How To Play By Ear With Chords

[@leslieackerman4189]

The more I hear you the less words I can find to describe fairly the immense nature of your teaching talent.

[@robertshepherd5683]

Immense. That captures it perfectly.

[@juanitogaspar8826]

I'm a beginner who wants to learn by ear well I can sing a little I know some chords but these the first time To attempt to try to be tought by a teacher I don't know if I can afford it can you reply to me Ty

[@RonWesterbeek]

@@robertshepherd5683 second that sir

[@RonWesterbeek]

@@juanitogaspar8826 you can learn good basics from Aimee , check her library. You might like it. Bless your efforts ⚘

[@santiecrowther7688]

Very good but I can't see where you are pressing. I play by ear and do not know the names of the notes.

[@andrewvanoverbeke5164]

One of the best music teachers online. I am not even a piano player, and I learn so much.

[@jennyomalley7634]

For me it was 70 years ago, I hated music lessons , you had to sit and be quiet, learning about crotchets, quavers and other such things that made no sense to me , Later on in life with my new found love for Music I discovered guitar books in the library " Bert Weedon " play in a day , I bought a cheep guitar and tuning fork but I didn't learn too play in a day , in fact it was 40 years later thanks to KZbin and basic Music theory " number system " it all made sense. I bought a piano for lock-down and with my new knowledge of guitar music theory ( it's transferable ) and Aimee Nolte via KZbin I'm flying it ( playing by ear , still no interest in crotchets.....)

[@sloperdad4835]

16:50 "wrong and backwards"... lol, said with conviction..

[@skymooseft]

You are a good teacher! I’ve been playing bass for 56 years. I’m about to retire and am thinking of taking piano lessons. You are inspiring me.

[@AspenTruth]

Aimee, I’ve visited frequently to watch your channel without interacting , but this time I had to comment. You’ve laid out, and rather succinctly, the path to understanding composition and improvisation. I had the split experience of classical training (at the piano), that built my dexterity but failed to connect the dots, while also digesting as much current popular music (in my case The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and The Rolling Stones via purchases of 45’s) as possible. For me, these worlds were not truly connected until Jazz Band in the 8th grade. That’s when I changed teachers and the door to theory was opened wide, demystifying everything. The way that you touched on the paradigm of learning classical works without the benefit, even at a fundamental level, of understanding the underlying chords is inspired. This would exponentially change the advancement of any young student. Bravo.

[@Erdos777]

TremblingGiant I agree but would add not only the young but adults also.

[@SRHMusic012]

You have nailed my frustration with classically trained music teachers. The whole idea of music basically being, at the core, chords, melody and rhythm is missing entirely. For decades (centuries? millenia?) people made music in the home or other places together without sheet music in front of them. Blues jams will show the same happening today. (I have a relative who is classically trained that is fascinated that I can get together with others I've never played with and we all play a song called out with only basic comments about key and some chord changes, and we have a good jam together. And I'm not that good! :) ) Cheers

[@unclemick-synths]

@@SRHMusic012 same for Irish/Scottish/English folk music. I'd sub for other bassists in other bands without having to learn a set-list beforehand.

[@arthouston7361]

If you listened to those groups like I did, you have enjoyed the playing of Nicky Hopkins. He is still missed today.

[@vivfaydonahue687]

A friend of mine whose wife is a classical pianist .. mentioned to me at a recent concert, "it's". . he went on " but at home my beautiful wife cannot play any song, like America the Beautiful, without a complete ly written out score. ". This underscores the sad commentary that we are not teaching the ABCs of music, .. the chord structure ... and how the melodies evolve from that. So sad really. all memorized - a perfect copycat... Oplasy what I say to

[@jcortese3300]

Honestly, this exposes the biggest lack in classical training. I had literally NONE of this. None. It was actively disdained -- the very means by which the composers wrote all that stuff we love. :-( I learned some of this while learning piano because you can't avoid it, but it wasn't ever explained.

[@SF1906Survivor]

I’m glad I found your channel today. I’m 66, and when I was younger I wanted to learn to play the piano, but we didn’t have a piano. So then I wanted to learn the violin, but my mother said that hurts her ears so I learned the cello. I got very good on thecello, being in orchestra in both elementary and middle school, I could sight read and it was so easy for me, and everything on the cello, of course was written on the bass clef. Then in ninth grade, when I took typing class, I became a superb typist typing close to 100 words per minute, because it was the same thing as sight reading music. I could just look at a page and I knew what keys to push on the typewriter. It very easy. Then in 11th grade, we finally got our piano which I still own it today. Problem is I was so used to the cello with its bass clef and a typewriter with just words that now I had a treble clef to deal with and that’s always been a stumbling block for me. So I actually write the names of the notes on the sheet music and I keep practicing from that until I have the song memorized and I can play it only without sheet music. I’m now at the stage in my life where I really want to learn how to play the piano by learning chords, and also by sight reading music as I used to do on the cello. I think your videos are going to be a big help for me. By the way, my piano was bought by my parents brand new in 1972 and it’s a Baldwin spinet. I bet it needs tuning 😉

