How to learn to play by ear

I belong to a fcacebook group called Adult Violin Learners. They are a bunch of super friendly people and many of them are eager to share their own experience. So I asked how I can learning by ear without sheet music. Although I have been playing well over a year, I still need music scores to guide me and I really want to play something without music sheets, so that I can play fiddle with others.

I think Youtube videos are great but all fiddle lessons I saw were a bit too fast for me. Since then, I borrowed a basic fiddle book, Learn to play Irish fiddle. I am practising first song at the moment.

Advice I got so far:

Put away your sheet music, learn the scales and which chords you can play the scales over. and improvise !!!

This is what ( my ) teacher states violin is eye music, Fiddle is heart music

I learned classical piano throughout my school years, and spent years unable to play anything beyond the repertoire I had learned then. I had no idea how to just play without sheetmusic, and adulting made it difficult to put in the practice time as I had previously enjoyed. About 5 years ago I started watching every YouTube video I could find on improvisation. At first I had no clue what they were talking about. The circle of fifths, 7th and 9th Chords, and Pentatonic scales were completely foreign to me. I kept watching and learning, and it began to make sense. Christian Howes teaches violin specific improvisation, but don’t limit yourself to just violin lessons. Amy Nolte is awesome, as well. And there are lots of guitar and sax players teaching the theory of improvisation.

I had the same problem, mainly because I learned using Suzuki method (imho Suzuki isn’t nearly as great as it’s cracked up to be but anyway). I had trouble even reading sheet music because I kept thinking of the notes in terms of the fingering in 1st position!

But things are getting easier for me now that I’m learning fiddle. Check out some tutorials on YouTube, especially by FiddleHed. He teaches you just by playing the song and slowing it down, it really teaches you to listen and just try.

Learn to sing and whistle everything. Listen to your chosen piece until you can ‘hear’ it in your head and sing it easily by heart.

Yeah! Come to think of it, I saw a teacher once who got me to hum/sing the note first and then play. We’d use a tuner to correct it but only by playing the note, like a drone, not used as a tuner. Works wonders for your ear.

Start with Shortnin’ Bread and the rest will follow- listen to fiddle music and often as you play- it is “by ear” music. Check out fiddlehed beginner lessons on YouTube

 

Practising quietly

When I first started, I was living in an apartment block and I was worried that I would disturb others so I was extremely careful about creating noise. Soon I found out that there is a device that could dampen my violin sound.

Orchestra mute

When I didn’t know any better, I went a music shop and asked about a violin mute, and this was what I was given. Clearly, the shop keeper thought I was a professional violinist (when they see an adult player, they just assume we are all professionals!) and he’d thought I needed it for orchestra. When I tried out, I was so puzzled why the sound wasn’t any quieter. I probably played with it for a week thinking it wasn’t clearly working. So after that, I went to the shop again and asked for a mute for PRACTISING.

Rubber mute

Oh, this was much better although I wished the sound to be more quieter. It certainly made the sound a lot quieter than what it was, but I was still worried I may still disturb others, so I only practiced before 7pm and weekend afternoons only. Then, I found out there is another kind of mute.

Metal mute

I heard people having the metal mute fell over the bridge and damaged it, so I was quite cautious about getting one. My violin is cheap, but I still didn’t want it to be damaged. I talked my violin teacher and she had one too! She never had any issues and she loves using it on her expensive violin! So I confidently went ahead and got a rubber coated metal mute on ebay for around 10 NZD. It’s a very effective mute. Note, the mute does not sit all the way down onto the bridge, it just sits slight firmly on top so it doesn’t fall. It’s actually a awkward looking on a violin, but it works really well.

 

I use both rubber and metal mutes regularly. Rubber one is good because I can still hear the notes quite clearly and protect my ears at the same time, so I use the rubber mute during the day if I know my neighbor is at home (I move to a townhouse attached to neighbors). I use a metal one when I know that my boyfriend is sick of hearing my awful cat-killing noise and most evenings.

 

Other ways to practise quietly

Fingering practice – sometimes I’d just practise fingerings only without bowing, and humming the song in my head. At times, I am sick of hearing my never-ending-awful sound and pretend that I am producing beautiful sound while play-along a Youtube video with my left hand only.

Bowing with cloth – when I first started, I was so frustrated with my bow not being straight (I still do). What I did was to put a piece of cloth over the strings and secure it with a cloth peck on a bridge so I can practice bowing in total silent. This worked pretty well for me.

Playing a violin game on a table – I haven’t done this yet. There are so many apps and I am looking to choose a couple. I hear some people use apps for ear training and tempo, and I think that’s a great idea.

My favourite sites

Violinist.com

Forget Reddit or Google. I would straight go to the site when I have a question. It never failed to answer any of my questions. I guess there are lots of people who are also adult beginners share similar learning paths, and they’d already asked questions ahead of me, and people are so generous to answer from their own experiences. Some of the threads are so inspirational, after reading them, all I want after work is practising!

 

Musescore.com

I recently joined the site, when I tried to find a score of ‘Requiem for a dream’. I have known about the site, but I am very skeptical when comes to free sites because they always want something from you. There is no such thing as free lunch! So I was putting off joining this. But the site is a pretty good source for finding popular music scores.

 

Soundcloud.com

I go there to listen to other violin players, or certain pieces of music while I am at work. These days, I listen to one music, Requiem for a dream, non-stop for hours. I never get board with it. Besides, I get to listen to different versions of the same one, some good ones, some terrible ones (like my playing). I used to listen to Youtube, but they never stay the same song! It always wonders off to some random music that I don’t want.

 

 

Musicians earplugs

I was reading some forum threads on Violinist.com and people suggested that everyone should protect their ears while playing. Now I think of it, the sound is very loud when playing and sometimes I also wonder if my ear can survive many years of playing too close to the instrument.

Some people use typical earplug on their left ear only when they practice which I do when I don’t use a mute. Some people use professional musicians earplugs. I had a look and 600 NZD for earplugs are just too expensive for me.

Apparently Etymotic Research’s earplugs are pretty good.

RubberMondy.co.nz has a store in Newtown and online. I might get cheap ones this Friday, and see how it goes.

Music therapy using a violin

I am reading an interesting Master thesis written by Victoria university in Wellington student who conducted research on how playing violin helps elderly in rest homes and hospitals.

https://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10063/6236/thesis_access.pdf?sequence=1

If you don’t have time to read the whole thesis, read from page 92 where she describes her sessions with Iona. It almost made me cry! So inspirational. I’d never imagined to be so emotional reading a thesis!