Hey people! It’s your favourite mediocre musician here, Nostalgia! And I thought this would be a fun topic to discuss on my blog.
When I read forums about which musician is better, it’s usually divided into 2 categories: playing with sheet music OR playing by ear. And while those are usually the most common, popular, or expected ways to learn to play a song, I’ve personally used 5 different methods over the years.
So, which method is best? Which one holds you back? Which one is greatly underrated? Well I’m here to break that down for you. Of course, the more ways you can play the better as you can be flexible in any situation or group, but I also understand that everything in music takes time to develop.
Since this is a Jmusic blog, I’ve also added some anime clips to further express each learning style! So read through my list, and see what methods would work best based on your goals and circumstances!
My Musical Background With All Methods
I’ve been a ‘musician’ all my life. My family had a keyboard that I would play around with before I could even remember, then I played the recorder between Grades 3-5, Clarinet between Grades 6-9, Bass Drum in my school’s Drumline between Grades 9-10, Viola for a couple years as a teacher offered some after school lessons, then I retired from music as I felt I didn’t have any innate natural talent to go anywhere with it. When looking for a new hobby, music was the only one that felt sustainable, so I picked up guitar seriously between 2020-2023 to pursue my childhood band dream. And currently, I am playing the ocarina at my local church. I’ve also owned and learned the basics for the harmonica, violin, bass guitar, drum kit (electronic), and tambourine, but re-sold most of them as I didn’t see myself sticking to it long-term, or couldn’t play the music I liked on them.
But despite my musical history, I really didn’t feel confident playing an instrument on demand. I certainly took learning the guitar more seriously, playing every single day for the first few months and understanding the theory behind chords and scales, but I was still barely scratching the surface of all you can do on the instrument. So only now on the ocarina when I was forced to learn how to read sheet music proficiently, and in turn, played lots of songs and became more familiar with playing in different keys and playing through scales do I feel more confident in playing by ear and on demand. But let me share in detail what each stage in my music journey really looked and felt like:
Depending on My Memory (Keyboard, Clarinet, Viola, Drums)
The first instrument I recall playing somewhat seriously was the keyboard as my parents owned one. My parents signed me and my brother up for basic keyboard lessons (only a couple months), and then got me my own. My keyboard had over 100 built in songs, along with a digital screen that would tell you what buttons to press. It has this cool feature where it could teach you the songs and grade your performance. The 2nd step would stop the song until you hit the right notes, and the 4th step would let you play both hands together. The keyboard came with a sheet music book, but I didn’t see that thing after the first week, nor did it matter to me. I could learn songs off they keyboard and impress my friends! The video below isn’t the exact model, but it shows you how that worked:
Throughout elementary and middle school, they taught us how to read sheet music as it was necessary to play instruments. I knew where the A and C was on the staff, I understood crescendos and repeats and so on. But if you’ve ever gone to a public school music class, you would know that most students don’t care about music. Because it was a band class, time was spent either learning the songs on our own or playing them together, and trust me, most students were not practicing when they had time, even though they needed it the most.
I don’t think my class has ever gone beyond say, the 15th page of the book (below is page 14 of the Hal Leonard books my class would use), and I’m counting the first couple pages with the introductions and ‘how to play your instrument’ bit… that’s how sucky they were. It doesn’t take much effort to read Hot Cross Buns or Ode To Joy, so by the time my class was somewhat ready to play together, I would have memorized it already. It was an easy ‘A’ for most of my music classes cause I did practice a lot and understood the necessary theory.
By the time I reached late middle and high school, I came across some anime songs I wanted to learn on the keyboard. Obviously, they were somewhat complex, and about 2-4 pages long. I would spend a couple days just writing out the notes, the bass clef or notes outside of the staff taking the most time to figure out. And then, I would take the long and painful journey of memorizing the song bar by bar. I would usually learn the right hand first, then left hand, then attempt them together. My piano skills were mediocre to begin with, so being able to play the song even half of the first page at half speed took weeks, and I was still prone to mistakes. Usually, I’d get lazy with rehearsing it, and forget it not long after.
There were a couple songs I was able to figure out ‘by ear’, in the sense that I didn’t have sheets so I would listen to the track and find the matching note. I would usually have to press at least 4 buttons to find the right one. And for the chords? I would just use some basic ones I learned from my keyboard, and may arpeggiate them to sound cooler. I would either write down the notes or memorize it as I go along. Since this method was actually in my skillset, I was able to get through it and remember it for longer.
