get into the creative/improvisational aspects of music then focus on playing by ear and transition that into learning to read, write and interpret music over time. If you want to build solid technique on the piano, with the goal of eventually playing more complex music, then learning to read music will probably be the better skill to invest in right away so you have a good music foundation to compose and transcribe when you want to explore the creative side of music.
Good stuff… both.
I prefer to read sheet music first and then change things from that base.I also try to learn songs by ear so that I can actually do both
Reading sheet music for me. I've studied a couple of languages, and I've always considered music a language. I need to "read" a piece first.
I wish I could play by ear, but I predominantly play by sheet music. After I play by sheet music, it helps me to play better later by hearing it by ear.
I'm a hybrid. I now play mostly by ear which allows me to be spontaneous - and it's easy. (I confess, my ear-playing comes naturally and, it seems, genetically. My Dad, his two sisters and a brother all played by ear)
Playing by notes: I also slogged through piano lessons from age 11 - 14. I deeply regret having stopped. Still, the foundation that learning "notes" gave me has greatly enriched my ear-playing. I was diagnosed late in life with ADHD. While the diagnosis was life-changing for the better, I mourn for the years of instruction I never sat for. I often wonder if the synaptical business that created ADHD is in any way connected to my innate (and fairly modest) musical talent.
I learned how to read sheet music years ago when I didn't play any instrument and havent used it since. I'm learning how to play the flute and doing it all by ear, to me it is just a lot more comfortable and fun. I've been considering getting into learning the theory (seems like a pain in the ass) since I could benefit from it when playing with other people. Havent watched the video yet, lets see if you convince me!!
I totally agree it's important to be able for both. I really don't get how someone can be a musician if he is not able to play by ear. Whether he prefers sheet music, he should still be able to play by ear. When I started keyboards (at 19 many many years ago), we of course learnt to play using sheet music. But I always wanted to be able to play (pop) music from the radio and so on. So I started trying this almost immediately. And I developed this skill very quickly! I still want to be able to play from sheet music, because as you say - and esp for piano and classical - you will miss many of the finer points that are on the sheet but maybe easily missed by ear. Needless to say the fingering and technique on the sheet music can be extremely helpful.
I am a guitarist and bassist(read some music(more bass clef than treble), and I played the steel drums in highschool). I have an understanding of pitch, sing, can play some piano by ear. I was told by a pianist that I should study music because he finds me talented and believes it would be a great investment. This was the push i kind of needed, and I will start leaning foundational music theory, master scales(to improve my ability to play by ear mostly and improvise better), and try to bring back my ability to sight read better again.
I started playing music @ 9 years old ( started on laptop keys ) now im 33 and i really feel like i need to improve my technical skills of sheet music.
learning to play by reading gospel and play it by ear is best of both worlds.
Nashville numbers inversions.
I tend to read the music, but I also realize that I have a certain talent for playing by ear which I really need to develop more
Hi Jazer. Another delightful surprise is God’s gift, which has been instrumental in nurturing my child. Music played a vital role during her healing journey from pneumonia, supporting her day by day. As she expressed her fondness for it persistently, we decided to get her a toy piano. We found that she was able to listen to tunes on the radio/TV and work out to play them on the piano. To our astonishment, within just a month, she has already mastered playing nearly ten pieces. Seeing her have fun while listening to her favorite songs and recalling cherished memories, or even learning from online piano tutorials, brings immense joy.
I was both amazed and confused when I caught my 6-year-old child, Aigis, playing the sofa syllables on her toy piano and writing her analysis of the song "Happy Cat" in sofa syllables on a piece of paper. She had stuck Scotch tape on each white key and written the corresponding sofa syllables in marker, which she plans to rewrite tomorrow since it got washed out while she was playing.
For basic, she can play her own by ear, songs like Happy Cat, London Bridge, Jack and Jill, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Happy Birthday, Mary Had a Little Lamb, and Digital Amazing Circus opening. Now she wants to make me happy so she's learning little by little by herself Pachelbel's Canon in D yung 1st stanza
I'm not sure how to manage Aigis at this point. Is this behavior weird? Sometimes, she goes above and beyond my comprehension, and I'm not sure how to handle it. Any advice would be appreciated.
Agreed no comments perhaps the 3rd skills are by using ear observe U tube and try to catch the notes in slow motion especially for people who can't really read music....I always do it and it work...
I want to read it and play it! I already play by ear…a little bit.
