How To Learn Songs By Ear on Piano

Have you ever wished you could sit at the piano, hear a song once, and just… play it? 🎹

That’s exactly what pianist and internet sensation Frank Tedesco does every day—he listens to strangers’ favorite songs and plays them back on the spot. Sounds like magic, right?

In this blog, we’ll break down Frank’s exact method for learning songs by ear on piano, using “All of Me” by John Legend as an example. Whether you’re a beginner or experienced player, this method will sharpen your ear, deepen your theory knowledge, and help you play your favorite songs faster than ever.

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Step 1: Find the Key Using Intervals

The first step to learning any song by ear is finding the key signature.

Frank uses a “reference note” technique—he’ll hit a note like C before listening to the song, then compare what he hears in the song to that reference. In “All of Me,” he identifies the song’s key as F minor, based on hearing a perfect fifth interval.

💡 Pro tip: Get comfortable with interval training. Each interval has a signature sound you can recognize with a bit of practice.

Here are some interval tricks Frank uses:

• Minor 2nd: Jaws theme
• Major 2nd: Happy Birthday
• Minor 3rd: Greensleeves
• Perfect 4th: Here Comes the Bride
• Tritone: The Simpsons theme
• Perfect 5th: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
• Octave: Somewhere Over the Rainbow

🎯 Search tip: Try looking up “piano interval ear training exercises” to boost your recognition skills.

Step 2: Understand the Chord Progression

Once the key is established, Frank figures out the diatonic chords—the chords built from the key’s scale.

“All of Me” is in F minor, so he uses the relative major scale (A♭ major) to identify chords like:

• F minor (vi chord)
• D♭ major (IV chord)
• A♭ major (I chord)
• E♭ major (V chord)

These are all part of the A♭ major diatonic chord family, and they form the foundation of the song’s harmony.

💡 Roman numeral analysis helps you identify common chord patterns that repeat across genres and keys. For example:

• I, IV, and V are major
• ii, iii, and vi are minor
• vii° is diminished (and less common in pop music)

Step 3: Use Bass Notes to Confirm Chords

After identifying the likely chords, Frank listens closely to the bass notes in the recording.

He focuses on the lowest note he hears and uses his interval skills to identify how the bass line moves. In “All of Me,” the bass moves from:

• F (root)
• Down to D♭ (a minor third)
• Up to A♭ (a perfect fifth)
• Down to E♭ (a perfect fourth)

Once you identify the bass notes and know your diatonic chords, matching them together becomes a logical puzzle!

Step 4: Find the Melody Using Intervals

With the chords in place, Frank turns his attention to the melody.

He doesn’t just hum and guess—he uses music theory to connect the melody back to the root note (F in this case). By recognizing intervals from the tonic, he maps out how the melody moves.

For example, in “All of Me,” the melody often starts on A♭ (a minor third above F), then descends down the scale. Knowing this, Frank can recreate the melody quickly with confidence.

Bonus Tip: Transpose Small Sections

Feeling overwhelmed?

Start small.

Pick just a short phrase of a song (like the first few bars of “All of Me”) and figure out:

• The key
• The chord progression
• The melody

Then try transposing it to another key. This strengthens your understanding of music theory and helps you internalize chord shapes and intervals.

Final Thoughts from Frank

“Learning by ear is super hard—but it gets easier with practice. Start with small sections, use theory to your advantage, and let your ears lead the way.”

There’s no shortcut to learning songs by ear, but with tools like interval training, Roman numeral analysis, and focused listening, you’ll be able to sit at the piano and play your favorite songs faster than you ever thought possible.

So go ahead. Pick a song, trust your ears, and get started.

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