Drumline? Same thing. Our drum teacher would give each group the sheet/tab, but we didn’t have stands, so it was expected we would figure out our beats and then memorize them as we play. I also performed on the piano and viola, but same story. I had way more than enough time to work out the notes of the song and memorize it. And then I’d just practice like crazy beforehand.
While I certainly felt pretty cool being able to perform these songs confidently, anxiety would come quickly if asked to play anything else, especially on demand. I NEEDED time alone to write out or figure out the notes, and lots of time to practice as I wouldn’t have a visual aid later on. I didn’t know my instrument well enough to play by ear, not really understood theory to make better guesses, so when I’d compare myself to other musicians who could read well and improvise, I’d feel like a fraud. Surely, they had some magical natural talent that I didn’t have. I was advanced compared to peers who didn’t give a damn, but I certainly didn’t feel confident as a musician and retired once I graduated.
Relying On Tabs, Chord Charts and Theory (Guitar)
When I decided to pick up guitar to pursue my band dream, I knew I didn’t want to feel as trapped as I did all this time. I hated having limitations along with the anxiety of being put on the spot and not being able to deliver. So as I learned to play, I also paid more attention to what exactly I was playing, and learning more about music theory.
Thanks to the layout of the guitar, patterns were a lot easier to see, and things I learned in my youth finally clicked. We didn’t learn much about chords in school since we would play melodic instruments, but understanding how chords were built of scales and how they work together gave me the knowledge and confidence to not only memorize chord progressions, but be able to improvise with some confidence. I didn’t work on improv too much as my ultimate goal was to play with a cover band, and full band tabs were available for all of us to learn from, but just knowing I could create an original melody instead of copying something or hitting many bad notes was exciting.
Additionally, guitar is just a very complex, technical, and even painful instrument to learn. Even though I understood the theory early on, didn’t mean I had the dexterity or speed to play what I had in mind. Since I didn’t want to work 10 years to be good enough to play the lead parts of most anime songs, I switched to rhythm guitar. I’m definitely good enough to play from chord charts without much practice, and I can figure out my own strumming patterns as well, but because it’s so easy to make mistakes, I still spent more time playing by memory so I could be a good foundation for my band or the singer.
After bringing the band project to a close, I was asked to play guitar for a church plant in the city over. This certainly challenged me as they would only give me the songs (no charts/sheets), and then the singers would change the key to what’s comfortable during the rehearsal right before service. My very first service was very stressful as they only gave me 1 out of 2 songs, and I learned it exactly how it was played but they raised the key. Thankfully, I always have a tool kit and was able to snap on a capo, allowing me to play the same chords in a higher fret.
The second song, the keyboard told me the degrees of the chords, and I knew enough theory to figure out the chords I needed to play. But after all that, the keyboardist would freestyle during prayer and breaks, and my ear just wasn’t trained enough to follow along. After understanding how they do things, I asked for all their songs in advance, and took the time to break them all down into progressions so I could more easily learn and transpose them. My ear is trained enough to tell if the chords I found online are matching the track, or if one chord sounds kinda off, but I would need other tools to change the pitch and would take a few guesses to figure out the right substitute. Theory meant I wasn’t taking complete guesses in the dark, but it still took time to figure things out.
Often, I would just practice with power chords, and then raise or lower the frets once they pick the key. I couldn’t really practice anything otherwise since playing full chords in the key of A is nothing like playing full chords in the key of C, or F. I also had to be very diligent as they were very spontaneous with repeats and would transition into the second song. And later on, I was the only musician, so a lot of pressure, but I did my best! So yes, it was a great challenge as someone who always had time to learn from tabs/chords and memorize to pretty much learn something new in the 10 minutes before we started, but it was nice to see that I could do it. Though, again, thank God for power chords loool
There was one other time where I had not choice but to depend on my ears to start, but theory still helped me figure everything else out. This was when I was asked to play guitar in a music video…that was being filmed the following day. No, I wasn’t playing on the track at all (thankfully…I wouldn’t have taken the job if I was expected to), but I still wanted to play accurate chords lest I end up in one of Stevie T’s Guifakest videos one day. They gave me the sample of the song on Whatsapp, and it sounded kinda amateurish, voice was cracking, wasn’t mixed well, etc, so I thought it was like a high school project of sorts. Regardless, I already said ‘yes’ and wanted to do my best. So after picking out my outfit, packing my bag, and so on, I then spent the night figuring out what chords was on the track and practicing playing through the whole piece.
