Top 19 'Ear-Before-Eye' Music Learning Resources to try at home for Playing Any Song You Hear in 2025 - Goh Ling Yong
Have you ever watched a musician on YouTube or at a party sit down at a piano and effortlessly play a song they just heard on the radio? It feels like a kind of magic, a secret language they were born with. You might think, "I could never do that. I need the sheet music."
Here’s the secret: It’s not magic, it’s a skill. And like any skill, it can be learned. This is the heart of the 'Ear-Before-Eye' philosophy—a powerful approach that prioritizes your listening skills over your reading skills. Traditional music education often puts the sheet music first, which can sometimes create a dependency on the written page. The ear-first method flips the script, teaching you to understand music as a language of sound. It's about connecting what you hear directly to what you play.
In a world of endless new music on Spotify and TikTok, this skill is more valuable than ever. It’s the key to jamming with friends, writing your own songs, and feeling truly free at your instrument. As a music educator, I, Goh Ling Yong, have seen countless students unlock their musical potential by focusing on their ears first. To help you on this journey, I’ve curated the ultimate list of 19 resources to sharpen your aural skills from the comfort of your home. Get ready to transform your relationship with music in 2025.
The Ultimate Toolkit: 19 'Ear-Before-Eye' Resources
Here are the best apps, websites, courses, and methods to train your ears and start playing the music you love, directly from the source.
1. Functional Ear Trainer
This app is a game-changer because it teaches you to hear notes in context. Instead of drilling random intervals, it plays a chord progression (a cadence) to establish a key, and then asks you to identify a note within that key. This is how music actually works! You learn to recognize the unique sound and "feeling" of each scale degree (the 'Do', 'Re', 'Mi').
Why is this so powerful? Because when you're trying to figure out a melody by ear, you're not hearing notes in a vacuum. You're hearing them relative to the song's tonal center. This app trains that exact skill, making the process of transcribing melodies incredibly intuitive. It’s like learning the letters of the alphabet before trying to read whole words.
Pro-Tip: Start with the C Major scale exercises. Every time a note is played, sing the corresponding solfege syllable (Do, Re, Mi, etc.) out loud before you answer. This builds a powerful connection between your mind, your voice, and your ears.
2. Soundslice
Soundslice is a revolutionary tool that perfectly bridges the gap between hearing and seeing. It takes a piece of music and syncs the sheet music or guitar tablature directly to a real audio or video recording. You can watch a performance by a master musician while the notes light up in real-time.
For the 'Ear-Before-Eye' learner, this is an invaluable transcription assistant. You can select a tiny loop of a tricky solo, slow it down to 25% speed without changing the pitch, and watch and hear exactly what's being played. It removes the guesswork and helps you confirm what your ears are telling you, building confidence and accuracy.
Example in Action: Find a Soundslice transcription of a simple pop song piano part. Listen to a two-second loop first without looking at the notes. Try to find the melody on your instrument. Then, watch the notes on Soundslice to check your work. This "listen first, verify second" approach is a fantastic training exercise.
3. Tenuto / musictheory.net
This is the classic, no-frills boot camp for your ears. musictheory.net (and its app, Tenuto) offers a comprehensive suite of exercises for the fundamental building blocks of music. It's the place you go to drill interval identification, chord recognition, and scale sounds until they become second nature.
While the Functional Ear Trainer is great for context, Tenuto is essential for speed and accuracy on the raw materials. Can you instantly tell the difference between a major 7th and a minor 7th chord? Can you identify a Lydian scale just by its sound? Tenuto will get you there through pure, focused repetition.
Pro-Tip: Use the custom exercise feature. If you consistently confuse perfect 4ths and perfect 5ths, create a drill that only quizzes you on those two intervals. Hammer away at your specific weaknesses for 10 minutes a day.
4. Hooktheory
Ever wonder why so many pop songs sound vaguely familiar? Hooktheory has the answer. This platform analyzes the chord progressions of thousands of hit songs and presents them in a simple, color-coded format. It helps you recognize the common patterns that form the backbone of modern music.
This is ear training on a macro level. Instead of just identifying single notes or chords, you start to hear and predict entire progressions. You’ll begin to notice that the I-V-vi-IV progression is everywhere and you'll be able to recognize it by ear in a new song almost instantly. This is a massive shortcut to figuring out the harmony of a song.
How to Use It: Look up a song you love on Hooktheory. Study its progression. Then, go to your instrument and play those chords. Listen to how they sound moving from one to the next. Now, when you listen to other songs, try to identify that same harmonic flavor.
5. The Amazing Slow Downer
This isn't a dedicated ear training app, but it is an essential tool in every musician's "play-by-ear" arsenal. This simple utility lets you take any song from your music library or Spotify and slow it down—drastically—without changing the pitch. You can also easily loop small sections.
Its power lies in its simplicity. When a solo or melody flies by too quickly to comprehend, The Amazing Slow Downer lets you zoom in and listen with a sonic microscope. It gives your brain the time it needs to process the information, making transcription less frustrating and more achievable for everyone.
Pro-Tip: Combine this app with the "sing it back" method. Loop a small two-note phrase, slow it down to 50%, and sing it back precisely. Once you can sing it, finding it on your instrument is a thousand times easier.
6. ToneGym
If you thrive on gamification and daily challenges, ToneGym is for you. It’s a comprehensive online ear training platform that feels more like playing a game than doing homework. It offers a huge variety of exercises, from identifying intervals to recognizing EQ frequency boosts.
ToneGym keeps you engaged with daily workouts, leaderboards, and a clear sense of progression. It covers the fundamentals but also includes more advanced, real-world skills like "EQ-ing" and "compression," which are incredibly useful for producers and audio engineers. The well-rounded curriculum ensures all aspects of your listening are constantly being sharpened.
Best Feature: The "Sound-ID" games are particularly fun and useful. They challenge you to identify different instruments or synth patches, which hones your timbral recognition—a key part of understanding a song's full arrangement.
7. iReal Pro
You can't learn to play by ear in a vacuum. You need to apply your skills in a musical context. iReal Pro is your personal, pocket-sized backing band. It provides customizable backing tracks for thousands of jazz standards and pop songs. You see the chord chart, and it plays the rhythm section (bass, drums, piano/guitar).
This forces you to use your ears. There’s no written melody—you have to listen to the chord changes and improvise or play the song's actual melody on top. It's an incredible tool for practicing improvisation and internalizing the sound of chord progressions in real-time.
Pro-Tip: Start with a simple 12-bar blues progression in a key you're comfortable with. Don't try to play anything fancy. Just play the root note of each chord as it changes. Listen for the change. This simple exercise is profoundly effective for training your harmonic hearing.
8. Rick Beato (YouTube Channel)
Rick Beato's "What Makes This Song Great?" series is a masterclass in deep, active listening. He deconstructs iconic songs track by track, isolating bass lines, drum grooves, and vocal harmonies. Watching his videos is like having a super-producer sit next to you and point out all the details you’ve never noticed before.
He trains your ear by directing your attention. By listening to him isolate and analyze specific parts, you learn what to listen for in your own musical explorations. You'll start to hear the intricate layers in songs rather than just a wall of sound.
Exercise: After watching one of his videos, pull up the original song. Can you now hear the isolated bass line or vocal harmony he pointed out within the full mix? Try to follow just that one instrument from the beginning to the end of the song.
9. The "Improvise for Real" Method
This is a complete method, available as a book and online course, that reframes how you think about music. It teaches you to understand the "sound" of each note within a key, much like the Functional Ear Trainer, but in a much deeper, more holistic way. The goal isn't just to identify notes, but to understand the musical landscape so you can navigate it freely.
The core philosophy is learning music like a language: you learn the sounds first, create your own simple "sentences" (melodies), and gradually build up your vocabulary. It's a fantastic 'Ear-Before-Eye' system for anyone who wants to not only play what they hear but also create what they imagine.
