How to Play the Piano by Ear in 7 STEPS!

Рет қаралды 32,154

4 ай бұрын

In this video I break down exactly how to work out a song on the piano by ear!
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Пікірлер: 101

@LisaIrby 2 ай бұрын

I spent my first two years of learning the piano doing exactly what you did here, but never had a video that explained it like this. So my steps and learning were a lot more jumbled and less organized. Wow! Where was this video when I needed it when I started learning?? It would’ve saved me loads of time. This was fantastic!! Everyone who wants to learn how to play along to songs they like need to watch this video. You have a gift.

@pianoplaynight 4 ай бұрын

As a classical player this is so interesting! Sometimes it's embarassing to be pulling the sheet music out for happy birthday on my phone cause I can't play by ear 😅 after playing a Beethoven sonata

@Vegansoul1 2 ай бұрын

Sight reading is a very commendable skill. I’m the opposite! I can’t sight read and It’s hard for me to remember any note names, but I can pick up songs by ear easily lol 😅

@PianoPaladin Ай бұрын

The struggle is real!

@yungifez 14 күн бұрын

Me too I have poor eyeaifht ao sheet is out of the question @@Vegansoul1

@JohnBradyIRL 4 ай бұрын

watching a ton of beginner videos and this is the first that actually explains the black keys and what sharp and flat means.

@renealbrechtsen9743 Ай бұрын

You've probably figured this out by now, but the black keys are just half tones, where the white ones are whole tones.

@CharlBrazle 17 күн бұрын

By far the best How to on KZfaq. No bs! Quick, explanatory and pedagogical!

@aleh_o 4 ай бұрын

That's amazing! I'm a sight reader and have always found playing by ear a mystery but now you've shown me the way it's done. It looks hard to me and would take time to do it, so do I have the patience, is more the question but I might give it a go. Thanks so much for all your tutorials!

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

No problem! As with anything it all comes with practice, fortunately if you know your scales and your triads (both of which there are a limited number of and will help your reading too) then it can be a quicker skill to learn with a little bit of practice 😊

@novasouma9165 4 ай бұрын

Thank you for your teaching Mathew brother

@user-yv5zi7eo7o 4 ай бұрын

This teacher is excellent

@teodorojaranilla5008 2 ай бұрын

YOU are a wonderful young teacher that knows your material AND guides so well. !!

@jimduffy1967 2 ай бұрын

Another fantastic learning video,thanks so much for these instructional tutorials.

@brianevans4 3 ай бұрын

Even though I’ve done piano lessons I find it really useful watching these videos! Thank you

@tntwashpro3863 4 ай бұрын

Great vid! Need more vids like this and practice vids. Thanks

@finnyboy82 3 ай бұрын

Been watching through your vids over the last few days after coming across one of them in my KZfaq feed. It’s mad how alike we are in terms of playing and learning and listening. What you did here in this vid is exactly what I do on a daily basis when listening back to stuff I’m learning. I just thought everyone else that plays does this. I’m starting to learn that maybe I’m only one of a few that is more at an advanced level. I’m not a teacher. I play keys at home every day as a hobby. Playing is really important to me. I just need it in my life. But watching your videos has made me realise I’m probably at a far higher level than I ever thought. I’ve just never thought it. Great content mate

@garytrent1 3 ай бұрын

Thank you for great video Very helpful Very well put together

@bruhnatorb 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the help Matt!

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

No problem 😊

@Princeunique4life 2 ай бұрын

This video was informative and simple. I was able to understand the steps to help play by ear. Now, I’m able to make music that comes through my head. 😅 Thank you

@ShakKy33 4 ай бұрын

thx for that video it's way more detailed that the older ones i really struggle with the bass note part i've always found the melody in like 10seconds for any song but yeah the bass note is harder idk i was listening on my phone i couldn't really hear it

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

The bass notes can definitely be tricky to hear, you can practice hearing it though by playing a chord with a bass note and trying to sing just the bass note. Then you can check if you got it right by playing the bass note on its own 😊

@benpaskoff21 4 ай бұрын

I’ve been playing piano for two decades as a classically trained sheet music reader. This year I’m trying to grow my ear training and I feel like I’m starting over as a beginner again. Hearing the bass notes is giving me the most trouble as well, especially when there is a lot of competing sounds in the song. I’m going to give these tips a try and hopefully I’m at least able to narrow down the potential note possibilities and go from there.

@dr.align2thrive119 4 ай бұрын

Another great video Matt!

