Hi John, I'm now at 5.35 minutes of your video, never saw it or you before, I even did not hear one note on the piano, but I already can say that it as long time since I've seen such a nice, genuine and sincere person on the internet. I will continue what you have to tell and show us, just wanted to say this beforehand. Thank you!
Feb 12, 2023: This must be a huge trend, because this video just randomly popped up for me as well. Feeling the same way. New subscriber. Let's give it a go.
Mr. Wilder, I am 57 years old, and on the couch recovering from two heart attacks, two weeks ago and told myself it is time to learn piano, but I’ve tried, with all those reading music programs and hated it, it wasn’t fun. Music like any art, must be fun. You, my Dear, are spot on with everything you said here! After listening to the entire part one, I took my keyboard out and played Amazing Grace by ear. Side note, my brother passed away this past April, and we all sang that with him the night he passed away. I never knew the story behind that song, until tonight when you explained it, I wanted to share this beautiful gift with you and am so thankful for you.
This was an endearing testimony and it really touched my heart. Thank you so much for your comment! I was called today by a musician, to ask me if I would play with a group that I had played for before. I play the piano for salsa music but, had given up on playing for almost a year, mainly because I was discouraged. So about 2 weeks ago, I received a Godly touching in my heart about going back to practice with my keyboard. I prepared my room to place my keyboard to get started, however, I procrastinated about practicing until today. I received my friend's call today and was asked if I would play with the band. God was letting me know that I would be called upon so I needed to go ahead and practice again. I decided to give this elderly person thanks for his testimony but I ran into your comment Mrs. Wendy and I am grateful for your testimony. I am encouraged by your testimony and know it was God's doing. I thank God and I thank you. May God heal your heart problems and give you the strength to recover. Again, thanks Mrs. Wendy, stay encouraged! Your brother in Christ, Juan. By the way, my name is Juan, which is John in English, was all this a coincidence? Or was God using somebody by the name of John to bring me to your comments? I really think so! God is so real. Continue to serve him, my sister in Christ!
Love your comment- I pray you healand thrive even more through the music.. I am 59 and have wanted to play since I was a toddler. It has been my only deep desire through my life. I am a vocalist and was trained on clarinet and play piano minimally but not masterfully…. So It will be through God’s Amazing Grace that I begin to develop more and be able to play hymns and carols and worship music to do more to glorify God and be my next vocation! Bless Mr Wilder- he is my personal cheerleader!! ❤❤❤
What a fantastic approach to music and the piano, thank you so much Sir. I am 58 years old, I am beginner at the piano and I am learning something new every day. I am a singer and I feel I can take your wisdom and put it to very good use. I am battling with the hand independence at the moment but it is coming. I will now binge watch your program and soak it all up. Again thank you for the calm, honest, practical and inspiring approach that I imagine , you apply to everything you do. Kind Regards Kevin in the UK.
I'm 16, from Russia and I have played piano for 12 years now, but I never really tried seriously to play by ear. You speak beautifully and it's such a privilege to have access to this course!
Please see it through to the end and learn how to use the simple tools that I have tried to present. If you have already played for 12 years, I have no doubt that you can succeed and it will change your life forever. I know it has changed mine, over and over and over and always for the better! Good luck. And thank you!
This video is now a month old and has 126K views. I have a feeling this will reach far, far many more people than that over time. What a gift this is-using this platform to teach a simple, valuable lesson that almost anyone can learn. And listening to you speak is a joy. You are a treasure!
Thank you and thank you to Donna Mays. (I'm an 80 year old Luddite so I don't know if Donna will ever receive this thank you). I guess this is my legacy - my humble effort to leave the world a better place than what I found. The dedications will give you a little insight into my motivations. Thank you again for your kindness.
@@Thephilosophyofpianobyear No thank you for giving us access to this course and being so humble and raw, and having fun with your approach it really allows me to connect with the video and see the whole thing through!
Sir please let me just say, you are exactly why i started playing music when i was young, the joy of it all...cannot wait to watch part 2...thank you Sir..
My oldest brother shared this with me and my other siblings. We are age ranged from 64 to 74 with myself about to turn 68. The fact that my oldest brother shared this is what makes it most special. Looking forward to following you now.
I taught myself to play piano by ear at age 8. I can’t read piano music but I’ve played for funerals and weddings. Amazing Grace on all black keys was my first song. I transpose everything I can to key of C. This video is spot on!
I though I was the only one who did that…transpose everything to the key of “C”. I learn as much of the melody in that key as I can. After that I try it in the key of “F” and if I’m really daring I’ll go to “F#” or “G”. I’ve even tried “A”. It’s surprising with a good ear what you can do. The only way I can learn is by watching someone play or from listening to it. The treble clef notes are a foreign language to me.
@@KIMBERLY-er9yk wiki:Did Irving Berlin only play the Black Keys? He never did learn to read or write music, but taught himself to play just enough piano to create a tune. He could play only in the key of F-sharp - the black keys - which was not entirely unusual in his era.
73 Chinese meemaw. Absolute piano beginner for 60 years, typing from the sheet music all along. Mr Wilder, i love you. You've reunited me with my Yamaha Clavinova. Working on c.czerny.Op 599 exercises with a humble heart.
Nice introductory video there, John. Thank you. I am 66; I majored in music in college and am a composer of songs, big band music, orchestrations, and some contemporary “classical” music pieces. As someone who has been playing piano for 55 years myself (and I have played by ear quite a bit, as well as read music), I would like to point out that there is a middle ground between playing by ear and reading the music for a song note for note. And that is making use of a lead sheet: melody with chord symbols. It gives you a more substantial framework to build on, while at the same time allows for much creativity. Most of the time, when I learn a new song, I make use of a lead sheet so that I can get all of the chords right (at least the ones the composer intended). However, sometimes I will disagree with some of the chords presented on the page and select alternates. At the end of the day, much creativity is still involved with the final result. Maybe in a future video you might touch on the concept of using a lead sheet?
@@stagehand9002 Why the hostility? I am NOT a know it all. I am not suggesting I know more than John. I am not suggesting that my way of looking at things is better than anyone else’s. I am only asking whether John has made use of lead sheets and, if he has, would perhaps like to discuss their usage in the near future. I also LOVE John’s piano technique. In many ways it is better than mine. This isn’t meant as criticism. It is only an observation.
As someone (67 years old) who also plays by ear and also writes big band and pop arrangements, I agree there is a middle ground. I wish I new more theory, I feel it would be a great benefit to me. I also disagree that reading musicians are not creative, I have known many amazing writers, players and arrangers who are exceptionally talented. John says he likes musicals, most of them were written by reading pianists.
@@albertclangence1342 Yes, I’m thinking that the highly skilled pianists who can sight-read music forwards and backwards are mostly the creative ones who do NOT play the songs note for note, but instead insert their own creativity. I have known pianists like that. Most pop music and jazz standards are played “creatively,” or by ear, by those skilled reading pianists because, for the most part, that is how it is done. The more skilled they are, the more creativity they put into it. Knowing music theory does not stifle creativity…it enhances it.
Number three for silent night. I am 45 years old. I have Asperger‘s and I have perfect pitch. I’ve been playing the piano pretty much my entire life. Apparently, my mother said I started playing when I was two years old. I played the trombone and alto sax throughout my elementary and high school careers Could not read a lick of music whatsoever. My music teachers in school were really aggravated with me, but I played the trombone and saxophone by ear as well as piano. I lost my singing voice as I am a heavy smoker. I recently quit, and my voice is coming back.
Hi John, I just heard your intro haven’t gotten to see you play yet Just wanted to say i am glad you decided to make this video real, already in love with your honesty and willingness to teach. Thank you! Looking forward to learning a lot for you 🥰
Hi John. Just thought I'd say thank you for the video. I am a piano teacher over in Nottingham, UK and one thing I insist on is that all of my students have at least one piece of music 'on the go' at any one time, which is being learned and played by ear. I find that this approach stimulates creativity and compliments the more formal aspect of learning. Last week, I taught 73 students and in the evening, played three gigs - somewhere in the region of 9 hours of music with not a note in front of me. It's this ability that inspires my students above anything else. Best wishes, Gary
Hi John, I'm a 58 y.o. from a rainy and damp UK. I have dabbled on and off playing piano since I was five. I used to spend hours playing along to music on the TV on my toy piano. Sadly, my parents didn't act on my ability (my father was a semi-pro big band drummer). I had a few lessons from a musician friend in my teens and am mostly self-taught. After many years of not having a piano, I am now playing again, both by ear and reading music, but reading does slow me down a bit. I guess it's just practice. I like to play the standards and pop from the 60s and 70s, but I am also keen on American jazz and try to do some of that if my fingers allow it, but I'm probably trying to run before I can walk. I've also just started playing the flute. You have a lovely playing style and it was interesting to hear about your background. Thanks for sharing your sentiments and music.
Brother John, not only do you play beautifully by ear also your God-given talent shine through with such compassion. You have illustrated and shared with those who patiently listen that great quality known as love, for all of Mankind ."Thank you for sharing" Brother John! Simply Amazing!!!
I appreciate, especially your comments about the change in the quality of music over the years. I too am 79 years old. In years past tunes had melodies that stuck in the mind, and in the heart repeating, and repeating. Haunting tunes so that the words were drawn Into the mind to be memorized as well. Today’s music seems to have lost the melody! And as a result, the Spirit is not set free! In the Bible, Ephesians, chapter 5:18, Paul answers the question, how to be filled with the Spirit? He says to be filled with the Spirit speak “to yourselves in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord.” Without melody, the Spirit is not set free to fill our lives. Thank you for emphasizing the beauty of Melody.
I'm 41 years old and just beginning my journey on the piano and I must say that was one of if not the best alterations of Amazing Grave I've ever heard as well as America the Beautiful. It has definitely inspired me to continue with my practice! Thank you so much for this lesson!!
@@Thephilosophyofpianobyear it is a great privilege sir for me that you have replied to my comment. I want to improvise my playing piano like you. very inspiring and the way of your speech such a outspoken person which helps others to make clear that what piano is all about playing through ear.-from India EMMANUEL
Tremendously enjoying this first lecture so far. The way you talk about piano, about yourself and your intentions. And the way you explain. Congratulations and thanks for the effort and time!
You sir, are a breath of fresh air. Thank you for your wonderful sense of humor, you had me laughing off my chair in your opening. You caught me completely off guard in your deadpan straight faced delivery. I enjoy your honesty and I share your viewpoint. I am new to the piano, at least practicing it correctly. In the past I was a clarinetist back in my school days and I always played by ear without thinking much about it. It was something that just came natural to me and thought that everybody could do it. I would hear a song I liked on the radio, and within 15 minutes or so I could replicate the song's melody enough for people to easily know what song I was playing. My dad was a musician in his younger days, and told me many times how he wished he could play by ear the way I could. I didn't pursue music after high school, but recently, I have developed a love for the piano and the week of Thanksgiving, I purchased an Roland 88 key fully weighted and graded digital piano and I love it. I have been studying via online courses, and also playing my favorite songs by ear just like I used to do on the clarinet. I only got to 6 minutes or so in your video but found that I couldn't wait and had to tell you how much I am enjoying this video. Thank you for this.
This is so incredibly helpful. THANK YOU. I am visually impaired / legally blind and I have yet to find a method or teacher to learn until you. I am so grateful for you. It looked like some videos have been deleted. I hope you repost and share your knowledge. I just love how you support and honor creativity. I’m a former attorney as well. THANKS AGAIN
John I love you for your humility and honesty. Once you have learnt to read music is it a hindrance to playing by ear. Thats true there is no room for creativity
Mr. Wilder I am the opposite. I tried for decades to play by ear and could only play up to 3 or 4 bars correctly. I went back and forth over those decades from trying to learn sheet music to playing by ear. I guess I was tone death past a certain point. I finally buckled down 2 years ago and said, "I'm going to learn to read, write and play sheet music if it's the last thing I do on this earth. Well, I did learn to do it. I taught myself music theory, keys and scales. I already knew a majority of chords. Within that learning, I became more tone conscious and can now play many songs by ear and figure out the chords in any key. I think my problem during those "trying decades" was that I didn't trust my ears or what I was feeling to push past those boundaries. On weekends that I am off from work, I sometimes play 24 or more hours straight as many songs as I can remember or have sheet music to. I absolutely love playing, writing, scoring and creating my own music now! I am unbounded in my creativity. Playing by ear and reading sheet music for me goes hand-in-hand. It's the only way I can completely grasp it.
