What? You can learn to play an instrument by ear in 8 months or less? That can’t be done! It is impossible. STOP! I want to say that it can be learned and it can be done. You don’t have to be a Mozart or some other prodigy. All you have to have is a willing heart, the desire to play, easy access to the instrument of your choice, the right mentor or teacher, and at least one hour a day.
It all comes back to the attitude that you bring to the table. The first thing you need is to make sure that you have the right attitude. This will make all the difference in the world. One of the most challenging things when doing or starting something new is staying encouraged and motivated when progress is slow. Think about learning a new language and how long it takes to master that language. You can begin to have meaningful conversation in 3 months and be able to master it in a few months after that. The same applies to learning to play by ear.
As you learn and master the principles of playing by ear, the process becomes so much easier. I love it when a student gets it. It is a beautiful thing. I have found that having the right attitude is better than having all the musical aptitude in the world. A willing and humble heart is much nicer to deal with than an arrogant heart. And this goes for everything that you may do in life. I believe that there is a right way to do everything, and having a willing heart will lead you to the right way soonest.
Another way to get to playing by ear in 8 months is to get the right mentor, coach or teacher. This is vitally important. Some people have utilized all the phenomenal wealth of information on resources like youtube.com or some other web resource, but the problem with these sites is that the instructor cannot show you the chords and make corrections when they are needed. The additional thing about the right teacher is that they will be listening to you and giving you constructive criticism. This is vital to your success as you go forward. I will continue this article in another post as I did not want to overwhelm anyone with too much information. Please comment and tell me what you think as we continue to Play It By Ear.
