To think that the ablity to improvise is as important as the ablity to read music

[ReallyTired]

I feel that music education (ie grades etc) should encourage the development of improvisation as much as the ablity to read music. I was shocked that my nephew who is preparing for grade 5 cello cannot improvise a simple tune like "Happy Birthday". He has loads of musical ablity, but the ablity to play by ear has never been nutured.

I don't understand why improvisation as a skill is ignored by many music teachers. I believe it can be taught, although some people definately have a natural talent.

I think improvisation and playing by ear are two different skills. Which one do you mean OP?

improvisation is important but i think good sight reading is probably just as important if not more so. depends what you want to do really.

They're both important, but learning to read notes, correct technique and scales etc should be learnt first, before playing by ear and improvising. You can't improvise without having the technical facility already under your fingers.

Depends on your objectives. A musician in a professional orchestra needs to be able to read music well and play the same as the others. A folk musician or busker will do well improvising and would be restricted by following a score.

I think the ablity to play by ear is the ablity to hear a tune and then play a version of that tune on your chosen instrument. Ie. a grade 1 musican may only be able to play a simplified version of a piece because of lack of technical skills.

For example my son can make an attempt to play yellow submarine on the guitar, but its a pretty basic version as he cannot play the complex chords.

When I play the piano its like singing through my fingers. When I hear music I know exactly which notes are being played. Surely developing a good sense of pitch is important as being able to read music. I can read music as well. I imagine that musicans in olden days had to play by ear.

Actually on thinking about it improvisation is the ablity to compose music on the fly and its not quite the same as playing by ear. Although I think you need a good ear to improvise.

I got my grade 5 Viola without ever learning the alto clef.

That's not improvising. That's playing by ear.

Dh can play by ear on the piano; he can listen to a piece and just play it straight off. It's something he can do-he's got perfect pitch, so you can play a note (or a set of notes) and he'll tell you exactly what note(s) there were.
I can play by ear but it takes some trial and error while I'm working it out, so if your nephew is like that he might be reluctant to do that in front of you, where he is capable of doing it, but not want to expose himself to your critique of his musical ability.

Dh can again sight read easily. If we were at a concert and the singer said that her accompaniest hadn't turned up he'd happily go and play having never seen it before.

He uses the sight reading much more than the playing by ear though. (he's not a professional)

I am a professional musician. Many of my colleagues would say they can't improvise,probably because they haven't had the practice and so they would lack confidence. In our particular job it isn't necessary so I guess it doesn't matter.
I do think it would be useful to encourage it when people are learning an instrument.
And some people can play by ear really easily,not sure how easy it is to learn as a skill. I can do it but then I have perfect pitch but many musicians don't.

I can play what's on the page and play by ear. I can't improvise to save my life though, no matter how much I have tried!

YABU. I don't believe that improvisation and sight reading and playing by ear and being technically proficient are all necessary to make a good musician. They are different types of skills, some of which are innate and others of which are learned. They are different skills.

I agree. I was taught piano very traditionally and got to Grade 7. 15 years later I can still play my grade 7 pieces (just!) and I can sight read to a pretty high level (this is what I use the most out of everything). I still know my scales and music theory (could do with the space in my head for other stuff, tbh!). But what I'd really love is to do a sing-song in a pub, or listen to a song on the radio and pick it out, or improvise along with DH playing the guitar. I can't do any of those things and was never encouraged to do them when I was learning.

Is it too late to learn?

I can't see why someone can't develop the ablity to play by ear and the ablity to read music well. If you can play by ear the music aural part of grade exams becomes really easy.

I think its easy for small children to learn to play by ear because they have no inhibitions. Certainly the suziki method of teaching music relies heavily on playing by ear.

Very few people who learn musical instruments ever play professionally. Even then I doult the ablity to play by ear would harm anyone's music career provided that they learn to read music as well.

IHeartKingThistle,
I believe playing by ear can be developed, although you would have to start of with pieces well below your technical ablity. Things like transposing a well known piece of music really helps to improve your sense of pitch. Scales are useful, because they develop your sense of relative pitch.

For fun try and work out a single line melody of twinkle tinkle little star. Try transposing it into different keys. Prehaps the toughest thing is that its unlikely you will compose a grade 7 arrangement of twinkle twinkle little star. You need to be gentle on yourself

Or for a hideous experiiment pick your child favourite theme tune and see if you can pick out the notes. I think the ablity to play by ear comes with practice