Course Description

All of us have heard musicians say that the only people that play by ear are the ones that are born with that talent. The truth is music has often been taught by ear rather than by teaching musicians to read notes. Sure, there are some musicians that have more natural abilities than others, but all of us can learn to play by ear just like we learn to play by reading notes. That is not to say that all of us will play by ear equally well, but the same could be said of playing by reading.

Not only can you learn to play by ear, but you should. Playing by ear is a handy skill that church pianists should develop.

This course is designed to help pianists that read music learn to play by ear. It is a system that works. Within a short amount of time, you will be able to play songs by ear.

Here are the things you will learn:

  • How to pick out a melody line in any key
  • How to harmonize a melody line using basic chords
  • How to make your songs interesting by using different technical devices and treatments such as arpeggios, broken chords, and inversions

A study guide with illustrations and assignments is included. Remember, this course is specifically for pianists who read music. If you do not read music, you will be lost in this course.

Suggested Prerequisites

  1. How to read music (general basics such as naming notes, counting, key signatures, etc.).
  2. An understanding of basic theory will be helpful but not required. We will be discussing the following: major scales, basic triads, and key signatures.

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