[@EamonnMorris-xf8et]

The 'three chord trick! This is exactly how I learned to play piano left hand accompaniment (i.e. chords) by ear from my father when I was a 4 year old. The next issue was "how do I play the melody to go with those chords?". The answer, which he also taught me? Solfege, aka tonic solfa, or 'do-re-mi' etc.. With these two you have the beginnings of being able to play ANY song in ANY key! It's a good place to start. Jazz comes later, using basically the same skills, at a more advanced level.

[@Expedient_Mensch]

I just sat through this whole vid and I don't even play piano. The magic of Aimee...

[@viralbuthow000]

This video wasn't exactly what I expected and yet it's what I needed. It's a visceral approach. Makes me feel music rather than merely memorize a whole bunch of technical stuff.

[@millenniumtree]

THIS. I basically gave up on music when I was a kid due to the constant drilling of scales and melody. Years later, I picked up the ukulele and have stuck with it, because the chord shapes are easy and the music is immediate! I wish my piano teacher could have seen this video way back then! The ukulele doesn't even care much about inversions - half or more the first position chords are inversions. Where's the root? No care! You can learn 3 chord shapes, and PLAY A SONG! 15 minutes tops. I almost cried during this video, thinking about trying to learn piano way back then! Thank you.

[@sempopo]

You're a great teacher! God bless..

[@joeducosin3852]

Amy, I my opinion this is your (the) best piano chord teaching video on KZbin. Thank you and keep them coming!

[@pripri8814]

I could play by the ear from 10-12 yrs old but had no idea of chords. KZbin was not very prevalent then. Ff two yrs back, i am 32 now i started learning piano from a school. All i was taught was sheet music reading. I enjoyed it first but after 1 yr i told my teacher i can play by the ear but you have to help me with the chords. He said he doesn't know himself. Then through your videos i figured out matching chords. But i needed more help like when to play chords according to the beats or broken chords but my teacher had no idea. He was trinity grade 8 though. Finally i changed my teacher. She is very young, plays in bands and she is helping me play by ear. I am happy beyond words.

[@mikegordon1504]

Almost the first of Aimee’s teaching videos I came across years ago and still brilliant.

[@Vaejovis357]

Amiee is one of the greatest and most naturally gifted piano educators of her generation. This is a priceless lesson for young beginners and could spare them decades of frustration (speaking from experience). After getting a handle on these concepts, if you’re not totally committed to classical performance, I would recommend starting with 12 bar blues, then in a general sense, organize your studies along the lines of the chronology of jazz, stride, swing, post-bop, bebop, quartal harmony etc. You’ll painlessly learn about the jazz giants that have left us this magnificent art form. The 12 bar blues should be your foundation. Everything emanated from there.

[@AimeeNolte]

Much thanks 😊

[@billfung3422]

I've just discovered your channel, and comparing with other channels that I've come across on teaching how to play by ear, I must say that you've hit the nail on my experience of learning how to play by ear by self-teaching that started about 10 years ago. Now that I'm in my 70's and my 10 years old grandson has started to learn the piano from a piano teacher, I don't want to confuse him by teaching how to play by ear, but I really tempted to show him how. Maybe I need to wait for a while until my grandson understands scales, chords, and base note of a song, etc., and then teach him to rely on his ears to figure out the chords. Thank you for sharing your experience on this video!

[@inversemedia]

100% Aimee! I’m teaching 6-10 year olds and sometimes their parents might think I’m nuts for teaching them how to listen, theory in steps and most importantly how not being intimidated by the piano, we bang and improvise on the black keys only (pentatonic :) and learn dynamics and expression by doing the “rain and thunder” and “emotions” such as happy and sad…all the mechanics of written music can be learned later, IMHO

[@bassmande]

Aimee you teach the very essence of music, right from the beginning. Not only head and fingers but heart and soul. Kind regards from another music teacher.

[@Erdos777]

Thank you for all your hard work in making an excellent tutorial on playing chords by ear and sharing your learning experiences in a musical family. What a blessing to have a mom as a music teacher! Your teaching moms to be music teachers to their children. And dads too!

[@dr.javitamckinney8880]

WOW! HOW NICE TO KNOW THAT PLAYING BY EAR IS NOT A HANDICAP. THIS WAS SHARED WITH ME WHEN I TOOK PIANO LESSONS AT AGE 8 AND 5 YEARS LATER, I LEFT THE PIAN FOR CHEERLEADING. BUT NOW RETIRED FROM TEACHING I HAVE A PIANO AND CAN PLAY ORIGINAL SONG. WELL, THE PSALMS PUT TO MUSIC AS A GIFT BACK TO THE WORLD AIMEE XOXO

[@andabien3]

I began learning the clarinet in the 4th grade. My teacher started me in C, of course. Then turned the page and said, this is the key of G. Instead of playing a C, you play a C#. Okay. In my 20s I was playing music in a small group. The singer couldn't hit some notes, so a guy said, let's play it in D instead. IT BLEW MY MIND. I had never understood that all these tunes and songs could just be played in a different key. My teacher never made that clear to me. What a revelation!

[@alexsiuwh]

i think this is the most important jazz lesson that cannot be missed. Thanks for sharing this valuable details which I puzzle for so long since learning Jazz👍🙏👏

[@EricS1818]

Aimee, you are the only one who can speak for 20 minutes straight and not sound boring. Great work.

[@otonielvaldez2970]

By far, the best music teacher on youtube.

[@Garrett_Rowland]

What you said towards the end really resonates with me. I'm a pianist myself, and I've met peers in college who can play fantastically well. Beethoven sonatas. Chopin etudes. All the standard repertoire. However, they barely know any music theory. They don't know what sonata form is, or how it works. If you ask them to improvise, they freeze. If you ask them why they chose the dynamics, tempo, rubato, etc. that they used in their playing, they'll say that that' just what their teacher told them to do. They might as well be a real-life midi player. It used to annoy me, but now it just makes me sad.

[@akf2000]

Real life midi players 😀😀😀

[@sprenzy7936]

its called being a player, not a real musician and yes im one of them and im trying my damn hardest to break out of that shit hole bar behind the keys

[@adamf.4823]

@@sprenzy7936 You should try meditation. Seriously.

[@jamessbca]

God bless my Grandma. I knew she played piano my whole life. She played piano / organ in church for decades. Probably 6 or 7 decades. Turn to hymn 217 and she'll sight read that sucker in front of a full church, no problem. I asked her about some music stuff once while she was still alive, and she explained that she needed sheet music to play. This blew my mind. As a drummer (turning guitar player / hopefully piano as well), I assumed everyone could improvise on their instrument. I just thought that's how it worked. This is probably because I hung out with guitar players, bass players, etc. who tend to be more improvisation-based...? My father-in-law played piano "by ear", but would joke that he didn't know anything about music (because he didn't read music). I wish he was still alive, as I'd love to ask him some questions as I'm getting into piano. I suspect he knew the chords and how they functioned. He once showed me how to finger a c-major scale, which stuck with me. So he had an ear plus knew some of the mechanics. From that, he created music. There's a good Stewart Copeland video on this topic (drummer from the Police - turned TV score / film composer). He talks about being a visual musician vs. playing from your soul / ears, etc. I'm not going to lie, I want to be able to do both! (But if I could only pick one, it would be playing with my ears / soul!). (This is a guy who has played in one of the biggest rock bands of all time, yet also composes music for string players in tuxedos to play, etc - pretty cool perspective to be able to have...

[@IuriSigma]

@@jamessbca Thank you so much for sharing all that. Pretty inspiring and I wish you luck on your journey, I'm learning the keyboard and specially theory for the past 3 years and plan to play drums in the future. Gonna check that Stewart Copeland video for sure.

[@robertlindseybham]

Thanks Aimee, so cool and smooth.

[@ScarletteFiesci]

Aimee I wish you had been my teacher in the 70's. I know unless you had a time machine lol. But your teaching style is by far above and beyond anything I've known. You are a superb teacher and you get it. I thought it was just me but you hit the nail on the head when you said that teachers don't teach you the 'Why,' just the 'What.' My teacher would just say I'm stupid and not musical, I should give up and I took that on board and really believed it. I thought or at least I hoped that teaching had changed since then but clearly it's still a global phenomena. Thank you Aimee once again. I've learnt more from this video than I did in years of classical training! It would be good if you could do a video on how to change the chords up to play a better accompaniment. As you said there are so many ways but I can only think of a couple which normally include octaves, inversions and arpeggios as well as 5ths and 6ths lol, then break the chord by playing like a stride piano. Looking forward to the next one.

[@Jauhara]

I have a piano student who was really bored and struggling with his traditional lessons. I was trying to get him to understand how easy it is to pick up a song by ear. I chose a song that every 10 year old boy wants to play: The piano theme from Ultimate Smash Brothers. In the course of 3 weeks, using a white board with staff lines, we learned how to play the chord progressions and melody. Then I broke up the chords and made part of the harmony into the right hand with the melody. Welp! Before I took this approach, I was having a difficult time getting him to practice 5 minutes a night. Now he has practically mastered the song...without a sheet. just working it out on the keyboard using his ears.

[@sprenzy7936]

Hope you didn't teach him with simplified chords. Smash ultimate theme has a lot of 4 note color chords and he has to be able to identify quality of complex out of key chord if he wants to master playing by ear Needless to say he still learned it and your driving him in the right way. Good for you xd

[@azaleajanemusic]

That's how to get anyone to do anything. Figure out how to make them care about it!

[@SRHMusic012]

@@sprenzy7936 Gotta start somewhere, eh? Huge props for Jewel lighting a spark with her student. The interest in getting the 'exact' chords will come.

[@rippleguys]

This video was amazing

[@changwilliamwang]

I wish someone taught me this when I started learning piano!!! Thank you so much, Aimee!!! The way you tell your story is so captivating and encouraging!

[@elizabethsaltares5630]

Awesome teaching, i've always had difficulty in learning the inversions but surely will practice yr technique. TY

[@MaggaraMarine]

Great video. I have just started teaching music theory, and I feel like a lot of it is pretty backwards - the kids are expected to know really complicated stuff on paper (augmented 6th chords, secondary dominants, modulations, suspensions), but when I play a simple I-IV-V-I song, they can't figure out the chords. I simply don't see the point about learning about all of the complicated stuff when people can't hear the simplest chord changes in music - people just have no use for the complicated stuff if they haven't internalized the simple stuff. What you talked about in this video is exactly what is needed in music education. The way it goes today is that when chord functions are introduced, the kids are expected to memorize all of the chord functions and all of the inversions in all major and minor keys, all at once, and they are first expected to be able to do this all on paper and it has little to do with actual music - in the exercises the key changes in every measure and you have different chords and inversions in every single measure. And this obviously has nothing to do with how chords actually work. Sure, it's a good technical exercise to be able to say what the 2nd inversion of iii chord in B major is, but that's not how chord functions should be introduced. I think they should learn the I, IV and V chords first, and then add the ii as the substitute of IV, and the vi chord, just like you explained in the video. The way it's done today is just so overwhelming, especially to those who have never even thought about chords before because they play monophonic instruments.

[@ffggddss]

Good point, extremely well put! Yes, hearing the I-IV-V relationship, as well as all the major-relative minor relations. And then, onward from there. Fred

[@liamonconlocha4898]

In the formal education approach you allow the theory to be the dominant issue and so you start teaching them theory, but ask them to bring a favourite song with them and suddenly the motivation is huge, and the child is leading and not the theory, allow the child to lead and it will lead itself to understand the most complex music all with your help allowing it to explore in a natural way.

[@ccselementarymusic3968]

Love this video! and I am going to say something right outloud: I am 52, been around the musical block many times and here is what it is. 1. Teachers/musicians who play well don't understand theory, or how to figure out simple tunes, but they don't want YOU to know that. They play that Beethoven Sonata well, lots of great technique, but can't play Happy Birthday without sheet music to save their lives or 2. High level players DO know theory and how it all works, BUT like to keep it a kind of "mystery" - a kind of secret "talent" they have but you don't. I have sat in Jazz Improv. classes where the instructor made it sound so complicated most people just walked out completely bamboozled. THANK GOD for the web and people like you explaining that it REALLY IS PRETTY SIMPLE. They "hard" part is the time it takes to get fluid and COMFORTABLE playing in all the keys in varying styles, etc. THAT is what takes the time and effort. Otherwise the concepts are very simple and ANYONE can grasp them.

[@jamessbca]

Great video. I have played drums my whole life. I bought a guitar 20 years ago, bought some books, and didn't get very far, despite being fairly disciplined, etc. I picked it up again 3 years ago, and had the huge epiphany that I needed to understand the major scale and the I, ii, iii, IV, IV, vi, vii chords. Everything started clicking. I learned how the chords are made. Jump forward to today, and I'm understanding inversions, etc - all bases on the major scale. It's so amazing. 20 years ago I thought there were 8,000 things to memorize. Today, I realize you have to know the major scale (starting on any note) like it's your child. Then it all starts to make sense. I realized there is a lot of guitar instruction that's very "guitar-istic". I've been dabbling in piano lately, and there's lots of very "piano-istic" instruction. You said, "if you're lucky enough to have a music teacher who teaches theory". Isn't that crazy???!!! If you do that first / in parallel to learning Mary had a little lamb, it totally paves the way for the future! I wish this video existed 20 years ago when I first picked up the guitar / piano!!!

[@ermanevcil]

Thank you Aimee !

[@MrVatov]

15:18 into it, I literally got moist eyes. The passion and honesty in Aimee's account of her own learning process is the stuff of great teaching. Thank you very very much.

