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Play Piano By Ear

by Morgan Showalter

Learn how to play piano by ear! In this podcast you’ll learn the “secret” those people seem to have who can just sit down and play a song they heard! Everything from practice ideas, to ways to start as a beginner, to advanced improv techniques, this podcast is for the music lover with a passion for learning!

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Episodes

  1. The LAST Episode of This Podcast

    This is the very last episode I will publish on this podcast! But not to worry - I have been working on creating a new podcast called Melodies with Morgan where I will upload weekly episodes every Monday. Join me on the continued music journey at Melodies with Morgan! I’m so super stoked to go...

  2. My Crazy Journey Learning Piano Chords

    It wasn’t all clear and laid out when I learned piano chords. This episode goes through my journey (and what I learned the somewhat hard way) of figuring out piano chords.

  3. 3 MUSTS for FUN Music - Riffs, Runs, Range

    I loved making this episode! I’m answering three specific questions a personal friend of mine asked! I apply the answers to a vocal perspective as well as playing piano by ear.

  4. Why You Should Learn Chords FIRST

    When playing by ear, it can be easy to start with the typical approach (sounding out the melody.) Here’s some insights on what you should really start with as well as some examples at the piano. Near the end, I explain a method to create any major scale even if you only know how to play piano...

  5. Theory - BIG Approach

    Let’s turn piano theory, inside out, backwards, and upside down! This episode will give an overview of piano theory from a new perspective!

  6. How to Practice Chords

    Here’s a golden method to master piano chords! Listen to this episode to find out the practice strategy that I give to all my students when they are first learning piano chords. This is a holistic approach, and we use the entire piano.

  7. 4 Practice Strategies to Play THIS SONG By Ear

    Wouldn’t it be great if three was a way to practice, incrementally, a musical improv? (Can you even practice “improv” or playing by ear?) In this episode, I teach you how to do that!

  8. PIANO EXAMPLES: How to Play Any Song in Any Key

    OF ANY EPISODE, LISTEN TO THIS ONE! A lot of you have requested that I include piano examples in my podcast. This episode is it! It’s a piano lesson on how to play any song in any key. I literally walk you through the steps and practice exercises to take the first step in understanding this...

  9. Finale and GarageBand Tutorial

    I use Finale and GarageBand to write digital sheet music. Here’s some great tips with getting started (and things I wish someone else would have walked me through when I was first learning these programs.)

  10. Life Updates / Live Lessons Opportunity

    Hear what I’m up to this summer, ways you can take lessons with me in June 2022, and a behind the scenes scoop on running a business!

  11. Composition Lesson

    Recently I taught a student how to compose a song. This episode takes you through that whole process along with us!

  12. Life Updates / Keeping a Song Flowing / Student Story

    The title says it all. :) I’m exited to share some life updates as well as offer 4 keys to keeping a song flowing when you make it up on the spot. Stay till the end for a fun student story.

  13. Why the I, IV, V Progression Resets Your Ear to a New Key

    This episode covers sooooo many fun things!!! What is the I, IV, V progression? Why is it played so often before a song? Where does the “one, four, five” come from anyway? And some cool bonuses: what does God have to say about harmony? What is a minor diminished chord? How does the minor…

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  14. Chord Examples at the Piano

    I’ll be playing through some favorite chord progressions (dramatic/happy/calm) and using the piano to describe how chords sound different depending how you play them.

  15. Great Ways to Begin Chord Charts

    In this episode I tell you what to google to find great piano chord charts. I also explain ways to begin playing the chord charts on the piano.

  16. How to Count Rhythms You Make Up

    As playing-by-ear musicians, we often come up with fun little tunes in our head. This episode describes how to take one of those tunes and figure out the rhythm. Listen til the end to hear a clear, easy example! (It starts with a harder one!!)

  17. What My Practicing Looked Like

    This episode describes how I would practice - by ear and also with my piano books. There’s a great way you can use each technique to lead into the other. Guidelines give opportunity for creativity! Learn effective ways to enhance your practice time!

  18. The Circle of 5ths Within the Circle of 5ths Within the Circle of 5ths!

    Personally, this is my favorite topic to explore when it comes to the piano! I didn’t learn about the circle of 5ths until after 5 years of piano lessons. Once I learned it, it was like a lightbulb went on in my head! Chords made sense, and I could play any song in any key by ear! This episode...

  19. Inside My Brain for a Song by Ear

    Ever wonder what goes on inside someone’s brain when they’re playing by ear? Here, I’ll take you on a little tour through my mind as I play a song by ear and I’ll explain each segment of the song at the piano.

  20. Play Your First Chord Inversion!

    This episode is basically a free piano lesson on playing your first chord inversion. There’s 3 ways to play the same chord!! I’m at my piano and will be playing along so you can hear the notes!

