I spent my first two years of learning the piano doing exactly what you did here, but never had a video that explained it like this. So my steps and learning were a lot more jumbled and less organized. Wow! Where was this video when I needed it when I started learning?? It would’ve saved me loads of time. This was fantastic!! Everyone who wants to learn how to play along to songs they like need to watch this video. You have a gift.
Thanks a lot for letting me know that this will work. I am just a beginner with learning chords and scales. So while doing that, I just randomly searched for ear training to recognise sound and reached here. Its a dream for me to hear a song and play it in keyboard.
@@akhilalexg It's so much fun when you learn! You'll find you'll pick up songs very quickly. And now I'm at the point where I can adlib over the melody. Good luck and have fun!
As a classical player this is so interesting! Sometimes it's embarassing to be pulling the sheet music out for happy birthday on my phone cause I can't play by ear 😅 after playing a Beethoven sonata
Sight reading is a very commendable skill. I’m the opposite! I can’t sight read and It’s hard for me to remember any note names, but I can pick up songs by ear easily lol 😅
That's amazing! I'm a sight reader and have always found playing by ear a mystery but now you've shown me the way it's done. It looks hard to me and would take time to do it, so do I have the patience, is more the question but I might give it a go. Thanks so much for all your tutorials!
No problem! As with anything it all comes with practice, fortunately if you know your scales and your triads (both of which there are a limited number of and will help your reading too) then it can be a quicker skill to learn with a little bit of practice 😊
thx for that video it's way more detailed that the older ones i really struggle with the bass note part i've always found the melody in like 10seconds for any song but yeah the bass note is harder idk i was listening on my phone i couldn't really hear it
The bass notes can definitely be tricky to hear, you can practice hearing it though by playing a chord with a bass note and trying to sing just the bass note. Then you can check if you got it right by playing the bass note on its own 😊
I’ve been playing piano for two decades as a classically trained sheet music reader. This year I’m trying to grow my ear training and I feel like I’m starting over as a beginner again. Hearing the bass notes is giving me the most trouble as well, especially when there is a lot of competing sounds in the song. I’m going to give these tips a try and hopefully I’m at least able to narrow down the potential note possibilities and go from there.
Been watching through your vids over the last few days after coming across one of them in my TH-cam feed. It’s mad how alike we are in terms of playing and learning and listening. What you did here in this vid is exactly what I do on a daily basis when listening back to stuff I’m learning. I just thought everyone else that plays does this. I’m starting to learn that maybe I’m only one of a few that is more at an advanced level. I’m not a teacher. I play keys at home every day as a hobby. Playing is really important to me. I just need it in my life. But watching your videos has made me realise I’m probably at a far higher level than I ever thought. I’ve just never thought it. Great content mate
This video was informative and simple. I was able to understand the steps to help play by ear. Now, I’m able to make music that comes through my head. 😅 Thank you
Wow, this video is fantastic! As someone who primarily reads music, I've always found playing by ear to be challenging, but your clear explanations have truly opened my eyes. I appreciate how you break down the steps-it makes it feel more achievable. I’m excited to start practicing and bring the music in my head to life. Thank you for such an inspiring tutorial!
Yeah, you’ve gotten yourself a new subscriber, this was really really good! (Thanks for introducing me to a new song also) I’ve played the piano on and off for more than 20 years and I count myself as barley a intermediate when it comes to playing, thanks to laying down the notes 15 years ago and only playing from either midi or now in recent times, synthesia.. So I need to go back to the basics again I’m afraid. Too bad we live in different countries because I could really use a teacher like you!
So this is how my brain do this 😄 i don't know how to read note's so i have always listening to song's first or have the sound of the song in headphones and then try to play the same sound on the piano.