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

Thanks Jason! 😊

@user-op7ou9ni6p 4 ай бұрын

Thank you Brother Matthew Can you Make a video on how to improvise a song

@ArdiBMI_official 4 ай бұрын

Woah cool tutorial!

@JoseVGavila 4 ай бұрын

Great video, thanks !!!

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

No problem! 😊

@keilodamus6930 4 ай бұрын

Great video

@eak666 4 ай бұрын

Yeah, you’ve gotten yourself a new subscriber, this was really really good! (Thanks for introducing me to a new song also) I’ve played the piano on and off for more than 20 years and I count myself as barley a intermediate when it comes to playing, thanks to laying down the notes 15 years ago and only playing from either midi or now in recent times, synthesia.. So I need to go back to the basics again I’m afraid. Too bad we live in different countries because I could really use a teacher like you!

@-S_White- 4 ай бұрын

He does online lessons I believe. Check out his website.

@songbird1570 Ай бұрын

So this is how my brain do this 😄 i don't know how to read note's so i have always listening to song's first or have the sound of the song in headphones and then try to play the same sound on the piano.

@His_Cifnes 4 ай бұрын

Awesome! Your're able to REALLY narrow down things to the basics, so that everybody can understand. I wish I had seen that earlier. Got quite a chaos in my songs, when I see your explanations, there's quite some room for improvement to my videos.. haha ^^' Oh well.. back to the drawing board. :> Cif ~

@ReactsChills 4 ай бұрын

I am the first who looked for a video like that and the first who searched for it.

@user-ke2kr7qu8j 2 ай бұрын

Uh, ok...

@LotusDavis Ай бұрын

No you’re not

@YorkshireTripper. 4 ай бұрын

Amazing video you always break it down so its so easy to understand you have a real skill. I could pick out bits but the chords to me i couldn't tell a massive difference to be honest. would an easier song help ? i sight read and have struggled with remembering songs which i'm only just starting to manage but one day would love to be able to play by ear.

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

Thanks! Different people struggle with different steps and the chords can be tricky to hear…it’s one of those things that you can start to hear much more clearly once you have the three possible chords in front of you and you try it out with a few different songs…some simpler songs where the chords are more clear will definitely be easier to hear 😊

@LadanzaTube 4 ай бұрын

Fantastic video! All explained and summed up very good and understandable!! But 🙏🏻please could you make a own video just about ✨level 6✨ and the left hand patterns, arpeggios and rhythmic patterns! Which one are there most important popular and or useful ones. Which to use when? And furthermore things like how to alter for example arpeggios patterns when the left hand would go up and cross and disturb with the left hand. Please please do such a video 🙏🏻🙏🏻🎹💖 that would be amazing!! 🔥

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

Thanks! If I can come up with a compelling title for it then I can definitely do that! 😂

@LadanzaTube 4 ай бұрын

@@matticawood okay okay I hope you can! 🙏🏻🤗 🎹 Perhaps : "The magic left " and in it's ambiguous senses. On one hand side as the wizard like left and on the other side as the magic that's left over. English ist not my mother tongue I hope you get what I mean.. Or how about "Level se/ix" ah okay just kidding 😉

@utlohmton7064 4 ай бұрын

Can you do a video of playing the same song/melody but in multiple ways? It would be cool to see how the different ways I can play a song when learning to play by ear similar to how you did in this video!

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

Maybe I can do it in a Short 😊

@4elijah028 4 ай бұрын

can you do advanced version on this

@clababa7161 4 ай бұрын

what in ear headphones are you using and how do you find songs like these, they are so good

@user-yc7pj9bp7e 3 ай бұрын

Thank you for the video. I would like to ask how to find the difference between E major and A major in a song(e.g. Dynamite by BTS), as in step 2. I can't find the D note in the song. What should I do?

@kecelibu 4 ай бұрын

Great advices 👍 stuck in the first step though 😅

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

Singing or hearing any note? Because if it’s singing…I’m also clearly stuck on the first step! 😂

@GoldenYXZ 2 ай бұрын

@@matticawood for me it's both. I don't know to sing, i can pretty recognise the notes played from piano (for example if D is played i hear a word re, if E then i hear mi or si because they both have "i" in them and also sharps I'm thinking of the both notes) but when someone sings i can't recognise what notes they are singing

@Viral_Editzz77 4 ай бұрын

HE IS A MUSCIAL GENIUS

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

Me? 🕺

@Viral_Editzz77 4 ай бұрын

@@matticawood yes you

@Krivplayzz Ай бұрын

This was really good! The part where you were explaining the triads was wrong though...for example, an E triad would consist of the notes E, G#, B, but you did the Em chord notes E, G, B...you did this for a few other ones like i believe you did it for b as well. Other than that you were really informational and for people who don't know anything about music theory i'm sure this helped them alot!