Your comments reminded me of my brother. His idea of a "fun" day was to sit at the piano and play jazz, with a short break for lunch. That kind of dedication is unique and served him and serves you well and that is wonderful, but it is not a quality that I possess and I suspect that it is extremely rare. To me, some of what I play is a bit emotionally overwhelming and I overdose rather quickly. I have been justifiably beaten up over misnaming the composer of "Ode to Joy" but I will use that title as a partial explanation of my "philosophy". Part of the definition of "Ode" is "song". Using it, the title becomes "Song to Joy" and that is the whole point of my program - to give millions of people, including children, a simplified (and therefore hopefully achievable) way to actually participate in the same joy that I experience at the piano - the joy of creating music. I'm glad that you have found that joy but I don't think that many people (and particularly children) either have or could acquire your kind of dedication.
@@Thephilosophyofpianobyear That's a term "Overdose" that I often use when I'm playing with pure emotion. Not to get religious or spiritual, but it can at times overwhelm you and have you feeling at one with God. A wonder feeling of peace, love and joy all in one's body, mind and soul. And you do hope every can experience. There are many roads to one point. Some take the scenic route and others take short straight line. The scenic route was meant for me. But both routes will eventually get you there.
Such a refreshing video, totally agree that no one seems to have much of a sense of humour these days. Great intro & content John, very much looking forward to watching the rest of your content. Thanks.
Mr Wilder, sir, you came across as a sincere man who can tell it as it is, without any need for swearing, or loud. Sometimes on the web we hear many people who makes things much bigger than what they really are just to push their own narrative. Thank you, no doubt you are passionate about what you are teaching, thank you. Very useful and practical teaching
Mr. Wilder, thank you for your honesty, integrity, and generosity of spirit in sharing your perspectives and skills. How refreshing! I am a classically-trained pianist who has felt stymied my entire life by my discomfort with ear-playing. And here I am in retirement finding someone who makes it feel fun and possible. Thank you! I'm grateful for finding your channel. Keep up the good work, Sir! Virginia
Thank you very, very much. You have brightened my day immensely. Sorry it took so long for me to respond but I didn't know about "Comments" and "Replies" until long after the first Parts were published.
I started self-learning piano (by ear) on a whim two weeks ago; hadn’t mentioned to anyone but UA-cam recommended me this video today. Feels like I’m on the right track...
Thank you for creating this series of UA-cam videos. I've only just finished this first one but I'm really excited to continue. Your love for music and the piano in particular is clear, and your desire to share with the UA-cam community is, I believe, an extension of that love. And you are also a joy to listen to.
John, you’re so funny! Please don’t worry so much about the semantics of this presentation! You’re here to teach what you know and you’re obviously comfortable with the music! We’re here to learn what you have to offer. Thank you for showing up and offering what you know!
Sorry I'm so late. I don't understand computers at all. I hope you haven't given up. After Part 8 was finished, I felt good about the end result. Hope it changes your life for the better. And thank you!
John, What a joy to watch this video. My story is similar. My parents bought a piano when I was 4 years old...by the evening I was pecking out tunes. My parents had me take piano lessons when I was six. The teacher was, in my mind, a mean old lady.... if I missed a note, she would bang my fingers on the keys...and told my parents that I was just learning the tune and playing it back...give up on him! I gave up on the piano until I was in High School...and started by learning the melody in the right hand and then improvising with the left..... Long story short, music has been such an enjoyment in my life. I did not make my profession in music, but always has been a part of my life. 3 years ago, I purchased a Yamaha Genos... Now I have unlimited numbers of instruments that I can use my talent...mostly for my own enjoyment, but I have given some concerts for special occasions. I now have a channel on UA-cam and share a few songs... and play the way you taught... I learned to read the right hand, and the rest is using my "ear" to fill in the rest.
I have watched 5 minutes of this video and already I have taken a big shine to you sir. As a fellow John, and a student who is eager to develop my piano skills, I look forward to watching your videos and hopefully you can teach me some valuable knowledge on my journey. Thank you John, you are awesome 😁
Your instruction is very concise, thank you you for sharing your wisdom. I hadn’t laughed so much in a long time till you said “if you choose anything except number 3 you probably should give up playing by ear” that dead pan delivery was truly hilarious.
John, you’re a blessing…. Listening to you talk about playing the piano and listening to you play the piano reminds me so much of my father, who taught him self how to play piano by ear and your styles are quite similar. I think I first heard his piano playing while I was still in the womb. It feels like that anyway. It’s interesting that both you and my father have such a high regard for the pure beauty of a melody, and its emotional impact in song. He wrote many songs, and I think that his best songwriting happened in his teenage years up until perhaps the age of 20. he continued to write music, but those teenage years were amazingly productive for him in terms of the beauty of his melodies, which, of course, I have Flfiled away between my ears. I’m 67. I’m left-handed and have a little use of my left hand these days. So I’m mostly concentrating on my right hand and it’s working out and I’m gonna follow your videos. It’s very touching for me to hear what you have to say because it sounds so familiar. What I enjoy most about playing by ear is writing beautiful melody.
38:35 I couldn't agree more. I'm 57. I started listening to a lot of music at 13 and I've always considered myself a musician but not a player. Some guitar lessons but that was not for me. Music sounds in my head but I can't read music and I'm not interested in exams, I only wanted to play some music. I wanted to play by ear. At 52 I bought a little digital electric piano (Yamaha Reface CP) and starting playing along with the music from my iPod with headphones. I don't know name chords but they sound in my head as arpegios, so I can play them. I don't care which key I'm playing in, I simply play what my head and my hearts tell me to play. Now I can play almost any song by ear after listening to it (in my own style, as you say) and, for me it's incredible and very enjoyable. There's not only the official way of learning, If anything is your passion, you'll find a way. I love the way you explain things. You know what you're talking about. Your playing is fantastic. Here you have an admirer. Good job John! P.S. I'm afraid I love minor scales, as my music is more on the "romantic and nostalgic" or on the jazz side, haha. Greetings from Spain, Europe.
What a charming, endearing gentleman. You are going to reach so many lives with your wisdom, gentle humor, and teaching. Lovely playing and yes, profoundly touching. Thank you, John.
Comments like yours are incredible. I spent 40 years as a part-time municipal judge and always introduced myself to strangers as the "teenie-weenie judge of Monte Vista". It's very hard to be pompous and arrogant after you have branded yourself with that title. It helped me to remind myself that I was no better than the defendants. Your comments are overwhelmingly kind and will force me to figure out a way to keep my modest skills in perspective. For now, all I can say is "you're very, very welcome. (I am ready to record a new Part 8 - the "Magic Chord" - thanks to comments like yours!)
What gem to find - Mr. Wilder. Your improvisation of America The Beautiful and Amazing Grace are inspiring and inventive. In our current culture - we seem to worship a degradation of excellent and a culture of rot. There are pockets of excellence such as The Cliburn (search UA-cam). I have been following the gold medal winner - Yunchan Lim 임윤찬 - RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, op. 30 - 2022 Cliburn Competition. This powerful and iconic composition played by this 18 year old from South Korea is simply amazing to witness. Thank You for kind and gentle nature sorely missing in society and a rare UA-cam piano channel that has validated my improvisational skills.
If I didn't respond a few days ago, I will now. Thank you for your incredibly kind words. I don't fault reading music or people who enjoy the great concert music and pianists. I just feel that the creativity that is inherent in playing by ear is far, far more rewarding than duplicating someone else's music. And the idea of competing with someone to determine who is the better pianist is genuinely offensive to me. Compete? Like on the battlefield? Like I'm a "warrior" defending my throne? Unthinkable. Thank you again.
I also took lessons as a child and over the years. I’ve gone back to take lessons periodically when I reached my 60th birthday and had gone through a divorce about eight years ago I decided to get serious about learning for a couple reasons and I wanted to memorize pieces from him composer that I’ve been following out of South Korea name Yiruma but I also wanted to learn by ear, which I had said was improvisation, which I think are actually two different things. But your primer here to start about listening by ear was very intriguing and very helpful for me because I’ve noticed that the pieces that I memorize some of them six and eight pages long. If you sit down with a teacher, they force you to do it the way that it was written, but if you do it by the way that you hear the composer play it which is really different then it also encourages you to do your own creativity on it which I’ve done on several pieces. But my point of bringing this up is that you’ve been what a great way to introduce this concept of learning by ear. You’re the first person that I’ve ever seen that has made it so simple and I thank you for that and I’m hoping that you do have another video. I just broke onto your channel now and subscribed so I’m very pleased with that and God bless you for doing this. Judge wilder
Hello Sir, I am a 24 year old ameteur musician and I have been playing the piano since the age of 8 years old. I always took my "ear for music", being able to play by ear, for granted! Everyone around me have been amazed how i've done it. Practice, enthusiasm with a bit of ADHD and Aspergers, made this easier for me! All the above you've said was very nice and it did indeed make me laugh. It was very nice of you to try and implement humour as when you go shopping or simply go on the street, so many don't look at you or smile at you and that's a problem! An octive in my words only is the pitch is higher or lower from middle C of the same type of note.
Me Wilder. I'm 69, have played by ear all my life and I'm looking forward to honing my musical "skills" as I follow you attentively. Thank you for your unselfishness and willingness to share your skill. Please...carry on.
I agree with this person that say that he has only 5 minutes listening to you and it's something that you feel that is something secret that you're going to tell or you're going to let us know but thank you for every word for every technique that you let us know because hey, we can see and we can hear what's the real music is all about. Thank you very much. God bless you. P.S some people type , where they are from, so. I'm from Guatemala.
Amazing song playing and hardly noticed any mistakes. Seems like you are playing standards with a jazzy style and with feelings. What is really nice is you add allot of embellishments to your songs with runs, waterfall note effects and off key chord changes. In the past I have had self taught piano courses that taught these methods of piano playing which really enhances any basic songs - standards, religious, jazz standards, and I do some classic older Rock songs. If you know the basic song notes, scale structures, chords, and added embellishments. Then know how to put them all together, we can play songs the way you played "America the Beautiful" To play by ear we almost have to hear the song in our heads and with feelings make your hands transpose the notes, chords, and embellishments to the piano or keyboard. It is your own style that we bring out to make the songs an enjoyment to play and listen to. Keep up the great recordings on your playing by ear lessons. Have only watched your first lesson. Note: I am 73 yo and grew up listening to standards, but also grew up listening to the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and many others of the 1960's. Thanks for the video and take care.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom, John. I'm in my mid 50s and I've been playing since I taught myself at the age of 7. My parents met as music majors and kept piles of music and a couple of piano method books from which I taught my self to play. So I started by learning the written notes. However, some of the written music my parents had contained chord notations. When I was a freshman in high school I started putting the chord notations together with what was written and started teaching myself music theory. I don't sight read well, though I can understand what I see, so if I'm looking at the music, I'm interpreting the melody and chord progression and playing my own arrangement. I love to play with get-togethers of people playing bass, guitar, drums, and other things. I also have acquired a few synthesizers and electric keyboards. I know enough guitar to look at what the rhythm guitarist is fingering and read the chords. Then I can improvise something that sounds nice with what everyone else is playing. Even if I can't see, if I can hear I can pick out the chord progression - by ear. As far as playing perfectly, I love not being held to playing perfectly and I appreciate music that is improvised imperfectly and still sounds good. You sit down a pick-up group and start playing standards after a genre (I like the more uplifting stuff as well) and if you don't know it, you listen and pick it up as you go. These are the best of times.
