Nostalgia here! Back at it again trying to learn something that I think will benefit me greatly on my musical journey. In recent years, I’ve learned to play guitar, and earlier this year, I’ve learned to play the ocarina. I’ve also learned to read the treble clef pretty fluently this year. But now I want to learn to play by ear Instantly. Let’s see how that goes!
My Musical Background
If you’re new here, long story short, I dabbled with a lot of instruments (keyboard, recorder, clarinet, viola, drums) in my youth, but I wasn’t great or talented at any. Give me a few days or weeks, and I can learn a song well enough to perform it, but I couldn’t read fluently, I couldn’t create or improvise, and I definitely couldn’t jam out with a band. I would usually write down notes, or take my time to figure out the notes, and then memorize it.
In 2020, I picked up guitar to bring my band dream to life. The fretboard made patterns easier to see, so theory finally started to click in my head. As a logical learner, understanding that scales all have the same pattern, and that a lot of songs use the same progressions in a different key, it just allowed me to learn and memorize things a lot faster. I also was able to improvise and create my own licks, which was really cool and brought up my confidence, but I had no real use for it.
In 2021, after bringing a rookie group together, I started this blog and documented my journey learning the instrument, sharing everything I’ve learned on the way, and my experiences performing on stage. We actually got to perform a few times at anime conventions and a Japanese festival, and fulfilled the mission of the band. In 2023, I came back to my Christian faith wholeheartedly, and vowed to use my newfound musical talents for God.
In 2025, I joined a new church which mainly plays hymns, and is against electric instruments and contemporary songs, so I decided to learn my ocarina. This was the first time I really pushed myself to read music more fluently as it wasn’t possible to memorize and perfect 4 hymns in 4 days. Within a month, I felt confident enough with the ocarina and reading to play, and it’s only gotten easier with time.
So that brings us here. I understand theory, I can read music, I can play the guitar and ocarina well enough to be considered intermediate……but there’s one skill I still suck at, and that is playing by ear.
Why I Want To Learn To Play By Ear
I’ll admit, I’ve been a strong advocate for learning music theory and progressions and the lingo of this realm as I think it is very important when playing in bands and orchestras, or working with producers and song writers. A lot of musicians, especially in the guitar realm, are people who learned by ear, and they are proud of that. They don’t care about theory, they don’t know how to read sheets, they don’t care. As long as they can play what they like and it sounds good, that’s all that matters to them. To me, that sounds really selfish, especially when I consider music a social or group activity in most genres….but I’ll also admit, perhaps I’m a little jealous of their ability to do so.
All my life, if I ever wanted to learn a song, I had 3 choices:
1. I Needed The Sheets. Growing up, when I was playing the keyboard as a child, I would have to write down the notes as I couldn’t read proficiently, and then I’d take my time memorizing it bar by bar. It could take days or weeks to learn half of the song, and if I forget cause I haven’t rehearsed it in a while, I’d have to relearn everything. In band class, we would play beginner songs, so it was easier to read, but my class was also slow and we’d do the songs many times cause my classmates would make mistakes, so I would have memorized the easy song anyways. I wasn’t really challenged in that way. Our drumline had sheets too, and our sections would also take our time figuring out the beat, and then just memorize our parts. So when I picked up the ocarina, I wasn’t new to sheet music persay, I just never had a reason to learn to read fluently and play instantly until now.
2. I Would Copy What Was Played or Use Tabs. Growing up, the keyboard I played had over 100 built in songs and a little screen that would show you what buttons to play. It also had a lesson feature in which you could learn each hand individually or together, and there was even a function where the song wouldn’t move forward until you were pressing the right buttons. A lot of the keyboard songs I still remember are songs I’ve played countless times on my keyboard as a child. I think this option also applies to guitar tabs or ocarina charts where they show you what buttons or strings to play, but you don’t know what notes or chords you’re playing.
3. I Would Take My Time Figuring It Out By Ear. My ears are trained enough that I could figure out if my pitch matches what I’m hearing, but usually, I would be trying out multiple notes to figure out what note that is. Sometimes, I could make a lucky guess, but I’m usually trying a few notes before finding the right one. So yes, I could learn a song by ear, and I’ve done so in the past like when I played viola in high school, but the amount of time it would take me to figure out the notes, write it down, and then memorize it, was embarrassing. Chords are a lot more difficult. Even if the progression is simple and predictable, figuring out that first and second chord can take me a while. It’s usually a lot easier or faster to just look up chords if they’re available, and I’ll force myself to figure it out if it’s not.
