Ear Training / Learning by Ear

[PiperTim]

I'm not sure I've seen this specifically addressed here...

Is there a particular approach you would recommend to someone who wants to learn how to play by ear? Are there actually ear training courses, tutors, etc. out there? Or is it just a matter of sitting down, listening to a portion of a tune, and messing around with your chanter until you come up with something that resembles what you've heard?

[Joseph E. Smith]

Or is it just a matter of sitting down, listening to a portion of a tune, and messing around with your chanter until you come up with something that resembles what you've heard?

I am inclined to say this is it... although, just because I have never heard of an ear training course does not mean they do not exist.

[Uilliam]

Do ye read music?If not then why not learn it is really not that hard...ye will find that then opens up a whole world of music to ye that ye can give your own interpretation to.Aural learning is OK but ye are listening to someone else's interpretation.Not that that is a bad thing in itself.
So if'n ye are going to listen to someone ye may as well read the notes to see how far or close they are to a recognised transcription.Unless of course ye are blind which may be problamatic or deaf (like me) which makes the aural interesting as i cannot hear a lot of the notes at times
Good luck

[Ceann Cromtha]

I had this same curiosity a few years ago. Get a recording device that can loop and slow down its output (I currently use a Tascam DR-1) and play along with it mimicking what you hear. When I started out I had to have everything written down so that I could practice it. Now I almost never do this because it seems like an unnecessary step in the middle. Another big advantage to learning by ear is you don't have to ask an instructor to write something down for you at a tionol or class. Some instructors who are great pipers either can't do this or feel uncomfortable doing it. Good luck.

(I see you live nearby; if you have any questions, please send me a PM).

[o'corragain]

Here is some instruction on developing your ear.
http://coyotebanjo.com/music-31.html

Also, if you have access, there was an article or two in the Piper's Review, I will see if I can find it.

Cheers, David

[PiperTim]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. Keep it coming if you have anything more to add. I'm capable of reading music (VERY slowly, and nothing too complex), but I don't want to have to rely upon that.

Another big advantage to learning by ear is you don't have to ask an instructor to write something down for you at a tionol or class.

Yeah, I see this as a huge advantage. At this point, a teacher might play a phrase or two (even slowly) and I'm already lost. No one else seems to have this problem at the tionols I've attended. I suspect my problems are somewhat exaggerated by the fact that this is the first instrument I've ever really attempted to learn. Most of the other people I've met at tionols have come to the pipes after having already learned other instruments. I assume their ears are already more "developed" as a result.

Also, if you have access, there was an article or two in the Piper's Review, I will see if I can find it.

I do have access, so if you know which issue(s) they're in, that would be great!

- Tim

[Jeff Cullen]

There is a great piece of software (cost is $50) called the Amazing Slow Downer http://www.ronimusic.com/ that lets you change the tempo and keep the pitch the same, or change the pitch as well. It also loops sections you pick. It works with wav, mp3 or directly on CD files. I didn't want to pay the 50 bucks and searched for a free alternative, but nothing had all those featueres. Glad I bought it.

[Brazenkane]

www.musictheory.net

good ear training (free) yoke on the site.

[Pyroh]

There is a great piece of software (cost is $50) called the Amazing Slow Downer http://www.ronimusic.com/ that lets you change the tempo and keep the pitch the same, or change the pitch as well. It also loops sections you pick. It works with wav, mp3 or directly on CD files. I didn't want to pay the 50 bucks and searched for a free alternative, but nothing had all those featueres. Glad I bought it.

Audacity can do all of those as well. And it's for free.

[projektio28]

I started learning by ear when I was a small child, and still rely upon the skill for improvisation (or what I like to call 'noodling') but I eventually learned to read music when I was young too. Both skills are handy to have.

But I do personally feel that you can't necessarily learn playing by ear if you don't already have a little bit of musical affinity. There are courses out there that help with ear training (i.e. identifying pitch or intervals) but those are really meant on developing a skill they already think you possess.

Don't get me wrong, I've known plenty of musicians who only play by ear and can't read music, and others who oddly enough are tone deaf, but can read sheet music and/or memorize tunes/songs and play them back without issue.

Everyone learns differently, but testing out both playing by ear and attempting to read music will give you a good idea about how to proceed.

Matt

[Philipp]

There is a great piece of software (cost is $50) called the Amazing Slow Downer http://www.ronimusic.com/ that lets you change the tempo and keep the pitch the same, or change the pitch as well. It also loops sections you pick. It works with wav, mp3 or directly on CD files. I didn't want to pay the 50 bucks and searched for a free alternative, but nothing had all those featueres. Glad I bought it.

Audacity can do all of those as well. And it's for free.

I totally agree. You can download audacity on http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Simply load an mp3 file in audacity. Then click on "filters", then "change speed" and type in the cahnge in %. >There you are!

I can read music, also not to complex (never learned piano or such thing...). I started with the highland pipes and tought myself to play from sheetmusic. In the end I could play average tunes fluently from the written music and also sing tunes.
When I started playing the Uilleann Pipes I learned it after notes in a tutor book. BUT: I discovered that when I heard tunes, I remembered them very fast, whereas it took me weeks to keep a tune in mind, when I only played it from the written music.
So I forced myself to learn tunes from recordings - by slowing them down in audacity and listening to them part by part. Now I can learn a two-part tune in (less than) half an hour. I have a repertoire after 1 year of uilleann piping I had on the highland pipes after 6 years. I have melodies saved in my mind, so I can experiment with ornamentation. On the GHB, I never was so confident.

So I can only recommend learning to learn by ear in general and especially by using that free computer program.

Cheers,

Philipp

[Pyroh]

Philipp: Well, I have different language version, but if I went by translation, I wouldn't use change speed - that affects the pitch. But "change tempo" (I have it as the next choice in the menu) doesn't.

[eric]

Echoing what others have said: use Audacity to slow down the recording. Break the tune into manageable sections. I'd suggest learning to lilt, hum, sing or whistle back the sections correctly (right pitches), then figure out how to play what you lilted.

[eskin]

I'm a huge fan of "Transcribe" by Seventh String Software:

http://www.seventhstring.com

Can change pitch and speed independently, drop markers, identify note pitches, very customizable, even slows down videos without changing the pitch of the audio.

It isn't free, but is one the best tools I've ever found for learning tunes.

[Jeff Cullen]

Whether you feel more comfortable learning music by ear or learning tunes by reading printed music is a personal choice, but taking your goals into consideration will help you decide where to put your time. I've done studio work here in L.A. (not on Uilleann pipes - I'll probably never be that good) where producers have required parts to be read from a score (very common) and also to be learned immediately by ear as they changed their minds about key, melody, harmony, dynamics and mood. If your goal is to play for personal pleasure, or for the entertainment of friends and familiy, do what works best for you. If you want to compose, you would do well to learn to read and write staff notation. If you want to learn music at a session or Tionol, learning by ear is essential. A complete musician must be accomplished at both. Being a "complete" musician doesn't make you a "better" musician... you can play with great feeling and express great passion without being a "complete" musician...but the more tools you have at your fingertips the more freedom you have to express, and more time is spent playing music and not wrestling with the mechanics of it.