[Harp-L] singing ability

["John Dekker" <jdekker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

It has been my observation that most good instrumentalists are at least decent singers. That is, they can carry a tune and voice what is in their heads. I suspect that this ability is directly related to being able to play by ear, that is, to play a song after hearing it a few times, without reference to written music or tabs.

In my case, I can't sing a lick, and cannot play anything by ear to save my life. I can play melodies by reading the tabs, but have great difficulty in remembering or memorizing the tabs, and so cannot play the melody of a given song without reading the tabs.

My question is this: is the ability to play by ear a natural talent that you either have or you don't, or can the ability be learned, and if so, how? After six months of serious effort, I can play single notes well, and bend them fairly well, but I am getting frustrated by my lack of ability to play anything without having the tabs in front of me.

Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

John