Hello John! Your renditions of America the Beautiful and Amazing Grace are so full of beauty and emotion I almost cried! My mother played by ear and taught me that playing just the chords with the melody, instead of actually reading sheet music , was the”cheaters method”. ..OK but a little on the shameful and lazy side. After listening to you, I feel much better about the whole music playing thing! I have never been able to get past a rudimentary level of reading music, but I can skim the sheet music for the chords and melody while playing and only looking up here and there. I truly enjoy playing music I love , and only playing this way makes no never mind to me!! Any way that one is able to figure out an instrument and get great enjoyment is not cheating, but creating. Not everyone can mentally break down the math needed to read music, so we figure it out in our own way. I feel vindicated! Thank You!
Thanks for your insight. I lay awake at night hearing another path to the next path. My brain spins constantly. Thank you for helping me ground myself.
Thank you! I play by ear, have been since i was 8...you need to say "moroons and idiots weclome to my channel" meeting someone like is you is the reason why youtube is something I appreciate
I was given a piano when I was 3 years old and began then to play the melody of tunes I learned like Jesus Loves Me and Old McDonald Had a Farm. By the time I was 6, I played with chords. Then I began lessons at 6-1/2. Shortly after that I began hearing and distinguishing which notes and chords that I was hearing when listening to any type of music. This ability has been such a blessing all my life. (I am now 85.) I really enjoy playing by ear. It’s truly a gift.
Very helpful comment. Children are content picking out simple tunes for years! Adults want to play complex music quickly. I did that for the years between ages 10 and 14, but then we moved and no more piano. This created an abiding longing and an envy. Finally in my late sixties, egged on by ubiquitous online promises of easy paths to playing our favorite songs, I searched for a way to play piano fluently. Having found that teacher, it's taken me years to gear down and tune my expectations to my actual current skill and tonal vocabulary. My teacher advocates keeping a childlike attitude. This is the greatest challenge. I'm optimistic that I'll be pretty skilled when I'm your age! Patience. That's the main ingredient.
I really enjoyed your comment. I am 82, could play melodies on my toy piano when I was 3 years old. The toy piano was at my grandmas , so the only time I could play was when I was at her house. The challege I had with my toy piano was white keys only. My grandfather on my mothers side had a piano, he taught me to play cords and a few tunes, like Tea for Two, and Chop Sticks. When ever and where ever I saw a piano, I was always drawn to it. I would rather play piano at a friends house then pay with her, At age 14 I asked my dad for a piano with lessons. Reading music was very hard, and I would memorize the notes of the sheet music before I learned to completly read the music. I have owned a piano most of my adult life. I Play a limited amount of tunes that I taught myself, and or remember from being taught sheet music version od a tune. I wanted to expand my abilities and play likeJohn, but never met a pianist who could teach me to play by ear. I AM EXCITED TO HAVE FOUND THIS MAN WHO TAKES AFTER MY MY OWN GENERATION'S MUSICAL HEART HEART. I was so happy to find this amazing man whom I can relate to 100 %
I hope that it will help to change your life for the even better. (I included the word "even" because, given your kindness, your life must already be good.) Thank you.
Hi John, God bless you for taking your time to do this. I am only 45yrs old and I absolutely love this video. You shared a story that resonated with me because some of the things you described about yourself happened to me too. I stumbled on the piano when I was 7. It was a small toy-like keyboard that my parents bought for my brother, who had no interest in the thing. He was happy for me to play with it. I started playing with it and somehow started using my ear to feel out different sounds. It was creativity from the get go for me. As little as 7, I would hear a jingle on a television advertisement and would wonder how to find the melody on the small toy keyboard that I had. I would spend hours and hours trying to find it, humming the correct sound with my mouth and using my hands to find the correct notes. That is how I taught myself how to find melodies in sounds. Not long after, I watched a video (The Sound of Music) - that was a miracle in itself, because that was the first time I found out the TONIC-SOLFA. So I was then able to associate the notes of TV jingles or random songs with tonic solfas. Once that association was made, it didn't matter what key it was being rendered, I started finding them much quicker. The speed of identification of sounds really motivated me and church really helped. Not long, I was able to pick out the melodies of church hymns and started playing the church organ around 9yrs old. By 10/11 yrs old, I had mastered many chords. I am making this comment to appreciate you because you said something else that got my attention, which had been bugging me my for such a long time and couldn't understand why it was like that. The HOSTILITY. I always wondered why musicians who played by ear, always faced hostility from those who learned to read or from the teachers of sheet music. It now makes so much sense. It's like OIL and WATER. They hardly mix. One is DOGMATIC and the other is CREATIVE. I really like what you said: "when you read sheet music, you create nothing, you simply do as you are told", but when you play music by ear, you create everything". Thank you so much for saying this. I can look at a music sheet and identify notes from the clefs but that doesn't take away my ability to listen to music and recognise melody, chords, progressions and apply them immediately. It must be so frustrating and jealousy-provoking for those who can't do that and I'm now 100% convinced that that is where the hostility is coming from. The PURPOSE why GOD created MUSIC is for us to CREATE more. Without creativity, we are dead inside.
You can do both. One doesn’t interfere with the other. They actually complement one another. Unfortunately classical music instruction tends to overly focus on reading and excludes solfège and harmony knowledge. Jazz is more balanced. Rock and pop doesn’t require reading as much. It’s all about how you express what you play regardless of how you learn it. Just saying…
Hi, John. I thoroughly enjoyed part 1. I have been playing by ear all of my life, now for 72 years. I can play and compose anything from Bach to rock, but I often concentrate on smooth jazz (love the chords). I also play my rendition of Amazing Grace in three keys, as well (I found that very interesting). It's not like yours, and a different style. You can find me here on UA-cam. If you find me on UA-cam, you will have found the right Preston :) Can't wait to watch part 2. Thanks for sharing.
john -- i am 84 -- taught piano for 30 yrs -- had a piano minor in college -- classically trained -- and play by ear -- one thing i know -- i never had a student i could teach to play by ear -- they either have the gift or they dont -- and it is a gift -- heres how i do it -- pick out the tune, put one bass note with it, then fill in the chords -- im most comfortable in the key of f -- have played for churches, schools, nursing homes, weddings, funerals etc -- love your chords -- yes amazing grace comes in many keys
My musical motto: " 'One note at a time' breeds confidence. Confidence breeds enthusiasm. Enthusiasm breeds creativity. Creativity breeds joy. All I can do is show people the tools that will allow them to play by ear. I think it will work, even for those who are not terribly "gifted". Their gift and their reward will be in teaching themselves by using those tools.
I would also like to add I enjoy the older songs and ballads and none of the music that was made after the 60s was even enjoyable enough for me to learn. My Grandfather was a fiddle player so I learned jigs and reels from him. Others I just listen once to the record and could play someone similar melody and my own cordings.. The selections that you played America and Amazing Grace are wonderful to listen to that. Thank you, John.
You are a wonderful man. I appreciate what your trying to teach us! John, please keep up the good work as I have played by ear all my life too!. I tried learning to read sheet music at an early age but all my teachers told me I was unteachable. they would set me down at their piano then leave the room, tell me to practice playing the music in front of me
I am thrilled to find your video. The introduction of this caught my complete attention. Your description of how people are etc. you are authentic, and wise … I will continue supporting your cause and therefore, I will benefit greatly from your teachings.
I so enjoyed this!! I started taking classical piano lessons at age 7 and continued all the way through college. I enjoyed being able to play classical music but my ear was not developed. My dream had been to play for my church which proved difficult without a “good” ear. I loved your statement about classical music limiting our creativity! That’s so very true! I’m so excited to hear more from you! I hope to better my ear and gain the confidence to play without a single note in front of me!
The only reason I felt that I had to deal with simple reading is that playing by ear by listening alone is not easy - the melody can be bad enough but the chords can be a nightmare to try to unravel. Also, if I only tried to reach people who could already read music, I would be abandoning millions of people who could enrich their lives tremendously but for reading JUST A LITTLE. And with simple reading, a person has access to thousands and thousands of wonderful songs they can play using only the treble clef and simple chords. I hope you can last through Part 8 because that's where I wade into the toughest subject - chords - but it also the subject that makes ALL of the difference. Good luck and thank you.
John, thank you. I love all forms of Rock, Folk, Jazz and yes, Gershwin, Porter and standards. Your Honor, thank you for getting this old timer, just a shade younger than yourself, to get a keyboard. I play the sax by ear, with your inspiration I'm going for something I put off for far too long.
Good stuff, John. The connection between the two notes at either end of the octave is that the higher note's string is vibrating exactly twice as fast as the lower note's string. The A below middle C is vibrating back and forth 220 times in one second. The A above middle C is vibrating 440 times in a second. Few people know that notes sound good together because of physics.
@Matthew Philip Because when multiple waves are created, their amplitudes add together. If all the wave frequencies are multiples of a common number, the waves line up neatly and create a consistent periodic sound. If they do not, they interfere with each other, creating a more random or dissonant sound. See the "Basic Harmony" video created by Cato Zane.
Thank you John! Your program is a God Send for me. Playing by ear has long been a dream, which I feared might be unattainable (but secretly never gave up hope). You've instilled an actual belief that I can do it. I passed the tests!!! Life got in the way and interrupted piano lessons at ages, 7, 19, & 40. I've taught myself to play 3 or 4 songs by picking out the melody (from sheet music) and adding enough left hand notes so it sounds pretty good. (so I'm told) I have some really bad habits though. Example: If I lose my place, the only way I can find it on the sheet, is by looking at the lyrics.😊
All I can say to you, Mr. Wilder, is a heartfelt thank you for sharing this with me. Blessings always. I’m visually impaired so playing by ear is very important to me. I’m not able to read sheet music so this is most valuable to me.
I have no idea how many of the "tools" that I describe are available in braille. Simple, one note at a time melodies? Simple chords? Maybe they could help, if they exist. As for "seeing", I can play all but the most sophisticated of my arrangements with my eyes closed. I do it instinctively because, when I close my eyes, nothing intrudes on the feelings provided by the music. You are very welcome and I thank you for your kindness.
John what can I say but WOW, a fantastic video. You are very accomplished and brilliant. I play by ear also, starting age 2 and I am now 56 and still going strong, play organ and piano 😊🦋
Good work .. Only thing I question is how a serious musician could discourage anyone from delving into minor scales .. It's like half of music .. Used correctly, in conjunction with all the other chords and scales, minor tones can inspire, uplift, express triumph, joy and creativity even more than a major toned only progression .. Great harmonization of Amazing Grace
Yeah, that must fall into the category of “acid rock” 😂 In all seriousness though, some of his (very lovely!) harmonizations he played had minor tonalities, so even he likes it. He just doesn’t realize it. :)
Far more than half, when you look at all the possible modes. The whole idea that major scales dominate (or should) is just wrong. But everybody is entitled to their taste in music...
As a composer and concert pianist,,, just remember Beethoven was totally deaf, there are many great musicians blind and deaf around the world,,, just a thought
When my mom was just a kid she wanted to play the piano but they couldn't afford one. 30 years after she was able to buy one and tried learning it through a teacher until the teacher was run over by a car. My mom then tried ouido and can play any song she likes using two of her index fingers. She passed away in 2015 at 73, but I believe she was really happy being able to play the piano. I have video recorded her and posted it on UA-cam.
