You want to play piano by ear? But all the while, you have been practicing playing the piano by reading notes on paper. So long, you’ve convinced yourself in piano learning that, this is the only way you can learn how to play the piano on your piano lessons. Have you ever think that, trying to play the piano without music scores would be like jumping out of a plane without a parachute?

As I had mentioned in your previous article, you had learned to talk by listening to what your parents said and little by little learning to say and repeating those same words back to them from day to day. It is the same in your exposure to music, piano learning and learn how to play the piano in your piano lessons. Actually, you will learn to play piano by ear by listening to music and figuring out how to make those sounds on the piano with your fingers. Remember to follow the following steps, with the ability of your GOD given talent and well developed brain to learn to play piano by ear.



Step 1 – pick your own melody
If you came across my previous post, by now you should be comfortable picking out melodies on your own without any music. If you’ve been doing this exercise, hopefully it has given you a good idea of what playing piano by ear is likely to be. The next step which you should always remember is, to get you started figuring out the chords of the songs you like and playing them on the piano without music notes or music scores in front of you.

Step 2 – Specific Formulation
Let’s start with the formulas for making any chord or scale in music. These specific formulas will guide you so you can easily play without music in front of you. So, now you should, go back to the theory of music you have learned in your piano lessons, specifically the major scale. Remember how a major scale is made up of half steps and whole steps. It’s formula is whole step, whole step half step, then whole step, whole step, whole step and one more half step. You might have also seen it written W-W-H-W-W-W-H. You may or may not have used this formula to find the major scale in all keys. This is an important step in learning to play piano by ear.

Step 3 Use the Nashville number system
Musicians the world over use the Nashville Number System for stage and studio

Now, I would like to further describe and tell you, what is known in professional circles as the Nashville Number System. The Nashville system is used by the professional musicians in the recording studio and on stage.

These expert musicians play totally by ear and know that playing by numbers is the secret to being able to play piano by ear, guitar or any other instrument. Actually, I should said that, this is your mental road map to guide you along as you play without music.  Once you learn it and are using it regularly, it will never let you down.

In this Nashville system invented and perfected by Nashville musicians in the 1960′s, all the 7 notes in a major scale are replaced by numbers. Roman Numerals have been used for hundreds of years, in traditional music theory.  But in this system we going to use regular numbers, 1-7. You may even came across articles that suggest using Roman Numerals, but take it from someone who has used this system in Nashville for many years, Roman Numerals are never used. Also, just because it is called the Nashville Number System doesn’t mean it only works with or has anything to do with Country Music. But in the decades since after 1960′s the musicians the world over have realized the value of the Nashville Number System and have adopted it for use in the recording studio and when playing live. Knowing the importance of this system will transform your music and change your life.

Step 4 – Nashville System uses numbers in place of note names

When we look into the Major scale of  C or so called C major, the major scale is C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. In the Nashville Number System it is 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, 8 being the octave C. What we are going to do next is build chords on some of these scale degrees. We name each chord according to the scale degree it is built on. The C chord is the 1 chord, the F chord is the 4 chord and the G chord is the 5 chord.

Step 5 – In the key of C the 1 chord is the C, formed by C, E and G. A major chord
A major chord is made from first, the note that is the name of the chord, a third above that note (2 whole steps) and a fifth above the first note (1 whole step and 1 half step above the third). So in the chaord of C major, a C chord would be C-E-G (1-3-5), an F chord is F-A-C (4-6-1)and a G chord is G-B-D (5-7-2). So to make a major chord, start on the note that is the name of the chord, go up 2 whole steps to the third and another whole step and a half step to the fifth. This is another important step in being able to play piano by ear.

Step 6 – To make a minor chord, lower the 3rd scale degree of a major chord 1/2 step

To make a minor chord, simple lower the third of a major chord ½ step. I will talk about the other 2 chord types, augmented and diminished in the next article. For the time being, practice forming different chords in different keys until you are comfortable making major and minor chords with no music to guide you. Find the link at the bottom of the page for the article on the Nashville Number System and try and understand it more completely. Knowing and using this system will be the key to being able to play piano by ear and freeing you from traditional printed music.

Step 7 -There are no Roman Numerals used in the Nashville Number System

In traditional music theory, we are taught that in a major scale, the 1, 4 and 5 chords are major, the 2, 3 and 6 chords are minor and the 7 chord is diminished. Throw all that out the window. In today’s professional music circles, any of the 7 different scale degrees can be used to form any of the 4 types of chords, major, minor, augmented or diminished. You will eventually use all of these chords as you play piano by ear.

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