Playing by ear.
I’d like to hear from members who play by ear. How and when did you discover this gift? Can you also play to music score? Did you start on a piano or keyboard? What inspired you? What skill level would you consider yourself to be?
This is my story which I’d like to share.
I was 11 years old when a piano was introduced to our household back in 1971. My eyes lit up. Something to distract me from reading comics! My four sisters had a tinker but were easily bored. The piano was a typical old upright sounding like it needed retuning, but I loved it. I think a lot of people had these pianos at one time. I didn’t rush in bashing at the keys. I enjoyed playing all the keys fascinated to hear the changes in sound. I remember asking my parents if I could have a play on the piano after school, during school holidays and weekends.
Music was always being played in our house, either radio or records. Anything from Dean Martin, George Formby and as far back as Maurice Chevalier! My elder sisters would play popular modern music records from the present time. I loved all music types, styles and instruments. Beautiful Dreamer was always being played and it was that particular melody that caught my ears first hand. Whilst the record was repeatedly being played, I pressed on a few ivorys until I picked up the tune. The song must have been in the key of C at the time as that was my main key set that I adapted to. I remember discovering that first note that matched the start of the song, ‘B b b beautiful dreamer’….That’s it same key to match. Took me time and many wrong notes but once I got there, there was no stopping me.
What do I do with my left hand then?
I discovered the way to play three notes to make a chord. C, E and G. Then discovered the changes to make other three finger chords with my left hand. Trying to get out of the habit of vamping the chords rather than gently playing.
I progressed over the years. Next melody was ‘I’ll take you home again Kathleen’. I remember I was annoyed at that tune as there was a difficult key change but with perseverance I hit it! Then I moved onto Val Doonican’s ‘Paddy McGinty’s goat’, ‘Delaney’s donkey’ and ‘Rafferty’s motor car’! I recall being excited that I seemed to enjoy learning to play faster tunes. Of course there was a lot of improvisation until I could master the piece to the best of my ability. My school teachers would allow me to tinker on the piano in the hall during play times! I loved it.
I recall an elderly gentleman friend of the family regularly visited our home. He arranged charity events for the elderly at homes or clubs. He had a good ear for music. He would scald me saying: you’re not playing the black notes and your vamping too much! I didn’t know what vamping was. Of course the left hand was bashing at three keys; key of C, although correct, was too heavily played against the right hand melody. This annoyed me, although I did somehow manage to tone it down!
My other habit was just playing the white keys. Soon to discover the magic of introducing the black keys for massive changes.
Of course what I really needed but we couldn’t afford, was professional tuition, so I continued the best way I could: by ear. I played piano at some charity events and it built my confidence up as well as learning new songs to play, as requested by my audience.
Over the years I created a repertoire, when around 1976 I answered an ad in the local newspaper for a piano player at weekends in a local pub, as we say up North! Dare I do this I thought? What if I am not good enough? The piano was as old as mine from 1971 and out of tune. Little bits of ivory missing from the odd key! Sounded like something from a bar in a Western movie. It was a rough old local pub that certainly had character. £5 to play for two nights. I started around 8pm with easy listening and popular songs. Then bang on 10:30, when people were a little more inebriated, I introduced a sing-a-long of old time songs like ‘Roll out the barrel’, ‘Baby face’ etc. This became very popular and the highlight of the evenings. Always ended up with ‘Show me the way to go home’ (hurry up before a brick comes through the window!). Only joking, but it was a rough house! Even the chairs were tattooed! But I got to know the local characters by their favourite song requests. One chap introduced me to Klaus Wunderlich. He gave me some cassette tapes. After listening to these, I never looked back and acquired most of the late great Wunderlich collection, especially ‘Dream concerto’. And I am proud to have recorded and covered most of those tracks on Tyros 3, which I believe are posted on PSR forum under James Tyros (A user name I adopted because of discovering the Tyros range).
Back in my early days playing piano, my left hand was beginning to ache as I fell into the old vamping, especially at the sing-a-longs. I knew that I was definitely not a pianist, although customer tips kept coming in at the end of each night, especially occasions like New Year’s Eve when I would be playing beyond midnight and was rewarded with an old tin ash tray filled with cash tips, minus the cigarette butts!
Around Christmas 1972 I was given an old table top Bontempi with chord buttons. Later I acquired a Busilacchio electric reed organ. It blew my mind that I could have a continuous background chord along with the melody. My first real portable organ with 18 full chord buttons, which introduced me to minor and major chords and how they should be played along with melody. It was a 1960s vintage fan driven organ in its own case with detachable aluminium legs. I even took it to school and formed a little band alongside friends who played guitar and drums, and did a stint on local radio.
Once I discovered the electric organ, that was it. My musical abilities confirmed that I was a keyboard player and not a pianist! Although I loved listening to piano and still enjoy having a go at the ivories.
My playing and confidence improved and I started playing the organ in local pubs. They all had their own organs from Hammond, Orla, Yamaha etc. One of the best was a Lowrey with double keyboard with rotary Leslie speakers. I’d never played anything like that ever. Luckily the landlady allowed me free use anytime I wanted to practice and get the feel of this incredible instrument. This is how I have always been. As soon as I come across a new keyboard, I want to explore it. I could pick things up quite quickly. I could hear a tune and adapt to it after several listens. Although more difficult tunes would take me some time to pick up.
However, I thought this was too easy now it made my left hand lazy, I realised this over the years and progressed to concentrating on developing better skills with my left hand.
One of the advantages playing by ear is the ability to improvise, or get away with murder sometimes! Hitting the wrong key but swiftly changing to another tune.
Needless to say my obsession to keep up with the best keyboards I could afford, continued moving up from the basic chord organs to Orla double keyboards and eventually Yamaha Tyros 3, 4, 5 right up to Genos 1 and now 2. The adrenaline is still there.
I’m a far more experienced player now since I began in 1971. I don’t consider myself a professional by any means. Yes, I am more of a home player nowadays, I’d like to think I am semi professional that I can work my way around any keyboard and can play practically anything in any style, traditional or creative. I have and still create my own music pieces ranging from ballads, ambient soundtracks and especially fast pieces. I’ve always enjoyed playing fast numbers. Fingers just flying across the keyboard, although stiffening a little bit with age! I still have many photographs taken over the years playing various piano and keyboards.
So that’s my story condensed. I hope I haven’t bored you! I’d love to hear yours.