Fantastic video! All explained and summed up very good and understandable!! But 🙏🏻please could you make a own video just about ✨level 6✨ and the left hand patterns, arpeggios and rhythmic patterns! Which one are there most important popular and or useful ones. Which to use when? And furthermore things like how to alter for example arpeggios patterns when the left hand would go up and cross and disturb with the left hand. Please please do such a video 🙏🏻🙏🏻🎹💖 that would be amazing!! 🔥
@@matticawood okay okay I hope you can! 🙏🏻🤗 🎹 Perhaps : "The magic left " and in it's ambiguous senses. On one hand side as the wizard like left and on the other side as the magic that's left over. English ist not my mother tongue I hope you get what I mean.. Or how about "Level se/ix" ah okay just kidding 😉
Hey Matthew! Thank you very much for your explanation and sharing your knowledge! Great work! This video motivated me finally to learn reading music sheets! Today I just see some signs from a foreign planet on a piece of paper. 😂 Just bought an Alesis recital pro and searching for a teacher near by now. I’d be happy to hear/read from you!
@@matticawood for me it's both. I don't know to sing, i can pretty recognise the notes played from piano (for example if D is played i hear a word re, if E then i hear mi or si because they both have "i" in them and also sharps I'm thinking of the both notes) but when someone sings i can't recognise what notes they are singing
Awesome! Your're able to REALLY narrow down things to the basics, so that everybody can understand. I wish I had seen that earlier. Got quite a chaos in my songs, when I see your explanations, there's quite some room for improvement to my videos.. haha ^^' Oh well.. back to the drawing board. :> Cif ~
Amazing video you always break it down so its so easy to understand you have a real skill. I could pick out bits but the chords to me i couldn't tell a massive difference to be honest. would an easier song help ? i sight read and have struggled with remembering songs which i'm only just starting to manage but one day would love to be able to play by ear.
Thanks! Different people struggle with different steps and the chords can be tricky to hear…it’s one of those things that you can start to hear much more clearly once you have the three possible chords in front of you and you try it out with a few different songs…some simpler songs where the chords are more clear will definitely be easier to hear 😊
This was really good! The part where you were explaining the triads was wrong though...for example, an E triad would consist of the notes E, G#, B, but you did the Em chord notes E, G, B...you did this for a few other ones like i believe you did it for b as well. Other than that you were really informational and for people who don't know anything about music theory i'm sure this helped them alot!
@@Krivplayzzits also just understanding the chords in a key which is often marked with Roman numerals. For a major scale its I ii iii IV V vii0(diminished) Which means normally the first 4th and 5th chords in the scale are major chordss and 2nd 3rd and sixth chords are minor chords in that scale. And 7th would be the diminished version of the chord
Thanks! Interesting idea…playing by ear is super useful for playing stuff in your own way and style, but for detailed pieces that need the accuracy, reading it will always win. So it would depend on what the piece was! 😊
Can you do a video of playing the same song/melody but in multiple ways? It would be cool to see how the different ways I can play a song when learning to play by ear similar to how you did in this video!
Why add the extra unnecessary step of hearing the notes from the source/record and singing them back to match with the keys on the piano when you can just directly match the notes you’re hearing whilst playing the keys on your keyboard at same time…
Because from my experience although many people can bundle the first three steps into one (and this naturally happens with practice anyway) by listening to the bass notes and working out the scale all in one go without singing them out loud…there are a lot of people that can’t hear the notes back clearly in their head and can’t pick out specific notes. So for those less able to hear anything it gives them a process to get started if they can sing the melody or can hear any note, singing it before playing it means you can isolate the note from the song and hear it clearly 😊
Thank you for the video. I would like to ask how to find the difference between E major and A major in a song(e.g. Dynamite by BTS), as in step 2. I can't find the D note in the song. What should I do?
Nice video, and it still seems like magic. Maybe because I'm a beginner, it feels like magic when I play music from the notes on a sheet in front of me 😂 Also, "out of nowere" - is that a reference that I missed?