I am 84 years of age over the years have dabbled in playing guitar and Bass Guitar have looked at many you tube instructional segments but never been able to grasp the logic of playing by ear...This tuition by you Mr Wilder has hit the mark. It has got me so interested in giving your lessons a try that I intend buying an electronic keyboard. Your information and tuition were truly "Down to Earth" and in the language I can relate to (including the pauses while you consult your notes on what to say next) Fantastic!!! Thank you so much. I now need to buy a notebook , watch your episodes again and make notes of important facts . The section on various chords in various keys I found particularly interesting and understandable...Thank you so much for your time and effort and I wish you well Regards Patrick (in the UK)
Dear Patrick (in the UK): For some reason, my replies to people (100's of them) are wiped off my screen shortly after I send them. So, I don't know IF I have responded to anyone and, if I did, what I said. Being a Luddite has its drawbacks. I assume I have not responded to you. So, I will start with THANK YOU!. One bit of advice: If you do buy an electric keyboard, be SURE that it has weighted keys. Some cheap electrics do not have weighted keys and bear no resemblance to the "touch" of a real piano. I apologize for my elimination of some of my "pauses". After Part 1, I realized that "Q-cards" wouldn't work because there was just too much detail to cover and I didn't want to leave anything out. Thank you again for your kind words. John
I am in my late 69's, played trumpet in school growing up. Started playing bass guitar my senior year of high school and took up piano at 60. I know how to read music and agree, if you are reading you aren't creating anything except sound. I played bass in a band that played clubs in the early 70's. I learned the songs by ear from records on a record player. Looking forward to the other videos I see on your channel because I want to learn to play the piano, not just repeat what someone else wrote.
Dear Precious Mr. Wilder……you are so precious …I have been yearning to understand …you are such a blessing …I am going to try your beautiful teaching and gift to help people who want to play by ear … Bless you and thank you so much for your encouraging and beautiful video . Julie …Perth Australia
You Sir have a wonderful talent. You should bottle your integrity and peddle it in Washington DC. There is no market for it there but there is always hope. I am impressed that you are a judge and lawyer and everything you say makes perfect sense musically and otherwise. Such a delight to have someone share his knowledge and talents with others at no cost. I am sure we will learn more than music. Thank you so much
So good of you to take the time and effort to share this. Music is all the things you say it is. Hopefully, people will be able to add to their lives from this video!
Hello Mr. Wilder, I'm really glad that I came across your video. I play various stringed instruments, all by ear, and I have wanted to add piano for a long time but a bit intimidated by it. Your video gives me hope that I may be able to do it yet. I loved both the songs you played; they are truly "standards" indeed. I am so glad you included the history behind Amazing Grace, and yes, that sea captain, John Newton, did "find the Lord", that's the heart of the whole song. Once I understood that, it really took on a deeper meaning for me. I hope you continue to play for many years to come. You have a wonderful gift.
That was a great inspirational video. In this day and age, it is great to see such a genuine testament to music "that touches people", as you said. America the Beautiful was awesome... as was Amazing Grace. You are to be commended for bringing back a diminishing musical style with flourishes, arpeggios, and heart-felt transitions of pianissimo to forte. Your heart was your metrodome!
When you played the song @23:18, i really loved it. I love America and when i have kids one day i will teach my kids how to love my country. I play the piano by learning the music first then playing it by ear my own way. Love your video gramps!!!!
Benjamin Zander in his humorous and inspiring TED talk on The Transformative Power of Classical Music mentions that essentially noone is tone deaf, giving examples, one of which is when your mother calls, you not only can recognize it's her, but also what mood she is in. I would add that being able to listen and converse is indicative of grasping tonal subtleties. As to the octave test, on the third choice around the 14:50 mark, was I also hearing overtones at around 3hz difference? I beg to differ regarding individual creative expression in classical music. Yes, very much limited in comparison to improvization, but the nuances of interpretation is an opiate for the classical connoisseur. Thank you John for taking the time and passing on your wisdom and insights to us the younger generation.
Actually that’s not quite right I’m a classical concert pianist and improvisation does indeed exist when we write our own cadenzas (famous ones by Mozart and Beethoven) or improvisers of figured bass in the baroque era like the Netherlands Bach society people bringing that back. Also classical improvisation I’ll name it exits check out Gabriela Montero she is the beacon of this ability it’s interesting because I also play jazz and her improv is primarily classical not jazz she’s a modern day Mozart.
@@Vic9994546 I agree. I love Montero's amazing improvs, and enjoyed her recent emotional improvs of Für Elise. Perhaps I misunderstood what John was saying, referring to the constraints of keeping to a score. I wonder what percentage of classically trained pianists are skilled improvisers. I'm a novice, so appreciate the art of being able to reinterpret a piece.
I'm 77 (Imperial, not Metric) years old, and have been playing a variety of instruments, (guitar, harmonica, tinwhistle/pennywhistle/Irish whistle, keyboard, ukulele, native American flute, etc.) strictly by ear, for decades. If I hear a tune that I like, I'll play it a few times before I tackle it with one of my instruments, and within a short time, I'll be playing a recognizable melody. I've given learning musical notation a whirl, but it's just not for me - too constraining. Old-time fiddle, banjo and guitar players who didn't have access to sheet music, and no music couses, did fine without stagnant black marks on paper. The "oral tradition" worked fine, and personal embellishments added a touch of spice to the tune. One can play a composition as Beethoven wrote it, but if one is not permitted to "do his own thing" and be creative, why bother? True story: I was in the guitar section of a music store, trying out some acoustic guitars. I got to talking to the employee behind the counter - she was filling in for the regular guy who was out to lunch, and she did not play guitar, but violin. She told me that she could not play a tune without seeing written musical notation. HOW VERY SAD THAT MUST BE!!! Hear a tune, like it, but can't work it out in your head and hands? SAD, SAD, SAD!!!
I agree. The usual response to my question "Have you ever tried to play by ear?", posed to some very good "reading pianists" has been: "Oh, I could NEVER do that". Tragic, because none of them were tone deaf.
Boy, does that Baldwin sound great! Tuned and otherwise prepared beautifully...which is to say nothing about the stirring, resonant playing. A real treat. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing your video retired judge John Wilder. I appreciated your candor and humility in your words. I too have played by ear throughout my life. Thanks again.
absolutely beautiful. i grew up worshipping frankie carle's style and love your playing. at 72 i'm trying to get back a little after a very long hiatus. the old music has the chord symbols which i have forgetten to a degree, but they are so helpful. my favorite was frankie's carnival in cotton town....
Great idea, great job! I've always been playing by ear, I'm 68, and I enjoy every day playing standards like Stadust, and Elton John, the Beatles and many stuff like this as well. I'll enjoy very much your lessons!! Thank's!
John, what a breath of fresh air you are !!! Thank you for taking time to produce these programs. Im a classically trained pianist, a Masters Degree and do not play by ear! Im already a fan and I am happily submitting to your tutelage !!
I am not opposed to reading music. But I think that the only reward for that kind of perfection is to the ego. That's not bad but the reward for creating your own arrangement of someone else's beautiful creation is a reward to your soul. It is an incredibly wonderful feeling, far beyond your ego. Don't give up. And Thank you!
Great phrasing, John, and gorgeous harmonies! I tip my hat. I'm a lifelong composer to whom playing by ear always came easily, even in early childhood. I arranged plenty of popular tunes, mostly from my era but some older, and have taken on less mainstream material as well, like Goodbye Porkpie Hat by Charles Mingus to cite one example. Nowadays I don't do covers anymore, having opted to feature originals almost exclusively. This bypasses any issues and obligations to do with copyright laws. I've learned to write music that's rhythmically pretty simple, enough for me to put down on paper. Given the limited manuscript writing skills I've acquired thus far, much of the material I've composed has phrasing and rhythms beyond reach of my skill limit in that department. But I never really learned to sight read and am embarrassed by my ineptitude, not only with music score but even chord charts. Oh well, we've all got our limitations.... Anyone who's ever played or performed with me knows I don't do charts. But I don't really need them, so it's never been a problem. Occasionally I enjoy surfing around online, looking for musicians' videos, just to hear different points of view on topics like this, playing by ear. Thanks for sharing yours, Mr. Wilder. Cheers!
First time I see you will subscribe. I am a beginner and I will be 70 . Lol I am happy I am not tone deaf... when you started playing the first song. I wanted to hug you. Beautiful 😍
Beautiful your honor! I also have spent my work life in law as a private investigator. I feel much the same. I play and by ear too I am 61 and I am starting Piano Now. Music is a hearing art My guitar teacher me how to play by ear. I also agree Music now is so very dark. You inspired me today!
Thank you John. I have loved and wanted to play Piano all my life. I already play guitar (self- taught) but recently I bought a piano. I have been searching for a method to learn for a solid month, everyday. I feel as though I have found the spot and the guy. I'm 65 years old so I have seen enough to know a genuine soul when I see it. I wish we had more Judges like you. I'll stay in touch my friend. God bless...
Thank you for this video. I have been playing piano for over 50 years. I can read music but also can play by ear. I love all the notes you add to your songs. I could listen to you all day. Just beautiful. It is about creativity. I also taught piano lessons for 30 years. I could tell the students that had the "gift" of playing by ear. I would try to encourage that and guide them..like you said, it isn't really something you can teach. I remember my piano teacher when I was 5 saying to me, "Those notes are not on tje page!" I told her I could hear them though. Lol!
If I had a magic wand, I would convince every piano teacher to have a "failing" student watch the program before they would allow that student to just walk away from such a wonderful addition to the joy of life.
John, you really are the real deal brother! Keep up the good work! Just subscribed you. Never heard Amazing Grace played so beautifully like you did here :)
Hi John, All My Life is the first song I sang during lockdown two years ago. I love your own version. I'm a beginner self-taught piano player, just love to amuse myself.
Hi John. Loved listening to you play. I’ve been an ear player from age 5. Took classical lessons for years but learned most pieces by ear til my teacher found out. 2 years ago I began playing “California “ jazz -Bill Evans and Bill Charlap. For this I need the sheet music as some of the chords are complex enough to baffle my ear. But I love just sitting at my piano and letting my fingers roam. Very enjoyable video. Keep up the good work! 👍🏻🎶
Thank you so much Sir for haven decided to be you...this fact lacks so much our days...thank you so so much...only 4 minutes in and already i cannot wait to watch the rest...
Hi John, I'm now at 5.35 minutes of your video, never saw it or you before, I even did not hear one note on the piano, but I already can say that it as long time since I've seen such a nice, genuine and sincere person on the internet. I will continue what you have to tell and show us, just wanted to say this beforehand. Thank you!
Onion soufflés with oily fruit jelly on rye toast.
@@tenantrep…and, you actually eat that? 🤔☕️🎩
Hear! Hear!
I'm at about the same part... and I know I could listen to John Wilder for hours!!
I felt the same! 4 minutes in I’m a subscriber and will recommend all my friends to follow John Wilder!
Feb 12, 2023: This must be a huge trend, because this video just randomly popped up for me as well. Feeling the same way. New subscriber. Let's give it a go.
Mr. Wilder, I am 57 years old, and on the couch recovering from two heart attacks, two weeks ago and told myself it is time to learn piano, but I’ve tried, with all those reading music programs and hated it, it wasn’t fun. Music like any art, must be fun. You, my Dear, are spot on with everything you said here! After listening to the entire part one, I took my keyboard out and played Amazing Grace by ear. Side note, my brother passed away this past April, and we all sang that with him the night he passed away. I never knew the story behind that song, until tonight when you explained it, I wanted to share this beautiful gift with you and am so thankful for you.
This was an endearing testimony and it really touched my heart. Thank you so much for your comment! I was called today by a musician, to ask me if I would play with a group that I had played for before. I play the piano for salsa music but, had given up on playing for almost a year, mainly because I was discouraged. So about 2 weeks ago, I received a Godly touching in my heart about going back to practice with my keyboard. I prepared my room to place my keyboard to get started, however, I procrastinated about practicing until today. I received my friend's call today and was asked if I would play with the band. God was letting me know that I would be called upon so I needed to go ahead and practice again. I decided to give this elderly person thanks for his testimony but I ran into your comment Mrs. Wendy and I am grateful for your testimony. I am encouraged by your testimony and know it was God's doing. I thank God and I thank you. May God heal your heart problems and give you the strength to recover. Again, thanks Mrs. Wendy, stay encouraged! Your brother in Christ, Juan. By the way, my name is Juan, which is John in English, was all this a coincidence? Or was God using somebody by the name of John to bring me to your comments? I really think so! God is so real. Continue to serve him, my sister in Christ!
