addicted2myuke
Well-known member
I've been playing daily for 15 months and doing well as long as I have sheet music in front of me. I cannot even remember a simple song if I am not looking at chord boards. How does one learn to play by ear?
I, too, have no ear for notes or even being in tune, which makes it very hard to memorize songs.
Thanks for these comments, Novohal. I, too, have no ear for notes or even being in tune, which makes it very hard to memorize songs.
You're asking two separate questions here. How to play by ear and how to memorize a song. I don't yet play by ear so I can't help with that question, but I might be able to help with memorizing...
As said by others, taking small parts of the song and playing them without looking at the sheet is a good start. Begin with the first few chords and build from there, trying to look at the music as little as possible. Now here's the big trick that works for me - and this goes with anything you have to memorize: Work on it just before you go to bed. Your subconscious will go over it as you sleep. As soon as you wake up in the morning, work on it again. You'll find you've retained a lot from the night before.
Also, remember that you're memorizing for muscle memory rather than being able to recite the chords or notes in your head. It's a different process and it requires playing the piece over and over rather than the academic study of just trying to remember all the chords and where they go. The more advanced songs I've memorized I wouldn't be able to tell you how to play. I'd have to be holding my uke and just play the song because it's all muscle memory instead of in my head. Hope that helps.
Thanks for all the good advice. By the way, I am a woman. ;0)