This isn’t really what playing by ear is, or at least not as I’ve seen it with musicians in Latin America. Many of us have relative pitch; we hear a note, recognize it as, say, “C#”, and go from there. We don’t consciously think of chord progressions, scales, or anything else. Even my cousin, who has perfect pitch, has told me that he doesn’t think in terms of chords or scales. He simply hears it, plays it, and continues based on what he hears. It’s hard to put into words, but when I play saxophone and improvise by ear, something just feels right about the notes I choose. Later, I started using more music theory, which is more aligned with what you’re describing. I would think about what key we were in, then figure out the chord progression, and so on. While this approach is a lot easier, and I don’t rely purely on playing by ear anymore, there have been times when I’ve been asked to play a song and all I needed was to hear the first note to get started. In those cases, I didn’t think about chord progressions or scales; it just happened instinctively, although I’m sure my brain was processing those things subconsciously. That said, I’ve seen the method you’re talking about, where musicians analyze the notes, choose a scale, figure out the chord progression, look for accidentals, consider the time signature, etc. It can take them a while. I remember an event at a church a few years ago where different groups were asked to play a song. Most groups were doing what you described, but my group heard the first note, said “Ah, it’s in D,” and we got the song down much faster than the others. When it came time for refinement, we did add details like “let’s crescendo from piano to forte here,” or “there’s a ritardando there,” and “let’s play more legato at this part.” But to figure out the song, we didn’t go through all that analysis. I’m not sure if anyone else plays by ear like this, but I do think there are two ways to play by ear: one that’s more instinctual and another that’s more theory-based.
I have a question.Do you have any tips to help me play with both hands cause i've been learning a few songs but my left hand always feels so weird when i try playing with it.
Try to do some exercises in the left hand on its own to make it feel more comfortable. That’s usually because it’s your weaker hand…you could try some “Hanon: The Virtuoso Pianist” exercises…or just some left hand scales every day for a couple of weeks. Then…when you are playing a piece of music, think of each individual thing you play as either: hands at the same time, left hand on its own or right hand on its own. This way you think of the notes you play as a series of single movements rather than two hands doing different things at the same time 😊
Good luck. I started about 6 weeks ago. There is so much information for free out there. I’m using a paid app too. I’ve learnt so much and have grasped a lot of the basic theory which helps me understand other videos on similar topics easier like piecing a puzzle together albeit one that never ends 😂. It’s also helped me form some sort of road map/direction for my learning journey.
At the beginning playing the normal triads will still sound good, so it doesn’t matter too much initially. Eventually, it’s useful to practice hearing the qualities of the different chord types though (E.g. Dom 7ths, maj 7ths, min 7ths, dim 7ths, sus2, sus4, augmented chords etc..) then you can swap the regular triads for the different chord types you hear 😊
@@matticawood sorry for bothering you but I've hit this roadblock in piano, I know how to somewhat play piano but idk how to apply techniques like appergios and all of that like I know how to do it on its own but applying it to like a piece im doing or a song by ear is hard for me do you have any advice
The first 2 steps in this video will get you the key of the song…however essentially, if you know all of the keys (major and minor) then you just need to narrow down what notes are in the song until there is only one scale it could be! 😊
@matticawood gotcha but how do guys like frank tedesco who doesn't have perfect pitch figure out the key just by hearing the song. I've figured out the key of a couple songs by getting a feel for the "home note or chord" of the piece that it mainly relies on so I was wondering if there's such a way :D
This is a really good video as i can relate to it alot as this is how ive been learning song for the past 1.5 years in my 4 year piano journey. I have a reccommendation for your next video. Would you be willing to cover on transposition? Meaning, playing a song in one key then transposing into the next key?(thats what i understood by it) An example for this would be, I Want It That Way by the BackStreet Boys. Would be great if you can consider this Or another idea is to do mash up of 2 songs in two different keys, major and minor keys. How to transition from major to minor or vice versa? This is something that ive needed help with Lastly, improvisation. How to improve a song you just learnt by ear without making it unrecognisable by "improvising" it?😅😅 this is sonething i struggle most because ive always had this "Go-To" left hand pattern(octave jump and arpeggio" when i show people that i can play this song they are like, "bro its nice but what song is it?" Its the most crushing words to hear for me lmao😅😅
I feel your pain! 😂 These are great suggestions and il definitely consider making videos for them! I quick tip for the transposition question though: similar to how I referred to chords in this video..think of them as numbers in the scale, so C is chord 4 in a G scale…the chords in the song I used in this video were chords I - iii - vi - V (G - B - E - D). If you think of them as numbers then you can transpose it by applying it to any scale. So in the key of A (ABC#DEF#G#) chord I - iii - vi - V would be A - C# - F# - E. This would sound the same but in the key of A! 😊
Playing by ear is great for music where you want to play your own interpretation of it. Learning to read sheet music is great for music with detail that you want to play accurately. That’s why it’s best to do both! 😊
Good explanation, but only hold for very basic songs. No mention of minor scales (or modes), nothing of chromatic notes, nothing of borrowed chords or 7th cords etc.