So what makes #3 different than what I’m trying to learn now? Fluency. I don’t want to have to have to play 2-8 bad notes before figuring out which is the right one. A full song probably has at least 30 notes in it’s melody, so that takes up a lot of time. I would have to write down these notes so I could play it faster next time, or spend time memorizing it. But even if I memorized it, I could forget it in a week, and now I have to go back to my notes or spend time figuring it out again. That isn’t fluency, that’s a guessing game. And if I was around other musicians who wanted to jam, I don’t have that time or option.
So my goal is to be able to hear a melody, or have a melody in my head already, and be able to play it on my first attempt. No rehearsal, no guessing, no bad notes.
Right now, I need rehearsal. I need time to review the songs in my own time before I feel confident playing in front of others. Sheet music or chord charts certainly allows me to play more instantly, but those won’t always be available for me. When the sheets provided don’t match the key of the song others want to sing in, it stresses me out because I can’t play fluently by ear.
For now, I’m just going to focus on melodies on my ocarina. If I could figure out the scale of a song, figuring out the chords or progressions wouldn’t be hard, but maybe I’ll take on learning chords by ear in the future as well <3
My Starting Point (September 2025)
My goal is to be able to copy melodies. While being able to hear a note and know it’s “Ab” is certainly impressive, I don’t think it serves much of a purpose for me when it comes to playing songs and improvising, so I wanted to focus on hearing and matching melodies. After all, if I could match the melody, I would know what notes I’m playing anyways.
I found a beginner and intermediate playlist from the Visual Ear Training Youtube channel. They play 3 notes back-to-back, so I thought they were perfect for what I wanted to do.
I tried the first 2 vids which were super easy. They stuck to basic notes and melodies like ‘Hot Cross Buns’ which I’m well acquainted with so it was easy to match. I was feeling a little cocky honestly, like perhaps I’m much better than I thought I was….
But below are videos #3 and #4, and I was already struggling. I had to pause a bit in the 3rd video to work out the notes, usually I was just a bit off and just had to correct myself. But by video 4, the jumps were high, and there were a lot more flats and sharps. I was able to get close, but still couldn’t match the pitch. To be fair, I’ve only had to go lower than C once on the ocarina when playing hymns, so I’m not familiar enough to play them….but I had to accept defeat when I couldn’t even match the higher notes. I think I was also tired after doing thiese 4 tests back to back.
At times, I did have a note that sounded right, but on the ocarina, if you blow a little soft, it can sound flat. So even though I’m trying to figure things out and may not play things confidently, I definitely need to play with more vigor to ensure I’m at the right pitch.
My Gameplan
So, what’s my gameplan? While doing a lot of tests can certainly help, I think tests are meant to be just that, ‘Tests’. There needs to be some kind of training and studying before you’re truly ready to be tested and can pass with flying colours. I’m clearly not at that point yet, so I’m planning to work on other things to train my ears and my hands.
1. Memorize More Songs
So far, I’ve only been reading and playing sheets on the ocarina. I’m happy with how much I’ve grown in that department, but it allows me to be quite lazy when it comes to understanding the music. After all, I can just see a note and play it. So I do plan to memorize more songs and work on recalling them, as this would help me be more aware of how each pitch corrolates to the holes I’m playing. I can also attune my ears to certain jumps in degrees.
2. Learn Scales (Major, Pentatonic etc.)
Scales are definitely great as it helps your hands and your ears align with one another. I think it’s very easy to only learn a couple scales and trap yourself in those, but I would like to be more thorough with my scales. If I know a song is in D major, then that already eliminates a lot of bad notes, and allows me to guess better.
3. Practice Improvisation
Improvisors certainly have a talent. They can play what they hear and imagine, and that also means they can copy what they hear and imagine. Even if I don’t really have a need for this skill in my musical career, I’m sure it will come in handy, especially if I make mistakes or I have to fill up blank space.
4. Count The Degrees
I’m so used to guessing around on my instruments til I find the right note, but perhaps a slower, more mental exercise is needed. When I do the tests, I will hear the notes and count how many semi-tones are between them, and then try to accurately play the note. I am a logical learner and thinker, so it may be a little more helpful for me in particular.
To Be Continued…
First Update (April 2026)
I haven’t updated this article because I haven’t been working on this skill, or so I thought.