@@juantellado9235 God blesses.....
@@wendyroseartist2178 Thanks for the likes
Love your comment- I pray you healand thrive even more through the music.. I am 59 and have wanted to play since I was a toddler. It has been my only deep desire through my life. I am a vocalist and was trained on clarinet and play piano minimally but not masterfully…. So It will be through God’s Amazing Grace that I begin to develop more and be able to play hymns and carols and worship music to do more to glorify God and be my next vocation!
Bless Mr Wilder- he is my personal cheerleader!! ❤❤❤
Awwwww such great replies!
What a fantastic approach to music and the piano, thank you so much Sir. I am 58 years old, I am beginner at the piano and I am learning something new every day. I am a singer and I feel I can take your wisdom and put it to very good use. I am battling with the hand independence at the moment but it is coming. I will now binge watch your program and soak it all up. Again thank you for the calm, honest, practical and inspiring approach that I imagine , you apply to everything you do.
Kind Regards
Kevin in the UK.
I'm 16, from Russia and I have played piano for 12 years now, but I never really tried seriously to play by ear. You speak beautifully and it's such a privilege to have access to this course!
Please see it through to the end and learn how to use the simple tools that I have tried to present. If you have already played for 12 years, I have no doubt that you can succeed and it will change your life forever. I know it has changed mine, over and over and over and always for the better! Good luck. And thank you!
Is your ear trained brother
This video is now a month old and has 126K views. I have a feeling this will reach far, far many more people than that over time. What a gift this is-using this platform to teach a simple, valuable lesson that almost anyone can learn. And listening to you speak is a joy. You are a treasure!
Agreed❤️🙏
Thank you and thank you to Donna Mays. (I'm an 80 year old Luddite so I don't know if Donna will ever receive this thank you). I guess this is my legacy - my humble effort to leave the world a better place than what I found. The dedications will give you a little insight into my motivations. Thank you again for your kindness.
@@Thephilosophyofpianobyear No thank you for giving us access to this course and being so humble and raw, and having fun with your approach it really allows me to connect with the video and see the whole thing through!
@@Thephilosophyofpianobyear❤❤❤
Sir please let me just say, you are exactly why i started playing music when i was young, the joy of it all...cannot wait to watch part 2...thank you Sir..
My oldest brother shared this with me and my other siblings. We are age ranged from 64 to 74 with myself about to turn 68. The fact that my oldest brother shared this is what makes it most special. Looking forward to following you now.
Excellent video. I truly wish we had more John Wilders in our courtrooms. The fact that you value actual truth speaks volumes about your character.
I taught myself to play piano by ear at age 8. I can’t read piano music but I’ve played for funerals and weddings. Amazing Grace on all black keys was my first song. I transpose everything I can to key of C. This video is spot on!
I though I was the only one who did that…transpose everything to the key of “C”. I learn as much of the melody in that key as I can.
After that I try it in the key of “F” and if I’m really daring I’ll go to “F#” or “G”.
I’ve even tried “A”. It’s surprising with a good ear what you can do.
The only way I can learn is by watching someone play or from listening to it. The treble clef notes are a foreign language to me.
Irving Berlin only used the black notes!
@@samspianos “What’ll I Do?” Is my favorite song of Irving Berlin. I didn’t know that about the black keys.
@@KIMBERLY-er9yk wiki:Did Irving Berlin only play the Black Keys?
He never did learn to read or write music, but taught himself to play just enough piano to create a tune. He could play only in the key of F-sharp - the black keys - which was not entirely unusual in his era.
Interesting it says that playing the black keys was not unusual back then.
73 Chinese meemaw. Absolute piano beginner for 60 years, typing from the sheet music all along. Mr Wilder, i love you. You've reunited me with my Yamaha Clavinova. Working on c.czerny.Op 599 exercises with a humble heart.
Thank you. Part 8 (chords and the left hand) will be out very soon.
Nice introductory video there, John. Thank you.
I am 66; I majored in music in college and am a composer of songs, big band music, orchestrations, and some contemporary “classical” music pieces.
As someone who has been playing piano for 55 years myself (and I have played by ear quite a bit, as well as read music), I would like to point out that there is a middle ground between playing by ear and reading the music for a song note for note. And that is making use of a lead sheet: melody with chord symbols. It gives you a more substantial framework to build on, while at the same time allows for much creativity.
Most of the time, when I learn a new song, I make use of a lead sheet so that I can get all of the chords right (at least the ones the composer intended). However, sometimes I will disagree with some of the chords presented on the page and select alternates. At the end of the day, much creativity is still involved with the final result.
Maybe in a future video you might touch on the concept of using a lead sheet?
@@stagehand9002 Why the hostility? I am NOT a know it all. I am not suggesting I know more than John. I am not suggesting that my way of looking at things is better than anyone else’s. I am only asking whether John has made use of lead sheets and, if he has, would perhaps like to discuss their usage in the near future. I also LOVE John’s piano technique. In many ways it is better than mine. This isn’t meant as criticism. It is only an observation.
As someone (67 years old) who also plays by ear and also writes big band and pop arrangements, I agree there is a middle ground. I wish I new more theory, I feel it would be a great benefit to me. I also disagree that reading musicians are not creative, I have known many amazing writers, players and arrangers who are exceptionally talented. John says he likes musicals, most of them were written by reading pianists.
@@albertclangence1342 Yes, I’m thinking that the highly skilled pianists who can sight-read music forwards and backwards are mostly the creative ones who do NOT play the songs note for note, but instead insert their own creativity. I have known pianists like that. Most pop music and jazz standards are played “creatively,” or by ear, by those skilled reading pianists because, for the most part, that is how it is done. The more skilled they are, the more creativity they put into it. Knowing music theory does not stifle creativity…it enhances it.
@@Ernie_Centofanti agreed!
@@stagehand9002 Don't be so damned rude.
The man makes a perfectly valid point.
Number three for silent night. I am 45 years old. I have Asperger‘s and I have perfect pitch. I’ve been playing the piano pretty much my entire life. Apparently, my mother said I started playing when I was two years old. I played the trombone and alto sax throughout my elementary and high school careers Could not read a lick of music whatsoever. My music teachers in school were really aggravated with me, but I played the trombone and saxophone by ear as well as piano. I lost my singing voice as I am a heavy smoker. I recently quit, and my voice is coming back.
Hi John,
I just heard your intro haven’t gotten to see you play yet
Just wanted to say i am glad you decided to make this video real, already in love with your honesty and willingness to teach. Thank you! Looking forward to learning a lot for you 🥰
Hi John. Just thought I'd say thank you for the video. I am a piano teacher over in Nottingham, UK and one thing I insist on is that all of my students have at least one piece of music 'on the go' at any one time, which is being learned and played by ear. I find that this approach stimulates creativity and compliments the more formal aspect of learning. Last week, I taught 73 students and in the evening, played three gigs - somewhere in the region of 9 hours of music with not a note in front of me. It's this ability that inspires my students above anything else. Best wishes, Gary
Hi John, I'm a 58 y.o. from a rainy and damp UK. I have dabbled on and off playing piano since I was five. I used to spend hours playing along to music on the TV on my toy piano. Sadly, my parents didn't act on my ability (my father was a semi-pro big band drummer). I had a few lessons from a musician friend in my teens and am mostly self-taught. After many years of not having a piano, I am now playing again, both by ear and reading music, but reading does slow me down a bit. I guess it's just practice. I like to play the standards and pop from the 60s and 70s, but I am also keen on American jazz and try to do some of that if my fingers allow it, but I'm probably trying to run before I can walk. I've also just started playing the flute. You have a lovely playing style and it was interesting to hear about your background. Thanks for sharing your sentiments and music.
Brother John, not only do you play beautifully by ear also your God-given talent shine through with such compassion. You have illustrated and shared with those who patiently listen that great quality known as love, for all of Mankind ."Thank you for sharing" Brother John! Simply Amazing!!!
I love your sense of humor and no nonsense approach of teaching, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge on this platform!
Believe it or not, I'm having fun! I decided long ago that if I ever stopped laughing, it would be time to depart this planet.
I appreciate, especially your comments about the change in the quality of music over the years. I too am 79 years old. In years past tunes had melodies that stuck in the mind, and in the heart repeating, and repeating. Haunting tunes so that the words were drawn Into the mind to be memorized as well. Today’s music seems to have lost the melody! And as a result, the Spirit is not set free! In the Bible, Ephesians, chapter 5:18, Paul answers the question, how to be filled with the Spirit? He says to be filled with the Spirit speak “to yourselves in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord.” Without melody, the Spirit is not set free to fill our lives. Thank you for emphasizing the beauty of Melody.
I'm 41 years old and just beginning my journey on the piano and I must say that was one of if not the best alterations of Amazing Grave I've ever heard as well as America the Beautiful. It has definitely inspired me to continue with my practice! Thank you so much for this lesson!!
Rectifying your mistake it is "Amazing Grace".
You have no idea how great it is to be told that you have inspired someone. Thank you! And don't give up!
I think you meant to compliment him but it's not entirely clear.
@@Thephilosophyofpianobyear it is a great privilege sir for me that you have replied to my comment. I want to improvise my playing piano like you. very inspiring and the way of your speech such a outspoken person which helps others to make clear that what piano is all about playing through ear.-from India EMMANUEL
Tremendously enjoying this first lecture so far. The way you talk about piano, about yourself and your intentions. And the way you explain. Congratulations and thanks for the effort and time!
You sir, are a breath of fresh air. Thank you for your wonderful sense of humor, you had me laughing off my chair in your opening. You caught me completely off guard in your deadpan straight faced delivery. I enjoy your honesty and I share your viewpoint. I am new to the piano, at least practicing it correctly. In the past I was a clarinetist back in my school days and I always played by ear without thinking much about it. It was something that just came natural to me and thought that everybody could do it. I would hear a song I liked on the radio, and within 15 minutes or so I could replicate the song's melody enough for people to easily know what song I was playing.
My dad was a musician in his younger days, and told me many times how he wished he could play by ear the way I could. I didn't pursue music after high school, but recently, I have developed a love for the piano and the week of Thanksgiving, I purchased an Roland 88 key fully weighted and graded digital piano and I love it. I have been studying via online courses, and also playing my favorite songs by ear just like I used to do on the clarinet. I only got to 6 minutes or so in your video but found that I couldn't wait and had to tell you how much I am enjoying this video. Thank you for this.
This is so incredibly helpful. THANK YOU. I am visually impaired / legally blind and I have yet to find a method or teacher to learn until you. I am so grateful for you. It looked like some videos have been deleted. I hope you repost and share your knowledge. I just love how you support and honor creativity. I’m a former attorney as well. THANKS AGAIN
John I love you for your humility and honesty. Once you have learnt to read music is it a hindrance to playing by ear. Thats true there is no room for creativity
Mr. Wilder I am the opposite. I tried for decades to play by ear and could only play up to 3 or 4 bars correctly. I went back and forth over those decades from trying to learn sheet music to playing by ear. I guess I was tone death past a certain point. I finally buckled down 2 years ago and said, "I'm going to learn to read, write and play sheet music if it's the last thing I do on this earth. Well, I did learn to do it. I taught myself music theory, keys and scales. I already knew a majority of chords. Within that learning, I became more tone conscious and can now play many songs by ear and figure out the chords in any key. I think my problem during those "trying decades" was that I didn't trust my ears or what I was feeling to push past those boundaries. On weekends that I am off from work, I sometimes play 24 or more hours straight as many songs as I can remember or have sheet music to. I absolutely love playing, writing, scoring and creating my own music now! I am unbounded in my creativity. Playing by ear and reading sheet music for me goes hand-in-hand. It's the only way I can completely grasp it.