It’s a 20 minute video exclusively focussed on a process that anyone could use to start practicing learning the skill of playing by ear. If someone wants to go down the rabbit hole on the theory beyond the process, I have many videos that include all of these 😊
@@matticawood Don't get me wrong -- I really appreciated the introduction you gave (and your reply here ;) ). Problem for me is that I am already beyond this basic level and still have lots of trouble figuring out 'real' songs (as the kinds of music I tend to listen to and want to play 'by ear' never seems to stick to those basic triads and often change key in the middle of the song). I guess I will have to dig a bit deeper into your other videos as well later ;)
I do it slightly different. I humm a u tube video and pick out scale and then play along. I did this using songs i knew. I suggest 10 15 minutes a day for a month in addition your regular practice. By then you should be quite good at it. For accompiament i use alberti bass of arpegios or chords.
![How to Play By Ear INSTANTLY 🎹 [Ear Training Explained]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3sXrWz763J8/mqdefault.jpg)
I spent my first two years of learning the piano doing exactly what you did here, but never had a video that explained it like this. So my steps and learning were a lot more jumbled and less organized.
Wow! Where was this video when I needed it when I started learning?? It would’ve saved me loads of time. This was fantastic!!
Everyone who wants to learn how to play along to songs they like need to watch this video. You have a gift.
Thanks a lot for letting me know that this will work. I am just a beginner with learning chords and scales. So while doing that, I just randomly searched for ear training to recognise sound and reached here. Its a dream for me to hear a song and play it in keyboard.
@@akhilalexg It's so much fun when you learn! You'll find you'll pick up songs very quickly. And now I'm at the point where I can adlib over the melody. Good luck and have fun!
😊
watching a ton of beginner videos and this is the first that actually explains the black keys and what sharp and flat means.
You've probably figured this out by now, but the black keys are just half tones, where the white ones are whole tones.
@@renealbrechtsen9743 That is partially incorrect as E-F is always a semi(half)-tone
YOU are a wonderful young teacher that knows your material AND guides so well. !!
As a classical player this is so interesting! Sometimes it's embarassing to be pulling the sheet music out for happy birthday on my phone cause I can't play by ear 😅 after playing a Beethoven sonata
Sight reading is a very commendable skill. I’m the opposite! I can’t sight read and It’s hard for me to remember any note names, but I can pick up songs by ear easily lol 😅
The struggle is real!
Me too
I have poor eyeaifht ao sheet is out of the question @@flygirlvibezzz
I can not play by ear but can play by sight @Vegansoul1
What a pathetique excuse of a classical player 😂😂
That's amazing! I'm a sight reader and have always found playing by ear a mystery but now you've shown me the way it's done. It looks hard to me and would take time to do it, so do I have the patience, is more the question but I might give it a go. Thanks so much for all your tutorials!
