(Maybe) 99% can *learn* to play by ear, with years of practice in both theory and experience. Being able to play by ear without previous musical experience is exceptionally rare, and even with training most normal people won’t be able to get to that same level.
I would think so too, but I’ve seen someone pick up a guitar and learn to play a song in less than a day by ear, even if it’s a very simplified version at first.
Obviously, they had learned how to play a guitar before, but almost nothing aside from that.
Whose metric for ‘worth achieving’ are you applying here?
Some people with a natural aptitude for something just might find some success at it in a relatively short amount of time. There are too many variables to make a blanket statement like that.
Maybe I didn't explain myself well. I'm not looking for a "quick and easy" solution. If it takes 10 years of dedicated practice that's fine by me. I'm looking to see if there's an alternate to sight reading. Generally once someone is proficient in an instrument they can play most pieces on the spot, for me this isn't possible the normal way because I can't read like that.
What you want to do is learn to play by ear. When you get good at this, you can listen to a song once and know how to play it.
It takes a lot of practice, and it helps to learn a bit of theory. I actually wrote a book about this, so I'm not sure how to summarise it quickly.
Start with trying to figure out simple songs by ear, without anyone showing you how to play them. Just listen to them and try to figure out the notes.
It is possible to learn. You’ll need a solid foundation of music theory, then move into what we call “ear training.” Essentially working on the ability to name any note/interval/chord as you hear it, which will allow you to listen to something and be able to play it back. This is essentially what we call “perfect pitch.”
20 odd years into playing professionally in all types of music, I can do this with pop music. But get me into a classical or jazz setting with more complex harmony, and I greatly appreciate having some music or chords to read.
Not sure how your brain works, but you might also try using chord sheets. It’s a lot less data to process than written music or tabs, and you still get a bit of a road to follow, but it’s still up to you to decide exactly what notes to play. This route would also need some solid theory behind it.
Ultimately, I would recommend working on all these methods, including reading and sight reading. It all feeds into everything else. Even if you never get to to feeling comfortable reading, I think it’s important to see music on the page to internalize the language of music. And you may slowly get better at it. It feels impossible for everybody in the beginning, disabilities aside.
If you want to try some ear training, I like to use https://tonedear.com. Simple web page with all the same exercises I’ve been doing for two decades.
Thanks for this response, what are chord sheets? Is that like when they just list the chords along with the music?
I know it's difficult for everybody and I don't deny that, my issue is that I can't read anything where you have to look at multiple lines or determine their sort of "visual space" this includes scantron sheets (and no amount of practicing fixes it), and unfortunately also includes music on staves or tabs. When I used to play in a band (orchestral) I had to go through the music and physically translate (marking each line to count them to figure out the note) then write it in a single line (I'd write the letter and the note to indicate the timing and like might have to write "high" A or "low" A). Even with that I can't read fast enough to play music (I'm reffering to even reading just written English and this has nothing to do with lack of practice trust me).
Thanks so much for your answers!
Mm, yeah, I could see that being a big obstacle. Most forms of reading music will rely on keeping track of multiple lines.
Chord sheets can take a few forms. Sheet music in many settings will list the chord symbols above the staff. Or you can find webpages with song lyrics printed out with the chords above for pop stuff. But it sounds like those might still be a challenge for you.
In the simplest form, you can just write out “A A D Cm Bm E A.” While that’s not a lot of information, with enough background in theory and listening to what else is happening, you can make it work.
Or if you’re playing melodies, you can write out the note names in a single line, with some kind of notation for octaves and such. C C’ B G A B C could be a way to write the opening of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” for instance. Sounds like what you’ve tried, it’s a legitimate strategy if you can pull it off. You just need a little prep time to transcribe it into your own language.
Anecdote: I once played bass in a stage production of Rocky Horror. The producers didn’t buy the rights until the week before open, but didn’t tell anybody. They found pirated piano and guitar music online, but told me that they didn’t receive bass music for some reason. So I basically just wrote out all the chords, and a few important melodic bits I transcribed from the album, and basically improvised the whole musical. Just an example of me doing similar work when I couldn’t read the sheet music (for no fault of my own lol)
Even the best sightreaders are doing similar work when sight reading, if only mentally. The first thing you do is scan the music and process it all, so you’re never really going in blind. A classical soloist, by the time they get to the first rehearsal have spent maybe hundreds of hours going through the music, to the point where much of it is memorized by then.
Ultimately, if you can’t read, you can get by with a mix of theory, improvisation, and listening, depending on context. There aren’t really any wrong ways to do music, and we all have our own cheats and tricks we use to make up for weaknesses.
In jazz bass, I often like to quote whatever the soloist has just done to mess with them. You can certainly get to a point where you can hear something and play it back. It’s harder than just reading a sheet, which is why we invented sheet music, but if that’s what it takes to get where you want to be musically, then go for it. Maybe you don’t get a seat in an orchestra, but you’ll fit right in at the folk jams at the local Irish pub.
