{"id":15160,"date":"2023-09-01T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/?p=15160"},"modified":"2023-08-31T15:47:07","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T22:47:07","slug":"rush-e-sangah-noona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/rush-e-sangah-noona\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro Pianist Learns \u201cRush E\u201d By Ear"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If there\u2019s a piano song that has destroyed the internet, it\u2019s \u201cRush E.\u201d The musical meme by YouTuber Sheet Music Boss is notorious for being impossible to play. But it\u2019s also remarkably catchy, and as we\u2019ll soon discover, it&#8217;s actually not a complicated song! In fact, a master pianist like Sangah Noona can even learn \u201cRush E\u201d by ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><p><strong>Table of Contents:<\/strong><\/p><nav><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#how-to-figure-out-a-song-by-ear\">How to Figure Out a Song By Ear<\/a><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#figuring-out-the-theme\">Figuring Out the Theme<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#figuring-out-the-chord-progression\">Figuring Out the Chord Progression<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#listen-more-than-play\">Listen More Than Play<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#write-stuff-down\">Write Stuff Down<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#persist\">Persist!<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#the-origin-of-rush-e\">The Origin of \u201cRush E\u201d<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<span class=\"blue-text-block\"><center><h2 style=\"font-size:22px\"><b>\ud83c\udfb9 Your Go-To Place for All Things Piano<\/b><\/h2><p>Subscribe to <i>The Note<\/i> for exclusive interviews, fascinating articles, and inspiring lessons delivered straight to your inbox. Unsubscribe at any time.<\/p><iframe class=\"email-form-include\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/weeklyemail\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/span>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-to-figure-out-a-song-by-ear\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>How to Figure Out a Song By Ear<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Watching Sangah Noona figure out \u201cRush E\u201d by ear is a fantastic lesson in how to learn any song by ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/play-by-ear\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/play-by-ear\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Playing by ear<\/a> is something we can all do. (Well, maybe not a song as dense and fast as \u201cRush E,\u201d but the principle is the same.) All you really need is a basic understanding of chord harmony, the ability to remember melodies, and lots and lots of patience.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how Sangah does it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/28111948\/sangah-noona-rush-e-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15162\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/28111948\/sangah-noona-rush-e-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/28111948\/sangah-noona-rush-e-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/28111948\/sangah-noona-rush-e-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/28111948\/sangah-noona-rush-e.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"box-snippet\">\n<div class=\"shadow\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"content\">\n<div><i class=\"fas icon fa-piano\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-container\">\n<b>About Sangah Noona:<\/b> Sangah started her piano journey at the age five, completing her major in jazz piano and having a flourishing career in South Korea before moving to the United States in 2010. As an experienced performer and technical guru on the keys, Sangah Noona is an incredibly versatile pianist that can play in just about any and every style.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"figuring-out-the-theme\" style=\"font-size:28px\">Figuring Out the Theme<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The theme is what everyone hears first and remembers, so it makes sense to figure this out first. Knowing the theme will also help with figuring out the chord progression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sangah sings the melody as she figures out the notes. Singing helps you internalize the melody of a song. If you can sing the melody, you can play it on the piano!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Singing is also handy because you become your own boombox. You can sing the melody as fast or as slow as you want as you find chords to harmonize with. You don\u2019t need to be an excellent singer\u2014all you need is to carry the melody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&gt; <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/interval-ear-training\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>How to Play By Ear Using Intervals<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"figuring-out-the-chord-progression\" style=\"font-size:28px\">Figuring Out the Chord Progression<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-chord-progressions\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-chord-progressions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">chord progression<\/a> is the underlying harmonic structure of the song. Once you have your melody down, you can start finding the chords that harmonize with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Knowing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/how-to-harmonize-a-melody\/#howto-step-1687214276017\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/how-to-harmonize-a-melody\/#howto-step-1687214276017\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">primary chords<\/a> in the key you&#8217;re in helps here. In fact, if you look at the original sheet music for \u201cRush E\u201d (which you can download on Sheet Music