Your comments reminded me of my brother. His idea of a "fun" day was to sit at the piano and play jazz, with a short break for lunch. That kind of dedication is unique and served him and serves you well and that is wonderful, but it is not a quality that I possess and I suspect that it is extremely rare. To me, some of what I play is a bit emotionally overwhelming and I overdose rather quickly. I have been justifiably beaten up over misnaming the composer of "Ode to Joy" but I will use that title as a partial explanation of my "philosophy". Part of the definition of "Ode" is "song". Using it, the title becomes "Song to Joy" and that is the whole point of my program - to give millions of people, including children, a simplified (and therefore hopefully achievable) way to actually participate in the same joy that I experience at the piano - the joy of creating music. I'm glad that you have found that joy but I don't think that many people (and particularly children) either have or could acquire your kind of dedication.
@@Thephilosophyofpianobyear That's a term "Overdose" that I often use when I'm playing with pure emotion. Not to get religious or spiritual, but it can at times overwhelm you and have you feeling at one with God. A wonder feeling of peace, love and joy all in one's body, mind and soul. And you do hope every can experience. There are many roads to one point. Some take the scenic route and others take short straight line. The scenic route was meant for me. But both routes will eventually get you there.
Fantastic
Such a refreshing video, totally agree that no one seems to have much of a sense of humour these days. Great intro & content John, very much looking forward to watching the rest of your content. Thanks.
Mr Wilder, sir, you came across as a sincere man who can tell it as it is, without any need for swearing, or loud. Sometimes on the web we hear many people who makes things much bigger than what they really are just to push their own narrative.
Thank you, no doubt you are passionate about what you are teaching, thank you.
Very useful and practical teaching
Mr. Wilder, thank you for your honesty, integrity, and generosity of spirit in sharing your perspectives and skills. How refreshing! I am a classically-trained pianist who has felt stymied my entire life by my discomfort with ear-playing. And here I am in retirement finding someone who makes it feel fun and possible. Thank you! I'm grateful for finding your channel. Keep up the good work, Sir! Virginia
Thank you very, very much. You have brightened my day immensely. Sorry it took so long for me to respond but I didn't know about "Comments" and "Replies" until long after the first Parts were published.
I started self-learning piano (by ear) on a whim two weeks ago; hadn’t mentioned to anyone but UA-cam recommended me this video today. Feels like I’m on the right track...
Thank you for creating this series of UA-cam videos. I've only just finished this first one but I'm really excited to continue. Your love for music and the piano in particular is clear, and your desire to share with the UA-cam community is, I believe, an extension of that love. And you are also a joy to listen to.
John, you’re so funny! Please don’t worry so much about the semantics of this presentation! You’re here to teach what you know and you’re obviously comfortable with the music!
We’re here to learn what you have to offer.
Thank you for showing up and offering what you know!
Sorry I'm so late. I don't understand computers at all. I hope you haven't given up. After Part 8 was finished, I felt good about the end result. Hope it changes your life for the better. And thank you!
John, What a joy to watch this video. My story is similar. My parents bought a piano when I was 4 years old...by the evening I was pecking out tunes. My parents had me take piano lessons when I was six. The teacher was, in my mind, a mean old lady.... if I missed a note, she would bang my fingers on the keys...and told my parents that I was just learning the tune and playing it back...give up on him! I gave up on the piano until I was in High School...and started by learning the melody in the right hand and then improvising with the left..... Long story short, music has been such an enjoyment in my life. I did not make my profession in music, but always has been a part of my life. 3 years ago, I purchased a Yamaha Genos... Now I have unlimited numbers of instruments that I can use my talent...mostly for my own enjoyment, but I have given some concerts for special occasions. I now have a channel on UA-cam and share a few songs... and play the way you taught... I learned to read the right hand, and the rest is using my "ear" to fill in the rest.
I have watched 5 minutes of this video and already I have taken a big shine to you sir. As a fellow John, and a student who is eager to develop my piano skills, I look forward to watching your videos and hopefully you can teach me some valuable knowledge on my journey. Thank you John, you are awesome 😁
Your instruction is very concise, thank you you for sharing your wisdom. I hadn’t laughed so much in a long time till you said “if you choose anything except number 3 you probably should give up playing by ear” that dead pan delivery was truly hilarious.
John, you’re a blessing…. Listening to you talk about playing the piano and listening to you play the piano reminds me so much of my father, who taught him self how to play piano by ear and your styles are quite similar. I think I first heard his piano playing while I was still in the womb. It feels like that anyway. It’s interesting that both you and my father have such a high regard for the pure beauty of a melody, and its emotional impact in song. He wrote many songs, and I think that his best songwriting happened in his teenage years up until perhaps the age of 20. he continued to write music, but those teenage years were amazingly productive for him in terms of the beauty of his melodies, which, of course, I have Flfiled away between my ears. I’m 67. I’m left-handed and have a little use of my left hand these days. So I’m mostly concentrating on my right hand and it’s working out and I’m gonna follow your videos. It’s very touching for me to hear what you have to say because it sounds so familiar. What I enjoy most about playing by ear is writing beautiful melody.
38:35 I couldn't agree more. I'm 57. I started listening to a lot of music at 13 and I've always considered myself a musician but not a player. Some guitar lessons but that was not for me. Music sounds in my head but I can't read music and I'm not interested in exams, I only wanted to play some music. I wanted to play by ear. At 52 I bought a little digital electric piano (Yamaha Reface CP) and starting playing along with the music from my iPod with headphones. I don't know name chords but they sound in my head as arpegios, so I can play them. I don't care which key I'm playing in, I simply play what my head and my hearts tell me to play. Now I can play almost any song by ear after listening to it (in my own style, as you say) and, for me it's incredible and very enjoyable. There's not only the official way of learning, If anything is your passion, you'll find a way. I love the way you explain things. You know what you're talking about. Your playing is fantastic. Here you have an admirer. Good job John!
P.S. I'm afraid I love minor scales, as my music is more on the "romantic and nostalgic" or on the jazz side, haha.
Greetings from Spain, Europe.
What a charming, endearing gentleman. You are going to reach so many lives with your wisdom, gentle humor, and teaching. Lovely playing and yes, profoundly touching.
Thank you, John.
Comments like yours are incredible. I spent 40 years as a part-time municipal judge and always introduced myself to strangers as the "teenie-weenie judge of Monte Vista". It's very hard to be pompous and arrogant after you have branded yourself with that title. It helped me to remind myself that I was no better than the defendants. Your comments are overwhelmingly kind and will force me to figure out a way to keep my modest skills in perspective. For now, all I can say is "you're very, very welcome. (I am ready to record a new Part 8 - the "Magic Chord" - thanks to comments like yours!)
What gem to find - Mr. Wilder. Your improvisation of America The Beautiful and Amazing Grace are inspiring and inventive. In our current culture - we seem to worship a degradation of excellent and a culture of rot. There are pockets of excellence such as The Cliburn (search UA-cam). I have been following the gold medal winner - Yunchan Lim 임윤찬 - RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, op. 30 - 2022 Cliburn Competition. This powerful and iconic composition played by this 18 year old from South Korea is simply amazing to witness. Thank You for kind and gentle nature sorely missing in society and a rare UA-cam piano channel that has validated my improvisational skills.
If I didn't respond a few days ago, I will now. Thank you for your incredibly kind words. I don't fault reading music or people who enjoy the great concert music and pianists. I just feel that the creativity that is inherent in playing by ear is far, far more rewarding than duplicating someone else's music. And the idea of competing with someone to determine who is the better pianist is genuinely offensive to me. Compete? Like on the battlefield? Like I'm a "warrior" defending my throne? Unthinkable. Thank you again.
What a lovely thing you have created, words, piano and thoughts.
I also took lessons as a child and over the years. I’ve gone back to take lessons periodically when I reached my 60th birthday and had gone through a divorce about eight years ago I decided to get serious about learning for a couple reasons and I wanted to memorize pieces from him composer that I’ve been following out of South Korea name Yiruma but I also wanted to learn by ear, which I had said was improvisation, which I think are actually two different things. But your primer here to start about listening by ear was very intriguing and very helpful for me because I’ve noticed that the pieces that I memorize some of them six and eight pages long. If you sit down with a teacher, they force you to do it the way that it was written, but if you do it by the way that you hear the composer play it which is really different then it also encourages you to do your own creativity on it which I’ve done on several pieces. But my point of bringing this up is that you’ve been what a great way to introduce this concept of learning by ear. You’re the first person that I’ve ever seen that has made it so simple and I thank you for that and I’m hoping that you do have another video. I just broke onto your channel now and subscribed so I’m very pleased with that and God bless you for doing this. Judge wilder
Hello Sir, I am a 24 year old ameteur musician and I have been playing the piano since the age of 8 years old. I always took my "ear for music", being able to play by ear, for granted! Everyone around me have been amazed how i've done it. Practice, enthusiasm with a bit of ADHD and Aspergers, made this easier for me! All the above you've said was very nice and it did indeed make me laugh. It was very nice of you to try and implement humour as when you go shopping or simply go on the street, so many don't look at you or smile at you and that's a problem! An octive in my words only is the pitch is higher or lower from middle C of the same type of note.
Ha, I've been doing this since age 10. And yes, maybe ADHD, so-called, has something to do with it because I definitely got that too.
If you can last through Part 8, I think the program will help you immensely.
Me Wilder. I'm 69, have played by ear all my life and I'm looking forward to honing my musical "skills" as I follow you attentively. Thank you for your unselfishness and willingness to share your skill. Please...carry on.
I agree with this person that say that he has only 5 minutes listening to you and it's something that you feel that is something secret that you're going to tell or you're going to let us know but thank you for every word for every technique that you let us know because hey, we can see and we can hear what's the real music is all about. Thank you very much. God bless you. P.S some people type , where they are from, so. I'm from Guatemala.
Amazing song playing and hardly noticed any mistakes. Seems like you are playing standards with a jazzy style and with feelings. What is really nice is you add allot of embellishments to your songs with runs, waterfall note effects and off key chord changes.
In the past I have had self taught piano courses that taught these methods of piano playing which really enhances any basic songs - standards, religious, jazz standards, and I do some classic older Rock songs.
If you know the basic song notes, scale structures, chords, and added embellishments. Then know how to put them all together, we can play songs the way you played "America the Beautiful"
To play by ear we almost have to hear the song in our heads and with feelings make your hands transpose the notes, chords, and embellishments to the piano or keyboard. It is your own style that we bring out to make the songs an enjoyment to play and listen to.
Keep up the great recordings on your playing by ear lessons. Have only watched your first lesson.
Note: I am 73 yo and grew up listening to standards, but also grew up listening to the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and many others of the 1960's.
Thanks for the video and take care.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom, John. I'm in my mid 50s and I've been playing since I taught myself at the age of 7. My parents met as music majors and kept piles of music and a couple of piano method books from which I taught my self to play. So I started by learning the written notes. However, some of the written music my parents had contained chord notations. When I was a freshman in high school I started putting the chord notations together with what was written and started teaching myself music theory. I don't sight read well, though I can understand what I see, so if I'm looking at the music, I'm interpreting the melody and chord progression and playing my own arrangement. I love to play with get-togethers of people playing bass, guitar, drums, and other things. I also have acquired a few synthesizers and electric keyboards. I know enough guitar to look at what the rhythm guitarist is fingering and read the chords. Then I can improvise something that sounds nice with what everyone else is playing. Even if I can't see, if I can hear I can pick out the chord progression - by ear.
As far as playing perfectly, I love not being held to playing perfectly and I appreciate music that is improvised imperfectly and still sounds good. You sit down a pick-up group and start playing standards after a genre (I like the more uplifting stuff as well) and if you don't know it, you listen and pick it up as you go. These are the best of times.