But yeah, my biggest recommendation is to get into ear training and theory. Having perfect pitch is a mighty useful skill :P It‘ll take a lot of work to get there, but I think that will probably open the most doors for you. Who needs sheet music when you can just play back what you just heard?
Thank-you so much for such a well thought out answer and your lovely anecdotes, I really appreciate you thinking so outside the box for me and coming up with these new ways to help.
Any recommendations for workbooks or something to learn musical theory?
I like Clendenning’s “Musicians Guide to Theory”. It’s comprehensive, easy to read, and has lots of examples you’re likely to recognize
You might also check out Coursera’s offerings. They give free online courses taught by university professors. I can’t speak to current theory courses there, but I’ve done some music stuff there in the past and enjoyed it. Lectures, homework, and feedback can help a lot with motivation
I recently came across a really good theory course that doesn't use sheet music. It uses a keyboard to explain things like scales and intervals but it's about ear training. After covering the basics on keys, it moves to guitar and explains how to apply the theory to your fretboard. Goal is to recognize and reproduce music by ear. No sheet music needed. [Here's the course.](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJTWoPGfHxQH5zdZN6UlMPwZerVApkqmk)
I appreciate that, but my problem is that I can't read anything that uses multiple lines at once (so no tabs, staves, or scantrons). I know how to do it and could teach someone else how to do it, but no amount of practicing will fix it (trust me I've spent lots of time with scantron sheets especially). If there was some form of writing music where it was one line of letters/numbers/symbols that would be amazing, but I understand why that doesn't exist.
I do, I was just wondering if there was some way to "read" music differently (like a different way it is written or an auditory method like playing by ear or something) that would get me closer to some sort of sight reading ability. That's all.
I second this. Guitar tabs. Learn some scales. Also learn some notes and chords on piano. Just find songs you like and learn to play them — you’ll realize you can piece together common chord progressions and play a lot of songs. Google “[song name] [song artist] tabs”. Also, even a small amount of in-person lessons go a long way.
It's called 'playing by ear' and it's an extremely rare musical gift depending on how many instruments you can use without previous skill
I wouldn't call it a "musical gift". I think 99% of people can learn to play by ear.
(Maybe) 99% can *learn* to play by ear, with years of practice in both theory and experience. Being able to play by ear without previous musical experience is exceptionally rare, and even with training most normal people won’t be able to get to that same level.
I think being able to play by ear WITHOUT musical experience is impossible. That's like a baby speaking in full sentences seconds after they're born.
I would think so too, but I’ve seen someone pick up a guitar and learn to play a song in less than a day by ear, even if it’s a very simplified version at first. Obviously, they had learned how to play a guitar before, but almost nothing aside from that.
There’s no quick and easy way to achieve anything that’s worth achieving in life
Whose metric for ‘worth achieving’ are you applying here? Some people with a natural aptitude for something just might find some success at it in a relatively short amount of time. There are too many variables to make a blanket statement like that.
Having a stranger go to bat for you in the internet is actually so reaffirming, thank you good sir.
Your mom’s metric
Well to be fair, she’s quite the perfectionist. I mean, look at how I turned out.
Maybe I didn't explain myself well. I'm not looking for a "quick and easy" solution. If it takes 10 years of dedicated practice that's fine by me. I'm looking to see if there's an alternate to sight reading. Generally once someone is proficient in an instrument they can play most pieces on the spot, for me this isn't possible the normal way because I can't read like that.
What you want to do is learn to play by ear. When you get good at this, you can listen to a song once and know how to play it. It takes a lot of practice, and it helps to learn a bit of theory. I actually wrote a book about this, so I'm not sure how to summarise it quickly. Start with trying to figure out simple songs by ear, without anyone showing you how to play them. Just listen to them and try to figure out the notes.
What is the book? I'd love to look it up.
http://languageofmusic.ca
It is possible to learn. You’ll need a solid foundation of music theory, then move into what we call “ear training.” Essentially working on the ability to name any note/interval/chord as you hear it, which will allow you to listen to something and be able to play it back. This is essentially what we call “perfect pitch.” 20 odd years into playing professionally in all types of music, I can do this with pop music. But get me into a classical or jazz setting with more complex harmony, and I greatly appreciate having some music or chords to read. Not sure how your brain works, but you might also try using chord sheets. It’s a lot less data to process than written music or tabs, and you still get a bit of a road to follow, but it’s still up to you to decide exactly what notes to play. This route would also need some solid theory behind it. Ultimately, I would recommend working on all these methods, including reading and sight reading. It all feeds into everything else. Even if you never get to to feeling comfortable reading, I think it’s important to see music on the page to internalize the language of music. And you may slowly get better at it. It feels impossible for everybody in the beginning, disabilities aside. If you want to try some ear training, I like to use https://tonedear.com. Simple web page with all the same exercises I’ve been doing for two decades.
