Playing by ear
- Thread starter grh
- Start date
Phrasemaker
New member
I don't think I can answer the question "how rare" but I think it's pretty common to be able to remember a melody, hence the intervals that form it. The play by ear is very broad, some people can name a note they hear, others can find that note by simply hearing it and then playing it. I have come across some people who when playing notes on an instrument, are unable to make a distinction between note intervals which makes it difficult to find a melody even if not in the original key. Speaking is often melodic, I sometimes string a sentence together which makes no sense at all using words I speak naturally which will form the melodic phrase I have in mind, I then replace the nonsense with my actual lyrics, it's a method which I find useful. If you have absolutely no record of the music then it might be case of using lyrics if you have them to find the melodies, then you can get a musician to play some chords around the melody until you find the progression you want.
Good luck
Tim
Good luck
Tim
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
Thank you all for taking the time to respond. I have everything recorded, someone just needs to listen and be able to play the music. They are not songs, they are short compositions with no lyrics. I know this is the songwriting forum, but I did not know where this would go. Do you believe I will be able to find someone local who can help?
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
I'm a little confused here. What exactly is recorded and what's the purpose in someone playing the music you've recorded ? Is it for a live performance ?
As for whether you'd be able to find someone local that can help, I don't know because I don't know who you are or where you live. Even if I did, there's no way that I could know which musicians that play by ear are near you.
Thus far, you've been mysteriously vague.
I read --it's like a second language.
I can play by ear too - but it really really hurts.
They are short pieces of music some may refer as music loops/samples. The reason I need someone to play them for me is because the sound quality of the recordings are terrible. However, my music and playing is incredible. That is the reason I need to make new recordings with myself playing.
rayc
retroreprobate
There are dozens of ways to start.
If you play nothing but can hum the melody or sing it then you could download Songsmith which allows you to enter a melody via a mic, guitar, keyboard etc & it will generate a backing arrangement with a range of specs you give it. It's a little crude but will give you the chords that you need to accompany your song.
band in a box may help there are a squillion way in.
I know a bloke who couldn't play but developed his own notation system for HIS voice and he successfully wrote, then with the help of friends, arranged and produced 2 or 3 quite successful amateur musicals.
Personally, I don't "Sight Read" but can read music to some degree, (bass clef funnily enough but it takes time & energy for my poor brain to translate into doable stuff), but I also don't have a very good ear so can't play just by sound. I use chords as the basis for building an arrangement & those doz chords I know get a work out.
If you play nothing but can hum the melody or sing it then you could download Songsmith which allows you to enter a melody via a mic, guitar, keyboard etc & it will generate a backing arrangement with a range of specs you give it. It's a little crude but will give you the chords that you need to accompany your song.
band in a box may help there are a squillion way in.
I know a bloke who couldn't play but developed his own notation system for HIS voice and he successfully wrote, then with the help of friends, arranged and produced 2 or 3 quite successful amateur musicals.
Personally, I don't "Sight Read" but can read music to some degree, (bass clef funnily enough but it takes time & energy for my poor brain to translate into doable stuff), but I also don't have a very good ear so can't play just by sound. I use chords as the basis for building an arrangement & those doz chords I know get a work out.
chuckduffy
Well-known member
I think the request was a little stranger than that. He said both his playing and music were incredible (i think those were the words), but he doesn't know how to play it anymore and the recording quality is crap. He can't play by ear and doesn't know how to re-create what he previously created, and needs someone to listen and transcribe his own music, so that he can read the notes and re-create the incredible music and playing, this time around with better recording quality.
I have never used Songsmith nor have I used band in a box. That is interesting that songsmith provides that function. I am still trying to find help from a human being lol. When you do a search for play by ear you get millions of results. You would think there would be someone out there who could help me.
chuckduffy
Well-known member
That is a good description. Thank you for using the word incredible.
hahaha. Glad I am not the only one. Go ahead and email me sometime, after all you are the son of Yoda lol. ( I am only joking about about Yoda not about you emailing me.)
Will they get mad if I start another similar thread?
chuckduffy
Well-known member
I learn by ear and by sheet music about the same amount of time. When learning by ear I almost always listen for bass/root notes first all the way through the song. Then I go back with those bass notes in mind and try to find the right-hand chords (granted, I usually do this on a piano). The trickiest part for me is knowing the difference between the root note and the upper chord. For example, if the root/bass note is G and the chord in the right hand is a Gmaj, that's easy. But when it's a G in the bass with a Emaj in the right hand, that's where it gets tricky and I just have to go with what sounds best.