Ear Training for Piano: How to Develop Your Ear

As important as it is to learn how to read music, being able to play by ear is also a very useful skill. In order to be a balanced and well-rounded musician, you’d be wise to develop both.

The problem with ear training for piano is it’s difficult to teach; it’s one thing to teach someone to read, but it’s something else entirely to teach them to listen. Some people seem to have a knack for it, while others struggle.

Despite this, I do try to teach ear training, and find that its success is largely based on repetition (practicing ear training a little bit each day).

Ear training for piano: basics

 

 

 

Why learning intervals by ear is important (and how to do it)

Intervals are the building blocks of melodies. Before you can run you must walk, and before you can reproduce entire melodies, you must first learn to hear intervals. Developing this skill will in turn help you with the next video (how to play a melody by ear).

How to play a melody by ear: An overview

Have you ever heard a song on the radio and then try to figure out the tune on the piano? This video explains how to do just that, specifically discussing melody (the main part).

How to improvise chords for pop music for beginners

In addition to figuring out a melody by ear, it’s important to figure out the harmony, too. This video looks at chord patterns in pop music and how to interpret that on the piano.