I found out during and after the shoot that the artist was rushing to finish everything as she wanted to drop the video when her book was being released a month later. She was also flying out to another country the day after the shoot, so that was all we had to work with. She personally knew a keyboardist, and the bassist was her husband, but they found me and the drummer online, me being the last piece to the puzzle. But yeah, they made some changes to the song after we filmed. For example, the end of the track had no guitar when I heard it, but they added arpeggios afterwards. If I was aware, I would have accounted for it when practicing. I’m aware most people won’t notice or care about these things, especially with all the other characters and angles in this shoot, but I care.
Becoming Proficient at Reading Sheets
In 2025, I joined a small local church that only played hymns and didn’t allow electric instruments. I wasn’t planning to play, but was asked on day 1 if I sing/play anything. They would use piano recordings, and the pastors wife would play violin over it to highlight the melody. I remembered the ocarina I bought back in 2014 and thought I could play that there. I assumed we would take turns, allowing her a break, but we always played together. I only spent a month learning to read and play before stepping up to play at church.
The very first week, I read the notes and committed them to memory, but it takes a whole lot of brain power to memorize 4 new songs in 5 days, and when you’re already nervous (stage freight) it can be even more difficult to remember. I powered through, but I realized how beneficial it would be to just look at the sheets in front of me, especially if I was blanking out. So moving forward, I learned to read more proficiently, and in the process, I got a better feel of how different keys feel, at least in the 7 common keys for hymns (C with no sharps/flats, 1-2 sharps, and 1-4 flats. Don’t ask me the actual key, I’m just reading the sheets). In the year I played there, I’ve only come across two songs with 5 flats, maaaybe one song with 3 sharps.
In the latter quarter of last year, I wanted to memorize some hymns, just so I don’t have to read all the time, and can actually work on playing with feel or incorporating other ocarina techniques. At the end of the day, it is nice being able to play something when asked, especially when we got influencers all around us lol. I also worked on a couple scales that work nicely on my ocarina (limited range), as I intended to learn to improvise on it as well.
Finally Being Able To Play By Ear
And more recently, I’ve been focusing on playing by ear again. After all the training I’ve done above, playing at least 4 songs weekly, memorizing, learning scales, and so on, I’ve definitely seen a lot of improvement in this regard. Compared to when I would learn songs by ear on the keyboard, in which I would just press a bunch of random notes until I found the right one and then memorize or write it down, I was able to make much more accurate guesses. And since I understood keys and scales more, once I knew what key I was playing in, I could even guess half or more of the notes accurately the first time.
I will admit, I was someone who found ‘ear players’ as a little conceited, mainly because a lot of them can’t communicate well and refuse to play any other way. I’m a team player, so it really comes off as quite selfish to think this way. But I can now understand the ease and freedom that comes with that skill. If you could play this way, other methods may seem inefficient event. But regardless, at least learn the theory so you can share what you’re playing and make it easier for others to join you, ya know?
But yes, that’s been my story so far. Now I will share the pros and cons I have seen personally or heard from others~
Pros & Cons Of Each Method
Playing By Memory
DESCRIPTION: Using any of the below methods to learn how to play the song, along with learning from teachers or video tutorials, then immediately committing it to memory so you don’t need that source anymore. Similar to how one learns lyrics for a song, once it is internalized, you can play it on demand (though, may need to review/practice to ensure it’s not forgotten).
PROS: More confidence and stage presence during performances. Don’t need any sheets or external assistance as you know the song in and out. Able to play even complex pieces if given enough time to learn it.
CONS: Takes longer to learn songs, and will lack of confidence playing publicly before then. More likely to freeze or back out if they forget, and their learning source may not always be easily accessible when they need help. Can only play covers as they usually lack a deeper musical understanding to create or improvise. Depending on the person’s memory/practice regimen, they can be unreliable.
I’m covering this one first as I feel both trained musicians and little kids playing around on their family’s keyboard can all learn songs by memory. Usually this happens because a person is super eager to learn a song or a few that they really like, but their musical journey ends there. They’re solely focused on what notes to play or buttons to press. Depending on the instrument and/or the complexity, they could memorize a song in an hour, or it may take days or weeks. But once they have it down, they can play it anytime, anywhere with confidence.
As mentioned in my above story, this has been my preferred method when I would perform over the years. You can misread notes, and you can hit the wrong notes when playing by ear, but memorizing meant you really put in that time to learn and practice every note of the song til you had it down by heart, and hopefully your muscle memory kicks in too. With the time one put into learning the song, they can certainly add expression and feeling into the song, and even appear like a pro musician. If you have the time to learn and commit a song to memory, this is certainly a solid choice when performing.
