Learning and playing by ear
I write this after attending the Edmonton Folk Festival. I love FolkFest!
Not so much because of the headline acts on the main stage evening shows - although those are are wonderful - but because of the session stages. Where three of four bands or artists share a stage, share some songs, and then start jamming with each other. People who play in many different styles play together for the first time without looking at a written score! They do everything by ear!
As a classically trained musician, this has always been presented to me as something that cannot be done until you have reached a certain stage of advanced study. The protocol was always to study the score first, then memorize it as part of preparation for performance. The FolkFest musicians learn a new tune from each other, by ear, on stage during a performance, and then create harmony parts and improvise solos as they figure it out.
The most I ever learned by ear as a classical student was a few Baroque ornaments. And even then, there were symbols in my score to remind me what to do and when. Putting a few extra notes in spontaneously, by ear, did eventually happen after much experience studying scores and treatises. But it was at an advanced course for Baroque study where my instructor advised learning folk songs by ear as part of my practice!
Since then, I have spent many years exploring how and when to introduce playing by ear to my students. How simple and easy can I make it, and how can I start doing it with the fewest number of notes? My youngest students start as beginners learning by ear, and once they start to understand the patterns of the musical language, they can start to be playful with it. But what about adults? My University students and other adult learners have not had this experience. They are in the same place that I was when I first started to try to play by ear. How can I make it easier for them than it was for me?
This quest has led to the development of two new online courses.
- a Play by Ear online course that is a guided self study program for adult learners
- a Teach Beginner Music by Ear certificate that is available through Continuing Education at University of Alberta.
I invite you to check these links to learn more, and to pass them on to anyone else you know who may be interested in this way of learning:
Online Play by Ear course: https://schoen-duo.ca/education-3/play-by-ear-online-course/