  21. The Fun Non-Traditional Way to Learn Scales

    Did you know you can take 3 chords on the piano and instantly turn them into a scale? In this episode I’m super excited to share a non-traditional way to learn scales! I also compare it to the traditional method and describe the differences and pros and cons of each.

  22. Can Playing by Ear Actually Be Taught?

    I get this question all the time! I love answering this question! It is not a scary question! This podcast episode is my answer to the question.

  23. How to Group Chords Together to Learn and Memorize Quickly

    The 12 major chords can be broken down into 4 groups of 3. This helps to learn and memorize the chords quickly! Find out what the patterns are in this episode.

  24. Why “Happy Birthday” is Not Easy to Play by Ear

    Join me as I go through “Happy Birthday” note by note and explain why this song is not as intuitive as it seems!

  25. All the Weird Chords

    If you look at a chord chart, it appears that there’s a huge variety of chords like D2, G7, Asus, F#m, Bm and so on - not as easy as C, G, D, and the basic 12 major chords. In this episode I explain all about those chords. All you do is take the basic chord and alter it. Here’s how.

  26. Backwards Piano Teaching - Let’s Jump to the Fun Stuff!

    Hear me thank my dad for my car oil right at the beginning of this episode! 😂 This episode is about the way piano should be taught - forwards AND BACKWARDS!! There’s a lot of knowledge that is not tapped into until someone has taken YEARS of piano! This needs to change! I’ll be talking about all...

  27. How Many Chords Are There?

    There are 5,286 chords on the piano! (Just kidding!!) Actually, the answer might surprise you! Also, don’t miss the free giveaway described in this episode - there’s not just one winner - every listener can get it!

  28. How to Instantly Play Any Song

    This episode explains how to “predict” what a melody is - in other words, how to hear and melody and know what notes to play on the piano.

  29. So Easy You Can’t Miss! - Learn Your First Piano Chord

    In this episode, I reveal all the tips and tricks of the method I use to teach students their first piano chord! This is so easy that I even have 5 year old students playing chord arpeggios in just a few weeks!

  30. Why First Guitar Lesson is More Fun than First Piano Lesson 😮

    Learn what guitar methods got RIGHT that piano methods MISSED!! So, I am biased toward piano, but I’ve got to say, guitar teaching methods have one up on the piano methods! Guitarists are doing something right that pianists NEED TO LEARN! Find out what it is in this episode!

  31. Q&A: Do You Practice Playing by Ear?

    True or false: People who play by ear - they just, POOF, play anything by ear - no practice, no effort, no knowledge, no idea how they do what they do... is that really how it works? (NO!!) So how do you practice playing by ear???

  32. You Need to Know This Cool Chord Connection!

    This is something not taught in traditional theory piano books! The diatonic chords from the major scale parallel to the major chords on the circle of fifths and their relative minor chords! Understanding this connection will boost your ability at playing chords by ear!

  33. How Classical Training Helps OR Hinders Playing by Ear

    There’s a lot of ways classical training is beneficial to playing by ear but also a lot (more) ways where it can hinder someone from making the change from sheet music to improv! Here’s a variety of pros and cons!

  34. Demystifying Worship Team Chord Charts

    Here’s the things I wish I’d have known when I began to play piano on a church worship team. There were a lot of things that were assumed or expected that I didn’t know which were totally different from my classical background!

  35. What Does it Mean to “Play by Ear?”

    There’s a lot of different ideas that might come to mind when we think of playing piano by ear. In this episode I go through a lot of those ideas and also give my definition of what it means to play by ear!

  36. My Music Story - How I Learned to Play by Ear

    There are 3 influential experiences that helped me learn to play piano by ear. In this episode I share those experiences!

  37. Play Piano By Ear (Trailer)

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

Learn how to play piano by ear! In this podcast you’ll learn the “secret” those people seem to have who can just sit down and play a song they heard! Everything from practice ideas, to ways to start as a beginner, to advanced improv techniques, this podcast is for the music lover with a passion for learning!

HOSTED BY

Morgan Showalter

CATEGORIES

arts performing

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Play Piano By Ear have?

Play Piano By Ear currently has 37 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Play Piano By Ear about?

Learn how to play piano by ear! In this podcast you’ll learn the “secret” those people seem to have who can just sit down and play a song they heard! Everything from practice ideas, to ways to start as a beginner, to advanced improv techniques, this podcast is for the music lover with a passion for...

How often does Play Piano By Ear release new episodes?

Play Piano By Ear has 37 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to Play Piano By Ear?

You can listen to Play Piano By Ear on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Play Piano By Ear?

Play Piano By Ear is created and hosted by Morgan Showalter.
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