What is the best approach for beginning students? Should music lessons start with learning to read? Is it Ear-Before-Eye? These are compelling questions because how music teachers respond will definitely impact our students’ musical journey for years to come. So what’s the best answer? What do music academics have to say about this integral first step?
You may be surprised to know that music academics from around the world are unanimous in their enthusiastic support for Ear-Before-Eye learning processes. Across pedagogical research—from Australia to Europe to North America - we find consistent academic support for the Ear-Before-Eye principles: music is an aural art and musical explorations should begin with sound explorations (sound before symbol). Similar to language proficiency, just as we learn to speak before we learn to read - in musical terms, it makes complete sense to start with learning to play by ear before taking on the process of learning to read music.
Benefits for Students - Throughout my lengthy teaching career, I’ve seen how students who begin with Ear-Before-Eye play fewer wrong notes and wrong rhythms because they're responding to what they actually hear, not what they see. They tend to develop stronger intonation, sense of pitch, more confidence with rhythm/beat, and a more natural understanding of musical form because they know what the music sounds like. Memorization is something that comes easy because - as I said - they’re building on the music that’s already inside. In this way, Ear-Before-Eye means that students build on the music that’s inside their ears - rather than what’s on the page. The beginner's music lessons are all about connecting with students' internal musical experiences rather than taking on the enormous task of getting familiar with music reading. Later down the road, when it’s time to transition to learning with reading, students have an easier journey ahead because they have the aural background necessary for understanding visual musical symbols.
Benefits for Teachers - Starting with Ear-Before-Eye means music teachers get right to the point of music lessons - which is to make music. Ear-Before-Eye transforms lessons from decoding exercises that have little in common with students' own everyday musical experiences into explorations that build on what's already inside. Just imagine the beginner student who explores Happy Birthday using an Ear-Before-Eye approach. Is it manageable? Of course. We might just play four notes. Manageable. Or we could sing the song. Manageable. Or we could clap the rhythm while singing. Manageable. So compare that to learning to read the first notes of Happy Birthday - and we can immediately see how students might be overwhelmed by the amount of unfamiliar visual information. By helping students explore what they hear first, we cultivate music makers who play with confidence. There's an immediacy to what they do as they think musically from the inside out. When we encourage students to engage their ears first—listening, imitating, singing, clapping, internalizing — we help them strengthen their direct connection to music itself rather than to symbols. This shift helps them experience music as something they already know - it's living sound, not abstract code.
For teachers, embracing Ear-Before-Eye changes the studio dynamic. We become facilitators who encourage exploration, curiosity, and dialogue rather than correction of notation errors. We delay exploring music theory and such concepts until our students have established a secure foundation of aural awareness and performance fluency. We use singing, movement, imitation, and guided listening to build a student’s inner musical sense before introducing notation as a way to record what they already know. In doing so, we help our students as complete musicians—ones who think, feel, and hear music deeply from the inside out.
For today's music teachers, the Ear-Before-Eye approach offers an opportunity to reimagine the first lessons we give. It invites us to slow down, to listen more closely with our students, and to trust that sound-based learning will lead to deeper, more enduring musicianship. The more we centre the ear in our teaching, the more likely our students are to develop the kind of inner hearing that sustains a lifetime of meaningful music-making.
How do you feel about Ear-Before-Eye learning? What might be holding you back?
How can you become more knowledgeable about Ear-Before-Eye music teaching? What would change in your music teaching if you made “sound before symbol” a guiding principle?
How might you help parents understand the long-term value of learning by ear first?