How to Play by Ear Part 1

www.RedDesertViolin.com This is #1 in a series of 3 videos. Please come to Red Desert Fiddle channel for the other 2 videos...this topic applies much more to fiddle playing.
This series discusses in great detail the skills you must develop to become great at playing by ear.
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[@dewy123able]

Lora teaches with clarity and detail. She is an excellent teacher for any persons..I am in the beginning violin student category but I know music theory. I had to hire music teachers so I know what to look for concerning student instructions. She is excellent especially for beginner players.

[@RedDesertViolin]

Thanks for this great comment, D! (I know your name, but I'll keep your privacy!)

[@Juliet_Capulet]

I really get so much out of your videos. Your way of explaining is awesome - never talking down to us newer players but at the same time, really really explanatory. Thanks for posting these.

[@RedDesertViolin]

And I really really appreciate your comments so much! Thanks for watching. Keep up the good work!

[@BenjaminHockenberry]

Fantastic breakdown of ear training, Lora!

[@RedDesertFiddle]

Thank you, Benjamin. I appreciate that!

[@dwbush777]

Your videos are extremely helpful. Thank you.

[@RedDesertViolin]

+Douglas W. Bush, M.A. I'm so glad, thanks Douglas. Good luck to you!

[@tanglewoood]

Very helpful information. Thanks for the ear-training app suggestion.

[@RedDesertFiddle]

You are welcome. I downloaded one free app, and was amazed at the features it offered! Good luck!

[@addaansanccheez2586]

Very good explanation you play awesome! 👌

[@RedDesertViolin]

+Addaan Sanccheez Thank you, Addaan! Thanks for watching!

[@lala30201]

very helpful .. thank you

[@RedDesertFiddle]

Thanks Amira.....glad it helped:)

[@bwar8177]

Thankx god bless you

[@RedDesertViolin]

Keep up the good work!

[@thepianoplayer416]

Ear training takes time. But if you can find the same keys in an electronic keyboard or a well-tuned piano, you can match the same pitch until you get it right. Otherwise, every time you have 1 of the 4 open-string notes, you can cross compare the 2 such as a D to an open D (given that your violin is in tune).

[@RedDesertViolin]

Thanks for those ideas!

[@claudinebechard8542]

Excellent

[@RedDesertViolin]

Thanks

[@solukhumbu911]

lora you should teach on artistworks , their platform for online music studies is huge! i take cello there and their approach is very revolutionary for students and great for excellent teachers like yourself to help people learn violin on a bigger scale!

[@RedDesertViolin]

I really appreciate that compliment, Solukhumbu911. It's high praise indeed! I'll look into it!

[@sgtcrab1]

A mandolin is really useful because it is fretted and therefore makes intonation easier. You can find the intervals precisely.

[@RedDesertViolin]

Good idea. On violin, we have to learn to hear "ringy" notes, those serve as our frets!

[@mitchellbarker9368]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like understanding these concepts would also help a great deal with developing improvisational skills.

[@RedDesertFiddle]

That is totally correct, because it enables you to be able to play what you hear in your head. In addition to playing by ear, improvisers need to understand harmony and chord structure, and they need to listen to the type of music they hope to improvise.

[@jeancgoon]

Wish you would teach how to play in a jam with very seasoned fiddlers, harmonica players, banjoists AND how to play if they change the chords in a tune than what it is in the book - The Old Town School of Folk Book Songbook. I am more comfortable with sheet music but the Old Town School teaches traditionally "by ear".

[@RedDesertViolin]

I really resent the attitude that "sheet music is not allowed". But......I guess I understand why the attitude exists. For one thing, sheet music slows everything down, and closes our ears. So....best to try to memorize a handful of tunes, and hang on. I will add your request to my list of videos to do!

[@GivanildoDantasAlves]

A beginner question: would the interval training provided by the plenty of phone apps available (usually based on piano, which is equally tempered) somehow conflict with violin (tuned by perfect fifth, and A string in 442 Hz) ?

[@RedDesertViolin]

Givanildo, I don't think you need to worry about equal tempering of a piano tuning. Most of us are able to "equate" the sounds, and in fact, I have never heard of someone being messed up by learning intervals with tempered tuning, and then not being able to translate it back to violin. I recommend the apps to my students all the time.

[@augustinechinnappanmuthria7042]

Super ❤️💖💖

[@RedDesertViolin]

🤗

[@rohan6069]

hello! I have bought a violin but violin lessons are expensive. can this help me be self-taught? thank you

[@RedDesertViolin]

KZbin and the internet are EXCELLENT resources. GO FOR IT. Lots of people are doing it. YOu can also join adult beginner groups like on facebook and all over the place. YES, it can be done. I also have online lessons, they are not free, but they are cheaper than private lessons, and VERY good. (www.reddesertviolin.com) GOOD LUCK, and YES, you can do it!

[@virgilschmoe9435]

??something to think about,never close your case,walk by pick it up and play even one tune, keeps things together

[@addaansanccheez2586]

Can you upload a video 4 minutes madonna? By david garrett ? Please is for a party ..