[@tiemanspace7679]

A thank you with compliments. You had people in your life that believed in you and actually gave input. Now we have KZbin. So thank you. Especially for your teaching talent. Mild and gentle from a high easy to focus on perspective.

[@adamf.4823]

I learned with some books, learned to play some simple songs. Yeah, that's fun enough. But for me it was learning a simple 3 chord progression and improvising over top of it that unlocked the pure joy of music for me. It was such a revelation to feel as if I was understanding for the first time the bliss that musicians experience and why so many dedicate their lives to music. I had never really felt that before while learning songs by rote. It was the firm support of the chord progression and the sense of my own creative soul feeling out the harmony of each note of the improvised melody over top that finally let me lose myself in playing music for the first time. It took less than an hour. Rhythm, dynamics, expression, all came out naturally as I continued improvising. It was instantly addicting. This is the first thing kids should be taught. A simple three chord progression in C with the left hand and the instruction that they can pretty much do whatever they want with the right hand on the white keys, figure it out, whatever music their soul wants to sing! I don't understand why more teachers don't do this. I realize you're talking about something slightly different, not necessarily improvisation, but the fundamentals are the same: The importance of the structure of the chord progression and playing by ear. You did touch on improvisation though while discussing Dust in the Wind. All you really wanted to know was the chord progression because once you have that everything else is easy, and the creative act of figuring out the melody, arpeggios etc. by ear is very similar to the creative act of improvising. It comes from the same part of the mind, the emotionally expressive part. To hand a piece of music to a kid and direct them to robotically reproduce what's written down is necessary, I guess, but to start there and conceal the simple magic of actual music-making for years until they eventually figure it out themselves? That's so crazy! I wouldn't even start with a song they like, I would give them three chords and tell them to make their own damn music. But what do I know, I don't even really play the piano, I'm just a guy messing around who figured this out by accident on a random night.

[@aaronspain3387]

Thanks, Amy, much appreciated! I "learned" keyboard back in high school, some 20+ years ago, but literally all we did was learn the different note lengths, and play rote from sheet music. I got bored with it because without that sheet music, I couldn't play a single piece... like, nothing, at all! If my teacher had've told me that there's a few simple chords to use, and once you've played the song through a few times using the chords, you can start to fiddle around with the notes in that chord, I would've kept playing. Guitar teachers teach you chords, and use simple chord charts to help memorise chords, but with piano, it's either tons of complicated music theory, or sheet music that you have to play verbatim.

[@jorgeparr3002]

You are SOOOOOÒÒ RIGHT!!!! THANK GOD YOU ARE HERE AIMEEE😅😅😅😅😅😅❤🎉

[@carlos_tbg8]

Great explanation! The way you interweave stories into your demonstration makes it seem like a well-delivered TED talk.

[@chriscroy2678]

I’ve been an avg musician my whole life but started playing piano in church (and some bass) - this is exactly what I need to get better at the blues/rock/gospel sound to get creative! Great teaching!

[@RokhartMusic]

This is one of the most important and inspiring music lessons I’ve ever had! Thank you so much Aimee 🎶😊

[@robertakerman3570]

Quite the cheerleader. I've confidence now.

[@odelljl]

Playing 1-4-5 and other common chord progressions on the guitar and applying the same concept of barely moving, in this case, the left hand and playing inversions opened up the guitar fretboard for me. This is a lovely lesson and as a new subscriber I look forward to more. Thank you!

[@chauphammatser3011]

Nobody tells you these things! It's so true, and you have approached it so directly, it's inspiring to me. I'm an adult, and I've always wanted to learn more than the first 8 measures of any song that I like, because I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know where I'm going. I need a plan, but learning individual notes as an adult is not it. I want to play by ear. I'm going to start this week because of your video. One major scale a week, just like you have taught. Thank you Aimee!

[@philippeperrin1590]

I developped my ear exactly the same way ... and now I can play anything by ear :) It's bringing me back to my childhood ...

[@take942]

Thank you Aimee for sharing those most valuable tips and insights.

[@chrispoe5534]

15:15 to 18:00 is a must listen to anyone teaching music. I could -not- agree more. When you understand music in this way, the universe explodes. Bang on. Bang. On.

[@elderhiker7787]

I’m not exactly sure why I’m addicted to your videos since I don’t play piano. Sure, your info helps me understand better the music I play on guitar and harmonica (blues and folk). But, the stuff I learn from you is empowering and it does help me make better music. But you are an excellent teacher and I like how you provide instant examples of what you are talking about. All I can say is, “well done Amy Nolte Music.”

