Ear Playing Project (EPP)

Participants' remarks

Piano teacher:

'I am finding this absolutely fascinating; and it's already having an effect on the rest of my teaching too, just in a general way; and it's reminding me that there is more than one way to learn, you know, what a middle C is.'

String teacher:

'I found taking part in the whole project really interesting and rewarding. It gave me new insights into how people learn and has given me new ideas which I will definitely incorporate into future lessons.'

Brass teacher:

'I think they were learning bits of technique in a much more musical way than if it was just in a scale book; or as I say, if you are reading notation, sometimes it can come out so the notes are all there but it's not remotely phrased how it should be; so in that sense you are starting from the musical point of view. So that was good I think, yes. And they were copying things that they heard in the recording, perhaps a short bass stroke or – whereas if they were doing that from the notation you'd have to tell them.'

Piano teacher:

'I think they've learned that there are more ways of learning things...I think it's given some of them more confidence…'

Woodwind teacher:

'I think a lot of them have gained a bit more confidence in their instruments and what they can do with their instruments, particularly because quite a few of them are using notes that they didn't realise they could get or, you know, or we haven't done yet, which is good for them.'

Students:

'I didn't really ever expect to be able to play it like I do now, the "Fűr Elise"; but I knew that I picked out tunes before by ear very simple, very simple tunes, but... I didn't expect to be able to achieve what I – I think I can play it quite well now. But I didn't expect to be able to play it like that. I just thought that I'd be able to pick out a few notes here and there.'

'If I'm listening to it and I want to play it, then I think I got better at listening if it was higher or lower and working it out from there... Because when, before, when I was listening to music before, when I was picking up the song, all I could really hear to focus on was just the melody, but then, when we listened really carefully, you could hear the bass and you could hear the other little bits in between. So I suppose, really all the detail of the song and all the little bits that come together, rather than just the tune and the melody.'

'Well I guess the teacher is there to help you. To get you to improve the song, but it might actually be counterproductive to actually tell the student how to do it... I guess if the teacher, if you are struggling with a note and the teacher tells you it then, that's one note you weren't able to figure out yourself and that's one note in the future, well not that particular note, but that's one thing you might not be able to do in the future. If you are left to actually have to work out yourself, then you are obviously going to be better, but it might take you longer to learn the piece... I think the teacher is rather, probably, than teaching you the notes, probably better to teach you how to work out the notes.'

'Considering I've been learning notation since I was younger, and this is the first time I've done it by ear, I am sure that the more I did by ear the faster I'd be able to pick it out. I'd probably imagine if I've been doing both since when I actually started piano my ear would be slightly faster, slightly better.'

'I learnt that it's enjoyable to learn by ear as well, and a lot of people do that, so it's not like you can't, because a lot of people do that as well. And it's quite fun to do, with the beat and the bass line as well. It's quite fun. Yes.'

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