hahaha asked:


I’ve been playing piano for about five years. I’m fairly decent at sightreading and have been trained in piano traditionally. I’m looking for something more though. I want to be able to play by ear. I want to get more out of the piano then just playing sheet music. I’ve looked at different programs online such as rythymic patterns (playpianotoday.com) and pianomagic.com. They both claim to teach you how to play by ear. Are either of theses programs good? Should I invest in one of these? Is one better then the other? Or can you recomend another method? Thanks for the help.

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Loves Van Halen asked:


I’m 15, female. Really into music. i can play trombone, baritone, french horn, mellophone, trumpet, piano, accordion, and sax. I’ve taught myself all these. i really like the piano playing in rock music. fun stuff. so i decided to get lessons. i listened to mozart and beethoven over and over and played it over and over until i got it right. so on my first piano lesson i played mozart and beethoven and my piano teacher was amazed. i can listen to songs and play them back on piano. for example, the vonage commercial. so is this considered playing by ear? if someone tells me to play a song, for the most part if i know how it goes i can play it.
yeah. like a couple months ago i listened to canon in d and i can pretty much play it back. i can also take that song and the key and make my own version. i just play!
OK I CAN READ MUSIC!! hello?!! i mean i’ve been playing all these different instruments all my life, i learned to read it when i was in 5th grade!!

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Steph S asked:


Ok, well ive been playing piano for 3 years and my parents think that i should start playing by ear, and accompanying other people. I have a great musical ear and i can play melodies with my right hand but i just dont know where to start with my left!!!! Can someone please help me. Oh and i know what chords are but they are kinda boring,…
well the thing is, my parents want to stop the lessons because they think im advanced enough to stop. They think that 3 years is way to long and i should have already started playing by ear.

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B asked:


When I play a song that has diminished chords and major 7th chords, I always have to write down the notes above the chord, otherwise I cant remember it. After I practice the song, I memorize the chords, so I dont really have to read the lead sheet anymore – but I still dont know how to make a diminished or major 7 right off the cuff. When will I be able to look at a chord chart and just play the music without having to write in all my aug and maj7 chord letters? How should I teach myself how to do this?

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