My main goal as 2025 came to an end was to memorize at least 30 hymns, and I even pushed for 50 and 60 at a point. I was able to get through most of them with a few mistakes, but I decided to cut it back to 30 so I can actually perfect a setlist instead of just being mediocre at many songs. I first played a lot of these songs via sheet music for church, but I used my ear to figure out the notes when committing them to memory. The only thing I needed to remember was the key and the first note to get started, and if I make an error, I’ll figure it out again.
Initially, figuring out the songs took more trial and error, but when I would swap songs out, I noticed I was able to learn and remember new songs much faster. Additionally, my mind has the knowledge and my fingers have the muscle memory for playing in various keys. So once I’m aware of the key I’m playing in, let’s say it has 2 flats, I’ll be able to play in that key automatically for the duration of the song. Compared to when I used to try to learn songs by ear on the piano, it was a lot of guessing and error. I may remember the notes, but I never really understood nor paid attention to keys growing up.
In late January 2026, I asked my church if I could play some hymns before service or during offering, just to get more experience playing solo (I still have stage freight), and to practice playing from memory. I did this for about 3 services, but since the pastor’s wife would usually be rehearsing and cramming some songs right before service, it was hard and awkward to fit in. And while she initially played a piano recording during offering, she also decided to start playing guitar and singing during that time, so I opted to just not bother with it anymore. I would get pretty nervous, and it was definitely stressful preparing 2-3 additional songs each week.
Since then, I’ve gotten a little lazy with rehearsing. I would practice the songs I had to play for church everyday once I get the list, and I would still review the songs I memorized every week or so, but haven’t been practicing much else. I did plan to work more on scales and improv, along with ocarina tricks that can give it that extra flare, but I was feeling a little unmotivated, and I was also working on other things, like upgrading my career skills, and trying to get into shape this year.
But more recently, I decided I would sell my last guitar since I haven’t been playing it anyways, along with all my remaining gear. And if so, I can truly go all in with the ocarina and try to master it. Of course, hymns don’t really challenge me anymore, especially as they mimic the human voice and stay within a congregations range, so I was looking for other things to learn. I did find a Japanese channel with some Jpop and anime songs. I don’t plan to memorize or perform them, but it would improve my reading skills and I would learn to play more difficult melodies and passages.
I also remembered this goal of mine, and decided to try playing some modern hymns that I’ve heard a few times and learned the lyrics for but never considered playing on the ocarina. I decided to try a couple and was surprised how quickly I found the first note and just started playing, even in the right key. I then recorded a few clips of 3 other songs to share with my friend from church. And these are the same clips I’m sharing below. Only after I recorded them did I realize I could and should update this article too.
I attempted a few others songs as well, one was also not too hard to catch on, one was a little too low for my instrument/comfort level, and one was really confusing, but hey, it’s still progress! Especially considering I haven’t been working on it at all, I was pleasantly surprised I could play a whole chorus the first time.
Anyways, the biggest noticeable difference compared to back then is that I’m more keenly aware of around where on my ocarina I would hear certain notes. While not perfect, I can more accurately guess that a note is probably around here, a C or D, and I’ll press the right note or just be one off. And while I haven’t been studying or paying much attention to intervals, if I take a moment to think before hitting a note, I would at least think ‘this is probably more than 2 notes higher’, or ‘this melody reminds me of the C major chord scale notes’.
I definitely think attempting a song is a lot easier than guessing 3 totally random notes like the ear training videos above. While it would be cool to hear a random note and know that’s a G or a C#, there really isn’t much practical application for that in my life, or at least with what I want to do. Let me explain that a bit more:
When I was a kid still dabbling on the keyboard, I was certainly able to press a bunch of notes til I got the right ones, and then just memorize the notes I have to play. I had no knowledge of theory, didn’t know the key or anything like that, I just knew the right note. But of course, if I forget a note, I’d have to guess around again. Whereas now, if I have a feel for a key, that eliminates 5 notes, and I can make more accurate guesses based on the distance between the notes. And in the end, I’ll know the right note anyways, but it’s with a bit more theory and feel, instead of just thinking of the notes individually.
But yeah, it’s been 8 months, and while I wasn’t directly focusing on this skill, memorizing songs have trained my hands and ears in another way that makes it a lot easier to make more accurate guesses when playing by ear now. I’m definitely going to work on this skill more intentionally moving forward, putting on a random song and guessing the notes. We’ll see how I do in 3 month’s time!
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