I can read music as a beginner but not fast enough to play it. I have to read each measure, play it slow then to memorize it then move on to the next measure. Once the song is learned i dont really play from the sheet but from memory.
I tend to play by ear and know I had to do more exercize on reading sheet music.
Both of them are best for learning the Piano 🎹 🎉🎉
I do both but to relax I prefer playing by ear - pick out the melody with my right hand and accompany this with chords with my left. It's not that different to what Beethoven did with Fur Elise! This was a very good tutorial Jazer, thankyou.
I will vote to developing reading the music. I think being able to sight read competently will help one learn to play by ear more quickly. I think, having gone through the process of sight reading, I feel a play will already have finger skills of placement. Also, the player will have heard many musical passages and has already learnt how to play a similar section in a piece the pianist is listening to.
Some interesting issues brought up in the video. When it comes to Pop music, many Pop musicians didn't have "Classical" training or traditional music lessons that require them to read music. Instead, their ideas are presented in music recordings. You find groups like the Beatles, Bee Gees or Abba who made recordings but none of their music was written down until other people who can read & write standard notations compiled these into songbooks like "Abba Gold" or "Bee Gees Greatest Hits". Many Pop & Jazz musicians had careers performing entirely by ear.
5:30 the link between inefficient fingerings & playing by ear is subjective. Few composers wrote finger # into the score. These were inserted by editors when scores were published which is helpful to students. Pop & Jazz musicians improvise & play from experience. People with years of experience playing would be able to come up with efficient fingerings whether they learn from the score or play by ear (without finger #). Talking about "visual" guide you see notes moving higher /lower on paper. When playing by ear, a good listener would anticipate notes going up or down and come up with efficient fingerings accordingly.
I'm still a beginner, and the other day a random tune just popped into my head and I kinda had to dissect it myself. What notes are these? What time signature? My play by ear ability isn't that great, so it took some effort. But I'm glad I did it because after putting it down onto paper, I can't remember it accurately anymore just a few days later. But the paper copy is still there.
It's really invaluable that I get to write ideas down somewhere.
for people who play by ear, they could now communicate and express their music much easily with programs such as synthesia
playing by ear is sometimes the timing and notes are not really copied from thw original.its good for playing with friends or sometimes to accompany a singer who has his own style. in orchestra piano sheet is very important😊
both
😁
Excellent explanation to the age old argument. I believe reading music is an essential element to playing any instrument but especially piano. It allows you to be a more complete player and you don’t need to carry a lot of stuff around in your head. In effect it makes your repertoire limitless. Playing by ear limits you to what you can hear and copy. There are some excellent technicians who can’t read a note of music but in general you need to read to interpret and understand a piece better…….IMHO 🎼
I'm more an ear / memory learner, but since you posted your previous video on the topic I learned to read music, and i surprised myself recently by "earing" what i was reading before actually playing it. (on a pretty simple piece tought). Regarding the fingering, there not that much indactions on the material i'm used to play, and i probably should write it more often on my sheets (but i tend to rely on memory since it's easy to remenber a fingering you struggled to find by yourself)
Hey ! Can you make a video on the pros and cons of being a piano teacher ?
I'm a self taught guitarist, just recently dipping my toes into piano. I like and prefer to play by ear.But only thanks to my decade long learning of music theory, on which I can rely on to "get what's going on" in most (basic pop/rock) songs.
This is a very informative video! Im now deciding which direction I want to go, and I've decided that I want to learn RSM and PBE. But which do you recommend to learn first?
I mostly read sheet music as when I was taking lessons that’s what my teacher focused on. Naturally I can remember melodies in my head and I know I should use this skill to play songs by ear. Lately, I notice there are arrangements I’m learning to play and I will alter them in certain parts because I don’t like what the arranger wrote. So in that way I’m not just strictly following sheet music but being a little creative.
Really interesting subject!
I have learned music in Africa and most of the virtuosos that I met were illiterate, so for me reading music has never been a must to be a good musician.
That being said, living in the Western world, reading and writing music is a must to access theory or not having to memorize everything before playing it.
To me it is perfectly possible to speak without being able to read, but it is much more complicated to access written knowledge or communicate with your peers without it...
I think to have the best of both world, it is better to be proficient at playing by ears and then be able to read and write fluently.
If you think about Partimento teaching which was how classical music was taught in the past, reading was compulsory but improvising and playing on the spot was the goal of the practice.
