Editing Playing by ear (section)

{{Short description|Ability to reproduce music without seeing notation}}
{{about|the musical concept|the album by Preston Reed|Playing by Ear{{!}}''Playing by Ear'' }}
'''Playing''' or '''learning by ear''' is the ability of a performing [[musician]] to reproduce a piece of [[music]] they have heard, without having seen it [[Musical notation|notated]] in any form of [[sheet music]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/play+by+ear|title=Play by ear - Idioms by the Free Dictionary|website=thefreedictionary.com|access-date=23 September 2018}}</ref> It is considered to be a desirable skill among musical performers, especially for those that play in a musical tradition where notating music is not the norm'''''.'''''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.musical-u.com/learn/topic/how-to/play-by-ear/|title=Playing By Ear: How to learn to play notes and chords by ear - Musical U|website=Musical U|access-date=23 September 2018}}</ref>

It is a misconception that musicians who play by ear do not have or do not require musical education, or have no theoretical understanding of the music they are playing.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gioia|first=Ted|title=The Imperfect Art: Reflections on Jazz and Modern Culture|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=1988|isbn=9780195053432|pages=31}}</ref>

Playing by ear is often also used to refer more generally to making music without using musical notation, perhaps using (elements of) improvisation and instant composition.

Blues, pop, jazz, and many forms of non-western music are fundamentally rooted in the concept of playing by ear, where musical compositions are passed down from generation to generation. In this respect, playing by ear can also be seen as a music-specific example of [[oral tradition]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gioia|first=Ted|title=The Imperfect Art: Reflections on Jazz and Modern Culture|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=1988|isbn=9780195053432|pages=33}}</ref>

The concept of playing by ear has led to the development of the idiom to [[wikt:play by ear|play by ear]] or "play ''it'' by ear."