Learning by Ear
How we use recordings to learn new music
This series explores the science and practice of learning popular music by ear. The research discussed draws from recent academic studies combining video analysis of real-world learning with cognitive science research on musical memory.
What Is "Learning by Ear"?
A guide to how popular musicians really learn. This primer explains the specific type of musical learning that drives most popular music education—and why it matters for both musicians and technology designers.
The Familiarity Factor: Why Some Songs Are Easier to Learn
The hidden variable in learning difficulty that most musicians completely overlook. Why familiarity with a song—not just knowing it exists, but truly knowing it—can make a bigger difference in learning success than most musicians realize.
Why Learning By Ear is Actually Learning By Memory
The hidden bottleneck in learning music by ear isn't your musical ability—it's the fundamental limits of how your brain stores and recalls pitches. Why this isn't a musical problem, it's a memory problem.
The Earworm Strategy
How to harness involuntary musical thoughts for faster learning. Research shows that those annoying earworms actually strengthen memory—here's how to create them intentionally for the music you want to learn.