@matticawood Ай бұрын

That’s because those are the types of triads that are in that key, they aren’t all major triads 😊

@Krivplayzz Ай бұрын

@@matticawood ohh okay! sorry about that...i was confused since you didn't explain it i believe. thank you for clearing up the misunderstanding.

@xiHasMilkx 24 күн бұрын

@@Krivplayzzits also just understanding the chords in a key which is often marked with Roman numerals. For a major scale its I ii iii IV V vii0(diminished) Which means normally the first 4th and 5th chords in the scale are major chordss and 2nd 3rd and sixth chords are minor chords in that scale. And 7th would be the diminished version of the chord

@Jacobelingo 4 ай бұрын

What about playing classical pieces by ear challenge? Also nice video :D

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

Thanks! Interesting idea…playing by ear is super useful for playing stuff in your own way and style, but for detailed pieces that need the accuracy, reading it will always win. So it would depend on what the piece was! 😊

@great-garden-watch 19 күн бұрын

What about figuring out the last note of the song…of the vocals. Doesn’t that often give you the key?

@chickensoap 4 ай бұрын

dang

@axelrider405 4 ай бұрын

I fricken love Matthew

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

Thanks! 😊

@poornapragnarao 4 ай бұрын

Could you please do the same with a simpler sounding with a melody and harmony only? In the actual song I could hardly make out the melody at all :(

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

I might be able to do it as a Short 😊 although the song is just an example so have a go at trying out each of the steps on a different song 😊

@Oakeybloke 4 ай бұрын

Nice video, and it still seems like magic. Maybe because I'm a beginner, it feels like magic when I play music from the notes on a sheet in front of me 😂 Also, "out of nowere" - is that a reference that I missed?

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

That’s because it is magic! Music is a super fun rabbit hole! 😊 It isn’t a reference, I think I just can’t spell 😂

@Oakeybloke 4 ай бұрын

@@matticawood oh I'm with you there, feel like spellcheck was made just for me. And good to hear that it still feels like magic, even for the pros 😃

@abdulrahmanalbezreh7267 4 ай бұрын

I have a question.Do you have any tips to help me play with both hands cause i've been learning a few songs but my left hand always feels so weird when i try playing with it.

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

Try to do some exercises in the left hand on its own to make it feel more comfortable. That’s usually because it’s your weaker hand…you could try some “Hanon: The Virtuoso Pianist” exercises…or just some left hand scales every day for a couple of weeks. Then…when you are playing a piece of music, think of each individual thing you play as either: hands at the same time, left hand on its own or right hand on its own. This way you think of the notes you play as a series of single movements rather than two hands doing different things at the same time 😊

@sayonara6301 17 күн бұрын

I plAy the melody by ear first then try to find the chords

@kazma8732 4 ай бұрын

I started piano 5 days ago and i don't understand shit but i will do that on day 🔥

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

You will pick it up with practice 😊

@-S_White- 4 ай бұрын

Good luck. I started about 6 weeks ago. There is so much information for free out there. I’m using a paid app too. I’ve learnt so much and have grasped a lot of the basic theory which helps me understand other videos on similar topics easier like piecing a puzzle together albeit one that never ends 😂. It’s also helped me form some sort of road map/direction for my learning journey.

@Hoodini2253 3 ай бұрын

Ayy frank tedesco cameo let’s go

@ronathsomaratne2317 4 ай бұрын

Hey matt can u please do a vedio on a cheat code to figure out the key of a song by ear without assessing sheet music thx!!

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

The first 2 steps in this video will get you the key of the song…however essentially, if you know all of the keys (major and minor) then you just need to narrow down what notes are in the song until there is only one scale it could be! 😊

@ronathsomaratne2317 4 ай бұрын

@matticawood gotcha but how do guys like frank tedesco who doesn't have perfect pitch figure out the key just by hearing the song. I've figured out the key of a couple songs by getting a feel for the "home note or chord" of the piece that it mainly relies on so I was wondering if there's such a way :D

