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Playing or learning by ear is the ability of a performing musician to reproduce a piece of music they have heard, without having seen it notated in any form of sheet music. It is considered to be a desirable skill among musical performers.

Numerous classical music traditions throughout the world are fundamentally rooted in the concept of playing by ear, where musical compositions are directly passed down from generation to generation. In this respect, playing by ear can be also seen as a music-specific example of oral tradition. However, there are some examples of musical traditions where greater importance is placed on a tradition of writing down the music, in some form of musical notation.

The concept of playing by ear has led to the coining of the idiom, to play by ear.

Method

The basic process of playing by ear consists of, first, listening to the music in question (maybe repeatedly) and second,

Playing by ear is a skill that, at least to some degree, is learned.

• development of strong tonal memory (which may include attaining the skill of absolute pitch)

Audiation involves hearing sounds mentally. The skill of reproducing those sounds involves the ability to mentally hear and recognize rhythms, tell the interval between a note and a reference note in a melody, play a specific interval between a melodic note and bass note (typically 1, 3, or 5 intervals below the melodic note), and play the notes of a specific chord based on the a given bass note (e.g., notes at 1, 3, and 5 intervals above the bass note).

Whilst the ability is (at least in some part) learned, certain characteristics of the brain (such as possessing absolute pitch) can have a po

Existence in classical music traditions

Historically, the need for musical traditions to be passed down orally was a necessity, as the technology did not exist for the music to be adequately represented.

In most instances, those traditions where learning music from playing by ear is paramount do not use musical notation in any form. Hindustani classical music

Other notable examples of such traditions include

Some examples of this such as by early Blues guitarists and pianists, Romani fiddlers and folk music guitarists.

Indian classical music

See also: Indian classical music

A group of Hindustani musicians
(c. 1870)

One particularly prominent example is of Indian classical music, where the teaching methods of its two major strands (Hindustani and Carnatic) are almost exclusively oral.

Western classical music

Guido of Arezzo

Western classical music development of the staff by guido d'arezzo whose invention of the musical staff has proved to be one of the most versatile means of music notation

Historically, the Western classical music tradition has been based on the process of learning new pieces from musical notation, and hence playing by ear has a lower importance in musical training.

However, many teaching methods in this tradition incorporate playing by ear in some form. Examples include the "ear training" courses that are a standard part of conservatory or college music programs (including use of Solfège), and the Suzuki method, which incorporates a highly developed focus on playing by ear from a very young age.

In the West, learning by ear is also associated with the genres of folk music, blues, rock, and jazz.

See also

• Tonal memory
• Ear training
• Musical aptitude
• Music education for young children
• Absolute pitch

• Musical notation
• History of music publishing

External links

• Description of Audiation from the Gordon Institute for Music Learning
• Basic introduction to playing by ear by Allan Jeong Professor of Instructional Systems & Learning Technology