Core Concept: The method emphasizes singing every exercise. By connecting your ear, your voice, and your instrument in a tight feedback loop, you develop a powerful and intuitive sense of musicianship.
10. Complete Ear Trainer
Similar to Tenuto but structured more like a university course, the Complete Ear Trainer app offers a highly-organized, chapter-by-chapter path from novice to expert. It combines interval, chord, and scale training with melodic dictation in a way that feels logical and progressive.
Its strongest feature is the "Arcade Mode," which presents drills in a fun, time-based format. But the real value is in the "Classic Mode," which contains over 150 progressive drills organized into clear chapters. This structured approach prevents you from feeling overwhelmed and ensures you're building skills on a solid foundation.
Pro-Tip: Don't skip chapters, even if you think you know the material. Spend at least a little time on each one to ensure there are no gaps in your fundamental knowledge.
11. Nahre Sol (YouTube Channel)
A classically trained pianist with a curious and open mind, Nahre Sol creates videos that are both educational and musically delightful. She explores different genres (like blues, bossa nova, and film scores) by breaking them down into their essential components, often learning them by ear on camera.
Watching her videos trains your ear for nuance and style. She doesn't just figure out the notes; she analyzes the articulation, rhythm, and feel that give a genre its unique character. This teaches you to listen beyond the pitches and truly understand the performance.
What to Watch: Check out her "Happy Birthday in 16 Levels of Difficulty" video. It’s a fun, accessible demonstration of how a simple melody can be re-harmonized and stylized, training you to hear the vast possibilities around a single tune.
12. Musical U
Musical U is an online membership community and training platform built entirely around developing your "inner musician." Their focus is less on instrument technique and more on the core skills that make you musical: playing by ear, improvising, understanding theory, and singing in tune.
They provide clear, step-by-step "roadmaps" for achieving specific goals, like "Playing Chords by Ear." The combination of high-quality training modules, planning tools, and a supportive community makes it a fantastic environment for anyone serious about developing their musicality from the inside out.
Key Strength: The community aspect. Learning by ear can sometimes feel isolating. Being able to share your progress and struggles with fellow learners is incredibly motivating.
13. Adam Neely (YouTube Channel)
While Adam Neely's channel often dives into complex and esoteric music theory, his core approach is always rooted in "how does it sound?" He has an uncanny ability to take an abstract concept, like negative harmony or polymeters, and demonstrate it in a way that you can instantly hear and understand.
His content will stretch your ears and your musical mind. He encourages critical thinking and deep listening, pushing you to question why music is constructed the way it is. This intellectual engagement with sound will make you a more perceptive and knowledgeable musician.
Starting Point: Search for his video on "The 7 Levels of Jazz Harmony." It's a perfect example of how he breaks down a complex topic layer by layer, with clear, audible examples at each stage.
14. The Transcription Method (DIY)
This isn't a product you can buy, but it is the single most effective exercise for learning to play by ear. The process is simple, but the rewards are immense.
- Choose a very simple song. A nursery rhyme or a simple pop melody.
- Isolate a tiny phrase. Just two or three notes.
- Listen on repeat. Use The Amazing Slow Downer if you need to.
- Sing it back. Don't touch your instrument yet! Sing the phrase until you have it perfectly memorized.
- Find the notes. Now, hunt for those notes on your instrument. Your ear and voice are your guides.
- Write it down. Once you've found the phrase, write it down.
- Repeat. Move on to the next tiny phrase.
This process is slow at first, but it builds the neural pathways between your ear, brain, and hands like nothing else. Every song you transcribe becomes a part of your musical vocabulary.
15. Auralia (by Rising Software)
For the serious student, Auralia is the gold standard in comprehensive aural skills software. It's often used in universities and music schools for a reason: it's incredibly thorough. It features 43 topics, covering everything from basic intervals to advanced jazz harmony and melodic dictation.
This is less of a casual app and more of a structured curriculum. If you want to leave no stone unturned and are committed to a rigorous practice schedule, Auralia will provide all the material you could ever need. It tracks your progress meticulously, allowing you to see exactly where you are improving and where you need more work.