But this method can become a great hindrance in other settings. You can’t play other requests on the spot unless you had those memorized too. You can’t read sheet music and be part of an orchestra, you can’t improvise/freestyle or jam with other competent players, and you can also freeze and embarrass yourself if you haven’t practiced a piece in a long time and forgot most of it. You may be able to impress people with some complex pieces, but you’ll immediately be exposed as a noob if asked to play anything else.
In summary, when you get to play your songs and play by your rules, all is great with this method. And if you’re with a band, it’s usually expected that everyone has their part memorized, whether it’s an original or a cover, so you can make the most of your rehearsal time. The biggest con is that you will feel insecure or inadequate in any other setting that would expect people to play instantly, like jam sessions, jazz bands, or where proficient sheet reading skills are required, like in orchestras.
Anime Example: I can think of a lot of animes that feature this method, but I’m going to use Koto Oto Tomare, a series that focuses on a school club of koto players. For most of these students, this was their first time ever playing the instrument. In Japan, music education is taken a bit more seriously, so I’m sure they could read sheet music, but as far as I recall, they spend most of the semester learning one or two songs and just rehearsing it consistently til they’re all in sync. On stage, they don’t use sheets either, proving that they are playing from memory.
Thanks to anime Sound Euphonium (an anime mentioned in the sheet category), I discovered this real life marching band called Kyoto Tachibana. It’s one thing to get 50+ students to memorize the songs and play perfectly in sync, but this band also does a lot of dancing and formations throughout. Of course there are other marching bands across Japan and the world who add some flare, but this band is renowned for it, even being invited to perform at international sports games and Disneyland. No doubt they all used sheets to learn as they all have different parts to play, but then they commit it to memory so they can focus on stage presence.
Playing By Tabs
Description: Using instrument specific visual charts that tell you what buttons to press or what string+fret to play, The charts may or may not include the actual notes or chords you are playing.
PROS: You can learn to play popular songs on your instrument accurately without any music theory and before learning how to read sheet music. Beginner friendly for anyone who just wants to learn a couple songs on an instrument.
CONS: Can take longer to learn songs and may be inconvenient (ie videos that are too fast or too small to read). Limited song options available (depending on instrument and genre). No real understanding of what you’re playing to apply what you learned elsewhere. Will usually resort to memorizing the songs as tabs aren’t always available to use or you wouldn’t want to hear the video over what you’re playing.
It’s very common for most beginner books to include visual charts of the instrument alongside the note on the scale. How else would you know how to play D on the clarinet? Tabs and song charts are a wonderful tool for the beginner as they are becoming familiar with the new instrument, and can help them build confidence as they play through their first few songs.
If you’re a guitarist, tabs are a godsent. To be fair, I’d even say they are very necessary because there are so many ways to play the same chord or scale across the neck, so sheet music wouldn’t be very clear on this instrument. Tabs also help to express unique guitar techniques like bending and tapping. Bass guitar also benefits a lot from tabs for the same reasons, though they usually only play one note at a time and can benefit. I think they can benefit the most from learning theory so they know how to use scales and harmonize more to make funkier and captivating bass lines. And since drums don’t play notes, tabs can let them know which drums to hit when…..And now you can see why most rock musicians and bands tend to use tabs when learning songs or play by ear when creating. Sheets just don’t serve much practical use for any of their instruments. (That, or they claim the greats never used them, so they didn’t see a reason…even though the greats didn’t have technology and the same access to information and education as we do now).
ANYWAYS, while tabs are useful to anyone when starting to play a new instrument, relying on tabs can greatly hinder one’s growth. While there are countless guitar tabs out there, you may not find the same range of song charts on other instruments. For example, the ocarina is still a niche instrument, and many channels will have tab tutorials for the same 25 songs or so, usually consisting of some anime songs, children’s tunes, and a few traditional pieces. You can buy someone’s book which may include a few more, but then you’re stuck.
And of course, tabs and charts usually don’t include any music theory with them, so you may not even know what notes or chords you’re playing. You technically know how to play an E major chord…but you may not know or realize that because all you see is 0-2-2-1-0-0. And even if they do use the notes, you have no idea of the key or scales they’re using. This means you’re learning every song from scratch, which will make it harder to fully learn a piece, and you’re more likely to forget songs as well if you haven’t memorized them. Additionally, timing is rarely included, so you have to know the song well and go through the tabs to figure it out on your own.
You may also face frustration or humiliation if only one tab is available to you. A lot of people who create tabs will transpose the song into what is easiest to play on the instrument. If you were playing acoustically, all sounds well and fine, but if you were to try to play with the original track or with a band, you wouldn’t match. And then what do you do? What could you do? Transposing isn’t an option for the majority of tabs or chord charts, and you don’t even know the what key you’re playing in to do it manually. So again, you are trapped.