No problem! As with anything it all comes with practice, fortunately if you know your scales and your triads (both of which there are a limited number of and will help your reading too) then it can be a quicker skill to learn with a little bit of practice 😊
This teacher is excellent
thx for that video it's way more detailed that the older ones i really struggle with the bass note part i've always found the melody in like 10seconds for any song but yeah the bass note is harder idk i was listening on my phone i couldn't really hear it
The bass notes can definitely be tricky to hear, you can practice hearing it though by playing a chord with a bass note and trying to sing just the bass note. Then you can check if you got it right by playing the bass note on its own 😊
I’ve been playing piano for two decades as a classically trained sheet music reader. This year I’m trying to grow my ear training and I feel like I’m starting over as a beginner again. Hearing the bass notes is giving me the most trouble as well, especially when there is a lot of competing sounds in the song. I’m going to give these tips a try and hopefully I’m at least able to narrow down the potential note possibilities and go from there.
My son is a pianist at church so this was really helpful . Thxs🎉
Been watching through your vids over the last few days after coming across one of them in my TH-cam feed. It’s mad how alike we are in terms of playing and learning and listening. What you did here in this vid is exactly what I do on a daily basis when listening back to stuff I’m learning. I just thought everyone else that plays does this. I’m starting to learn that maybe I’m only one of a few that is more at an advanced level. I’m not a teacher. I play keys at home every day as a hobby. Playing is really important to me. I just need it in my life. But watching your videos has made me realise I’m probably at a far higher level than I ever thought. I’ve just never thought it. Great content mate
By far the best How to on TH-cam. No bs! Quick, explanatory and pedagogical!
This video was informative and simple. I was able to understand the steps to help play by ear. Now, I’m able to make music that comes through my head. 😅
Thank you
Thanks for the help Matt!
No problem 😊
Wow, this video is fantastic! As someone who primarily reads music, I've always found playing by ear to be challenging, but your clear explanations have truly opened my eyes. I appreciate how you break down the steps-it makes it feel more achievable. I’m excited to start practicing and bring the music in my head to life. Thank you for such an inspiring tutorial!
Even though I’ve done piano lessons I find it really useful watching these videos! Thank you
Thank you Brother Matthew Can you Make a video on how to improvise a song
You did a great job. Thanks great way to disect a piece of song and figure out how to play by ear.
Amazing tutorial. Thank you!
Another fantastic learning video,thanks so much for these instructional tutorials.
Great vid! Need more vids like this and practice vids. Thanks
Thank you for your teaching Mathew brother
Yeah, you’ve gotten yourself a new subscriber, this was really really good! (Thanks for introducing me to a new song also)
I’ve played the piano on and off for more than 20 years and I count myself as barley a intermediate when it comes to playing, thanks to laying down the notes 15 years ago and only playing from either midi or now in recent times, synthesia.. So I need to go back to the basics again I’m afraid. Too bad we live in different countries because I could really use a teacher like you!
He does online lessons I believe. Check out his website.
Thank you for great video Very helpful Very well put together
So this is how my brain do this 😄 i don't know how to read note's so i have always listening to song's first or have the sound of the song in headphones and then try to play the same sound on the piano.
Fantastic video! All explained and summed up very good and understandable!!
But 🙏🏻please could you make a own video just about ✨level 6✨ and the left hand patterns, arpeggios and rhythmic patterns! Which one are there most important popular and or useful ones. Which to use when? And furthermore things like how to alter for example arpeggios patterns when the left hand would go up and cross and disturb with the left hand. Please please do such a video 🙏🏻🙏🏻🎹💖 that would be amazing!! 🔥
Thanks! If I can come up with a compelling title for it then I can definitely do that! 😂
@@matticawood okay okay I hope you can! 🙏🏻🤗 🎹 Perhaps :
"The magic left " and in it's ambiguous senses. On one hand side as the wizard like left and on the other side as the magic that's left over. English ist not my mother tongue I hope you get what I mean..
Or how about "Level se/ix" ah okay just kidding 😉
Hey Matthew!
