Freestyle Piano
 

Hey, I've been playing piano for about 1 and 1/2 years now. I'm doing ok, I can read music (but not fluently yet)... I'm having a problem playing by ear. What I mean is I just can't sit down and start playing something; I have to play from a book. I want to be able to freestyle and make stuff up on the fly. How does one go about doing this?

ok my name is "thebassistx" but actually i major in piano lol

anyways first you should know your theory very well so like rudiments 2 minimal
you should also know your techniques really well two like scales, aprpeggios and especialy dominant 7ths and modes like dorian,lydian,locrian etc.

now with that said.......
im not sure what you mean like do you want to be able to play a whole by ear or play a song with chord progressions or be able to improve also on the spot...?

[QUOTE=thebassistX]ok my name is "thebassistx" but actually i major in piano lol

you should also know your techniques really well two like scales, aprpeggios and especialy dominant 7ths and modes like dorian,lydian,locrian etc.

QUOTE]
i hate these bastard scales! i'll never gather the effort to learn them all.

who does?lol

but its the only way to improve and get better

how does jimmy hendrix, oscar peterson ,victor wooten etc pull off crazy solos so fast you cant see?

the secrect is SCALES altough there not just playign scales full on alot of it is based on scales

so....think about it this way you dont practice scales u = not so good
u practice scales you = good........

just practice them even if its only for like 5 -10 minutes a day ill add up

i jus't dont agree with the modal system, i learn't boat loads of chord theory when i started playing guitar 8 years ago and after all this time i can pick things up by ear and virtually know quite comfortably what notes go with what. but now im suddenly crap if i don't know this bloody system.
ah well, they're infront of me now, they've layed dormant for 3 months. i SHALL learn them tonight.

only a genius
 

yea i see what you mean.. and you can screw scales if.......

you can listen to a song and know what chords there are and jam along with any thing just by lisening on the spot, know which notes go where etc. basically you have perfect pitch and youre one of em super uber dam musical geniuses then you can screw learning scales and stuff ...

......unfourtunatly for the rest of us average folks we gotta do it the hard way ...... (there sre some ppl like that) i just forgot -_-" like thosep pl who have no musical training and one day they just take up an instument and start playing with a band like its walking or somin.....

ps. maybe learn those chords imporved your ear?

pssssss. (you can always do the unethnical method and try to train youre ears) actually im quite interested to see if it works anyone know?

I have a friend who can jam with you and just know the chords by instinct - she can't even read music! I think writing it can just be something natural - but its when you combine natural talent with a bit of hard work that you get something special. I had to do a lot of hard work (fingerwork) to be able to play well, but the writing part came naturally - I sure wish I had my friend's excellent ear!.

What I started off doing is learning chords on the piano and practising some scales. If you want to accompany yourself then having an idea of what each chord sounds like will help you to do everything instinctively - and freestyling in music is all about doing things instinctively. Get a basic knowledge of which keys on the piano play which note, find out which notes are used to make each chord and which key signature these chords fit into. Then you'll be in the position to just start playing around with your knowledge.

Usually, for solo piano the left hand plays the bassline and maybe a chord (like the rhythm section in a band) while the right hand plays more of the melody (like the lead section in a band), so what you're doing by learning chords is learning what to play with your left hand, so that you can bash out a melody with your right. For the right hand, it might be worth learning scales, but as long as you get used to the pitching of each note on the piano, you should be able to play the tune that is in your head without needing to know what scale it fits with.

I just strated learning piano and I have problems with reading music and my teacher really pushes me to the top all the time(that's kind of hard to deal with) but I still have problems with just playing something that's already written and not looking at the keys on the piano while playing(it holds me back all the time)usually i catch up in hyperspeed, maybe it's 'cause I've been playing 4 some time on my own or I'm just stubborn...and now i just can't get rid of it(altgough my fingerwork's passable and tehnique too).

meh just keep going its no big deal but i guess practicing in the dark or wit your eyes closed will help you to be able to look and play ..........

ps. itz good that you gott a hard teacher.....it means that you got talent so your teacher wants to bring out ur full potential

yeah i think you just have to practice your scales a lot. after a while longer you'll start finding it easier to go by ear. so basically what everyone else has said..? lol

use a.... ahhh! it makes a tempo... like tick tick tick... use one of those. play along to very simple beats. I personally dont do this, but my friend does. I just live life and try to capture the same emotion I feel.

That is indeed one of the best ways to learn. I don't know why it is but it sure did help me learn to play piano.