So in summary, tabs and charts can be wonderful when you’re new to an instrument and navigating yourself around it. But outside of guitar (though, I’d recommend this for them too), after you learn the basics, it is best that you learn to read sheet music so that you’d have unlimited songs to play from, and also learn some theory so you can tie everything together!
Extra Precaution: As a music/guitar teacher on Reddit reminded me, one of the biggest problems about using tabs besides the above is that they often lack accuracy. They are created and submitted by anyone, and they may be a beginner or late beginner too. I defended these submissions because they have certainly been a great resource when I desire to learn Japanese/anime music which is quite niche, and even if they aren’t the most accurate, it gives me a foundation that I can correct on my own. However, I also had to agree with them as I was quite frustrated and confused when I was playing the right chord according to the tab, but it wasn’t quite matching the song. Japanese music uses a lot of dominant and diminished chords, along with transition chords, but most chord charts would simply the chords and skip the extras. When I started my band, I only allowed us to do songs that were on Songsterr, as they have tabs for all instruments and include playback so I can ensure it sounds really accurate before committing to play it. And if I couldn’t find good tabs for a song I really REALLY wanted to learn, I would pay someone on Fiverr to create tabs for me. Of course, I wasn’t skilled enough at guitar to figure out these chord progressions on my own, so I’m very thankful for the people who made the efforts to figure it out, and was kind enough to share. I’m sure many of us are thankful, and more so if they are quite accurate, but it’s definitely something to be cautious about. Sometimes, you’re not as bad as you think at your instrument, it’s just that the tab you’re using isn’t accurate, but you wouldn’t know that off the bat. A lot of them will also transpose into a key that’s easier to play, but then when you try to play with the song, you’re totally off. These are certainly things to be aware of. Tabs are best when you at least know music better to fix any errors on your own.
Game Example: Now, I couldn’t find an anime clip where the character is seen using tabs, so instead, I wanted to share some clips of video games that I feel really encapsulate what this method entails. Guitar Hero is the most popular example, but guitars don’t have 5 buttons. However, the drum mode on Band Hero is actually pretty accurate to playing the real instrument, and I do believe you can actually learn how to play real drums with this game. And same with the Japanese arcade games, Drummania and Taiko no Tatsujin.
Playing By Theory
Description: Understanding how keys, scales, chords, and progressions work on a deeper level, and using that knowledge to learn or play songs with or without sheets/tabs.
PROS: Can read and understand sheet music (though may not be able to sight read), along with any video or article they come across, which allows them to have more knowledge and tools amongst their peers. They can break apart any song and extract elements they like into their own solos during jam sessions. They see patterns more clearly, allowing them to learn songs much faster. They can also transpose songs with ease. They know the lingo and can communicate clearly with other musicians and even become teachers. If given enough time, they can learn songs ‘by ear’, and can write down the notes/chords for their bandmates as well.
CONS: Great limitations if this is your only method to learning a song, especially if you don’t have anything to analyze (ie sheets, tabs). Additionally, knowledge does not equate skill. One can understand music greatly, but not be able to play their ideas on their instrument. They need time to think before playing, and can get frustrated if a song isn’t making much sense to them. They may even freeze if they are lost and don’t know what to play. They are only confident playing if they understand what is going on throughout the song.
People who use this method of learning and playing tend to be logical thinkers, and chances are, science or math is one of their favourite subjects. While music can seem as random as art at the start, there is actually a lot of math and logic behind it, and the theory behind music is fascinating to them. Telling them to just ‘have fun’ or ‘feel the music’ can feel like an insult, because they can only have fun when they truly understand something. Knowledge is power, and they feel the most joy when they can bring a musical idea to life through theory.
These people can start off as slower musicians. They have to think through everything they’re learning and understand it to commit it to memory. Most musicians don’t really know what they’re playing or doing, which means they usually have no one to ask when they’re trying to comprehend something they’re hearing. Additionally, you can’t really Google a sound or musical idea. But once they hit the jackpot and go down the rabbit hole that explains everything they love about music clearly, and they have the terminology they need to find more answers, their growth will be exponential.
Not to mention, logical learners are very aware of their mistakes and when something doesn’t sound right, so they will create a plan and make necessary adjustments when practicing, leading to faster improvement than people who just keep trying and hope for the best. They notice a problem and want to solve it, as opposed to just trying again and hoping for the best. This video on ‘Why Do Some Musicians Get Better So Fast?’ are all things that I, as a logical learner, used in some way or form to improve my guitar playing.