@stxrdust1823 4 ай бұрын

This is a really good video as i can relate to it alot as this is how ive been learning song for the past 1.5 years in my 4 year piano journey. I have a reccommendation for your next video. Would you be willing to cover on transposition? Meaning, playing a song in one key then transposing into the next key?(thats what i understood by it) An example for this would be, I Want It That Way by the BackStreet Boys. Would be great if you can consider this Or another idea is to do mash up of 2 songs in two different keys, major and minor keys. How to transition from major to minor or vice versa? This is something that ive needed help with Lastly, improvisation. How to improve a song you just learnt by ear without making it unrecognisable by "improvising" it?😅😅 this is sonething i struggle most because ive always had this "Go-To" left hand pattern(octave jump and arpeggio" when i show people that i can play this song they are like, "bro its nice but what song is it?" Its the most crushing words to hear for me lmao😅😅

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

I feel your pain! 😂 These are great suggestions and il definitely consider making videos for them! I quick tip for the transposition question though: similar to how I referred to chords in this video..think of them as numbers in the scale, so C is chord 4 in a G scale…the chords in the song I used in this video were chords I - iii - vi - V (G - B - E - D). If you think of them as numbers then you can transpose it by applying it to any scale. So in the key of A (ABC#DEF#G#) chord I - iii - vi - V would be A - C# - F# - E. This would sound the same but in the key of A! 😊

@stxrdust1823 4 ай бұрын

@@matticawood Hey thanks for getting back on this. I appreciate the reply and tip for the transposition😄😄

@norisky9987 4 ай бұрын

just find right hand melody and left hand chords

@user-sl8ur1iv8m 3 ай бұрын

I can play by ear too

@user-jb8bp7wi3j 4 ай бұрын

What if the song has sus2 and sus4 chords and any complex chords

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

At the beginning playing the normal triads will still sound good, so it doesn’t matter too much initially. Eventually, it’s useful to practice hearing the qualities of the different chord types though (E.g. Dom 7ths, maj 7ths, min 7ths, dim 7ths, sus2, sus4, augmented chords etc..) then you can swap the regular triads for the different chord types you hear 😊

@user-jb8bp7wi3j 4 ай бұрын

@@matticawood sorry for bothering you but I've hit this roadblock in piano, I know how to somewhat play piano but idk how to apply techniques like appergios and all of that like I know how to do it on its own but applying it to like a piece im doing or a song by ear is hard for me do you have any advice

@markfowlermusic 4 ай бұрын

Why add the extra unnecessary step of hearing the notes from the source/record and singing them back to match with the keys on the piano when you can just directly match the notes you’re hearing whilst playing the keys on your keyboard at same time…

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

Because from my experience although many people can bundle the first three steps into one (and this naturally happens with practice anyway) by listening to the bass notes and working out the scale all in one go without singing them out loud…there are a lot of people that can’t hear the notes back clearly in their head and can’t pick out specific notes. So for those less able to hear anything it gives them a process to get started if they can sing the melody or can hear any note, singing it before playing it means you can isolate the note from the song and hear it clearly 😊

@NikhilStill 2 ай бұрын

@@matticawoodthanks for thinking about us matti 😭❤️

@FrodosBeutel 4 ай бұрын

*tries to learn winter wind by ear with this method

@Viral_Editzz77 4 ай бұрын

tbh you can lol, it’s mainly cords in the left hand and scales in the right

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

Playing by ear is great for music where you want to play your own interpretation of it. Learning to read sheet music is great for music with detail that you want to play accurately. That’s why it’s best to do both! 😊

@mrmagmrmag 4 ай бұрын

Good explanation, but only hold for very basic songs. No mention of minor scales (or modes), nothing of chromatic notes, nothing of borrowed chords or 7th cords etc.

@LadanzaTube 4 ай бұрын

He references on some of these things with the older video he mentioned which is about point 7 in depth.

@matticawood 4 ай бұрын

It’s a 20 minute video exclusively focussed on a process that anyone could use to start practicing learning the skill of playing by ear. If someone wants to go down the rabbit hole on the theory beyond the process, I have many videos that include all of these 😊

@mrmagmrmag 4 ай бұрын

@@matticawood Don't get me wrong -- I really appreciated the introduction you gave (and your reply here ;) ). Problem for me is that I am already beyond this basic level and still have lots of trouble figuring out 'real' songs (as the kinds of music I tend to listen to and want to play 'by ear' never seems to stick to those basic triads and often change key in the middle of the song). I guess I will have to dig a bit deeper into your other videos as well later ;)

@warrenwinslow4266 Ай бұрын

I do it slightly different. I humm a u tube video and pick out scale and then play along. I did this using songs i knew. I suggest 10 15 minutes a day for a month in addition your regular practice. By then you should be quite good at it. For accompiament i use alberti bass of arpegios or chords.