It’s a learned skill, like playing the bass. You can do it (if it will help you). I suck if I try to present music I am not so familiar (basically memorizied) so I have no choice. It gets easier the more you do.
2024 Market Goals
- Thread starter Tom
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Rosie C, Thank goodness there is someone like me, I can nearly play 2 tunes from memory, I have been playing those for over 20 years, and if I make a mistake in those I am lost.
On the other hand I have the sheets for hundreds of tunes, and can nearly play many of them (on a good day)
Maybe you try remembering what your fingers do rather than what the music sounds like? That's a symptom of sightreading having eliminated the woman in the middle between score sheet and fingers. Getting back in there may be harder work than one imagines, but it may be worth trying.I think part of the problem is I've been playing from music since age 7 or 8 - 45 years of experience. I was sight-reading Bach in a piano lesson last night. In comparison I struggle to play a couple of bars of a simple tune from memory.
And I can’t sight read so we’re even!I think part of the problem is I've been playing from music since age 7 or 8 - 45 years of experience. I was sight-reading Bach in a piano lesson last night. In comparison I struggle to play a couple of bars of a simple tune from memory.
JeffJetton
Prolific poster
I suspect the same thing. Most people who say they can't memorize songs will have literally hundreds of songs in their heads that they've "memorized". As in, they know how the song goes, could probably sing or hum it pretty well, and can recognize when it comes on the radio or when someone else plays it (and can tell when someone plays it incorrectly).
The only problem is that missing link between what's in their head and what's under their fingers. That's the completely understandable, but unfortunate, consequence of always playing/learning from music, and rarely (if ever) figuring out and playing songs by ear.
Luckily, like any other underdeveloped skill in life, it can always be worked on and improved. It's never too late!
This has always been my problem.
I can play virtually any tune I know with the right hand, but, when it comes to the left hand chords, if it requires anything more than the usual 3 chord vamp, I struggle to find the right one
So, yeah, today I played the first 20 tunes from memory in my weekly zoom with Gary. This allowed me to verify what I know and identify weak spots. Basically, when I have 45 - 50 I should be able to show up without stand, music books, and glasses. That will make things easier. Just a chair (I can’t stand and play for 4 hours) and accordion(s) and some kind of promotional sign. And an app in my phone that will present a song title, key, first chord and first note, cycling through all in random order. I don’t need an amp at this venue. Oh yeah, and lunch!
I'm not sure. As said elsewhere there is a hundred songs in my head that I could sing the melodies - accurately and without effort. If I had a better "ear" and could hear the intervals between notes then I might well be able to play them. Ear training is part of this year's uni course, but I did so badly at the first few exercises that I was thoroughly dispirited and skipped the rest of the module.
"When the going gets tough, the tough get going"!
My experience is that the more frequently you challenge personal shortcomings, the more successful you become; which does not mean plugging away for hours at a single point, but having a 'bit of a go', often at random intervals - like whenever the mood strikes, even in the middle of doing something else.
The unconscious mind has a funny habit of storing these things without you realising it.
Give a go; I reckon it would be good for you.
If I wish to learn to play by reading music then there are tutor books which explain where a particular printed note on the stave is on the treble keyboard, the notes can also be marked with a number which indicates which finger should be used for each note.
Is there any similar explanation of how I can learn to play by ear or do I first have to learn to play from music?
Is playing by ear linked to playing from memory ?
I can play from music, probably 100 tunes, I can nearly play from memory 2 tunes , Nola and Olive Blossoms, I cannot play anything by ear.
Is there any similar explanation of how I can learn to play by ear or do I first have to learn to play from music?
Is playing by ear linked to playing from memory ?
I can play from music, probably 100 tunes, I can nearly play from memory 2 tunes , Nola and Olive Blossoms, I cannot play anything by ear.
If there'd been a tiniest bit of hope I'd have given it a go, but it was thoroughly depressing.
JeffJetton
Prolific poster
Yes, there are "ear training" books you can read and courses you can take. There's even a whole forum about it over on Reddit.
But at the end of the day, like anything else, it all comes down to just doing it. A lot.
There's no substitute for sitting down, thinking of a melody (or listening to one from a recording), and trying to poke around and figure out how to play it. That is the only thing that's going to connect what you hear in your head to what you do with your fingers.
(That said, some music theory does help, because it divorces melodies and chord progressions from the actual notes and puts them in terms of relationships/functions, which are easier for most people to hear.)
JeffJetton
Prolific poster
If there'd been a tiniest bit of hope I'd have given it a go, but it was thoroughly depressing.
Oh I don't know. What's depressing about not being able to do something yet? About something being initially hard to do?
Heck, that's where the fun is!
You've got the opportunity for learning an entirely new skill (how exciting!) and developing a crucial aspect of your musicianship that has so far been neglected (how useful!)
Okay, so it's currently nearly impossible. Well that's okay. When me and you and all of us were kids, we used to tackle nearly impossible stuff all the time. We would fail at things on a daily basis. Just total disasters, constantly! And these are things that now we can do without thinking about it. We didn't get depressed about it--that's just how life is when you're learning how the world works. As adults, that ability to stink at doing something is now an unused muscle. How lucky are you that you get to work that muscle out again and get it back into shape!
And by the way, you do have an ear. No one can get far learning to play an instrument if they didn't. How would you know if you played a wrong note? How could you tell when you played it correctly? How could you tell the difference between hearing an ascending C major scale and a descending C major scale? Between "Happy Birthday" and "Mary Had a Little Lamb"? There's something in your brain that is doing some sort of recognizing already. So don't give me any of that "hopeless" stuff.
Good advice as usual from Jeff Jetton, thanks! Inspiring.
I think you can do it, and you will Rosie! I can see memorizing songs getting much easier as I do it. I look forward to two other challenges once I get this project done - playing by ear, and jamming on tunes I don’t know. I don’t value judge either skill as better, both have their place. Hard to play by ear a tune you don’t know, and can’t even find a decent version on YouTube, especially a 4 pager.
I think you can do it, and you will Rosie! I can see memorizing songs getting much easier as I do it. I look forward to two other challenges once I get this project done - playing by ear, and jamming on tunes I don’t know. I don’t value judge either skill as better, both have their place. Hard to play by ear a tune you don’t know, and can’t even find a decent version on YouTube, especially a 4 pager.
Thanks for that, The Reddit forum is very interesting.
Got the schedule for 2024! Looks like I’m scheduled for 10 farmers markets, alternating with a guitar player and a jazz band. Less than I expected, but this is better. Still a lot of work to do. Torna a Sorrento is slowing me down big time, but I should have it by the end of the week. 