[@skittilittle7788]

This was very helpful! I've been trying to find sheet music for Hamilton, but I couldn't find any and I thought this would be a slightly harder, but free, alternative :)

[@RedDesertViolin]

YES.....and once you figure it out, WRITE IT DOWN, and then you can share it with others! It doesn't have to be fancy....just your own personal tablature is all it takes! Good luck!

[@maacgsag26]

thanks teacher. excuse me, can you upload a tutorial of dust in the wind, and always on mi mind?

[@RedDesertFiddle]

I love Dust in the Wind! I will be learning it with my band soon.....and as soon as I get it all figured out, I'd love to share what I know!

[@maacgsag26]

thanks

[@RedDesertViolin]

maac alba Ok, so I learned Dust in the Wind, but I had to learn it in a dropped key for our singer.....sigh. So, I'll need a little time to get the ORIGINAL key done. It's really quite easy! Don't be afraid to remind me!!!

[@virgilschmoe9435]

My thought ,all music is played by ear, i play by ear and i am illiterate reading music, and respect readers , love these videos ,

[@loralynstaples5483]

And "readers" would do well to respect the oral/aural tradition as well!

[@virgilschmoe9435]

keep it up girl, soo much time has went into these videos,

[@mustie1980]

Oh ..hello from France 😉 I am 52 years old..Do you think I could learn violin? I am a bus driver and is at work 13 hours per day ...time is is little to practice every day...could I learn with so little time to spend on practicing? I am such in love of violin.💜💜

[@RedDesertViolin]

+Marieange Vanderroost Salut, Marieange! YES, you can learn violin if you can find at least 20 minutes per day, 5 days per week. The important thing is CONSISTENCE and PERSISTENCE! Come check out my lessons. They are guaranteed, and I have adult students all over the world who have busy lives, and they are learning to play the instrument of their dreams! www.RedDesertViolin.com From that website you can also email me with questions. Hope to see you there!

[@davebob65]

I hope you learned it Marie, Im nearly 62, and Im fixing to give it a shot myself.

[@mustie1980]

Hi Dave. .. Oh i try to learn but really not easy😉 Are you a beginner ?

[@davebob65]

Yes Maam, a beginner. I wouldn't know a E Flat from a A plus, but, Im gonna try.

[@eileenharder2473]

I am 56. I started cello at 51... Went to viola at 53 and now I've settled on violin. I can play songs now and so glad I have persevered. The desire comes first and you have that....

[@christopheretukimoh4001]

Good evening ma, Still having difficulties playing with ear.

[@RedDesertViolin]

Christopher, my advice to you is: start with the easiest exercise possible. Start by comparing 2 notes: Are they the same or different? When you can get 100% correct, then take it a step farther, and try to decide which note is HIGHER, and which note is LOWER. I plan to create a ear training course like this.....I just haven't had the time yet! Keep trying. You can do this.....it just might take longer, and more work for you. Have you tried ear training phone apps ? Or have you seen my video about "teoria.com". (find that video on my channel) That site has AWESOME ear training tools for free.

[@randymorgan7133]

I've played the piano by ear for 30 years , wonder once I learn key note on violin if the same thing will happened ?

[@RedDesertViolin]

Randy, I believe if your ears are trained, it will transfer from instrument to instrument. Your biggest challenge will be to understand how the notes are organized on violin....so that you can find the notes you hear in your head. The best way to do that is to play scales and basic arpeggios, (major and minor), and start plunking out easy tunes you hear in your head. (and experiment with starting on different starting notes)

[@randymorgan7133]

Thank you so much for that encouragement..

[@MuhammadIbrahim-qd4cg]

U are princess😍👍👍👍👍

[@RedDesertViolin]

+Muhammad Ibrahim LOL.....thank you! Thanks for watching!

[@FarmboyAB]

It doesn't help and is not needed to know the names of intervals. Traditionals names are non-mnemonic. Playing by ear does not need any nomenclature, neither note names nor interval names. Rather, it requires one to know (recognize) sounds and remember instrument position to finger them rather than note names. So you need visual memory and trained ear. BTW I wonder why we are still using these weird interval names. If I have to name intervals, e.g. for making up consonant chords, I just use plain little numbers we all know so well, that is an interva is the number of keys on my guitar (the number of semitones) separating two sounds.

[@RedDesertViolin]

+Antonio “Ninuzzo” Bonifati I understand the point you are making. I agree, we don't need "formal names" for the intervals, but it DOES help to have a measuring system of some sort for the distance between notes. Rather than invent a whole new language that only me and my students understand, I teach them the old language of intervals. But yes, call it WHATEVER you want to....the nomenclature does not matter!

[@FarmboyAB]

+Red Desert Violin That's a detail, but I still do not understand why you use such weird names when you could just say 1-halftone, 2 half-tone, etc. We all know numbers, what's wrong with them? Obscure jargon puts people off. We could leave the word halftone understood and call them: 1-int, 2-int, etc. They are short and meaningful names.

[@TheSkyCaLL]

I know how to read. But I'm better in playing by ear :D