Thank you very much for your explanation and sharing your knowledge! Great work!
This video motivated me finally to learn reading music sheets! Today I just see some signs from a foreign planet on a piece of paper. 😂
Just bought an Alesis recital pro and searching for a teacher near by now.
I’d be happy to hear/read from you!
can you do advanced version on this
Great advices 👍 stuck in the first step though 😅
Singing or hearing any note? Because if it’s singing…I’m also clearly stuck on the first step! 😂
@@matticawood for me it's both. I don't know to sing, i can pretty recognise the notes played from piano (for example if D is played i hear a word re, if E then i hear mi or si because they both have "i" in them and also sharps I'm thinking of the both notes) but when someone sings i can't recognise what notes they are singing
Awesome! Your're able to REALLY narrow down things to the basics, so that everybody can understand.
I wish I had seen that earlier.
Got quite a chaos in my songs, when I see your explanations, there's quite some room for improvement to my videos.. haha ^^'
Oh well.. back to the drawing board. :>
Cif ~
Amazing video you always break it down so its so easy to understand you have a real skill. I could pick out bits but the chords to me i couldn't tell a massive difference to be honest. would an easier song help ? i sight read and have struggled with remembering songs which i'm only just starting to manage but one day would love to be able to play by ear.
Thanks! Different people struggle with different steps and the chords can be tricky to hear…it’s one of those things that you can start to hear much more clearly once you have the three possible chords in front of you and you try it out with a few different songs…some simpler songs where the chords are more clear will definitely be easier to hear 😊
This was really good! The part where you were explaining the triads was wrong though...for example, an E triad would consist of the notes E, G#, B, but you did the Em chord notes E, G, B...you did this for a few other ones like i believe you did it for b as well. Other than that you were really informational and for people who don't know anything about music theory i'm sure this helped them alot!
That’s because those are the types of triads that are in that key, they aren’t all major triads 😊
@@matticawood ohh okay! sorry about that...i was confused since you didn't explain it i believe. thank you for clearing up the misunderstanding.
@@Krivplayzzits also just understanding the chords in a key which is often marked with Roman numerals. For a major scale its I ii iii IV V vii0(diminished)
Which means normally the first 4th and 5th chords in the scale are major chordss and 2nd 3rd and sixth chords are minor chords in that scale. And 7th would be the diminished version of the chord
can you do a video on all the major apregios that we can use
I am the first who looked for a video like that and the first who searched for it.
Uh, ok...
No you’re not
Another great video Matt!
Thanks Jason! 😊
Great video, thanks !!!
No problem! 😊
What about playing classical pieces by ear challenge? Also nice video :D
Thanks! Interesting idea…playing by ear is super useful for playing stuff in your own way and style, but for detailed pieces that need the accuracy, reading it will always win. So it would depend on what the piece was! 😊
Can you do a video of playing the same song/melody but in multiple ways? It would be cool to see how the different ways I can play a song when learning to play by ear similar to how you did in this video!
Maybe I can do it in a Short 😊
Great video
Woah cool tutorial!
HE IS A MUSCIAL GENIUS
Me? 🕺
@@matticawood yes you
what in ear headphones are you using and how do you find songs like these, they are so good
I need help finding the base note please ❤
For finding the scale could it not have been D?
Why add the extra unnecessary step of hearing the notes from the source/record and singing them back to match with the keys on the piano when you can just directly match the notes you’re hearing whilst playing the keys on your keyboard at same time…
Because from my experience although many people can bundle the first three steps into one (and this naturally happens with practice anyway) by listening to the bass notes and working out the scale all in one go without singing them out loud…there are a lot of people that can’t hear the notes back clearly in their head and can’t pick out specific notes. So for those less able to hear anything it gives them a process to get started if they can sing the melody or can hear any note, singing it before playing it means you can isolate the note from the song and hear it clearly 😊
@@matticawoodthanks for thinking about us matti 😭❤️
Thank you for the video. I would like to ask how to find the difference between E major and A major in a song(e.g. Dynamite by BTS), as in step 2. I can't find the D note in the song. What should I do?