[@zelle1897]

You are such a great teacher!! I'm not even halfway through the video and I'm already grateful. Please don't stop at what you dooo. Lovelove from the Philippines🇵🇭

[@von_Apa]

Wow! I love the way you talk about this!! I have to start following your KZbin videos!!! Thank You, Aimee🤩

[@liandyogi]

I think the spirit of this video is "play and follow your curiosity". Too often I think, like what you touch on here Aimee, especially with classical instruction, we're not given the foundation to really understand how music is built/what it's made up of. That's been a frustration of mine for a while (that I can't seem to figure things out by ear) so thank you so much for this and will go on mastering my major scales, practicing inversions, and figuring out the 1-4-5 :)

[@terada2423]

Aimee. What a beautiful soul you are. So talented, funny, and speaking straight from the heart. I have played guitar on and off for years but always had the desire to play piano but like many, I just never got around to it and let life get in the way. As a senior, I now have a piano and am working hard to play. Your approach is so gentle and to the point. I have lost a lot of time but making good use of it now and you were spot on about the teachers. I have tried two Teachers and both seem to talk to me like I am something stuck to the end of their shoe because I am into Jazz and blues which one said wasn't proper music! well, thank you so much for the video, I hope my journey can begin here.

[@corinnerichardson3889]

You are plain and simply Great in so many ways, i would love to be able to Express this thoroughly to you, and the entire World, you are great Beyond what words can truly express, this us honesty factual and deep...

[@Mezilesialan]

A superb lesson. A lovely lesson from a lovely woman. Thank you Aimee.

[@coleyounger3701]

stop schmoozing, Alan, she wouldn't have your ass.🤣🤣

[@michael6620]

Your video, “How to play by ear,” encapsulated all my experiences and thoughts over many years including playing kids songs and old country ballads. I love your thought process especially about one’s recognition that when playing a song you realize there are other chords there to make a transition yet from lack of knowledge I couldn’t figure it out on my own till I watched your video. Thanks Aimee. I’m going to utile your training because it’s the only video I’ve seen which makes sense to me.

[@jamescopeland5358]

Aimee I love channel and the way you approach music.

[@donstevenson2170]

I just discovered your channel. You have a very good teaching approach. I am an advanced player who over the years has learned many of the same concepts. Either by accident or by a good teacher or fellow musician. My story is similar to yours as it relates to learning to play by ear. I took classical piano lessons from a nun in St Louis mo. She recognized that I had a good ear. She taught me the I IV V method of playing by ear using the song Silent Night. Later on, I started playing guitar because of my buddies were taking up guitar. I learned guitar by using the Mel Bay method. Mel Bay had his music store right in my home town. That farther advanced my ear training by trying to figure out chords to popular songs of the 60s and 70s. Ever since then, it has been an exciting journey for the last 62 years and still going strong. Even looking at your videos reviewing basic concepts, I pick up ideas I have missed over the years. It also reinforces concepts I have learned...Keep up the good work!

[@lynndarcey7161]

Thank you, Aimee! My ear is pretty good for single notes that I can use to improvise on the flute. Now I have decided to spend time with the piano, and I love even more the incredible variety of sounds available. Sometimes I feel like my brain is exploding with all the possibilities I want to learn. I’m very much a beginner. I remain fascinated. Amazing

[@rodolfogerardogonzalez1743]

Lovely Aimee. You got the magic touch to teach us. Thanks for that and God bless you. Yo

[@rodolfogonzalezsarrelangue7301]

Aimee: All this week I will practice your lessor and let me tell you that in the second day the difference is huge. I’m discovering how practical could be the learning with you. Not easy, but you got magic to teach. Thanks a lot and God bless you. Yo

[@unclemick-synths]

15:45 that's so true! My piano teacher is fascinated by my playing by ear (she never learnt). I can sight-read as long as I don't know the piece. As soon as my ear has the piece it overrides my eyes and I have no choice but to tidy up the memorization and just use the manuscript for the dynamics and phrasing. Decades of playing by ear on bass and sax has just made my ear too dominant. Getting my fingers to actually follow my instructions is a different issue! 😀

[@gurmith]

Excellent and insightful summary. Thank you.

[@johnhewett9483]

Great lesson. I am a bass guitarist, but there is so much in this ti learn. Very inspiring!! Thanks

[@elambi]

Fantastic lesson, I learned a lot! This whole inversion thing opens up a new world to me.

[@ronaldshumaker5217]

I applied the same thing to the guitar when when I was a kid, your a great teacher!

[@pyannaguy4361]

There's a reason people quit piano lessons after years. When you finally grind through the week's assigned classical piece & can play it fairly smoothly with no mistakes? You get PUNISHED! 🤣 You get a HARDER piece to labor through the next week! It's never fun and you never seem to be able to just sit down and play simple Pop songs. Take away the sheet music and you're lost! Everything Aimee's saying here is what I tell people who struggled with Chopin for years, but couldn't play Happy Birthday without "the music." Learn a few chords...in C.. Put away the sheet music for awhile.. This is how pros approach songs. "What are 'the changes?" Good lesson, Aimee! It's about the LETTERS above the lines. They're all you need!

