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

[IffWhite]

Is this unusual? DD is 15 and just this evening we were vaguely singing 2 songs - Killing Me Softly and the sea shanty Hoist The Colours. She drifts over to the (out of tune) piano and manages to work out the notes almost immediately, plays it, tinkers about with it, then drifts away again.
She has always been musical, and we were told this a lot when she was very little - by ballet teacher and other adults who heard her sing.
She does singing and an instrument, but she doesn't think its unusual - can lots of people do this sort of note thing by ear?
(She has never learnt piano, btw)

I'm not that musical and I can do this. I think if you can play an instrument it's not that difficult. I think my DS1 is musical as he can hear a song once or twice and remember the tune, recognise it and place it. He always beats me at 80s and 90s quizzes!

If you play one instrument and or sing (even choir) I expect you can tinker on a piano.

I can also do this and 'have a good ear' - not sure it really means much though in the grand scheme of things. When I have learned instruments, particularly as a child, it made learning an instrument or learning the music easier but there is a lot more supplement and training needed to genuinely develop musically. I wouldn't say I was ever an exceptionally talented musician at the instruments I did pursue, bang average in fact.

I would expect most people who have some reasonable experience of an instrument or scales and their sounds to be able to do this to at least some degree.

I played the clarinet at school but could never master the piano or any string instruments. My dad could play keyboard by ear, I could do the same with the clarinet, also I wouldn’t say I’m a great singer. People who can do things naturally and easily don’t see it as anything special. Ask her if she fancies singing or piano lessons?

I taught myself to crochet during lockdown and create throws, bags, all made with what’s going off in my head. I think it’s easy and that anyone can do it, but I’ve been told this isn’t the case, it’s also been recommended that I open an Etsy shop, I may just do that. Currently I create for friends and family, and I give them away for free, 😝

I'd able to pick out a tune on a piano, I think if you can read music and play another instrument it's fairly straightforward, the notes are just next to each other.

Did she pick it out with one hand so just the tune?

Or be able to harmonise and play two hands together.

I can pick a tune out on any instrument (except the harmonica just can't get my head around that)

It's not particularly unusual if you are a little bit musical to be able to pick out a tune.

If she can add in harmonies with the other hand that's a lot more unusual.

If she has perfect pitch. Ie can sing a particular note without hearing it then that is very unusual.

I learned to read music to play clarinet, but I was only ever average at reading sheet music, because I avoided it as much as possible. What I did enjoy was playing by ear, just for my own amusement. I can pick out melodies on the piano, as well, with no formal training, as well as the flute and hammered dulcimer. I can add in harmonies on the dulcimer, my current preferred instrument. I don't think it's particularly unusual to be able to play by ear, but it definitely comes more easily to some people than to others.

It's a completely separate thing to being able to read music imho. I took grade 8 piano but no way I could hear something and then play it. I had to learn the piece with the music in front of me. My brother and daughter though can do it easily. Natural musical ability versus ability to decode written music.

I can play the piano from sheet music (not to the best standard, but ok) and can sing in tune quite well (including from sheet music), but I cannot really do this. It would take me a few goes to pick out a tune on the piano.

I can’t read music, but I could pick out a tune one-fingered on the piano.

I’m the same @sakura06. I’m a competent sight reader but struggle to play by ear. I struggle to remember how to play anything without the prompt of the music. With the help of YouTube, I did start to train myself to play by ear during lockdown, and got a little way (I’ve always understood chords and chord progressions, which helps) picking out a few songs I liked but I’ve forgotten them now. My husband can’t read music but can play anything on the guitar. He’s much more instinctively musical. I’ve been taught some skills and can apply them but I’m not naturally musical. I can barely carry a tune.

We have no music in our family except for me - I am a very high top soprano (think opera) and my oldest son is going into year 8. I do sing at home, but pop musik and silly made up stuff not properly like I do in choir or for musical theatre.
Suddenly we have been told by his music teacher that he is doing stuff with music that her top set year 10s can’t do, she desperately wants him moved into top set, but they don’t have sets in music until year 9. We are having meetings in the new school year to see if he can go into year 10 music classes as that might be the solution.
I honestly think it’s more common than it seems and that maybe everyone has some magical hidden musical talent, it just takes someone or something to unlock it!! It’s such a human thing to do, I think it’s incredible!

I can’t read music but can pick out a tune on a piano one handed. People are always impressed but actually I don’t think I’m that musical at all!

to me it’s obvious which note is next in the sequence- but if I tried to learn piano I know I wouldn’t get very far at all! I was the same with clarinet as a kid. Could play anything by ear but failed the actual exams and was useless really.

I can't play any instrument to any level in a proper sense, but I can use a recorder or the piano to play a tune by ear within a minute or two.

Especially since she's had instrumental training, I don't think it's unusual. You can hear when you sing whether the notes go up or down in pitch. You get a sense for how far apart they are (and if she's ever done exams, she'll have been taught tricks for hearing intervals quickly). Translating that to a keyboard you move up and down isn't that hard if you have any musical sense at all.

My daughter did this with the Harry Potter theme tune when she was six so not very unusual. She started piano lessons about a year later and is a decent but not exceptional student (she doesn’t practice anywhere near enough). Some people just have a knack for it (I can do it too) but it doesn’t make us destined to be musicians. I am a very poor sight reader and my daughter isn’t much better. We both tend to just figure out stuff slowly and then learn by heart.

She does sound musical OP, but not unusually so.

All of our family can do this, including the dc, and one of them has been doing it regularly from about 5 or 6, and we are not professional musicians or anything. We do have a few family who have all their "letters" in various instruments, and our dc mostly get Distinction in music exams (but a reasonably high proportion of candidates do).

So yes, a good, solid musical ability I'd say OP, but I'd expect at least two or three children in most random school classes could, and at a choir school, for instance, I'd be surprised if any of them couldn't.

I only know one person who can do that, my mother in law who is in her 80’s! Her parents were musical and took her round all the working men’s clubs a child doing various musical turns. She can read music but she doesn’t really need it, if you hum it she can literally play it. The kids have had her playing music from Trolls and K-pop and all sorts and she plays the piano and they sing. I’ve videoed her doing it as it’s really cool to watch!

She would need to have some degree of musicality to be able to do that but not necessarily a great deal. Nothing remarkable.

Playing a tune by ear is straightforward if you already play an instrument. And it’s particularly easy on the piano as the notes are sequential, even if you don’t actually play the piano. Killing me Softly is pretty easy as it’s in Em so there’s only one black note to figure out (there’s also a nice Picardy third at the end of the chorus but that’s only in the harmony, not the top line melody).

So yes, it’s nice and shows she’s using her ear which is great and something that all musicians should do.

I think it’s quite special to be able to do this.

I can read music and did several grades of piano. I couldn’t do this at all. I can only play pop songs etc with the sheet music.

just picked up DS‘s toy piano to check and can confirm that yes, I can fairly easily pick out ‘killing me softly’ and DH now thinks I’m completely mental, leaping up in the middle of ‘Reacher’ to play a child’s keyboard….

I think she's brill for being able to do this. Regardless of music lessons or what she plays. My DD can do it too and I am always amazed by her as its something I can't do because I am absolutely tone deaf.

In terms of unusual, I don't think so as there's a fair few who can do it but I think they're brill too.

If she’s worked out the chords rather than just the top line tune then yes, I’d say that was pretty impressive!

To me it’s unusual because I don’t have a musical ear and I’d never be able to do this.

She has a lovely musical talent whether it’s unusual or not. I suppose as a few PP can do this then from my POV it’s a great talent to have