• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

UK Pianos

digital, upright and grand pianos for sale

×

Call 01327 300 016 — Email: admin@ukpianos.co.uk

Piano Stores in North London & Northants.
(over 50 pianos on display)

Enfield shop opening times:
Wednesday to Saturday 10.30am to 4pm
Closed on Wed 29th & Thu 30th

  • Digital Pianos
    • Broadway
    • Casio
    • Classenti
    • Gewa
    • Hadley
    • Kawai
    • Korg
    • Kurzweil
    • Roland
    • Yamaha
  • Keyboards
    • Casio
    • Hadley
    • Korg
    • Kurzweil
    • Roland
    • Yamaha
  • Upright Pianos
    • Broadway
    • Classenti
    • Yamaha
  • Grand Pianos
    • Baby Grand Pianos
    • Broadway
    • Classenti
    • Yamaha
  • Accessories
    • Piano Stools
    • Headphones
    • Dust Covers
    • Keyboard Bags
    • Mains Adaptors
  • Second Hand
    • Digital
    • Upright
    • Grand
  • Rent-to-Buy
    • Digital Piano Rental
    • Upright Piano Rental
    • Grand Piano Rental
  • Piano Market
  • 0 items

Playing by Ear

12th October 2017 By Graham Howard Leave a Comment

I often have people ask me about playing a piano “by ear”.  What
they are referring to of course is learning and being able to
play songs just by listening to them.

When I was quite young and still learning to play the piano I
remember hearing watching someone listen to a song on the radio
and then quickly walk over to the piano and play what was on the
radio. It was very impressive.  I remember thinking how amazing
that was.

The thing that I’ve learned since then is that if you spend time
with music – listening to it, playing it, paying attention to it,
that things start to stick out.

By this I mean certain chords start to become familiar, certain
melodies that then go along with those chords.  Probably the most
important one of these aspects is that chord progressions that
start to stick out. These are the fundamental parts to playing by
ear.

One thing that happens quite often with piano is that when someone
starts their piano education they are usually taught how to read
music first, then to play off sheet music.  So when it comes time
to play something that isn’t written down they have great trouble.
I know this was how it was for me in the beginning.

To really learn music by ear you need to have at least some
knowledge about chords and chord progressions.  Once you know a
little more about chords (major and minor, and what they sound
like) you can start with learning by ear.

The first thing to do is find a song you really like
and would like to play.  The second thing is to make sure it’s
an easy song.  You will probably find out pretty quickly how
difficult it is to play.  If you hear there are a lot of chord
changes then maybe pick another song.

The thing about learning by ear is that when you first start
out, it will take a while and you need to be patient.  When I
first started it took me quite some time and I had to work
through quite a lot of frustrating moments but it’s much more
rewarding.

Some people will be able to pick up music from their ear with
much more ease than others.  This is just a fact of life.  Some
people’s ears are just more tuned to music than others.  Quite
often though, these people are the ones who listen to the most
music.

The key is to experiment with playing along with music and give
yourself the time it will take to learn by ear.  You will find
that the more you do the better at it you will be come and after
a while it will come naturally and you will be able to play with
whatever is on the radio.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alex, The Rapid Piano Expert

 

Graham Howard Piano Adviser

Please note: This article is copyright and protected. You may publish this article on your website providing you leave the article “as is” and retain the author’s biography box. All contents Copyright © 2008-2020. All rights reserved. Graham Howard, author of The Digital Piano Bible (a buyer’s guide) and The Howard Score (piano rating system).

 

Filed Under: Piano Articles

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

The Digital Piano Bible

FREE Guide “7 Things To Know Before You Buy A Piano”…

Digital Piano Buyer Guide
To get a FREE copy of The Digital Piano Buyer's Guide, click here.

“Buying the correct piano can make all the difference to your success and enjoyment.
If you’ve just started out, this guide will help you make the right decision “, Graham Howard, Piano Adviser

Part Exchange available on any piano

Howard Score
“The Piano Rating System”

Find out how all digital pianos rate – ranked by sound quality, key touch…

Best Sellers

Broadway BW1
Hadley D10
Gewa DP300G
Broadway EZ102

UK Pianos Customer Reviews

 “I’m so pleased with the service from UK Pianos. Graham was a pleasure to do business with “, Dionne Dsane, Enfield

“Your website advice has been invaluable! Highly recommend “, Barry from Glasgow

See 800+ Reviews On TrustPilot

More Yamahas

Arius (YDP)
Clavinova

Secondary Sidebar

Free delivery anywhere in the UK


Free delivery anywhere in the UK, more info

Pay by Credit, Debit Card, Amex or PayPal


Pay with Credit/Debit Card or PayPal.

Free delivery anywhere in the UK (orders over £70)


Rent-to-Buy from £35 per month. Rental goes towards cost, more info

Footer

Company Information

  • Stores
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Piano Warranties
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Affiliate Programme

Useful Links

  • Piano Reviews
  • Piano Questions
  • Digital Piano Buying Guide
  • Piano Articles
  • Digital Piano Repairs
  • Piano Tuning
  • Sell Your Piano Here

Shop and Telephone


Call 01327 300 016 (Monday to Sunday 9am to 7pm)

Main Shop: Enfield, North London
Email: admin@ukpianos.co.uk
VAT number: 151 8094 15

  • Piano Reviews
  • Piano Questions
  • Digital Piano Buying Guide
  • Piano Articles
  • Digital Piano Repairs
  • Piano Tuning
  • Sell Your Piano Here

Copyright © 2022 · Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in