Because playing by theory requires a lot of mental power, they play best when given time alone to practice, process, and see what works best. They can’t just jump in or play in demand because their mind still needs a moment to process new instructions. They hear “1-4-5 (I-IV-V) in the key of G”, and will think to themselves “okay…that means I’m playing G major, then C major and D major…I could use the G major scale, and can also use these notes to add tension, could use the relative minor as well…I’ll try that in the 3rd round…” With their knowledge of keys, scales, chords, progressions, and how to put it all together to create a certain sound or impact, they can be great at improvising with enough practice, but writing and composing is their strong suite as they have time to work on it.
Of course, knowledge does not equate playing talent. At the end of the day, it still takes months or years for your fingers to do what you want them to do, as fast as you want them to, but once this learner has both, they can be unstoppable. If they are skilled enough at the instrument, you can confuse them as someone who plays by ear, but these people actually know the lingo and can communicate clearly everything they’re playing. It’s not a guessing game for them, everything is done intentionally and wisely.
Anime Example: Unfortunately, musical anime series rarely show the process of new musicians learning their instrument, or their thought process as they play (their thoughts are more focused on their bandmates and how they feel throughout the song), but I can think of characters from other shows who certainly use logical thinking as they learn and perform.
First, we got Rei Ryugazaki from ‘Free! Iwatobi Swim Club’. He was initially on the track team, but the swim club wanted to recruit him as they needed one more member. In the first clip of the video below, you can hear Rei running some physics logic in his mind before attempting a pole jump, and he does well! But not always, and his coach calls him out for overthinking it. After joining the swim team, while he studied hard and understands the logic behind swimming, and he has great form, he struggles to move forward and keeps sinking. People try to advise him, but it’s just not working, and in the third clip he blames them for not being able to teach or coach him properly. But obviously, once something clicks and he practices more, he becomes a valuable member of the team.
Another great example is Isagi from Blue Lock. This series recruits 300 high school soccer players who has the potential to be the next best striker for Japan’s national team. Through this bootcamp, people are eliminated, and they can say goodbye to their dreams of ever playing professionally, so this is very serious and tense! Isagi isn’t the most physically talented in anyway, he’s not the fastest or the most accurate shooter, nor strong enough to push or hold back other players….but he’s logical and aware of his strengths and weaknesses. With his spatial awareness, analysis of each player, and forethought, he can make wise decisions on who to pass the ball to, or when and where is best to shoot a goal. For a while, his need to think slowed him down and made him hesitate, giving his opponents a chance to steal the ball or get in the way, but with more practice, advice, and self-awareness, this talent becomes a valuable asset that others recognize. He’s still not the greatest player, but he’s able to turn games around and score goals against some very strong teams!
Playing By Sheet Music
Description: Using notes on a music staff to know what to play and when. Sheet music can be understood and played on all instruments.
PROS: Ability to play almost anything on demand as long as you have the sheets in front of you. Ability to play with any orchestra or group that also uses sheets to be in sync with each other. A deeper understanding of music theory and lingo. More professional opportunities available to them.
CONS: Takes months or years to be proficient (depending on the instrument). May lack ability to improvise or play by ear since it’s not usually required or expected of them. May also be somewhat robotic, not truly feeling the music, nor understanding how to express it wholeheartedly. May only be able to play if they have sheets, and those may not always be available.
In every musical school and most musical settings, sheets is the standard. They allow everyone to literally ‘be on the same page’. Not all sheets will look alike as some instruments are written in different keys (ie Bb clarinet, some instruments will read the bass clef instead), but they will all sound like one unit if everyone is following it accurately.. Sheets are understood by all classically trained musicians and teachers, and can more easily be transcribed as needed.
Additionally, to be able to read sheets efficiently, you would naturally learn more about keys, scales, chords, bars, notes, rests, repeats, along with dynamics and articulation terminology like crescendo and forte. You’ll understand the lingo and be able to communicate musical ideas to other musicians with ease, something that people who only played by ear or improvised may not be able to express well. Thus, being able to read and even write sheet music will allow you to fit in better with the wider musical community,
The majority of the time, sheet music is available for most popular songs across all genres, though it may be hard to find for your specific instrument, and many are behind a paywall. But regardless, you’d have more songs to choose from if you bought a flute repertoire book instead of trying to find one with button charts.
The main con I’ve noticed with people who read sheets is that they are often reliant on sheets. To be fair, especially towards pianists, they were only praised for playing the song as written and were never given opportunities to create, improvise or practice playing by ear. And hey, most people only expect them to do covers or classical pieces so there’s never a reason to work on other skills anyways. I’m sure there will be a few songs they have memorized, or have played so much that it’s become muscle memory, but if a musician is so accustomed to using sheets when they play, it can feel like the rug being swept from under them if asked to play any other way.
