play by ear

play by ear
phrasal
: to deal with (as a situation) without previous planning or instructions

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play by ear
To play on a musical instrument without the help of written music
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Main Entry:ear
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play by ear see under ↑ear1(see also ↑play it by ear below).
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Main Entry:play

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play (something) by ear phrase
to perform a piece of music by remembering what it sounds like, without looking at the notes
Thesaurus: playing, performing and arranging musichyponym
Main entry: play

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play by ear
1
◇ To play a song or a piece of music by ear is to play it after hearing it without looking at written music.

He could play any tune by ear after hearing it only once.

2
◇ To play it by ear is to do something without special preparation.

I don't know how they'll react to our proposal, so we'll just have to play it by ear [=improvise, (informal) wing it] and hope for the best.

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Main Entry:ear

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • play by ear — ► play by ear 1) perform (music) without having to read from a score. 2) (play it by ear) informal proceed instinctively according to circumstances rather than according to rules or a plan. Main Entry: ↑play …   English terms dictionary

  • play by ear — If you play by ear, you deal with something in an impromptu manner, without guidelines or rules. It refers to playing music without using written notation …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • play by ear — play a musical instrument by remembering the tune and not by reading the music Although she can t read music at all she can play by ear and is a great musician …   Idioms and examples

  • play by ear —    To play by ear means to improvise or act without preparation, according to the demands of the situation.    (Music : to play by remembering the tune, without printed music.)     It s hard to know how the situation will develop. Let s just play …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • Play by ear — The phrase play by ear has several meanings, some of which are listed below:*Improvisation, the act of inventing all or part of a process as it is performed *Learning music by ear, a term used to describe learning how to play a musical piece… …   Wikipedia

  • play by ear — play a tune after hearing it without looking at musical notes …   English contemporary dictionary

  • play by ear — {v. phr.} 1. To play a musical instrument by remembering the tune, not by reading music. * /Mary does not know how to read music. She plays the piano by ear./ * /Joe doesn t need any music sheets when he plays his guitar; he knows many songs well …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • play by ear — {v. phr.} 1. To play a musical instrument by remembering the tune, not by reading music. * /Mary does not know how to read music. She plays the piano by ear./ * /Joe doesn t need any music sheets when he plays his guitar; he knows many songs well …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • play\ by\ ear — v. phr. 1. To play a musical instrument by remembering the tune, not by reading music. Mary does not know how to read music. She plays the piano by ear. Joe doesn t need any music sheets when he plays his guitar; he knows many songs well and can… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • play by ear — англ. [плэй бай и/э] играть по слуху см. также ear …   Словарь иностранных музыкальных терминов

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