[@mattherman6189]

What you have here is a great song. You mixed down to earth exhortation, can-do ism, fun, and passion, music knowledge, motivation, "light bulbs", an extremely, meaningful charming personal story, and presented it all flawlessly, but not phony and over-slick. Yep, like someone said incredible talent evident, and value in this, beyond all price. Thanks. Aimee!

[@jonimaricruz1692]

It’s the only way I can play guitar. I can read music but it takes me nearly forever to pick out melodies or chords in musical notation, but if I know the chord shapes in a key and can pick a key that suits my voice, then I can usually figure out the chord progression is for a particular song. Thank you so much for your lessons and tips, have a great day!

[@ROBYNMARKOW]

As someone who really has little desire to re-learn how to read music ( not that I could that well to begin with) I think I found the right tutorials for me 👍

[@17244852]

I do my scales/arpeggios/pieces, I do. But then I pick out, one note at a time, some tune that I think I would like to play. Then I listen to where I think the chords could change and which chords they might be. Then I do it with simple chords (root pos). Next I try voice leading, and slowly, slowly I get a whole song. Wow! And I can sing it. Wow! Now I need to get better. This video was a big help Aimee. Thank you.

[@keyesfamily1]

Bravo bravo this is exactly how I learned to play piano. Never became a jazz player. Buy have played professionally in country and gospel. My piano teacher gave up on me in 2nd grade and I wandered through music land till my twenties and started guitar then all the piano chords made sense. I just never knew what I was playing. By the way I'm 60 now and still playing and still learning. Never did learn to read music though and wish i would have. You're awesome!

[@IcanWinBig]

Thank you so much 😊 . Definitely added value. In my mind I believe Rick Beato would be proud of you....especially after saying, “like that”. He mentioned that many of his followers messaged him about it and he talks about it and shows a bunch of clip of him saying, “like that” . I really think I’m getting a full 88 soon🎹

[@Topdoginuk]

Once in a while there comes a rare talented person who's journey is etched into memory and then, with passion and motivational inspiration that person kindly shares the wisdom of that journey. You lady are such a person. Your enthusiasm and inspiration is quite something. Your knowledge and ability to express teaching in such a wonderful way is truly inmpressive. On top of that, you have a lovely singing voice. Gosh! Your parents must be so proud. Well done and keep on being the same

[@dabohn1329]

I love that you're trying to bridge the gap between music theory and playing by ear. Like so many people, I've found learning theory is hard unless you have the luxury of formal education in it. So, I've been mostly playing by ear with a little bit of music knowledge. That's better than nothing, but you have to have the determination to stick with it and develop your ear, or you can only play what, and as well, as you can read on sheet music or watch in KZbin. There has to be a better way of teaching both intuative musical understanding and theory knowledge at similar levels, at the same time... without going to music school full time. Keep it up.

[@kjchicago1]

You 're a great piano teacher and this is a learning experience

[@dharryg]

What a gifted child you were, Aimee. Plus, you had great parents and a wonderful music teacher. Now we know!

[@owendallsotomayor1741]

Fantastic lesson. Really resonated!

[@romerburato6297]

Wow! Love it! Thanks for sharing!

[@bobmodel9850]

Aimee , don't know why but I watched several of your videos and this one hit a note. I was classically trained at 5 years old until 18 and as I sit here 40 years later trying to understand why I cant remember chords to a simple rock song , or being able to figure out chords to a simple song, but can site read anything put in front of me , I am not sure if it was a blessing or a curse. Thank you for this video because it addresses the one thing that I never learned how to do and that was to listen .

[@edkaempf906]

Aimee is crazy good. I'm just starting out, and she is just so frank (in a kind way) about learning chords, changing up chords, experimenting with chords. Love her flashbacks to her dad, mom, grandpa. Oh, and her music teacher DID know more than three chords.

[@francisorourke4540]

Love this video. You inspire me to keep practicing and learning. Thank You so much. Patrick O'Rourke, Fort Myers, FL.

[@morefiction3264]

I wish I could press like on this video more times. You are so right about music teaching.

[@artgrusensky121]

aimee, you are so cool Have been playing tenor for 30 years and finally bearing down on understanding "changes". You demystify wonderfully.

[@michaelhotten752]

thanks Aimee. yes, some of us need a starting point. there's a lot to choose from on your channel and this is a big help. spent 45 minutes doing three major scales and the 1, 4, 5 of C maj and all the voicings.

[@17244852]

Nice little bit of theory Aimee - painless and useful. Thank you.

