Developing the ability of playing by ear to become an integral musician. Strategies for the piano teacher.

Joana Maria Riera Grimalt

This project aims to explore the ability of playing by ear in order to design a creative and stimulating teaching approach for the development of the skill in piano lessons. The goal is to devise effective strategies for piano instructors, offering guidance on how to effectively advance the abilities of their students. Consistent with Woody’s ideas, playing by ear has been described by educators as a relevant developmental prerequisite to becoming a truly fluent music reader. Nevertheless, making sounds by ear is often just the initial and playful approach to music, and its significance diminishes considerably in education as the skill level increases. In fact, one must not forget the crucial role of the skill, that is the direct connection between music and player (without any interference like the score).

4. Improvisation

Description:
Students create their own melodies or patterns within a given framework. These exercises are often based on a predetermined collection of notes to help students develop an understanding of the hierarchy and relationships between those notes, fostering a deeper connection to tonal structures.

Variations:

Simultaneous improvisation: Sing a simple melody (just humming) and play it on the piano simultaneously, letting fingers follow voice.
Consonance-dissonance improvisation: Improvise over a backing track of random chords, focusing on feeling the consonance or dissonance. Aim to resolve each dissonance into consonance, or just embrace the dissonance.
Melodic improvisation: Create simple melodies over a drone or pedal note, using a specific note collection.
Rhythmic improvisation: Improvise rhythmic patterns over a steady beat or backing track.
Harmonic improvisation: Play the bass of a chord progression or use a backing track and improvise a melody by singing or playing.
Contextual improvisation: Draw inspiration from a piece’s melodic or harmonic material to create contextually relevant improvisations.
Explorative improvisation: simply play with no specific goal.

Purpose:
This approach aims to strengthen the connection between sound and instrument, foster creativity, and develop aural skills like recognizing scales or harmonic contexts. Using a fixed collection of notes helps students internalize tonal relationships, promoting a clear sense of tonal hierarchy during improvisation. Visualizing patterns on the keyboard enhances familiarity with the instrument, making it easier to recognize how they "light up" while playing. Ultimately, improvising builds confidence and spontaneity in playing by ear.

-Example of a explorative improvisation in the key of "Alfonsina y el mar" (experiment with Sole, lesson 2.6.)

-Example of a simple harmonic improvisation with two specific chords:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l-MmOU94lo

-Example of a harmonic improvisation, using a backing track (Autumn Leaves):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s48LlgTGDUo

-Example of a contextual impro:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6Usd3_fbq8

-Example of consonance-dissonance improvisation, using a backing track (random chords):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr5CrpFpCqg

-Example of explorative improvisation (free impro):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kejGAbNS4Ck

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Joana Maria Riera Grimalt - Developing the ability of playing by ear to become an integral musician. Strategies for the piano teacher. - 2025