5 Reasons to Learn to Play by Ear

People come to playing instruments with many different goals in mind. The whole spectrum includes everything from wanting to attend music school and get a seat in a professional orchestra, to perhaps wanting to play a little each day at home for your own enjoyment or to share at family gatherings. There is no right or wrong. We each have our right reasons, and we need many kinds of musicians. However, I will posit that learning by ear will benefit everyone.

Imagine a child at age 3-5 years old. Children are most likely speaking their native language with ease, communicating with people each day, constantly. They build their vocabulary with daily practice. However, are we asking them to read lengthy books at this age? Write papers? No. Then, why in some cases when starting to play an instrument do teachers recommend reading sheet music from the get go? We have not yet mastered how to hold the instrument, how to draw beautiful sound, or how to get around the notes of our foundational scales. These are not my original ideas, this "epiphany" comes from Shinichi Suzuki's book Nurtured by Love. Dr. Suzuki changed the world with this observation of the potential of learning how to play an instrument like we learn to speak a language.

In more than 10 years of consistent teaching of private violin lessons I have seen these ideas in action. When a student spends the time "speaking" daily on their instrument, practicing the building blocks I assign, their comfort on the violin builds and is clearly visible. Their attention is fully available to refine their tone, violin position and bow hold. We learn to focus the eyes on areas we want to train, and the student has the capacity to notice areas of tension in their body. A deeper level of understanding is achieved.

Once students have been playing without reading music for a year or two, I start to introduce note reading/sheet music in bite-sized challenges. At this point I have assessed their mastery of position, creating beautiful tone, and the amount of free concentration they have while playing well-practiced pieces. Are they able to play with eyes closed? Can they stop in the middle of a piece and start where they left off? Are their arms free of tension? If so, they are ready for me to introduce new skills. Students who need more time learning to "speak" on their violin may still be needing bow hold corrections, violin hold corrections, left hand adjustments and tension release, and more "miles" playing and refining. They may become frustrated easily because there are too many new skills being asked of them at once. If we were to jump to sheet music at this point, these priorities of sound and body position will never get the attention they need. Our mind will always be busy processing reading the music, because this is where our eyes go.

My experience learning by ear, and that of my students that commit to it, develops skills that bring about so much fulfillment and joy.

1. You are able to play what you hear

   Have you seen someone just be able to pick out a song on their instrument on the spot, without sheet music? Isn't that magical? Yes! But it can also be learned. When you practice by ear from the beginning, you can build an audiological map of the notes on your instrument and match them to what you hear. This to me is unlocking the ability to express, improvise, and so much more. With dedicated listening, singing, and a willingness to guess notes on your instrument to learn music, this can be possible for almost anyone.

2. You can play with others without needing to prepare every note

   You won't always need music, so spontaneously collaborating with other musicians is simple. You can figure it out as you listen, contribute on the spot. The freedom is so valuable, and you'll be able to share your own voice. The more you do this, the easier it will flow.

   
   

3. You will have life-long knowledge of your instrument and music

   When there isn't sheet music, you will still know where the notes are that you hear/want to play. You are independent. If you never get away from sheet music, you will always be missing an opportunity to know your instrument on a deep level, unlocking the full understanding of how and WHY the patterns in the music are the way they are.

4. You will have more capacity to be musical

   Sometimes people may say "It wasn't very musical, they're just playing the notes..." It's a bit simplistic, but this can get the idea across that we actively have to listen and shape the notes we play into something expressive, full of feeling and our energy. If we don't, it won't impact the audience. I fully believe with by-ear playing we can pay attention to the details. And great music comes from details. How is my body supporting the music? Where is my bow arm in space? Is my sound restricted? Say, you can even look around the room and take in the amazing thing that you are doing - sharing music! When I was on stage with Abney Park for the first time in Russia looking at thousands of fans, I was not thinking about what notes to play. I came with a deep understanding of what I was going to play ahead of time, along with my ability to listen and correct on the spot. This way, I could fully embrace the electric moment of being there.

5. You can learn any kind of music you want!

   No sheet music? No problem! You can now figure it out on your own. You can learn traditional music that doesn't have written music. You can play Jazz and improvise. This path takes more listening and invested time. However, I can't think of anything that turns out worse because of listening more intently.

Nicolette Andres is a certified Suzuki method violin teacher with completed training in units 1-7. She performed and toured internationally with steampunk band Abney Park from 2017-2020. See her music page for current work.

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