[@basslover1345]

Great stuff Aimee. You are the best.

[@douglasfuqua7082]

Good stuff...(multi-instrument)...I/we have to "transpose keys"/improvise on-the-fly, all the time, especially for requests (or just "jamming"... It REALLY helps to understand the Nashville (chord) Numbering System...can change keys instantly, on the fly. Very good vid, very patiently informative, and sharing your personal experiences was outstanding !!! Helpful.

[@Rolfrad]

I am really enjoying your channel. I am learning a lot from you. I totally agree with what you are saying, but there is something else to say explicitly. I was taught piano and guitar from books that demanded you learn the songs they told you to. Some I liked (Bells of St Mary's), most I didn't. When we dismissed my guitar teacher, I sought out what I needed because I loved the music and HAD to learn how to play it. There was nothing online at the time (duh!) This was 1966. I learned chord inversions by learning that (for example) the C chord was a "C-shape" at the nut, and an "A-shape" at the 3rd fret, and an "E-shape" at the 7th fret. Thing is, I didn't know these were called inversions, I just knew that if I were high on the neck, I could get a C at the 7th fret. I also learned pentatonics by working out some guitar solos note........for..........note (Very slow), and then noticing that there was a specific shape in one position that worked in other positions. I had no idea it was a "Pentatonic". I learned the whole of Bathing at Baxters in this way, and learned some work arounds that worked. So - I think a lesson here is that I don't know if it is possible to teach someone to play by forcing them to play things they don't love. I had to have music I loved push me through the slow hard parts of learning

[@PlayCreatively]

You are a great teacher! We all must interact with music long enough, but also understand music theory to effectively play by ear.

[@DojoOfCool]

triads are very important from the start and later on playing Jazz, they become your way to imply bigger chords and chord colors, notes to imply colors in improv and so on. Like many others I ignored triads for a long time and when I finally circled back around to them realized how valuable of a tool they are.

[@RichardChappell1]

Amen. I have felt the same way about piano teaching. I started out learning brass instruments, and didn't start learning piano until college. I lucked out and found a book teaching chord playing basics and it made all the difference.

[@jenmccolley285]

I wish I had asked those questions of my piano teacher. I can play a mean Chopin etude or Bach prelude and fugue, but couldn’t even begin to tell you what the heck the chords are. This is absolutely a revelation for me. I’m so happy I found you. I’m working on my five simple songs with the 1,4,5 and it amazes me that I never learned this basic lesson in 15 years of piano lessons.

[@DarthBalsamic]

I was actually the reverse. I couldn't play or had never played the piano or did any classical music when I learned these basics. I had a minor in foundational music. I struggled mightily until I could apply those techniques I learned. My main way learning was being pushed by ear and on-the-spot. I got good at playing by ear and knowing and utilizing those chords because I was put on the spot, and the foundational stuff just happened to be there to help my understanding. Fortunately being around musicians in my family also helped me adjust. I still have my musicianship learning materials from college and it seemed like I was reading the book upside down back then. Now it makes perfect after having been through the trenches while being forced to play by ear. I've even written a song or two with a buddy of mine in church that we added music to from scratch. It pays to have these skills for creativity purposes, even when you're on the fly. I've had people from my alma mater music program tell me openly that they envy that I can play by ear from scratch and understand what I'm playing.

[@sprenzy7936]

Your mistake is learning with a classical teacher. Switch to a good jazz teacher and you'll learn all that stuff and more

[@joburton4082]

Exactly. Same here

[@zerosum1290]

i think youre brilliant mate, thank you

[@patthesoundguy]

Just plain awesome. When I was first learning to play sax at the end of the 80s I got in trouble with the music teacher for playing by ear. And it kind of set me back a bunch because I was so conflicted after that because my ears were what made it possible to figure out what the heck was going on all the time. Thank goodness I didn't give it up. I wish someone had explained those chord inversions to me that simply when I was a young jazz nerd. You just made it all make so much more sense than it did 20 something years ago.

[@miguelgarcia-qh2ge]

you have give of teaching, thank you, keep up the joy of piano.

[@saintmichael9736]

You are so precious and beautiful and you are such an amazing woman and teacher and I'm so thankful to have found you 💛

[@Smartoe12]

I cannot love you more for what you share!

[@NotNoAndrew]

So I have been practicing my inversions like this. I play the root then down to the 2nd inversion then up to the root then up to the first and I go back and fourth maybe three times. I do this this with each hand individually. I then do it to the next note in the key, in this case C. And I just do all of the diatonic chords of the key. I haven't tried the other keys yet. I should start experimenting with some "simple" songs to see if I can figure out the chords that are used. Thanks for the lesson Aimee, very informative.

[@MisterstereoOso]

Bloody brilliant Aimee 💥 thanks from England...💐