Play Music by Ear - A New Guide For Music Lovers

In attempting playing music by ear, to play any piece, the first step is to find out where the tonic, the basic keynote, is. Sing the piece or think it through until you find the note that has that solid, static feeling which identifies it as tonic. Some find this very easy to do; others find it almost impossible.

If necessary, sing the piece to the very end, and you will there find the tonic. Then listen particularly to that tone every time it occurs in the piece; accent it; make it stand out; and you will soon develop sensitivity for that tonic. At the same time you will be developing your enjoyment of playing music by ear.

Having determined what tone of the scale the piece begins on, you can choose the key in which you wish to play it and then find the first note of the piece in that key.

One other observation will help you: Notice where the dominant, the fifth note of the scale, is. Since so much of the melody revolves around the dominant, it is helpful to have that pivot point consciously located in the key and on the keyboard.

As an example of this procedure in playing music by ear, let us take the chorus of Old Black Joe. Sing it through and you find the last note resting firmly on the tonic. Now begin the chorus again and you will hear that it begins on 5. Let us decide to play it in the key of Eb. Play the scale of Eb and you will notice that 5 is Bb. So we begin on Bb.

Remembering that Eb is the solid tonic tone and that Bb is the determined dominant tone, you will now be able to work out the tune. Follow this same process with other tunes and you will soon find that you can locate the tonic and dominant and first note almost without a thought.

Now play any simple music by ear that you have already learned but play them in different keys. Notice where the tonic and dominant are in each key. Think of the tune and let the fingers take care of themselves. Develop a freedom that will permit you to enjoy what you are playing.

Try other pieces that you have wanted to play. Once you have practiced the scales and learned to identify tonic and dominant, you will be able to play many things which were impossible to you before.

Modulation

Pieces do not always stay in one key. In fact, they seldom do. When they go from one key to another, we call it modulating. Most of your difficulties in the pieces which you have been unable to complete have been caused by modulations. The tonic and dominant are necessarily changed when a modulation takes place. Naturally this is confusing; but you can help the situation greatly by realizing what the modulation is - by knowing what the tonic and dominant are in the new key.

There is no easy rule for doing this while playing music by ear; one eventually learns to feel a modulation just as he feels the next note of a piece. But this takes time. Without this power one must either stop and figure out the new key by singing the passage until he can locate the tonic, or just guess. The most frequent modulation, particularly in the type of pieces we are using, is to the dominant. Try the dominant first.

Half-modulation

The Star-Spangled Banner is a good example. When you get to "flag was still there," you have modulated to the dominant key. On the word "still" you have to use a note which is not in your original key. This is your modulating tone, and if you listen to it keenly, you can notice the strong upward thrust which characterizes a modulation to the dominant. It does not remain in the dominant key, however, but jumps immediately back to the original key with the words "Oh, say, does that."

This is called a half-modulation since it does not stay in the new key long enough to establish it firmly; but it is a clean illustration of the point.

Now you are on your way to playing music by ear effortlessly!

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