I believe Sister T has a link to an article that has suggestions for how to listen to a song in order to learn to play it by ear.
http://www.earnestandroline.com/howtolistentosong.html is the link, I think.
1. Listen to the song for 3/4 hr without touching keyboard. Over and over at least 6-7 times (5 min song)
a.the idea to get yourself into the song
2. Begin to decipher the soprano, alto and tenor part
a. you'll have to start singing their parts with the song
3. At the keyboard determine what key the song is in.
4. Start to play the soprano part along with the music, then the alto and tenor. Finally all three parts together with your right hand only. Don't cheat and use your left.
5. Now you can start learning the piano track, bass then organ in that order. Save the riffs and breaks for later. The idea is to learn the song if though you are also one of the musicians at the recording.
6. Now your ready for the riffs and breaks.
Now, this is a great article. But, since I'm a beginner at this - #2 is totally out of my current scope of ability. I can't just hear the music and decipher the parts by ear.
Is this an acquired skill or is this one of those things you have to born with, because right now, although now I can better distinguish when people are singing in unison or not, this seems like a tough task.
Can this skill be learned?
