We are digital piano & keyboard specialists, based in Banbury, Oxfordshire. Stay up to date with the latest news, reviews, tips, and offers by joining our FREE newsletter (unsubscribe at any time).
I’ve been playing the keyboards since I was a child, I started learning at the same time as my father after watching Glyn Madden at a Yamaha organ demonstration.
He used to religiously follow the music and I would tend to read and bluff my way through- partly watching the music and partly playing by ear.
I was lucky enough to be able to remember much of what I had learnt and then put together the different parts, how I remembered them in the song
Of course, with songs I didn’t know, it was much more difficult- so I had to spend more time analysing the music and learning step-by-step how the piece went.
I remember asking my organ teacher Norman Baguley to play the more difficult ones through to me on many occasions, partly to use up some of the time of the lesson when he’d be expecting me to play, and partly to listen to the piece so that I might grasp it better.
There were always problems with this because the way I had remembered the song in my head was always a more “swingy” version to the one in print- and the straight passages would be played less staccato and more how I wanted them to be.
I think this is why I moved towards the jazzier music because you could cover up mistakes with improvisation and if you made a wrong note it was more disguised when you added a few extra ones. So they always became my own interpretations of the songs – and I’m sure Norman noticed this as he regularly corrected me.
Playing by ear has meant I have strayed away from reading music whenever possible, though there are occasionally pieces where the chords are more difficult to work out, and if you know the correct chords then the piece will sound much more authentic and nicer to the ear.
My mechanism for playing a piece of music “by ear” is to steer it into my favourite key. Having played with some jazz bands many years ago, where the typical key was F or Bb, I favour F, with only one flat “Bb”. So I work out my melody to fit in with the chords F, Bb and C7 which are the most prevalent in the key of F.
You can work out the main chords of a key by counting through the notes of that key and the 1st, 4th ans 5th note in the scale will be the big chords most used in any key.
The 5th one is often better played as a 7th, so in this case C7th
F G A Bb C D E F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
So, in the popular key of C
And you can play the fifth note G as a G7th
C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
I understand that the rule of thumb with keys is that the song will usually finish with the chord of the same name as the key, so when I work it out, it’s a good way to know you’re doing it right by resting with the last chord.
Now you can add loads more chords in, and I’ve found progressions of chords often fit into many songs
One of my favourites is
F Dm7 Gm7 C7
This is actually the first four chords of Blue Moon- which keep repeating through the first few lines
Other chords that work well within songs in the key of F include F# Dimished
You could use a progressive chord sequence F – F#dim- Gm7-C7
There are actually only 3 diminished chords, and you can name them from any of their notes. You can work them out from holding down the first note of the chord, then counting up using all notes 3 at a time.
So, C (miss out C# + D) Eb (Miss out E + F ) F# (MIss out G + G#) A
C Eb F# and A
This can be called Cdim, Eb dim, F# dim or Adim
Or sometimes they use a small circle like the degrees shape in degrees centigrade
So Cdim would be C𐩑
11m
Watch David showcase the Bemore Discovery & Genesis organs
You can work out the other diminished chords from working your way up the scale counting up three at a time, just start on the name of the chord you want to work out
Not many people playing keyboards or organ like to play chords in the uncomfortable positions, so you can move them round to a different inversion to make it work best for you.
So playing by ear is definitely worth a try, think about your favourite key and work out the main 3 or 4 chords that you usually use in it
When playing the chord of the key you want play in, try working out the melody to fit those three chords
When you play the melody, add the chord too, it will usually have some of the melody notes withing that chord.
The more you try it, the better you will become- and it will become more second nature to anticipate the chords in a song- a little like selecting the right gear i your car- without following the manual
Let me know how you get on- or if you have some extra tips for me!!
Enter your email address below to receive our free weekly newsletter containing the latest piano, keyboard and organ demonstration videos, breaking news, special offers, invitations to our live video events, technical support articles and much more.
These items are sold on behalf of Yamaha, and are sent to us on a per-order basis, typically within 5-7 working days, unless an ETA is otherwise stated.
We'll contact you the moment your purchase arrives with us to organise delivery, based on your selected option.
Example products: Yamaha DGX670, Yamaha P-525, Yamaha YDP-S55, Yamaha Clavinova.
These items must be sent with a heavy-goods courier (typically APC or FedEx). On occasion, depending on which is fastest, we will drop-ship directly from Yamaha to your address via Dachser.
Tracking will be provided by the haulier, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
*If you have included the optional £180 "Yamaha Premium Service" home delivery & setup option offered on selected products, we will contact you regarding arrangements after purchase.
**The Yamaha CSP Series, Yamaha CVP905 & CVP909, Yamaha CLP875, 885 & 895GP, and Yamaha NU1Xa are all sold on behalf of Yamaha and arrive with us on a per-order basis. As soon as your piano has arrived, we will contact you to organise the appropriate dispatch method. ETA for stock is shown on the product page for those items.
***If you have included the optional £99 home delivery & setup option offered on selected products, we will send your details direct to the installation team, who will contact you within 48 hours to make arrangements.
Depending on which option is most appropriate, we will either contact you to discuss a bespoke ePianos delivery surcharge for goods we can’t package for a 3rd party courier, or otherwise dispatch goods via FedEx or APC.
If a courier is used, tracking will be provided by them directly, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
Example products: Yamaha PSR-SX920, Yamaha P-225, Yamaha NP-15.
These items will be sent via courier (typically APC or FedEx). On occasion, depending on which is fastest, we will drop-ship directly from Yamaha to your address via UPS or Parcelforce.
Tracking will be provided by the courier, with a typical arrival time of 1-2 working days.
Smaller items, such as books, discs, etc, will be dispatched via Royal Mail second class.
After purchase, you can download the file either from the order confirmation page or the "Downloads" tab in "My Account".
If you have selected the option to receive a pre-loaded USB stick, then this will be dispatched via Royal Mail.
We will contact you regarding any pre-ordered items, and let you know when they arrive so as to arrange delivery with you at a convenient time.
Used items can also be purchased using either of the following options (minimum loan amount of £250 after deposit):
Total amount payable: £893.32
Available finance options are displayed at checkout. Alternatively, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to discuss the options, or email a finance application to you. Find out more by clicking here
Our seasonal opening hours are as follows:
We are closed on all bank holidays, therefore the processing of sales and deliveries will be delayed.
For orders of any stock displaying a 7-10 day lead time, we will contact you as soon as the item arrives with us to schedule a delivery with you.
Occasionally, there may be availability issues with our suppliers, in which case we'll get in touch with you to see if you're happy to wait, or if you'd like to cancel the order and receive a full refund.
This is a special order "agency" item, and comes to us directly from Yamaha on a per-order basis.
It typically takes 7-10 days for this item to arrive with us, whereupon we'll contact you to discuss the arrangement of delivery.
For any pre-orders, we will contact you as soon as the item arrives with us to schedule a delivery with you, and update you with an ETA.
Occasionally, there may be availability issues with our suppliers, in which case we'll get in touch with you to see if you're happy to wait, or if you'd like to cancel the order and receive a full refund.
*Cashback amount varies product to product, as indicated.
Comments:
Hi David, that’s a very.interesting subject, Playing by ear . you have you have informed us about.
I am allways interested in reading the Epianos articles.
Thanks