Anime Examples: I’m going to share a few clips for this section. While the characters are using sheet music, what I want to point out is the kind of setting and the pressure that usually comes with sheet music and classical training. The first is from Sound Euphonium! An anime that focuses on a school band/marching band. They got a new teacher who can’t even be bothered to teach or conduct them because they just aren’t good enough for instruction. They claim they want to go compete at nationals, but their playing says otherwise. The first clip is when the teacher hits them with that realization, and the second is much later when they go to compete.
The next couple clips are from “Your Lie in April” and “Kids on the Slope”, and they feature professionally trained pianists who come across more free-spirited people (a whimsical violinist, and a jazz band) who encourage and inspire them to express themselves and have fun, as opposed to always playing robotically by the book.
Playing By Ear
Description: Being able to play a song you heard without any written or visual assistance. This includes melodies or song ideas they have in their head.
PROS: Ability to play anything on demand, or with very little practice. Great at soloing and improvising. Better at ‘playing with feel’ or going with the flow. Can easily recover when they make mistakes, or improvise to cover their errors as they are well acquainted with their instrument and the sounds it could make.
CONS: May be unable to copy complex or long pieces. May lack any musical theory to share or write down their ideas. May be unable to read tabs/sheets or take instructions from other musicians. Are usually self thought and thus may have weird techniques or inefficient playing habits. Unable to learn from most videos/articles/teachers because they can’t understand the lingo or charts. May lack consistency with runs if they don’t like to practice, which isn’t great during recordings.
Let’s be honest with ourselves. Being able to play by ear is certainly the most impressive of the bunch. It definitely requires years of experience playing an instrument to know with confidence where each note is on the instrument to then copy a melody you just heard. These people don’t require any sheet music or charts, nor do they need time to practice and memorize, they can just play what they have in mind and they usually sound great!
People who play by ear are most valuable in settings where freestyling or adding their own flavor to the piece is praised. For example, jazz bands where everyone improvises and there’s no real rules or expectations. And while pianists who can read sheet music are great when it comes to classical pieces and more professional settings, they would struggle if asked to play piano in a black church that plays gospel as they tend to have more complex chords and progressions, are more spontaneous with the song structure and may raise the key randomly, and so on. Gospel is a mix of jazz, blues, rock, country, and funk, after all. In these circles, the more creative and funky you are, the better the worship! And you really do just have to go with the flow~
But in many cases, people who learned to play by ear are lone wolves. They are great as the lead guitarist who can create riffs and solo as they please, but they may not be able to play chords in time with the rest of the band, nor would they want to as they may find that boring. They can’t play with an orchestra cause they can’t read music or follow things as written…nor do they want to. And while they may be great filling in for a last minute gig for a local band that doesn’t have tabs/sheets, they can be stubborn about doing things their way instead of how it’s originally played, maybe because they can only create instead of copy. In a recording session, they may have amazing ideas, but they aren’t able to replicate it for doubling since their playing is always spontaneous. Because they feel confident in playing on demand, they may not practice much and thus can be inconsistent with each run, or make more noticeable mistakes when the pressure is on.
This is also why a lot of orchestral musicians, aka, the majority of musicians, tend to think negatively of people who play by ear and say reading is better, at least that’s where I believe this whole feud started. Who wouldn’t be frustrated with the one person who refuses to get with the program or constantly makes mistakes because they don’t want to practice the same thing over and over again? No doubt ear players are talented, but music thrives best when everyone works together to serve the song and entertain the audience. And in turn, the ear players get defensive and think sheet readers are high and mighty, and will argue that the greats didn’t know how to read sheet music either.
But why not both? And that goes for both sides. As I’ve learned, reading by sheet music isn’t necessarily hard to do, it just takes a few weeks of intentional studying and practice. There are even some apps that can make it fun like a game. Even if you never really use it, at least you can if needed, and you’d be able to communicate better with those who do. And for sheet readers, learning to play by ear can allow you to be more flexible and creative. Sheets aren’t always available after all. The more capable and flexible you are, the more of an asset you can be. As I said earlier, music is a team sport, so we should aim for the skills and lingo that would help us work better with other musicians.
I shared a couple videos of Foolish Frankie above, and I love watching his videos as he shows the benefits of being able to do both. He plays the saxophone and does a variety of gigs, from random jazz gigs, to filling in for a band, to playing at weddings, and so on. Because he can read sheets and play by ear, and he also knows the theory to transpose easily, he can accommodate any situation, learn songs on demand, improvise as needed, which is often considering how little time he has to prepare. As a musician, I hope to be as well rounded as him one day.
