5 Mysteries Of Playing ‘By Ear’ Resolved

Have you often watched someone play on the piano or any other instrument a tune that they heard on the radio or a tune that someone just hummed to them? 

Didn’t it almost seem magical that they could do that?

I knew one such person. My dad. He could play any tune he heard at anytime and I couldn’t. And I was always under the impression that I had to be born that way, or else there was no way to play ‘by ear’ The worst thing is that no one even told me that, that was a myth until very much later. 

If only someone had told me as a child that I could train my ear as well, it would have saved me years and years of sadness and disappointment in myself. 

So in today’s blog post, I want to talk about some of the mysteries of playing ‘by ear’. 

Absolute Pitch Is Not Necessary

There is this common myth that in order to play the piano by ear it is important to be born with Absolute Pitch. 

Well, that is wrong. Only around 1 – 3% of the population is born with such an ability and way more people than that number are able to play the piano by ear. 

There is tons of research that shows that what is important is not ‘absolute pitch’ but rather ‘relative pitch’ and ‘relative pitch’ is something that can be taught and learned. 

You Don’t Have To Be Born With It

If the previous point didn’t make it clear to you, let me reiterate. 

Your child does not need to have been born with the ability, ‘relative pitch’ is something that can be learned. 

Hence, if your child has not shown any ability to play by ear so far, don’t fret, it can be taught and he can learn it. 

You Don’t Have To Train Your Ear When You Are Young

If your child is a teenager or even a pre-teen don’t worry. There is no upper age limit by which relative pitch has to be learned. 

Any age is fine, even for you as a parent right now it is not too late to learn to play by ear. 

The Ear Can Be Trained

Yes, this should have been clear by everything that I have said so far. But if it wasn’t clear, then let me  tell you again. 

Your child’s ear can be trained. 

Yes, it will take time, and a lot of work but have you ever come across anything that is worthwhile doing without having to first put in some hard work? 

You Can Train Your Child’s Ear, Even If You Haven’t Learned Music

Now this must be a big surprise for you, but truly I tell you, this can be done. 

You don’t have to have a knowledge of music in order to be able to train your child’s ear. 

Read my blog on 5 Ridiculously Simple Ways To Train Your Child’s Ear In The Homeschool, for more information on how you can do this. 

All my piano courses incorporate ear training, so come join the course, and let me give you the necessary tools and tips on how you can teach your child piano and train his musical ear.