AIBU to wonder if my 15-year-old has an unusual ear for music?

My ds could do this when he was a toddler,I remember him replaying parts of his cd and copying it on his little fisher price keyboard over and over again until he got it note perfect.

He outgrew it as his communication improved (( he's Autistic )) he used to have music therapy sessions with his little nursery group and the guy who ran the session had picked up on his unusual ability to pick up perfect rhythm on drums etc.

Yeah that's true.

No one makes music to make money out of it. If that happens it's a nice bonus, but for the vast majority of musicians it is a hobby or, at best, a side job.

Having a good ear means you can hear a wider range of sounds than some other people. Couple that with musical ability, practice and training and it can be a good skill.

It sounds like she's musical and that's great. It should definitely be encouraged but unfortunately it's not really the sort of thing that's easy to make much money out of. The music industry in general is very tough.

I was going to say it was unusual until you said she had singing lessons. She’s learned to pick out notes using her voice as an instrument and then translating that to the keys on the piano is the easy part. That’s not to say that she doesn’t have musical talent, just that she doesn’t have a particularly unusual musical talent.

Totally common for anyone with any musical ability but it’s a great skill to have.

You'd be surprised how often even people with perfect pitch can't sing. Just because you know the note doesn't mean you can put your voice there at will; it just means you know when it's wrong! And of course even very musical people can have voices that just aren't pleasantly toned. I know a lot of musicians who absolutely won't sing.

I couldn’t sing of my life depended on it 😂

But I can do this! I’m quite logical though and can see pattern so intent wondering it’s linked to that rather than a musical talent.

I can’t read music but have a musical ear when playing guitar, as do my children. although I think it’s quite common in musical people, playing an instrument is a gift in itself!

It's not that unusual... but please get your piano tuned! It's not helping her at all to hear an out of tune instrument.

Yeah I can do this and so could my dad

Didn't make me a particularly proficient musician as I lacked the self discipline, though I got to grade 8 piano. Just have a good "ear".

To me it sounds very impressive.

Im not musical and couldn't do it in a million years.

I have some thoughts about this, as someone with absolute (perfect) pitch!

I think it’s a spectrum (useless/tone deaf to very acute auditory perception). Weirdly, although I can pick out a tune on any instrument (plus chords if it’s a piano or guitar), my memory for lyrics is very poor.

I also think that a lot of neurodivergent people are very firmly on one end or the other of the pitch perception spectrum (I wonder if this relates to hyper- and hypo- sensory perception).

I don't think it's that unusual to be able to find a melody. It's fun though and a nice thing to be able to do! (And people who can't do it are always impressed!)

Being able to work out the chords would be more difficult and unusual.

Don't downplay it though - keep encouraging her. It's great that she likes music.

I can do this with a melody line on a piano; I don't play the piano, had some instrumental lessons as a child, but certainly wouldn't consider myself a musician. I've got maybe a slightly better ear than average, but that's all. I couldn't add the relevant chords, or play variations on the melody, which is what my actually musical friends can do.

As an aside, I'm always ridiculously impressed by pianists in cabaret/variety shows who seem to be able to respond to any requests people call out, improvise medleys, follow a performer etc. I'm sure there's a certain amount of rehearsal, knowing basic chord progressions that underpin a lot of stuff, etc. but I always think it's mind-blowing.

I don't play piano (I do play other instruments and sing) but I can do this, always have. It's not unusual but it means you have good pitch, especially good relative pitch, which is more useful than perfect pitch.

I think that students who have learned an instrument via the classical route - i.e. playing from full sheet music are less likely to have trained their ear. If you don't play from sheet music then, pretty much by definition, you have no choice but to play by ear and therefore get much better at it. Most pop/rock and jazz musicians don't use sheet music in the same way as classical musicians - we use, at the most, lead sheets, which just show the topline melody and chord symbols.

See the attached sheet - this tells me everything I need to be able to play this piece on piano or guitar, and if you gave it to a jazz quartet they could instantly play a full version of it. However it would leave many classically-trained musicians wondering e.g. where the left hand/bass line was, let alone what to do in the B section.

No, it’s not unusual at all, especially for someone who already plays an instrument. Great for her that she can do it though.

My DS does this too. He's also 15 and has played the cello since year 7. He has more or less self taught himself the piano by listening to music by ear. DS1 learnt the piano but has little interest in music and can't do it. I don't think it's unusual but it does show she has an ear for music and enjoys it. I can't play any instruments but I used to dance Latin and ballroom when young, and can pick out a base rhythm quite easily when others can't hear it.

I guess not unusual, as so many on the thread can do it. I’m impressed though, I got to grade 5 on piano and cannot play by ear at all, I have to read the music or memorise a piece.

I think a reasonable number of people can do this. In my opinion it definitely puts her in the top 50-25% but beyond this I’m not sure. I think picking out notes and finding the tune can’t be done easily by a lot of people, but it’s probably more people than you think.

My DH can quite quickly pick up a song he’s never heard before on the guitar.

My adult DS can play by ear and doesn’t read music.

He’s musical and plays a couple of instruments- one he had lessons, the other self taught - and he’s in a couple of bands that have done the odd gig! It’s a great hobby for him. He can also hold a tune and has a pleasant voice although he’s not the main band singer.

I doubt she has perfect pitch if she was playing a tune by ear on an out of tune piano. The musicians I know with perfect pitch really struggle with anything out of tune or not in A440.

I could do this as a child but probably not now.