tocar de oído
playing by ear
The Spanish phrase 'tocar de oído' translates to 'play by ear' in English. This is an idiomatic expression that means to play music without reading the musical notes, instead, relying solely on one's memory of the sounds and melodies.
Example sentences using: tocar de oído
Juan siempre suele tocar de oído en la guitarra.
Juan always tends to play by ear on the guitar.
In this sentence, 'tocar de oído' is used to describe Juan's ability to play the guitar without reading the musical notation. Instead, he listens to the tune and replicates it on his guitar.
¿Sabes tocar de oído el piano?
Do you know how to play the piano by ear?
The speaker is asking if the person can play the piano without the need for musical notation, implying they can listen to the music or tune and then play it on the piano.
Mi hermana aprendió a tocar de oído la flauta.
My sister learned to play the flute by ear.
This sentence tells us that the speaker's sister has learned how to play the flute by listening to the music and then replicating it on her flute, without needing to rely on written music.