I recently had the opportunity to make a couple of videos for young students on learning music by ear. The opportunity was through the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra’s Jazz Scholars program, of which I am proud to be a part. I believe that learning music by ear and transcription is an invaluable part of playing an instrument, but because common american music education curriculums do not include it, many students find it to be a slow process. More specifically, learning by ear is essential when learning Jazz and Black American Music, because western european music notation cannot show on paper some of the most important aspects of playing B.A.M.
The 2 videos are below; I hope they are informative!