Anyone who has ever picked up an instrument before can surely relate to this scenario. You were riding in a car and suddenly your favorite song is being played on the radio. Then you find yourself listening intently to the tune and melody and trying figure out the instrument being played piece by piece. When you finally understand the instruments, you then move on to figuring out the exact notes of the song. This scenario is a simple example of trying to learn a song by ear.

Playing the piano by ear, in its most simple context is basically learning the notes of the song by repeatedly listening to the song over and over again. It’s a simple method of trying to learn the piano without having to attend or enroll in formal piano lessons. Later on though, this method can become a useful skill in learning to play a song in an instant or create your own style of music.

Classical musicians have provided us with tons and tons of books about theories on playing the piano and various methods of note reading. These are all helpful to us, but in the real world when you don’t have enough money to enroll in a formal piano school, playing by ear is the most resourceful and least expensive way of learning how to play the piano.

These days, not all musicians have gone through formal piano lessons. Some self-taught musicians have relied on this method in order to learn playing a piece of a song. In fact, many of the pop and rock bands don’t usually write their notes immediately on sheet music, they start out by just experimenting on a few notes and gradually, when they figure out a melody that’s the only time they put it on paper.

To start off, you need to know the basic notes in playing the piano. This does not require formal piano lessons, for as long as you are able to distinguish the different sounds of each particular note. This is important because in playing the piano by ear, you are listening to the notes of the song. So, if you don’t know how to distinguish a note, this method can become a disadvantage to you. Once you’ve learned the basic notes in playing the piano, the following factors play an important role in learning to play by ear. First, you need to make use of your tonal memory. Tonal memory is basically a person’s ability to recall tones which he had previously heard.

To start off, you need to know the basic notes in playing the piano. This does not require formal piano lessons, for as long as you are able to distinguish the different sounds of each particular note. This is important because in playing the piano by ear, you are listening to the notes of the song. So, if you don’t know how to distinguish a note, this method can become a disadvantage to you. Once you’ve learned the basic notes in playing the piano, the following factors play an important role in learning to play by ear. First, you need to make use of your tonal memory. Tonal memory is basically a person’s ability to recall tones which he had previously heard.

Second, you need to make use of your ears and fingers. This means, you need to coordinate or transform what you hear into notes on the piano. Lastly, you need to be able to understand the melodic contour, how to translate the chords heard on the keyboard and to determine which chord comes next (chord progression). At first, this method may be tricky especially to beginners. But with continuous training and mastery of how to translate the notes you hear into an actual note on the piano, playing songs on the piano can eventually become a breeze.