play by ear
To play guided by one's musical perception and intuition, rather than from a written scoreTo play guided by one's musical perception and intuition, rather than from a written score.
Meaning
2 senses(intransitive, transitive)To play guided by one's musical perception and intuition, rather than from a written score.
nach Gehör spielen
(idiomatic, intransitive, transitive)To do by guessing, intuition, or trial and error; to react to events as they occur, often with risk of negative outcomes; to improvise.
If they ask for something we didn't prepare, we will have to play it by ear.
improvisieren, spontan entscheiden, es auf sich zukommen lassen
де́йствовать по обстоя́тельствамdéjstvovatʹ po obstojátelʹstvam, импровизи́роватьimprovizírovatʹ
Examples
21 sentencesLet's play it by ear.
Давайте імпровізувати. — deniko
He played piano by ear.
Він грав на піаніно на слух. — deniko
ruОн играл на фортепиано на слух. — Balamax
deEr spielte Klavier nach Gehör. — kriskelvin
Let's play that by ear.
Давай імпровізувати. — deniko
ruДавай сыграем это на слух. — sharptoothed
She plays the piano by ear.
ruОна играет на пианино по слуху. — shanghainese
deSie spielt Klavier nach Gehör. — samueldora
Tom plays the piano by ear.
deTom spielt Klavier nach Gehör. — brauchinet
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 2
Forms
plays by ear, playing by ear, played by ear, played by ear| Base form | play by ear · to play by ear |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | plays by ear |
| Present participle | playing by ear |
| Past simple | played by ear |
| Past participle | played by ear |
irregular
Synonyms
3 synonymsWord family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle