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Hi all,
While responding to the "I Hate Music" thread, I thought about a post I made on another forum years ago. I thought others might be interested. In addition to playing hymns (I play for my church), I also enjoy playing older "pop" music from about 1900 to 1960. Many people who hear me play, think that I play by ear. However, I do not. Below is my analysis of how I play pop music.
Just some food for thought.
Allen
Many people think that I play by ear. I think I do have a little of that ability. However, unless the tune is very simple (like "Twinkle, Twinkle," etc.), I don't do well playing by ear just hearing the song. I can listen to phrases repeatedly and pick out the tune and harmony. I did this with the Christmas song "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and when I finally got a copy of the music, I was completely correct.
What I can do "by ear" is know when to add a 7th, diminished, augments, 9th, etc. chord when playing from a simplified score. I know when to substitute a ii7 chord for the V7 for variety.
In another part of my musical life, I play the organ and piano for my church. Many of the hymns I can play without music. I do not know how much is by ear, by recalling the score, and by finger memory. I am sure it is a combination of both. However, many times I can mentally see the score (or parts of it) in my head. A lot of time, I can actually play the correct SATB parts on organ without the score.
Let me mention how I first learned to play. I learned the organ first and was taught to play with chords. My teacher was basically self-taught and did not have formal training in music theory, etc. I actually learned to read the bass clef myself so that I could play hymns from the hymnal.
My "real" profession (i.e., how I make my living) is as a mathematics professor. I mention this to give you an insight as to how my mind works. I am very logical due to my mathematical training. Also, much of mathematics involved recognizing patterns. It also involves using rules and procedures to solve problems.
Now, let me put two pieces of my puzzle together. Since I learned to play by chords and since my mind is very logical and quick to spot patterns, I think that I began to learn the "rules" of harmony just by playing a lot of songs. I began to observe the chord progressions and learn the role/function of the tonic, dominant seventh, etc. I even began to see that the particular chords went with particular keys; that is, in the key of G, a G chord has different function than a G chord in the key of C. When I see a "new" chord progression, I will add it to my "bag of tricks" and pull it out when I see it where it will fit in another piece.
So, when I said earlier that I can add chords "by ear," I was careful to use the quotation marks because I think that a lot of my "by ear" playing is really applying the harmony rules that I learned. (Even though I was not a music major, I did take a year of music theory in college. I was one of the best students in the class. I learned formally what I had already learned by observation.)
Even when I play hymns from my hymnal, I "read" the chords vertically and notice the chord structure of the hymn. I think this is what allows me to play them without music. Even when I play for our choir and read treble and bass clefs for the piano part, I like to have chord symbols so that I can more easily see the harmonic structure of the piece. I do not like to play music that has a lot of "notes" but few "chords." Neither do I like to play music where the traditional chord progression "rules" are broken.
To summarize, for me I think playing without the score and/or playing "by ear" is more about knowing the "rules" of harmony and applying them "on the fly" while playing. However, I am sure there is still a fair amount of muscle/finger memory involved with this as well.
While responding to the "I Hate Music" thread, I thought about a post I made on another forum years ago. I thought others might be interested. In addition to playing hymns (I play for my church), I also enjoy playing older "pop" music from about 1900 to 1960. Many people who hear me play, think that I play by ear. However, I do not. Below is my analysis of how I play pop music.
Just some food for thought.
Allen
How I Play Pop Music
Many people think that I play by ear. I think I do have a little of that ability. However, unless the tune is very simple (like "Twinkle, Twinkle," etc.), I don't do well playing by ear just hearing the song. I can listen to phrases repeatedly and pick out the tune and harmony. I did this with the Christmas song "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and when I finally got a copy of the music, I was completely correct.
What I can do "by ear" is know when to add a 7th, diminished, augments, 9th, etc. chord when playing from a simplified score. I know when to substitute a ii7 chord for the V7 for variety.
In another part of my musical life, I play the organ and piano for my church. Many of the hymns I can play without music. I do not know how much is by ear, by recalling the score, and by finger memory. I am sure it is a combination of both. However, many times I can mentally see the score (or parts of it) in my head. A lot of time, I can actually play the correct SATB parts on organ without the score.
Let me mention how I first learned to play. I learned the organ first and was taught to play with chords. My teacher was basically self-taught and did not have formal training in music theory, etc. I actually learned to read the bass clef myself so that I could play hymns from the hymnal.
My "real" profession (i.e., how I make my living) is as a mathematics professor. I mention this to give you an insight as to how my mind works. I am very logical due to my mathematical training. Also, much of mathematics involved recognizing patterns. It also involves using rules and procedures to solve problems.
Now, let me put two pieces of my puzzle together. Since I learned to play by chords and since my mind is very logical and quick to spot patterns, I think that I began to learn the "rules" of harmony just by playing a lot of songs. I began to observe the chord progressions and learn the role/function of the tonic, dominant seventh, etc. I even began to see that the particular chords went with particular keys; that is, in the key of G, a G chord has different function than a G chord in the key of C. When I see a "new" chord progression, I will add it to my "bag of tricks" and pull it out when I see it where it will fit in another piece.
So, when I said earlier that I can add chords "by ear," I was careful to use the quotation marks because I think that a lot of my "by ear" playing is really applying the harmony rules that I learned. (Even though I was not a music major, I did take a year of music theory in college. I was one of the best students in the class. I learned formally what I had already learned by observation.)
Even when I play hymns from my hymnal, I "read" the chords vertically and notice the chord structure of the hymn. I think this is what allows me to play them without music. Even when I play for our choir and read treble and bass clefs for the piano part, I like to have chord symbols so that I can more easily see the harmonic structure of the piece. I do not like to play music that has a lot of "notes" but few "chords." Neither do I like to play music where the traditional chord progression "rules" are broken.
To summarize, for me I think playing without the score and/or playing "by ear" is more about knowing the "rules" of harmony and applying them "on the fly" while playing. However, I am sure there is still a fair amount of muscle/finger memory involved with this as well.
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