Is it more important to be
able to read music or play by
ear? I really don't know
the answer, but I know they are
both important. I am
teaching my son who is eight to
play the piano and though we
focus mostly on reading music, I
am already teaching him to play
by ear.
One of the things I
hate to hear my kids say is "I
can't". In most cases they
can if they want to badly enough.
When I tell pianists they need
to learn to play by ear, the
first thing they often say is "I
can't." Don't say that!
Just start practicing.
So how
can you start learning?
Here is a simple plan.
Learn to pick out a
melody of any simple hymn.
Learn to play the melody
in several different keys
(preferably all of them).
Pick a key (C is a good
choice) and start playing
the melody in the right
hand. As you play,
experiment with simple
triads in the left hand in
the octave just below middle
C. In almost every
case, either the I, IV, or V
chord will work. In
the rare cases where none of
those chords work, either
skip the chord or cheat and
look in the hymnal.
Once you know the melody
and the supporting chords,
you can start improvising a
bit. Play the chord in
simple arpeggios in the left
hand or move the melody to
the left hand and play
chords in the right hand.
Or try some inversions in
the chords.
To make it easier, let me
refresh your memory on the
I, IV, and V chords in the
key of C. This is the
octave that they will sound
best in if you are playing
them without any inversion.
Let me pause for a moment
and remind you that I am
making some assumptions
about your current knowledge
of theory. For
example, I am assuming that
you understand how to
identify and play I, IV, and
V chords. If you do
not, please find a book or
website that you can learn
from before continuing this
lesson. Knowing the I,
IV, and V chords in each key
is absolutely critical to
your ability to learn from
these lessons.
Some great things will
start happening are you
start faithfully working
through these simple steps.
Don't overdo it--15 minutes
a day is sufficient.
Don't worry if the sound is
not wonderful. The
important thing is that you
are starting to crawl.
You will be able to run
later.
I am going to cover step
4 in much more detail in the
next lesson. For the
time being, just work on
steps 1-3.
Practice strategy:
Practice steps 1-3 on "Jesus
Loves Me." Learn to
play it in a minimum of four
keys including C and work on
step 3 in the key of C.
Then try it in Db. If
you have time, add another
song.