Boss\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/sheetmusicboss.com\/2021\/07\/27\/rush-e-sheet-music\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">official website<\/a>), you\u2019ll find that the first few lines of the melody are simply built on i and V chords in A minor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Knowing the chord progression behind your song also lets you put your own spin on things. For a cool example of this, watch the end of the video when Sangah jazzes up \u201cRush E\u201d with some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/251-chord-progression\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2-5-1s<\/a> and tritone substitutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&gt; <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/how-to-harmonize-a-melody\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>How to Harmonize a Melody in 4 Easy Steps<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"listen-more-than-play\" style=\"font-size:28px\">Listen More Than Play<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sangah tells us that a key thing to do is to <em>listen more than play.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, if we rush to play a song before knowing it well, we end up not reproducing the melody faithfully (at least, this is what happens to me sometimes!). Your brain can fill in gaps without you knowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, if you want to accurately reproduce a song, listen more than play. At least initially.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"box-snippet\">\n<div class=\"shadow\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"content\">\n<div><i class=\"fas icon fa-piano\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-container\">\n<b>Pro-Tip:<\/b> You can slow down a song by playing it on YouTube at 0.75x, 0.5x, or even 0.25x speed. This can help with figuring out very fast and dense songs by ear.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"write-stuff-down\" style=\"font-size:28px\">Write Stuff Down<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>At one point, Sangah asks for staff paper so she can write down some notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, you don\u2019t need to know how to read and write sheet music to play songs by ear! But a notation method can help you keep track of things, whether that\u2019s handwritten notes, chord symbols, or recording yourself. You can also use staff paper to write down pitches in free time\u2014it doesn\u2019t need to be perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Writing stuff down helps with a song like \u201cRush E\u201d because there are so many notes involved!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"persist\" style=\"font-size:28px\">Persist!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, Sangah tells us to <em>keep going.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Playing songs by ear isn\u2019t easy. It takes time. It can come naturally to some people, but for most of us, it\u2019s a lot of trial and error and it can be frustrating when you just can\u2019t figure out that one note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But playing by ear <em>is <\/em>possible! It\u2019s not just for musical geniuses. <strong>If you can hum a melody, you can play by ear.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it\u2019s a skill like no other. Practice will make you better at this skill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-origin-of-rush-e\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>The Origin of \u201cRush E\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"RUSH E\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Qskm9MTz2V4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/knowyourmeme.com\/editorials\/guides\/what-is-rush-e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">story behind \u201cRush E\u201d<\/a> is a little bizarre, but such are the origins of internet memes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The song was inspired by the <a href=\"https:\/\/knowyourmeme.com\/memes\/lord-marquaad-e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lord Marquaad E meme<\/a>, a deep-fried image of YouTuber Markiplier E photoshopped onto Lord Farquaad\u2019s body (a character from <em>Shrek<\/em>) with the letter E.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sheet Music Boss then created a \u201chow to play\u201d video called <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/YPMwtmEisHM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cE\u201d<\/a> that consisted of just the note E and the Lord Marquaad meme. They made a similar tutorial for the note B, and then some viewers asked them to make it \u201csound Russian.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/5zo7BYoaqAA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cRush B\u201d<\/a> was born. But it didn\u2019t take off the same way \u201cRush E\u201d later did, racking up 67 million views in 5 years. The rest&#8230;is history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<span class=\"blue-text-block\"><center><h3 style=\"font-size:22px;\">\ud83c\udfbc <b>Learn Your Favorites, Step By Step With Full Sheet Music Downloads<\/b><\/h3><p> As a Pianote+ Member, you\u2019ll get access to our 10-step Method, song library, and growing community of piano players just like you. Plus: get coached by world-class pianists who have played with rock stars.<\/p><center><a class=\"join\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/trial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TRY PIANOTE FOR 7 DAYS<\/a><\/center><br><\/span>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watch Sangah Noona figure out how to play the notorious meme piece \u201cRush E\u201d on the piano by ear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1111,1108],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ear-training","category-musicianship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15160"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15198,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15160\/revisions\/15198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}