What about figuring out the last note of the song…of the vocals. Doesn’t that often give you the key?
Nice video, and it still seems like magic. Maybe because I'm a beginner, it feels like magic when I play music from the notes on a sheet in front of me 😂
Also, "out of nowere" - is that a reference that I missed?
That’s because it is magic! Music is a super fun rabbit hole! 😊
It isn’t a reference, I think I just can’t spell 😂
@@matticawood oh I'm with you there, feel like spellcheck was made just for me.
And good to hear that it still feels like magic, even for the pros 😃
This isn’t really what playing by ear is, or at least not as I’ve seen it with musicians in Latin America. Many of us have relative pitch; we hear a note, recognize it as, say, “C#”, and go from there. We don’t consciously think of chord progressions, scales, or anything else. Even my cousin, who has perfect pitch, has told me that he doesn’t think in terms of chords or scales. He simply hears it, plays it, and continues based on what he hears.
It’s hard to put into words, but when I play saxophone and improvise by ear, something just feels right about the notes I choose. Later, I started using more music theory, which is more aligned with what you’re describing. I would think about what key we were in, then figure out the chord progression, and so on. While this approach is a lot easier, and I don’t rely purely on playing by ear anymore, there have been times when I’ve been asked to play a song and all I needed was to hear the first note to get started. In those cases, I didn’t think about chord progressions or scales; it just happened instinctively, although I’m sure my brain was processing those things subconsciously.
That said, I’ve seen the method you’re talking about, where musicians analyze the notes, choose a scale, figure out the chord progression, look for accidentals, consider the time signature, etc. It can take them a while. I remember an event at a church a few years ago where different groups were asked to play a song. Most groups were doing what you described, but my group heard the first note, said “Ah, it’s in D,” and we got the song down much faster than the others. When it came time for refinement, we did add details like “let’s crescendo from piano to forte here,” or “there’s a ritardando there,” and “let’s play more legato at this part.” But to figure out the song, we didn’t go through all that analysis.
I’m not sure if anyone else plays by ear like this, but I do think there are two ways to play by ear: one that’s more instinctual and another that’s more theory-based.
Playing instinctually is still using theory. It's all theory not being consciously aware of the theory you're using doesn't mean theory isn't used
I plAy the melody by ear first then try to find the chords
I have a question.Do you have any tips to help me play with both hands cause i've been learning a few songs but my left hand always feels so weird when i try playing with it.
Try to do some exercises in the left hand on its own to make it feel more comfortable. That’s usually because it’s your weaker hand…you could try some “Hanon: The Virtuoso Pianist” exercises…or just some left hand scales every day for a couple of weeks.
Then…when you are playing a piece of music, think of each individual thing you play as either: hands at the same time, left hand on its own or right hand on its own.
This way you think of the notes you play as a series of single movements rather than two hands doing different things at the same time 😊
Could you please do the same with a simpler sounding with a melody and harmony only? In the actual song I could hardly make out the melody at all :(
I might be able to do it as a Short 😊 although the song is just an example so have a go at trying out each of the steps on a different song 😊
Me trying this on jazz songs and getting toroughly mindfucked.
I started piano 5 days ago and i don't understand shit but i will do that on day 🔥
You will pick it up with practice 😊
Good luck. I started about 6 weeks ago. There is so much information for free out there. I’m using a paid app too. I’ve learnt so much and have grasped a lot of the basic theory which helps me understand other videos on similar topics easier like piecing a puzzle together albeit one that never ends 😂. It’s also helped me form some sort of road map/direction for my learning journey.
