The Greatest
How Great is Great? I aspire to be as great as I can be without killing myself. I have advanced play-by-ear abilities and sight-reading skills and that keeps me happy. I’m a homebody, love singing and having fun playing for the grade school choir. However, the time I enjoy the most is when I’m exploring…
The Embarrassing Question
My piano teacher at 14 was our next door neighbor, Mrs. Bohn. She was a concert pianist with strong, shortish hands and medium pointy fingers. She smoked cigarettes heavily and drank Coca-Cola like it was going out of style. She was a big woman with a confident, outgoingness to match her very loud husky…
“Play Something” The Dreaded Request
Keyed Up Piano was already a reality when I bought my first piano at age 20. I found it in a vacant house I was looking at and it won my heart. It was in tune with a sound so true, I knew immediately it was a rare find. C. Kurtzmann & Co. was a…
Fly Little Birdy
This is a stark lesson of playing by ear. When you’re done taking lessons and know your chords, you’ll settle down on a comfy perch atop your plateau of skill. You aren’t seeking out advanced courses in styling or other courses and maybe don’t have the time. You ‘re satisfied with how you play but…
The “Gift” of Playing By Ear
When it comes to playing by ear and playing the piano in general, there are always people that play better than you. Just like any skill, some people just have natural abilities but the deck is stacked against you if you don’t have at least one “gift.” You might have more than one if…
Chords Lay The Path To Playing By Ear
When playing the piano by ear, the science of music organizes your musical mind and controls how you get around. It’s the plan. It’s what all musicians that play by ear have in common; they all know how to get around. While many get lost in the notion that “getting around” is some mysterious skill,…
The “Play By Ear” Hoax
Hoax is a big word in playing by ear. “Yeah, I play a little piano . . . “ doesn’t really mean much in most cases. We wore out an already worn-out piano in my grandma’s basement playing chopsticks. My sister Marjorie played Heart and Soul. To me she was Queen of The Keys. We…
The Greatest Hit of All Time
To play by ear on the piano you must learn to play the greatest hit of all time. Every style of music throughout the ages has bowed to it’s overpowering influence in music. From all the classical masters to the bards out strumming their lutes in the early days. They all played the greatest hit. …
Get Started Right Away Playing By Ear
[content_box_grey width=”20%”]by Joseph Pingel[/content_box_grey] Hey folks, this short article really lays some fairly heavy issues on the line. The content of these few paragraphs is really excellent. In my observations I’ve always discovered “playing by ear” to be something more associated with self-teaching. Unfortunately, oftentimes the play-by-ear skill isn’t introduced until one has many years…
“Axis of Awesome” Really Nail Playing By Ear
Though meant to be comedy, this video by “Axis of Awesome” is really one of the most important lessons to understanding the nature of Playing By Ear. The idea that one chord progression can be used with many songs is only part of the equation. In reality, any progression has the capability to apply to…