Hello John! Your renditions of America the Beautiful and Amazing Grace are so full of beauty and emotion I almost cried! My mother played by ear and taught me that playing just the chords with the melody, instead of actually reading sheet music , was the”cheaters method”. ..OK but a little on the shameful and lazy side. After listening to you, I feel much better about the whole music playing thing! I have never been able to get past a rudimentary level of reading music, but I can skim the sheet music for the chords and melody while playing and only looking up here and there. I truly enjoy playing music I love , and only playing this way makes no never mind to me!! Any way that one is able to figure out an instrument and get great enjoyment is not cheating, but creating. Not everyone can mentally break down the math needed to read music, so we figure it out in our own way. I feel vindicated! Thank You!
Better a cheater than a sheeter
My Mom & Dad adopted me at age 4. Thank you for doing this. You have encouraged my heart immensely!
Thanks for your insight. I lay awake at night hearing another path to the next path. My brain spins constantly. Thank you for helping me ground myself.
Thank you! I play by ear, have been since i was 8...you need to say "moroons and idiots weclome to my channel" meeting someone like is you is the reason why youtube is something I appreciate
You are genuine and your words are straight from your heart.
Thank you very much.
I truly enjoyed your first video. Thank you for being so open and genuine. Eager to watch more.
I was given a piano when I was 3 years old and began then to play the melody of tunes I learned like Jesus Loves Me and Old McDonald Had a Farm. By the time I was 6, I played with chords. Then I began lessons at 6-1/2. Shortly after that I began hearing and distinguishing which notes and chords that I was hearing when listening to any type of music. This ability has been such a blessing all my life. (I am now 85.) I really enjoy playing by ear. It’s truly a gift.
Very helpful comment. Children are content picking out simple tunes for years! Adults want to play complex music quickly. I did that for the years between ages 10 and 14, but then we moved and no more piano. This created an abiding longing and an envy. Finally in my late sixties, egged on by ubiquitous online promises of easy paths to playing our favorite songs, I searched for a way to play piano fluently. Having found that teacher, it's taken me years to gear down and tune my expectations to my actual current skill and tonal vocabulary. My teacher advocates keeping a childlike attitude. This is the greatest challenge. I'm optimistic that I'll be pretty skilled when I'm your age! Patience. That's the main ingredient.
I really enjoyed your comment. I am 82, could play melodies on my toy piano when I was 3 years old. The toy piano was at my grandmas , so the only time I could play was when I was at her house. The challege I had with my toy piano was white keys only. My grandfather on my mothers side had a piano, he taught me to play cords and a few tunes, like Tea for Two, and Chop Sticks. When ever and where ever I saw a piano, I was always drawn to it. I would rather play piano at a friends house then pay with her,
At age 14 I asked my dad for a piano with lessons. Reading music was very hard, and I would memorize the notes of the sheet music before I learned to completly read the music.
I have owned a piano most of my adult life. I Play a limited amount of tunes that I taught myself, and or remember from being taught sheet music version od a tune.
I wanted to expand my abilities and play likeJohn, but never met a pianist who could teach me to play by ear.
I AM EXCITED TO HAVE FOUND THIS MAN WHO TAKES AFTER MY MY OWN GENERATION'S MUSICAL HEART HEART.
I was so happy to find this amazing man whom I can relate to 100 %
This has to be one of top ten all time UA-cam videos ever made. Thank you so much.
Thank you Mr. Wilder. Just want to show gratitude for this beautiful channel you've created.
I hope that it will help to change your life for the even better. (I included the word "even" because, given your kindness, your life must already be good.) Thank you.
Hi John, God bless you for taking your time to do this. I am only 45yrs old and I absolutely love this video. You shared a story that resonated with me because some of the things you described about yourself happened to me too. I stumbled on the piano when I was 7. It was a small toy-like keyboard that my parents bought for my brother, who had no interest in the thing. He was happy for me to play with it. I started playing with it and somehow started using my ear to feel out different sounds. It was creativity from the get go for me. As little as 7, I would hear a jingle on a television advertisement and would wonder how to find the melody on the small toy keyboard that I had. I would spend hours and hours trying to find it, humming the correct sound with my mouth and using my hands to find the correct notes. That is how I taught myself how to find melodies in sounds. Not long after, I watched a video (The Sound of Music) - that was a miracle in itself, because that was the first time I found out the TONIC-SOLFA. So I was then able to associate the notes of TV jingles or random songs with tonic solfas. Once that association was made, it didn't matter what key it was being rendered, I started finding them much quicker. The speed of identification of sounds really motivated me and church really helped. Not long, I was able to pick out the melodies of church hymns and started playing the church organ around 9yrs old. By 10/11 yrs old, I had mastered many chords.
I am making this comment to appreciate you because you said something else that got my attention, which had been bugging me my for such a long time and couldn't understand why it was like that. The HOSTILITY. I always wondered why musicians who played by ear, always faced hostility from those who learned to read or from the teachers of sheet music. It now makes so much sense. It's like OIL and WATER. They hardly mix. One is DOGMATIC and the other is CREATIVE. I really like what you said: "when you read sheet music, you create nothing, you simply do as you are told", but when you play music by ear, you create everything". Thank you so much for saying this. I can look at a music sheet and identify notes from the clefs but that doesn't take away my ability to listen to music and recognise melody, chords, progressions and apply them immediately. It must be so frustrating and jealousy-provoking for those who can't do that and I'm now 100% convinced that that is where the hostility is coming from. The PURPOSE why GOD created MUSIC is for us to CREATE more. Without creativity, we are dead inside.
Spot on
You can do both. One doesn’t interfere with the other. They actually complement one another. Unfortunately classical music instruction tends to overly focus on reading and excludes solfège and harmony knowledge. Jazz is more balanced. Rock and pop doesn’t require reading as much. It’s all about how you express what you play regardless of how you learn it. Just saying…
Hi, John. I thoroughly enjoyed part 1. I have been playing by ear all of my life, now for 72 years. I can play and compose anything from Bach to rock, but I often concentrate on smooth jazz (love the chords). I also play my rendition of Amazing Grace in three keys, as well (I found that very interesting). It's not like yours, and a different style. You can find me here on UA-cam. If you find me on UA-cam, you will have found the right Preston :) Can't wait to watch part 2. Thanks for sharing.
john -- i am 84 -- taught piano for 30 yrs -- had a piano minor in college -- classically trained -- and play by ear -- one thing i know -- i never had a student i could teach to play by ear -- they either have the gift or they dont -- and it is a gift -- heres how i do it -- pick out the tune, put one bass note with it, then fill in the chords -- im most comfortable in the key of f -- have played for churches, schools, nursing homes, weddings, funerals etc -- love your chords -- yes amazing grace comes in many keys
My musical motto: " 'One note at a time' breeds confidence. Confidence breeds enthusiasm. Enthusiasm breeds creativity. Creativity breeds joy. All I can do is show people the tools that will allow them to play by ear. I think it will work, even for those who are not terribly "gifted". Their gift and their reward will be in teaching themselves by using those tools.
I would also like to add I enjoy the older songs and ballads and none of the music that was made after the 60s was even enjoyable enough for me to learn. My Grandfather was a fiddle player so I learned jigs and reels from him. Others I just listen once to the record and could play someone similar melody and my own cordings.. The selections that you played America and Amazing Grace are wonderful to listen to that. Thank you, John.
You are a wonderful man. I appreciate what your trying to teach us! John, please keep up the good work as I have played by ear all my life too!. I tried learning to read sheet music at an early age but all my teachers told me I was unteachable. they would set me down at their piano then leave the room, tell me to practice playing the music in front of me
I am thrilled to find your video. The introduction of this caught my complete attention. Your description of how people are etc. you are authentic, and wise … I will continue supporting your cause and therefore, I
will benefit greatly from your teachings.
This gave me the confidence to learn playing by ear. Thank you very much!
I so enjoyed this!! I started taking classical piano lessons at age 7 and continued all the way through college. I enjoyed being able to play classical music but my ear was not developed. My dream had been to play for my church which proved difficult without a “good” ear. I loved your statement about classical music limiting our creativity! That’s so very true! I’m so excited to hear more from you! I hope to better my ear and gain the confidence to play without a single note in front of me!
The only reason I felt that I had to deal with simple reading is that playing by ear by listening alone is not easy - the melody can be bad enough but the chords can be a nightmare to try to unravel. Also, if I only tried to reach people who could already read music, I would be abandoning millions of people who could enrich their lives tremendously but for reading JUST A LITTLE. And with simple reading, a person has access to thousands and thousands of wonderful songs they can play using only the treble clef and simple chords. I hope you can last through Part 8 because that's where I wade into the toughest subject - chords - but it also the subject that makes ALL of the difference. Good luck and thank you.
I know no.3 was the correct answer for matching the chord to the melody of Silent Night, but no.4 sounded cool as an alternative harmony
John, thank you. I love all forms of Rock, Folk, Jazz and yes, Gershwin, Porter and standards. Your Honor, thank you for getting this old timer, just a shade younger than yourself, to get a keyboard. I play the sax by ear, with your inspiration I'm going for something I put off for far too long.
Good stuff, John. The connection between the two notes at either end of the octave is that the higher note's string is vibrating exactly twice as fast as the lower note's string. The A below middle C is vibrating back and forth 220 times in one second. The A above middle C is vibrating 440 times in a second. Few people know that notes sound good together because of physics.
@Matthew Philip Because when multiple waves are created, their amplitudes add together. If all the wave frequencies are multiples of a common number, the waves line up neatly and create a consistent periodic sound. If they do not, they interfere with each other, creating a more random or dissonant sound. See the "Basic Harmony" video created by Cato Zane.
Thank you John! Your program is a God Send for me. Playing by ear has long been a dream, which I feared might be unattainable (but secretly never gave up hope). You've instilled an actual belief that I can do it. I passed the tests!!! Life got in the way and interrupted piano lessons at ages, 7, 19, & 40. I've taught myself to play 3 or 4 songs by picking out the melody (from sheet music) and adding enough left hand notes so it sounds pretty good. (so I'm told) I have some really bad habits though. Example: If I lose my place, the only way I can find it on the sheet, is by looking at the lyrics.😊
Beautiful and simply amazing!!!!! I’m 63 and I have NEVER heard Amazing Grace played so well. Thank you Mr. John
Comments like yours make it all worth while - and make life worth living. Thank you!
All I can say to you, Mr. Wilder, is a heartfelt thank you for sharing this with me. Blessings always. I’m visually impaired so playing by ear is very important to me. I’m not able to read sheet music so this is most valuable to me.
I have no idea how many of the "tools" that I describe are available in braille. Simple, one note at a time melodies? Simple chords? Maybe they could help, if they exist. As for "seeing", I can play all but the most sophisticated of my arrangements with my eyes closed. I do it instinctively because, when I close my eyes, nothing intrudes on the feelings provided by the music. You are very welcome and I thank you for your kindness.
John what can I say but WOW, a fantastic video. You are very accomplished and brilliant. I play by ear also, starting age 2 and I am now 56 and still going strong, play organ and piano 😊🦋
Good work .. Only thing I question is how a serious musician could discourage anyone from delving into minor scales .. It's like half of music .. Used correctly, in conjunction with all the other chords and scales, minor tones can inspire, uplift, express triumph, joy and creativity even more than a major toned only progression ..
Great harmonization of Amazing Grace
Right! I picked numbers 3 AND 4 in the test. The chord in number was beautiful, a jazz chord.
A lot of my old school jams, disco-funk, R&B Tunes, were in minor keys. Probably more minor than major,
Even the blues (Normally minor) can be uplifting. Many classical pieces are in minor keys too.
Yeah, that must fall into the category of “acid rock” 😂 In all seriousness though, some of his (very lovely!) harmonizations he played had minor tonalities, so even he likes it. He just doesn’t realize it. :)
Far more than half, when you look at all the possible modes. The whole idea that major scales dominate (or should) is just wrong. But everybody is entitled to their taste in music...
