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I have been trying to learn how to play piano by ear for some qite sometime. I have learned basic scales and chords. I have learned basic theory. I took traditional piano lessons many years ago; and I can read and play music. However, I have wanted to know to develop my ear in picking up songs that I hear on the radio or from a recording. I have seen others able to do this talented step. I always wonder if it is possible to obtain this kind of talent or is it just a musical gift? My goal is to become a musician and be able to play for a band or church setting.

I was wondering if there are any methods or courses I can order to achieve my goals. I have tried the Hear and Play series; but I find it very advanced in putting chords with the melody. Sometimes, I see that the melody is left out and only accompaniment chords are played. I also have David Higginson's Professional Chord System which is a very good program. I still have to rely on reading music to play piano with this program. I was wondering if the gospel chords online system was a good program?

I hope to get some insight as to what step I should take or course program(s) to order from online.

Thank you

Chaz,

I've been playing by ear all my life. There are sits out there that cater to this. Some will want your money. If you can read I would suggest building on that skill.

My approach to playing by ear is to listen closely to the bass. Bass is the foundation for all chords. Start will simple songs you like, get recordings. Play them over and over again. Find your bass note on the piano and you're have the basic cords. Get use to listening to music structure from the base up. If you hear a bass note of A then determine by sound if it's an A major or minor chord. Listen to the pattern. Where does the bass go from A for example. Not all songs are as easy as that. Melody can give away the chords as well once you develop a sense of harmony with melody. Always listen for the bass. Chords come in many flavors. The Bass should get you to a starting point for figuring out what chords are being played.

... and also, the last chord of the song will most likely be the key of the song.

Once you know the key, with a little theory knowledge, (usually) not too hard to figure the other chords.

Yis, I agree with dannac. The Key signature will also set you up for the melody so keep practicing those scales. How much theory do you understand? Do you know about major chord scales, Roman Numerals? I ii iii IV V vi VIIo.

Hello Russ,

Yes, I do know my major scales; and I know the Number system. I will try hearing the bass note, which can sometimes be hard when the melody is being played along with other instruments.

Dannac, yes, the key is important to know because I know most songs involve the tonic, 4th and 5th tone of a certain key.

Thank you, for input.

In the meantime, I will see if there are any good online programs to order or maybe just try practicing on my own.

All good advices but bass line is not always clear
So sometimes tools like transcribe which can slow down
A tune and boost some frequencies can help a lot.

Yes, sometimes you have slash chords, root of chord is not the bass note. On lead sheets written as D/F#.

Example: going from G to Em, you could put a F# bass note with a D chord between the G and Em, gives a walking down effect.

+1 to transcribe software, use it often.

Check out David Sprunger, I believe he has one of the best package deals on the web.

http://www.playpianotoday.com/

One method is to sing while you play. Just start singing slowly and find the chord that 'fits' then continue doing the same thing until you have the chord progression. Start simple I IV V songs etc. You then begin recognize patterns as you get better at it. Same thing with the bass lines, try and find the rhythm to the song. Certain styles have cliche patterns 1 5, 1 5 ... is a classic country, alternating octaves is used in pop and rock. Walking bass lines 1,3,5,6 is a staple of boogie woogie and early rock & roll. After that try and find the flourishes, many are just created from arpeggios and chord 'shells' 6, 1 or 5 ,1 and 3,7 are popular. Then pentatonic major, minor and blues scales will allow you to connect those shells.

In end just play and 'discover' the instrument and have fun!!!!!

Lots of good advice above. I'd only add this, in a many standard three chord songs, the first change either goes to the IV or the V, so it's really better than a 50/50 guess. There's less magic and more just a guess when picking up a tune. As they say, the more you do it the luckier you get. I'll get an XM station and try to find the key and maybe a few changes before each tune is over. Good Luck!

These sort of things work better with experience, because your chances of knowing what's next get better. I think it's a gift, but I think you can learn it, too - just like sight reading. It is not the same if you have to think about what you're doing.

Don't play piano by ear. Use your fingers instead.

I agree.
It is a long journey to develop this skill but I'm enjoying it a lot.
I do 20 min of singing with the masters every day. Try and sing as accurately as you can, without being out by a tone or half tone.

If I really like a phrase, I will transcribe it at the piano.

I know it will take time to develop this skill. I figure it will take much practice and trying hard to hear the bass and melody notes played from a recording. I guess the musicians that have achieved this skill have good hearing skills to figure out what chords or notes are being played. I hope to achieve my goal in time. Too bad, it does not happen quick enough to see results.

Thank you.

Is the statistical analysis a guess also?

Here we go again. . .

Don't worry 'bout me, im gone for good.

As a matter of fact, I did buy David Sprunger's package. Good basic refresher stuff to. He's got a few freebee's you can try before you buy. He is superb at voicing and the program gives you all the voicing possibilities for all chords.

How quick is quick enough? Most functional musicians can sound out a melody line to a short musical phrase in a few minutes if given the key. Try it with short segments from TV commercials or popular tunes. Look up the key on the song if you want a hint.

Is the goal an exact match? If so, that will take some doing or a high level of natural talent. If instead, a person wants to be able to play something that sounds like another piece, that is less work. For the latter, learning how to simplify arrangements is a help.

It tends to be the experienced and talented that can hear and then play back complete arrangements with accuracy. Most others have to sound it out, and experiment with the chords. Learn to trust your ears, and if the arrangement sounds okay, it probably sounds okay to others as well.

It is like sight reading in that there are those with a natural aptitude, those that are average, those that struggle.

I put myself in the above average ear group, but only modestly so. From reading the comments, most responding here are beyond my modest abilities. I tend to have to sound out melody lines, note by note, and certainly do better if given the key. I find harmony to be difficult to match. However, I am comfortable with doing my own harmonies, and they are rarely a match to the original. Listeners that know the music very well sometimes wonder what is going on, but for non-musicians, it tends to sound passable. I have learned to play my own arrangements with confidence, along with a disclaimer for the experienced musicians, and that combo usually carries the day.

As for data, someone recently analyzed the chord progressions in 1300 current popular songs:
http://www.hooktheory.com/blog/i-an...songs-for-patterns-this-is-what-i-found/

Thank you Sand Tiger for your input. I will experiment trying to play by ear short segments of melodies and harmonies I hear from recordings. I will try to play like exactly as the way I hear it or at least close to the musical segment as it is being played.

I know with practice that the ear can be trained to figure out those musical phrases and progressions.

The most helpful thing I've found for anyone is experience. It took me about 8 years, but now I can find a note to the nearest whole step. If you want to speed the process along, when you're learning a new piece play. each hand's part once looking at the sheet music, once looking at your hands, then once with your eyes closed.