My grandmother could play by ear. I was always amazed that we could go for a drive, hear a song on the radio, go home and Grandma would play it on her violin.

My grandmother could play by ear. I was always amazed that we could go for a drive, hear a song on the radio, go home and Grandma would play it on her violin. One day when I was about 9 or 10, I asked her how she did it and why I couldn't. She said that the key was to start playing an instrument really young and then play constantly until you were in your sixties. Loads and loads of practice is the key to doing it. As far as how it felt, my Grandma always smiled when she was playing music so I assume it felt pretty good.