As a composer and concert pianist,,, just remember Beethoven was totally deaf, there are many great musicians blind and deaf around the world,,, just a thought
When my mom was just a kid she wanted to play the piano but they couldn't afford one. 30 years after she was able to buy one and tried learning it through a teacher until the teacher was run over by a car. My mom then tried ouido and can play any song she likes using two of her index fingers. She passed away in 2015 at 73, but I believe she was really happy being able to play the piano. I have video recorded her and posted it on UA-cam.
I am 84 years of age over the years have dabbled in playing guitar and Bass Guitar have looked at many you tube instructional segments but never been able to grasp the logic of playing by ear...This tuition by you Mr Wilder has hit the mark. It has got me so interested in giving your lessons a try that I intend buying an electronic keyboard. Your information and tuition were truly "Down to Earth" and in the language I can relate to (including the pauses while you consult your notes on what to say next) Fantastic!!! Thank you so much. I now need to buy a notebook , watch your episodes again and make notes of important facts . The section on various chords in various keys I found particularly interesting and understandable...Thank you so much for your time and effort and I wish you well Regards Patrick (in the UK)
Dear Patrick (in the UK): For some reason, my replies to people (100's of them) are wiped off my screen shortly after I send them. So, I don't know IF I have responded to anyone and, if I did, what I said. Being a Luddite has its drawbacks. I assume I have not responded to you. So, I will start with THANK YOU!. One bit of advice: If you do buy an electric keyboard, be SURE that it has weighted keys. Some cheap electrics do not have weighted keys and bear no resemblance to the "touch" of a real piano. I apologize for my elimination of some of my "pauses". After Part 1, I realized that "Q-cards" wouldn't work because there was just too much detail to cover and I didn't want to leave anything out. Thank you again for your kind words. John
I am in my late 69's, played trumpet in school growing up. Started playing bass guitar my senior year of high school and took up piano at 60. I know how to read music and agree, if you are reading you aren't creating anything except sound. I played bass in a band that played clubs in the early 70's. I learned the songs by ear from records on a record player. Looking forward to the other videos I see on your channel because I want to learn to play the piano, not just repeat what someone else wrote.
nice
Dear Precious Mr. Wilder……you are so precious …I have been yearning to understand …you are such a blessing …I am going to try your beautiful teaching and gift to help people who want to play by ear …
Bless you and thank you so much for your encouraging and beautiful video .
Julie …Perth Australia
You Sir have a wonderful talent. You should bottle your integrity and peddle it in Washington DC. There is no market for it there but there is always hope. I am impressed that you are a judge and lawyer and everything you say makes perfect sense musically and otherwise. Such a delight to have someone share his knowledge and talents with others at no cost. I am sure we will learn more than music. Thank you so much
So good of you to take the time and effort to share this. Music is all the things you say it is. Hopefully, people will be able to add to their lives from this video!
That's my only hope - to make lives better.
Hello Mr. Wilder, I'm really glad that I came across your video. I play various stringed instruments, all by ear, and I have wanted to add piano for a long time but a bit intimidated by it. Your video gives me hope that I may be able to do it yet. I loved both the songs you played; they are truly "standards" indeed. I am so glad you included the history behind Amazing Grace, and yes, that sea captain, John Newton, did "find the Lord", that's the heart of the whole song. Once I understood that, it really took on a deeper meaning for me. I hope you continue to play for many years to come. You have a wonderful gift.
Watch the movie "Amazing Grace" - a wonderful movie about a wonderful song.
That was a great inspirational video. In this day and age, it is great to see such a genuine testament to music "that touches people", as you said. America the Beautiful was awesome... as was Amazing Grace. You are to be commended for bringing back a diminishing musical style with flourishes, arpeggios, and heart-felt transitions of pianissimo to forte. Your heart was your metrodome!
It is comments like yours that makes my efforts feel worthwhile. Thank you!
I Love this guy and hearing him play, esp. Amazing Grace is quite an experience. Very talented. 🎹
When you played the song @23:18, i really loved it. I love America and when i have kids one day i will teach my kids how to love my country. I play the piano by learning the music first then playing it by ear my own way. Love your video gramps!!!!
Gramps????? I've only seen 80 summers. Give me a few more years to earn that name. And thank you!
@@Thephilosophyofpianobyear 😂😂😂😀😀😀😀😀
Benjamin Zander in his humorous and inspiring TED talk on The Transformative Power of Classical Music mentions that essentially noone is tone deaf, giving examples, one of which is when your mother calls, you not only can recognize it's her, but also what mood she is in. I would add that being able to listen and converse is indicative of grasping tonal subtleties.
As to the octave test, on the third choice around the 14:50 mark, was I also hearing overtones at around 3hz difference?
I beg to differ regarding individual creative expression in classical music. Yes, very much limited in comparison to improvization, but the nuances of interpretation is an opiate for the classical connoisseur.
Thank you John for taking the time and passing on your wisdom and insights to us the younger generation.
Actually that’s not quite right I’m a classical concert pianist and improvisation does indeed exist when we write our own cadenzas (famous ones by Mozart and Beethoven) or improvisers of figured bass in the baroque era like the Netherlands Bach society people bringing that back. Also classical improvisation I’ll name it exits check out Gabriela Montero she is the beacon of this ability it’s interesting because I also play jazz and her improv is primarily classical not jazz she’s a modern day Mozart.
@@Vic9994546 I agree. I love Montero's amazing improvs, and enjoyed her recent emotional improvs of Für Elise. Perhaps I misunderstood what John was saying, referring to the constraints of keeping to a score. I wonder what percentage of classically trained pianists are skilled improvisers. I'm a novice, so appreciate the art of being able to reinterpret a piece.
I'm 77 (Imperial, not Metric) years old, and have been playing a variety of instruments, (guitar, harmonica, tinwhistle/pennywhistle/Irish whistle, keyboard, ukulele, native American flute, etc.) strictly by ear, for decades. If I hear a tune that I like, I'll play it a few times before I tackle it with one of my instruments, and within a short time, I'll be playing a recognizable melody.
I've given learning musical notation a whirl, but it's just not for me - too constraining.
Old-time fiddle, banjo and guitar players who didn't have access to sheet music, and no music couses, did fine without stagnant black marks on paper. The "oral tradition" worked fine, and personal embellishments added a touch of spice to the tune.
One can play a composition as Beethoven wrote it, but if one is not permitted to "do his own thing" and be creative, why bother?
True story: I was in the guitar section of a music store, trying out some acoustic guitars. I got to talking to the employee behind the counter - she was filling in for the regular guy who was out to lunch, and she did not play guitar, but violin. She told me that she could not play a tune without seeing written musical notation. HOW VERY SAD THAT MUST BE!!! Hear a tune, like it, but can't work it out in your head and hands? SAD, SAD, SAD!!!
I agree. The usual response to my question "Have you ever tried to play by ear?", posed to some very good "reading pianists" has been: "Oh, I could NEVER do that". Tragic, because none of them were tone deaf.
Boy, does that Baldwin sound great! Tuned and otherwise prepared beautifully...which is to say nothing about the stirring, resonant playing. A real treat. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing your video retired judge John Wilder. I appreciated your candor and humility in your words. I too have played by ear throughout my life. Thanks again.
This is delightful! Thank you so much for making this video and I will be watching the rest of them.
absolutely beautiful. i grew up worshipping frankie carle's style and love your playing. at 72 i'm trying to get back a little after a very long hiatus. the old music has the chord symbols which i have forgetten to a degree, but they are so helpful. my favorite was frankie's carnival in cotton town....
Great idea, great job! I've always been playing by ear, I'm 68, and I enjoy every day playing standards like Stadust, and Elton John, the Beatles and many stuff like this as well. I'll enjoy very much your lessons!! Thank's!
Ps great piano playing!! Your great!
@@mariocastoldi612 🎶👍
John, what a breath of fresh air you are !!! Thank you for taking time to produce these programs. Im a classically trained pianist, a Masters Degree and do not play by ear! Im already a fan and I am happily submitting to your tutelage !!
I am not opposed to reading music. But I think that the only reward for that kind of perfection is to the ego. That's not bad but the reward for creating your own arrangement of someone else's beautiful creation is a reward to your soul. It is an incredibly wonderful feeling, far beyond your ego. Don't give up. And Thank you!
Great phrasing, John, and gorgeous harmonies! I tip my hat.
I'm a lifelong composer to whom playing by ear always came easily, even in early childhood. I arranged plenty of popular tunes, mostly from my era but some older, and have taken on less mainstream material as well, like Goodbye Porkpie Hat by Charles Mingus to cite one example. Nowadays I don't do covers anymore, having opted to feature originals almost exclusively. This bypasses any issues and obligations to do with copyright laws.
I've learned to write music that's rhythmically pretty simple, enough for me to put down on paper. Given the limited manuscript writing skills I've acquired thus far, much of the material I've composed has phrasing and rhythms beyond reach of my skill limit in that department. But I never really learned to sight read and am embarrassed by my ineptitude, not only with music score but even chord charts. Oh well, we've all got our limitations.... Anyone who's ever played or performed with me knows I don't do charts. But I don't really need them, so it's never been a problem.
Occasionally I enjoy surfing around online, looking for musicians' videos, just to hear different points of view on topics like this, playing by ear. Thanks for sharing yours, Mr. Wilder. Cheers!
Hi John. A beautiful rendition of America. The chords you play are outstanding. I play by music and by ear too. Your piano has great tone quality.
First time I see you will subscribe. I am a beginner and I will be 70 . Lol
I am happy I am not tone deaf... when you started playing the first song. I wanted to hug you. Beautiful 😍
Beautiful your honor! I also have spent my work life in law as a private investigator. I feel much the same. I play and by ear too I am 61 and I am starting Piano Now. Music is a hearing art My guitar teacher me how to play by ear. I also agree Music now is so very dark. You inspired me today!
GD bless you. Ty so much for sharing what you did on the tutorial. Mr.Jon you’re too 🙋🏻♀️🤗🥹😊handsome and cute, being yourself was GDs blessing.
Thank you sir and God bless you! I too play the piano, never had a lesson, it's a gift from God.
Thank you John. I have loved and wanted to play Piano all my life. I already play guitar (self- taught) but recently I bought a piano. I have been searching for a method to learn for a solid month, everyday. I feel as though I have found the spot and the guy. I'm 65 years old so I have seen enough to know a genuine soul when I see it. I wish we had more Judges like you. I'll stay in touch my friend. God bless...
You evidently subscribe to the same two-word philosophy that governs my life: Be Kind. Thank you!
Thank you for this video. I have been playing piano for over 50 years. I can read music but also can play by ear. I love all the notes you add to your songs. I could listen to you all day. Just beautiful. It is about creativity. I also taught piano lessons for 30 years. I could tell the students that had the "gift" of playing by ear. I would try to encourage that and guide them..like you said, it isn't really something you can teach. I remember my piano teacher when I was 5 saying to me, "Those notes are not on tje page!" I told her I could hear them though. Lol!
If I had a magic wand, I would convince every piano teacher to have a "failing" student watch the program before they would allow that student to just walk away from such a wonderful addition to the joy of life.
John , your a sweet gentleman . We are studying the book of John at my church too 😊 . Great name sake ! Thanks for your lesson and talk ❤
John, you really are the real deal brother! Keep up the good work! Just subscribed you. Never heard Amazing Grace played so beautifully like you did here :)
Hi John,
All My Life is the first song I sang during lockdown two years ago. I love your own version.
I'm a beginner self-taught piano player, just love to amuse myself.
Hi John. Loved listening to you play. I’ve been an ear player from age 5. Took classical lessons for years but learned most pieces by ear til my teacher found out. 2 years ago I began playing “California “ jazz -Bill Evans and Bill Charlap. For this I need the sheet music as some of the chords are complex enough to baffle my ear. But I love just sitting at my piano and letting my fingers roam. Very enjoyable video. Keep up the good work! 👍🏻🎶
Thank you so much Sir for haven decided to be you...this fact lacks so much our days...thank you so so much...only 4 minutes in and already i cannot wait to watch the rest...