Playing by Ear or By Sight

I think the importance of playing by ear is not emphasized enough by most piano teachers. There is a misconception that if you can play well by ear that you can’t read music well. It is true that a lot of people who learned how to play piano by ear never really learned how to read music. However, having a well-trained ear should never hinder your ability to read music. In fact the opposite is true.

With a well-trained ear one can look at a piece of music and hear the sound in their head before ever touching the piano. This is a big advantage over one who hasn’t developed their ear and plays piano like a typewriter. The reason a lot of “ear players” don’t read well is usually because they never really worked at it. They relied solely on their good ear.

While there are some brilliant musicians who can’t read music I do not advocate teaching solely by ear. I think it is best to teach children how to use their ears and how to read music. If taught in the proper way these two skills will complement each other. Having good ears and being able to read well is the sign of a well-rounded musician. I have worked and played with many professional musicians and the one’s who work often have developed both of these skills to a high level.

Training one’s ears and learning how to read music well requires daily effort. Teachers must find ways to incorporate these 2 things into each student’s regular practice. This is the main reason I created my piano training course. I don’t think these skills develop very quickly without consistent daily practice. Practicing repertoire everyday and doing sight reading/ear training once a week in a lesson is insufficient to master either of these skills. I believe as music teachers we need to find creative and effective ways for students to practice sight-reading and ear training if we are to develop well-rounded pianists and musicians.
Jacob's Music Lessons