Which is better: ``Practice with sheet music'' or ``Practice by ear?''

on learning the piano

・“Practicing a song by copying it by ear” (using your ears)

・“Reading music scores and practicing songs” (using your eyes)

Which do you think is more important?

The answer is, both are important.

Just practicing along with common will not train your "ear" at all .

If you keep practicing new songs by ear, you're not practicing reading music .

Of course, there are many blind and deaf pianists as well.

If you can see and hear and want to improve your piano playing efficiently or become a high-level pianist, you should not rely on either your eyes or your ears. Both require practice.

In particular, when I look at Japanese piano textbooks and piano classes, I feel that there is still little practice using the ears, with only piano practice by reading sheet music.

Never "copying by ear" from piano practice. These are not separate, the same piano practice .

I think the most efficient way for beginners to learn piano to practice by ear first .

Everyone's ears come first

For most people, the first step in learning music begins as a child, singing simple songs like "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

If you have a good memory, try remembering your childhood.

Or imagine yourself teaching music to a child.

How do you learn the pitch of a song you are singing for the first time and be able to sing it?

I don't think there's anyone who was able to sing just by being shown sheet music and being told the pitches like ``Do Do So So La La So.''

that's right. Everyone is able to sing by imitating with their voice what they hear with their ears

If you are building a wall inside yourself thinking that ``copying by ear is difficult,'' please get rid of that concept.

Everyone first learns about music by copying it by ear.

The first step in learning to play the piano, just like the first step in singing, is to start by ``imitating what you hear.''

First, you need to know which keys on the piano produce what sounds.

Don't just play the piano by following the rules and pressing the keys while looking at the score, like using mathematical formulas.。

First of all, it is important to "know the piano" and "know the sound."

To do this, start by imitating the sounds you hear with your ears on the piano

When imitating on the piano, the concept of pitch is not necessary .

All you have to do is connect the "sound of the original song" to "the sound of this keyboard."

※development

Everyone has a trained ear to some extent, as they have been imitating melodies since childhood.

However, copying chords by ear is a slightly different story.

The reason is that chords cannot be imitated vocally.

As a result, even though they can hear it with their ears, they are not trained to understand the pitch from an early age.

Once you can copy melodies on the piano, you can also practice copying chords.

This training may require patience as you need to train your ears from scratch.

However, if you can do this, the way you view the various music in the world will change.

It's not a time-consuming exercise, so just do it step by step.

learn to read music

When learning music notation, the first thing you need to know is pitch.

I first recommended using your ears to "imitate" them.

If you can do this, you can start learning pitch from here.

Try singing the notes you played as pitches.

naturally connect with the piano

For example, in the case of "Kira Kira Hoshi", the pitches of "Kira Kira Hikaru~♪" can be re-sung as "Dodo Sora Raso~♪" to connect the pitches.

Next, you have to connect the musical score and the pitch.

If it's your first time listening to a song, start by listening to it.

Without touching the piano, listen to the song and look at the sheet music to see where it is currently being played.

If you have time, try singing the notes while listening to the song, but with your eyes following the score.

By doing this, the musical score and pitch will be connected.

Reading music is not just memorizing various rules.

For example, when you memorize kanji that are somewhat difficult, you should memorize their meanings, etymology, original hieroglyphs, radicals, and other patterns in a variety of ways.

There is more than one pattern to practicing reading music on the piano.

The method introduced here is one of them.

Let's memorize it in various ways while firmly understanding the connection with sound.

The important thing to have fun while learning .

Mastering both skills

As you practice the piano, you will find yourself trying new songs more often.

At that time, it is important not only to practice using sheet music, but also to practice by copying by ear.

If you only use sheet music, you will forget to train your ear.

If this happens, your ability to hear the tones you are playing will be weaker than those who regularly copy by ear.

I am very suspicious that there is little mention of copying by ear in the piano textbooks sold and sold in Japan.

Well, if you rely too much on copying by ear, your sheet music will not sell well, so maybe that's why there isn't enough information on it.

We may be falling into the trap of companies that provide musical scores.

In any case, by training your ears as well as reading sheet music from a beginner's age, it will be easier to become a good pianist.

There are many ways.

In addition to this site, please look at various sites and books to find ways to enjoy yourself.