My childhood piano lessons had no aural training as far as I can remember. And my first few teachers in my adulthood had little to offer in that area as well. I definitely felt those last two talking points. I often lacked expression and emotion in my playing. And improvising was difficult because I had never really had to think for myself. It’s been a long, occasionally painful 😂 road developing these skills, but I’m improving at least 😅
The melody line ,I tend to play by hear. The base line I need to sight read
As a jazz piano student with a background of learning pieces by reading them, I practice transcribing by ear. And of course when I improvise, I think of things to play in the moment and then try to figure out how to play it!😬 Learning to play by ear helps to develop the listening skills I lack.
Sheet music is absolutely best for me... this also means i understand music theory...
The most useful skill would be to be able to play from the score after having memorized the piece. But I doubt it is even feasible to play from the score when the music is very virtuosic and requires one to look at the keyboard (e.g., pieces that have many big jumps).
I prefer to initially read the notes for each hand separately and then to play by ear both hands with very good synchro. even if i do not remember something by ear, i recall it through guesses or improvise until it sounds good enough..Unfortunatly i do not have enough time to practice simultanious reading and playing w/o watching my fingers or maybe i'm not that good at reading notes (to me it s looks like a literature skill to be developed then musicality or maths).
Ive been wanting to play by ear.😅
I was taught at age seven to learn pieces by reading the sheet music. It is best to learn classical music from the sheet music, otherwise you will be dependent on someone else's interpretation, and you won't have direct access to the composer's written instructions. Without sheet music, it is impossible to play with precision -- knowing exactly how long to hold a note, knowing how loudly or softly to play, etc. The precision required for Mozart's appoggiature is unimaginable without being able to visualize the music on paper. That being said, when I was a student in Rome, I taught a student how to read music. He was strictly an ear musician. He learned the Charles Marie Vidor Toccata perfectly -- entirely by ear. I still can't imagine how he was able to do that!
I learn by reading music sheet but I would love to be able to add some playing by ears.
I struggle to play by ear and so prefer to read sheet music. I wish I could do both!
I think that understanding theory and compositional skills is another approach --- so not only just playing by ear - but having theory/compositional knowledge helps a heap. And - just like a balanced diet - it is often beneficial to have a balance. So develop both play-by-ear AND music theory skills - which includes reading sheet music. That's the best of both worlds, or all worlds. Now - I don't know if it is true or not. But it is written that Hans Zimmer relies mainly on other approach other than reading sheet music or writing sheet music score when he composes. I think the main thing is - as long as somebody learns enough to be able to express themselves adequately (musically) using their instrument - regardless of what approach they use - and as long as they are happy with what they are able to do, then that is great. When playing be 'ear' - and if somebody doesn't follow a score, then it is certainly and absolutely possible to still play a version that is equally interesting and rich by compensating - as in introducing own/extra content. Complicated and fast is not holy grail of piano playing. There is unlimited music that is relatively slow - but rich and amazing that will match any 'complex' piece in terms of beauty, elegance, expression etc. Unlimited. And being able to express oneself adequately can also depend on own base abilities (internal) - and also experience - as in listening and paying attention to detail in various music. Understanding interesting techniques as well - including counterpoint and how to make music interesting and sounding 'good'.
I play by sheet music but would love to play by ear.
A great summary! Once I was told by a play-by-music pianist that she couldn't play a single note if the sheet was taken away.. I found that profoundly sad, as if the music doesn't exist, it's just notes etc. It's hard for me to understand that there are some people out there who simply cannot naturally listen to a piece of music then atttempt to play it. Within that group, I'm sure there is a subset of people who see playing the piano as a mechanical skill.
Each to their own, and we must empathise with each other. But to me, music is all about feelings, emotions, and interpretation - you can only go so far with sheet music articulations, but I also appreciate that without the sheet, you do not have the author's original intention - and playing without that knowledge feels somewhat arrogant / belittling. So, I get that there must be a balance.
Im a self taught beginner. I started by reading notes and learning music theory.... but once I get comftible with that, I also want to learn to play by ear. I just dont know how I can start learning playing by ear.
One day Ill be GREAT at both.
