Playing by ear

One learns a piece of music by ear by repeatedly listening to it performed, memorizing it, and then trying to recreate what one has heard.

According to studies playing by ear is associated with a higher level of creativity and musical intelligence.

One particularly prominent example is Indian classical music: the teaching methods of its two major strands (Hindustani and Carnatic) are almost exclusively oral.

For instance, "ear training" courses are a standard part of conservatory or college music programs (including use of Solfège), and the Suzuki method, which incorporates a highly developed focus on playing by ear from a very young age.

In the West, learning by ear is also used heavily in the genres of folk music, blues, rock, pop, funk, reggae, and jazz.

While most professional musicians currently active in these genres are capable of reading musical notation, playing by ear is still widely practiced for a number of reasons.

Among those are ease and speed of learning songs, flexibility while improvising and playing variations, and working around the limitations of western musical notation.