Piano ~ By Ear vs By Notes

Among the many different styles of pianists, there are two categories most often referred to in piano playing. They are playing by ear (the ability to listen to music and play it without any sheet music, and improvising with one’s own style of playing), and playing by note (reading musical notes, rhythm and dynamics on what is referred to as sheet music, with precision and accuracy). Both pianists can only advance in their musical abilities with unremitting practice, which can feel impossible; the more they conform to the sometimes difficult challenges, the better pianist they become. While one may have moments of envy toward the other at times, their feelings of triumph are memories that are frequently revisited.

Those pianists who play the piano by ear often relate that they were born with the ability, but even if one is born with a musical expertise, piano playing is still a required skill that is learned. To play by ear, one must first have some knowledge of notes, piano chords, and how they correspond on the keyboard. The learned information needs only to be briefly introduced to them before their natural musical abilities can take over.

For the “by ear” pianist, practicing, as mentioned above is an amazing experience filled with new discoveries, sounds and tempos. They become increasingly inspired, and often move on to create their own music, songs and lyrics. This is also a time where the pianist can listen to a song or piece of music with the capability of playing what they hear, and incorporating their own exclusive style.

When I was only five years old, I had already developed a deep inquisitiveness toward the piano with having a very musical family. An older brother took time to heed to my pleading, and showed me a few chords on the piano, along with how to play a simple song with those chords. The very next day, I ran to the piano after school, and began playing an entire song I had heard sung in church; not only playing the three chords I had been taught, but playing what I was hearing in my head (or as some might call their heart). My parents tell the story best, as they remember peeking from behind a door in amazement of their youngest child playing the piano with both hands, using the foot pedal, all in a manner in which they were able to recognized the song I was playing. After playing my first song, I began playing chords and keys with melodies and harmonies that I called, “make-up songs”.  

Two years past, and within that time we had moved and were left without owning a piano. Later, to everyone’s surprise, I had seemingly lost all the inspirational ability, and was back to only remembering how to play the three chords my brother had previously taught me.  With years of constant daily practice that was not always quite so inspirational and eventually two months of piano lessons, by age fifteen I was playing in a jazz band, writing music and songs, along with participating in many other memorable advanced musical events.

A pianist who plays by notes recognizes each written note on the scale, as well as all the marks for cadence, within the musical piece. It is a tedious job to obtain this skill and many give up, rather than continue their musical endeavors. Those who stick to it, learn not only how to read the music, but eventually can play any music within their skill level, even if they have never heard the music piece before.

Another intriguing part of playing by note is that you do not have to have an ear for music in order to learn to play. Many accomplished pianist play strictly by notes without any ability to improvise, but the music itself can be a tremendous piece of art to one’s ear. Even so, these types of musicians often times envy those who play by ear, due to the fact that there abilities become limited to a sheet of music.

Shannon, who has the same date of birth as I, began playing the piano at age four; the difference is that she learned to play by reading musical notes. Shannon could not even read yet, but she seemed to pick up the music notes quickly and easily. She took many, many years of music lessons, to the point where her teachers told her she could not learn any more, but Shannon continued to learn on her own. When she would seemingly reach a plateau, she would hear someone else play that was so incredibly outstanding and her heart yearned to press in to a deeper reality than just education. Many times, just buying a new set of music that was different or challenging would suffice this desire. Shannon’s progress led her in learning the technique of improvising, which she spent many hours perfecting.

Shannon never experienced a loss of ability, but has gone for periods of time without being able to play the piano for different reasons; she was always able to pick it back up without any feelings of being “rusty” or out of practice. Once the skill was obtained, her memory of it was not affected by the intervals of time away. The years of accomplishment have brought Shannon many rewarding musical events and occasions, where she entertained friends, family and peers.

There is a world of joy in the willpower of each one of these abilities, gifts and talents; it’s about never giving up when you feel like you’ve lost it all, and if you know in your heart you can attain something better, follow that ambition and achieve your highest goal. Playing by ear is a natural, free-style of playing for me; it allows me to write my own songs and music, which makes it my personal preference. But it is coupled with the frequent desire for the capability to choose sheet music of any style and to play it with simplicity! My “style” may not always be according to specific “notes”, and can be a bitter sweet reality. I believe the talent you find inside you is always exclusive to you. The development of it is what brings inspiration and causes it to flourish and transform you, but only by being faithfully diligent, and patient.