💯🎹🎹🎹😇
I played the accordion mostly by ear for many years. Then I learned to play guitar, and also started to play mostly by ear. When I was younger reading sheet music was a huge effort, because I could easily play any popular music by ear instead of investing time on ATTEMPTING to read sheet music. Now I am 70 years old, and started to play piano when I retired, five years ago. Currently, I am putting my best efforts to learn music by actually reading sheet music. Why? Well, I fully realised that when I play by ear I choose the chords on the left hand that are easier for me to master. Namely, C major, F major, and G major. I just cannot be creative with my left hand, even though after five years of sturying piano, I am getting better at that. I also noticed, that studying music "properly", practicing Hanon, arpegios, and practicing reading exercises and musical pieces, I am also getting better at playing by ear, because my tool box has been enriched. So, my take on this before listening to your posting, is that in order to get better in mastering the piano (I am very far from it...) studying music is the way to go, and being able to play by ear actually helps me to grasp faster reading sheet music. Thanks for your insightfull lessons, Jazer!
I like sheet music as the notes are there in front of you, and after I've played it through once and gotten the feel, I find I'm driving the rhythm more from myself than the sheet. Maybe that's a beginner thing...
Playing by ear so to speak, helps me to interpret a bit. For example I'm learning To Zanarkand and the sheet music I got online doesn't quite feel right (have heard the original countless times over the course of 20+ years) so I've been changing it, from the notes to the tempo. To be honest, when I have the notes and fingerings correct, the rhythm seems to find itself 😊
I'm a beginner so To Zanarkand will take me a while, and I'm still learning terminology so hopefully I didn't say anything too off 😅
To learn music one should play by ear so it it is as natural as singing. Only then learn sheet music, Although one should understand concept of keys and diatonic notes whilst learning by ear.. Plus your first instrument should be diatonic (fiple flute,harmonica etc) NOT the piano.
For me ...I'm beggining to learn how to read music...but I combine it with with visual and hearing videos of instruments and fingering
As a beginner, I'm always more amazed by people who can play (not necessarily note for note) by ear than those who can read music sheets.
Yeah ,ear people always play immotional pieces that people like , but you can't go so far in playing piano without knowing how to read sheet music ,because through reading you learn different techniques hence pro player , but both are complement you should develop both to be a full musician .
@@laughalltime_ bullshit. You can learn everything, also the hardest pieces, by ear. Maybe slow it down if you are just starting out. There are even apps that can basically "stop" the music, so you can figure out every single voicing. You can also manipulate the frequencies, if there is some other instruments covering what you want to transcribe. And you learn techniques from your teacher, not by reading music. But if you go to uni (for jazz), you will absolutely be required to do both. You will have to trancribe dozens or hundreds of solos and songs (fast bebop stuff and not just "easy, emotional pieces") and you will have to be able to sight read. So its actually not one or the other. Just do both. I do 10 mins sightsinging a day and transcribe for 1h. I also play guitar and piano, but my sight reading skills on those instruments are good enough for my purposes, so I dont practice this anymore. But if you have high aspirations in terms of sightreading for piano (like becoming a correpetitor) you might want to spend much more on this.
I prefer to read because I like to be sure I'm doing right but I do work on both
I'm able to read, but I absolutely prefer listening and playing. That's not just for piano, but also for other instruments, and even more so vocals. Plus, it's easier for me to just feel the music when I'm listening and playing.
I do hoth. I learned all the Ii V l combinations and dominant alterations so I can quickly read sheet music chords. Then I play all the inversions and scales. I have a good rhythmic feel for jazz. But one needs to hear how the masters play. For instance I learned The Shadow of Yoy Smile from the lead sheet and then learned Bob James version from Sarah Vaughn recording. That gives a whole new perspective. Extremely valuable. Now my eye sight is degrading and can no longer read sheet music. CZcams is invaluable to learn by ear.
I want to be able to play by ear and am working hard towards that goal. But I am limited in my chord building skills and ability to play melodies with chord accompaniment. By reading music, all of that is taken care of by the composer.
Hi Jazer. Do you have any good tips how to learn reading upper and lower staff at the same time?
Language as an analogy works both ways - due to being always taught "proper" French I can read and write French but have great difficulty understanding real spoken French and I've been taught speaking rules that are rarely used by real francophones. Back to music, this is the issue for people who can sight read perfectly but get dropped into a jam session where minimal information is provided.
I prefer to play by ear, because it's more internal and I don't need sheets for it, also I like to understand music by scale degrees, it's much more free and creative than just following a script, also I like to experiment and come up with my own musical ideas. I can see the benefits of reading music too, but it's currently not my preferred way to go about it.
Both is great but playing by ear is more beneficial if your suddenly in front of a piano away from home, the key to both is memorisation