I fricken love Matthew
Thanks! 😊
What if the song has sus2 and sus4 chords and any complex chords
At the beginning playing the normal triads will still sound good, so it doesn’t matter too much initially. Eventually, it’s useful to practice hearing the qualities of the different chord types though (E.g. Dom 7ths, maj 7ths, min 7ths, dim 7ths, sus2, sus4, augmented chords etc..) then you can swap the regular triads for the different chord types you hear 😊
@@matticawood sorry for bothering you but I've hit this roadblock in piano, I know how to somewhat play piano but idk how to apply techniques like appergios and all of that like I know how to do it on its own but applying it to like a piece im doing or a song by ear is hard for me do you have any advice
Hey matt can u please do a vedio on a cheat code to figure out the key of a song by ear without assessing sheet music thx!!
The first 2 steps in this video will get you the key of the song…however essentially, if you know all of the keys (major and minor) then you just need to narrow down what notes are in the song until there is only one scale it could be! 😊
@matticawood gotcha but how do guys like frank tedesco who doesn't have perfect pitch figure out the key just by hearing the song. I've figured out the key of a couple songs by getting a feel for the "home note or chord" of the piece that it mainly relies on so I was wondering if there's such a way :D
This is a really good video as i can relate to it alot as this is how ive been learning song for the past 1.5 years in my 4 year piano journey.
I have a reccommendation for your next video. Would you be willing to cover on transposition? Meaning, playing a song in one key then transposing into the next key?(thats what i understood by it) An example for this would be, I Want It That Way by the BackStreet Boys. Would be great if you can consider this
Or another idea is to do mash up of 2 songs in two different keys, major and minor keys. How to transition from major to minor or vice versa? This is something that ive needed help with
Lastly, improvisation. How to improve a song you just learnt by ear without making it unrecognisable by "improvising" it?😅😅 this is sonething i struggle most because ive always had this "Go-To" left hand pattern(octave jump and arpeggio" when i show people that i can play this song they are like, "bro its nice but what song is it?" Its the most crushing words to hear for me lmao😅😅
I feel your pain! 😂
These are great suggestions and il definitely consider making videos for them!
I quick tip for the transposition question though: similar to how I referred to chords in this video..think of them as numbers in the scale, so C is chord 4 in a G scale…the chords in the song I used in this video were chords I - iii - vi - V (G - B - E - D). If you think of them as numbers then you can transpose it by applying it to any scale. So in the key of A (ABC#DEF#G#) chord I - iii - vi - V would be A - C# - F# - E. This would sound the same but in the key of A! 😊
@@matticawood Hey thanks for getting back on this. I appreciate the reply and tip for the transposition😄😄
Ayy frank tedesco cameo let’s go
just find right hand melody and left hand chords
I can play by ear too
dang
*tries to learn winter wind by ear with this method
tbh you can lol, it’s mainly cords in the left hand and scales in the right
Playing by ear is great for music where you want to play your own interpretation of it. Learning to read sheet music is great for music with detail that you want to play accurately. That’s why it’s best to do both! 😊
Good explanation, but only hold for very basic songs.
No mention of minor scales (or modes), nothing of chromatic notes, nothing of borrowed chords or 7th cords etc.
He references on some of these things with the older video he mentioned which is about point 7 in depth.
It’s a 20 minute video exclusively focussed on a process that anyone could use to start practicing learning the skill of playing by ear. If someone wants to go down the rabbit hole on the theory beyond the process, I have many videos that include all of these 😊
@@matticawood Don't get me wrong -- I really appreciated the introduction you gave (and your reply here ;) ). Problem for me is that I am already beyond this basic level and still have lots of trouble figuring out 'real' songs (as the kinds of music I tend to listen to and want to play 'by ear' never seems to stick to those basic triads and often change key in the middle of the song). I guess I will have to dig a bit deeper into your other videos as well later ;)
nah, this is hard
I do it slightly different. I humm a u tube video and pick out scale and then play along. I did this using songs i knew. I suggest 10 15 minutes a day for a month in addition your regular practice. By then you should be quite good at it. For accompiament i use alberti bass of arpegios or chords.