Anime Examples: For this category, I want to use Those Snow White Notes, a series that features the Shamisen. The main character learned how to play from his grandfather. As I’m sure is the case with many older folk instruments, people are taught directly and learn from hearing and seeing, instead of sheet music and books, and in turn, traditional songs are also passed down. Before his grandfather died, he told him to discover his own sound or don’t bother playing at all. This character is talented enough to play classic pieces with friends or strangers, to just feel and go with the flow, and he also freestyles in his own time. The series also focuses on a club he was pressured to join, and his peers kinda hope he can teach them as they are all beginners. He doesn’t really know how, and instead, encourages them to ‘feel the fire’ and passion behind the music, something I’ve heard from many other guitarists when I needed help.
I also want to share a clip from Given. The main character was gifted the guitar his dead friend played, and he doesn’t know how to feel about it as he never really cared to play music. This other guy sees him in the stairway with the guitar, fixes his broken string, and invites him to a rehearsal session as he has his own band. He asks what kinda music he would like to hear and immediately starts jamming and improvising. The bassist (who can also play by ear) feels the vibe and jumps in right away with a melody/harmony he had in his mind.
Conclusion
So that’s my list of pros and cons for each learning method. Honestly, if I were to go back and do it all again, I would have definitely made the effort to read sheets more proficiently a lot sooner. Why? Because I would be able to learn more songs faster, and in turn, understand keys/scales more and become more familiar with the sounds of my instrument, and in turn, be able to play by ear faster, which would be the second thing I would have loved to be proficient at sooner.
Playing by ear certainly has the most benefits as they aren’t reliant on any external tools and don’t need time to learn or process anything. They can simply play on demand. Whether it’s covers, solos, or improv, they have the skills and the chops to jump into any situation and sound good. But as mentioned above, many of these people haven’t learned any theory and can’t read music, making it hard for other musicians to communicate or work with them. So I would highly recommend learning both of those skills just for the sake of playing with others. After all, music was meant to be a team sport, and we sound better together!
I still think memorizing is a wonderful thing, especially if you want to perform for a few reasons: For one, you probably won’t be as anxious if you truly knew the song in and out. You’d also be able to work more on expression and feeling because the notes are the least of your problem now. But most of all, memorizing allows you to engage more with your audience. Imagine if your favourite singer spent the whole concert looking at the lyrics on their tablet…it wouldn’t be much of a concert, would it? Orchestras are one thing as it’s more about uniformity, but in most other settings, people came for a show, and memorizing allows you to be more present or to even dance a bit!
I will admit, playing by theory is the least efficient for most musicians who just want to start playing. It not only takes lots of studying to understand music on a deeper level, but it also takes them longer to extract their knowledge and execute it when playing. But they can certainly memorize things faster because they understand what is going on as opposed to just memorizing random notes or chords. They also know how to put notes and chords together to create a certain sound or feeling, making them great composers. Additionally, these people can be the link between people who can only play by ear or sheets, because they can analyze sheets and express what is happening in words for the hearers, and they can hear a random scale or progression and write it down for the readers.
People who can only play with tabs/charts are certainly at the greatest disadvantage. Their song choices are limited by what’s available and they will need time to read and learn to play the song. They don’t understand what they’re playing (may not even know what notes they’re pressing), they don’t know theory, can’t read sheets, nor play by ear. If they ever had to play in another key, they couldn’t do it, so they are truly trapped. The only instruments that have some kind of excuse to be reliant on tabs is guitar/bass/drums due to the layout and sound of the instrument, but it would greatly benefit these players to understand some theory and be able to play by ear as well.
Below is a video I randomly came across about if musicians can read sheet music. Midway through, Samurai Guitarist came on, a popular Youtuber in the guitar community who I watched quite a bit in 2020. I actually thought there was a possibility he may be somewhat proficient, but he proved my point when he says “Yeah, I can read sheet music, I don’t do it especially well. If you put a piece of sheet music in front of me and said ‘take as much time as you need to play this’, I can do it, but I can’t sight read like some classical players or pit band players at all”. When asked if I could read growing up, I would say yes, cause I knew what was on the staff, but being able to sight read proficiently definitely takes a lot of practice, and in turn, opens a lot of doors. Once you learn the basics, you really are good to go!
So that’s all I have for you. Do you agree or disagree? What’s been your experience as a musician using one or a few of these methods? Leave your comments below and let’s discuss!!