I attended a “Play by Ear” course in a music store where I was tuning their pianos. He said, “If you can whistle or hum the melody of a song you can play by ear”. The course was being advertised in T.V.

So what is left? Chords and how they progress through a song; commonly called Chord Progressions. A good part of the 50’s music can be player with three or four chords. That means If I learn the Chord Progression I can play at least 50 to 100 songs by ear. Once you sing, whistle, or hum the melody you will find which chord sounds best.

1-I believe that you cannot give a song your best until it is memorized the chord progression – you will find the melody. Ex. The song More. A quick glance at the music and I memorized the song. The first part of the song used a Chord Progression that I had seen in many times. The second part of the song had another popular Chord Progression that I had seen man times. And so the story goes on.

2-Not being able to read music it is like walking into a library filled with knowledge and not being able to access any of it.
I believe that this is a subject that can help many who visit here – if we all post our ideas of “How To” it will help many play/perform better.

John C.