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Music: Practice & Theory

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  • I definitely do want to get the basics down for reading sheet music. But another big reason why I still use sheet music is because my ear isn't trained well enough to play very technically demanding pieces of music. And isn't it important to still play music that matches with my technical ability? I either continue reading sheet music on the side in order to play more technically demanding songs, or I only practice playing by ear and start with easier songs. Another option is to watch youtube tutorials like I used to do, but I doubt that's a good idea. Commented Feb 3, 2019 at 21:19
  • If today's requirement is to play a particular song, don't be ashamed to use any resources you can find! For the broader requirement of developing your personal skills, do anything that broadens your musical horizons. (Why are you restricting your ambitions to being a 'busker' anyway?) Commented Feb 4, 2019 at 1:04
  • @Laurence I'm not planning on competing or becoming an actual performer. I'm learning to play the piano because I love how it feels when I am playing. I barely like classical music, only modern classical music really. Most songs I do like don't have sheet music availabe and aren't as hard as classical music. That's why playing by ear is my goal. I'd rather be really good at 1 method than decent at all methods. Commented Feb 4, 2019 at 11:39
  • Far be it from me to question your goal... but I'm going to anyway! No, your goal is playing the music. Playing by ear is merely a method, one route to that goal. Commented Feb 4, 2019 at 18:27
  • @LaurencePayne Sure but my goal can still be to play music by ear. I want to eventually be able to hear a song and instantly play it without having to read sheet music. I'm aware that there is plenty of music that I won't be able to do this with. For example with alot of classical music. And I might not get it right 100%, but that IS my goal. Another reason for this is because alot of music I often want to play, doesn't have any sheet music available for it. Playing by ear will help with this as well. Commented Feb 5, 2019 at 23:20