Reading Music vs. Playing by Ear

What’s wrong with this image?

Spoiler alert: It’s not a competition. Both are incredibly valuable skills for a musician to have.

However, the unfortunate truth is that many piano teachers and online courses focus on reading at the expense of all other skills, such as playing by ear. It’s easier to teach this way. It’s how many teachers learned themselves. And it’s how most traditional books are organized.

But the result is that even after years of study, students can’t hear a simple melody like this one, without playing it first.

If you can't hear something without playing it, that means you can’t write down what you hear, either.

Compare this to reading and writing in your native language. Imagine what it would be like if you couldn’t write down anything you heard, even after years studying language in school. This would be pretty limiting, right?

It’s the same with music. If you can’t write down what you hear, you will eventually experience frustration. As you get more advanced, songs will become difficult to learn, remember, and perform because your understanding of music is lopsided. It’s harder than it has to be.

Most adults who study music do so because they love music and want to develop a deeper connection. But reading music without developing your understanding of sound makes this connection more elusive than it has to be. It actually creates (and preserves) a “paper-thin” separation between you and your instrument.

Imagine buying an expensive ticket to see your favorite band, but finding out that your seat is on the public sidewalk outside the venue.

You’re around the music, but no matter how many times you circle the venue, you can’t get inside. That's not good enough, and it's certainly not worth paying for.

If you can play by ear, even just a little, that means you know how to learn by listening. Keep going!

But if you can’t, don’t worry. This is something anyone can learn (just like anyone can learn how to write).

All you need is a little help getting started.

To learn how, join our next free workshop on how to Make Music Easy.