Who is it for? Dedicated students, university-level musicians, and anyone who wants the most systematic and in-depth ear training available.
16. Use Your Ear
This website offers a range of workshops and a "Relative Pitch" video course specifically designed to teach you how to play by ear. The methodology is based on the idea of creating a "mental map" of the sounds, using a fixed-key system to internalize the relationships between notes.
The approach is very practical and results-oriented. It’s not about abstract theory but about developing the functional skills to hear a melody and know, for example, "That starts on the 5th degree of the scale and goes down to the 3rd." For many, this structured, step-by-step method is the key that finally unlocks their ear.
Unique Feature: The emphasis on "auditory imagery"—the ability to imagine sounds clearly in your head. Their exercises are designed to strengthen this crucial, often-overlooked skill.
17. Goh Ling Yong's "Play By Ear" Workshops
Putting theory into practice is where the real learning happens. While many of these resources provide excellent exercises, applying them to your instrument in a real-world context is the crucial next step. My workshops are designed to do exactly that, specifically for piano and keyboard players.
We take the foundational 'Ear-Before-Eye' principles and apply them directly to learning chords, melodies, and song structures of popular music. The goal is to bridge the gap between abstract ear training drills and the joy of actually playing a full song you love. It’s a practical, hands-on environment to test and grow the skills you're developing with the other resources on this list.
How it helps: The workshops provide a guided, real-time application of these skills, giving you immediate feedback and showing you how to use your newly trained ears to figure out harmonies and melodies on the fly.
18. Signals Music Studio (YouTube Channel)
This channel is a goldmine for guitarists, but the principles are universal for any musician interested in songwriting and theory. The host, Jake, has a talent for explaining practical music theory in a clear, calm, and encouraging way. He is always focused on the sound and the application.
His videos often build a song or a musical idea from the ground up. You'll watch him start with a simple chord progression, explain why it works, and then show you how to build melodies and harmonies on top of it. This process-oriented approach is fantastic for your ear, as you learn to hear how the different layers of a song fit together.
Must-Watch Series: His videos on "Modes" are some of the best on the internet for de-mystifying this topic and teaching you to hear the unique emotional color of each mode.
19. Singing Everything You Play
Our final resource is the most accessible, cheapest, and arguably most important one of all: your own voice. Make it a rule: If you can't sing it, you don't really know it. Before you play a scale, sing it. Before you practice a melody, sing it. When you're trying to figure out a chord, try to sing its individual notes (the arpeggio).
This practice forges an unbreakable link between your inner musical ear and your physical instrument. Your voice is the most natural instrument you have. By using it as a bridge, you ensure that you are playing from a place of deep auditory understanding, not just muscle memory. It is the purest form of the 'Ear-Before-Eye' philosophy.
Simple Daily Exercise: Sit at your instrument. Play a random note. Now, without looking, try to sing that exact same pitch back. Check your accuracy. Do this for five minutes a day. This simple exercise, called pitch matching, is the foundation of it all.
Your Journey Starts Now
Learning to play by ear is not an overnight trick; it's a journey that rewires your brain to experience music on a deeper level. It’s about trading the frustration of being tied to a page for the freedom of true musical expression. The myth of "natural talent" is just that—a myth. The reality is dedicated, focused practice with the right tools.
Don't be overwhelmed by this list. The goal isn't to use all 19 resources at once. The goal is to start. Pick one or two that resonate with you—maybe a gamified app like ToneGym and a conceptual YouTube channel like Rick Beato—and commit to just 10-15 minutes a day.
Consistency is your superpower. By 2025, that magic trick of playing a song just by hearing it won't seem like magic at all. It will be your new language.
Ready to start applying these principles on the piano? Check out my upcoming workshops to see how we put the 'Ear-Before-Eye' method into practice and get you playing your favorite songs faster. What's your favorite ear training resource? Share it in the comments below!
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
Stay updated with the latest posts and insights by following on your favorite platform!