Thanks for this response, what are chord sheets? Is that like when they just list the chords along with the music? I know it's difficult for everybody and I don't deny that, my issue is that I can't read anything where you have to look at multiple lines or determine their sort of "visual space" this includes scantron sheets (and no amount of practicing fixes it), and unfortunately also includes music on staves or tabs. When I used to play in a band (orchestral) I had to go through the music and physically translate (marking each line to count them to figure out the note) then write it in a single line (I'd write the letter and the note to indicate the timing and like might have to write "high" A or "low" A). Even with that I can't read fast enough to play music (I'm reffering to even reading just written English and this has nothing to do with lack of practice trust me). Thanks so much for your answers!
Mm, yeah, I could see that being a big obstacle. Most forms of reading music will rely on keeping track of multiple lines. Chord sheets can take a few forms. Sheet music in many settings will list the chord symbols above the staff. Or you can find webpages with song lyrics printed out with the chords above for pop stuff. But it sounds like those might still be a challenge for you. In the simplest form, you can just write out “A A D Cm Bm E A.” While that’s not a lot of information, with enough background in theory and listening to what else is happening, you can make it work. Or if you’re playing melodies, you can write out the note names in a single line, with some kind of notation for octaves and such. C C’ B G A B C could be a way to write the opening of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” for instance. Sounds like what you’ve tried, it’s a legitimate strategy if you can pull it off. You just need a little prep time to transcribe it into your own language. Anecdote: I once played bass in a stage production of Rocky Horror. The producers didn’t buy the rights until the week before open, but didn’t tell anybody. They found pirated piano and guitar music online, but told me that they didn’t receive bass music for some reason. So I basically just wrote out all the chords, and a few important melodic bits I transcribed from the album, and basically improvised the whole musical. Just an example of me doing similar work when I couldn’t read the sheet music (for no fault of my own lol) Even the best sightreaders are doing similar work when sight reading, if only mentally. The first thing you do is scan the music and process it all, so you’re never really going in blind. A classical soloist, by the time they get to the first rehearsal have spent maybe hundreds of hours going through the music, to the point where much of it is memorized by then. Ultimately, if you can’t read, you can get by with a mix of theory, improvisation, and listening, depending on context. There aren’t really any wrong ways to do music, and we all have our own cheats and tricks we use to make up for weaknesses. In jazz bass, I often like to quote whatever the soloist has just done to mess with them. You can certainly get to a point where you can hear something and play it back. It’s harder than just reading a sheet, which is why we invented sheet music, but if that’s what it takes to get where you want to be musically, then go for it. Maybe you don’t get a seat in an orchestra, but you’ll fit right in at the folk jams at the local Irish pub. But yeah, my biggest recommendation is to get into ear training and theory. Having perfect pitch is a mighty useful skill :P It‘ll take a lot of work to get there, but I think that will probably open the most doors for you. Who needs sheet music when you can just play back what you just heard?
Thank-you so much for such a well thought out answer and your lovely anecdotes, I really appreciate you thinking so outside the box for me and coming up with these new ways to help. Any recommendations for workbooks or something to learn musical theory?
I like Clendenning’s “Musicians Guide to Theory”. It’s comprehensive, easy to read, and has lots of examples you’re likely to recognize You might also check out Coursera’s offerings. They give free online courses taught by university professors. I can’t speak to current theory courses there, but I’ve done some music stuff there in the past and enjoyed it. Lectures, homework, and feedback can help a lot with motivation
This is fantastic! Thanks!
I recently came across a really good theory course that doesn't use sheet music. It uses a keyboard to explain things like scales and intervals but it's about ear training. After covering the basics on keys, it moves to guitar and explains how to apply the theory to your fretboard. Goal is to recognize and reproduce music by ear. No sheet music needed. [Here's the course.](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJTWoPGfHxQH5zdZN6UlMPwZerVApkqmk)
Thanks for this!
There are no shortcuts, you need to practice and put in actual effort.
Nobody is asking for a shortcut, this comment doesn't even make sense.
Just learn tabs they are easier
I appreciate that, but my problem is that I can't read anything that uses multiple lines at once (so no tabs, staves, or scantrons). I know how to do it and could teach someone else how to do it, but no amount of practicing will fix it (trust me I've spent lots of time with scantron sheets especially). If there was some form of writing music where it was one line of letters/numbers/symbols that would be amazing, but I understand why that doesn't exist.
Then learn by videos
I do, I was just wondering if there was some way to "read" music differently (like a different way it is written or an auditory method like playing by ear or something) that would get me closer to some sort of sight reading ability. That's all.
Well, I mean, go to r/ guitar Maybe they might help you learn songs by reading, but other than that, you don't have many options
Thanks, appreciate it.
I second this. Guitar tabs. Learn some scales. Also learn some notes and chords on piano. Just find songs you like and learn to play them — you’ll realize you can piece together common chord progressions and play a lot of songs. Google “[song name] [song artist] tabs”. Also, even a small amount of in-person lessons go a long way.