Origin of "Play it by ear"

Factual Questions
1

I have always heard this phrased used, and I use it many times myself…but what is the origin? Why use the word “play?” is it actually “by ear?” or is it "by Year? Anyone know?

2

Year?

It’s related to music. When you don’t have the sheet music for a song, but you know the song, you “play it by ear” – that is, you play it as closely as you can based on what you heard. You are using your ear to tell you if you’re playing the right note instead of sheet music.

So, when you are in a situation where you have to improvise, you’re “playing it by ear”.

3

Some people who play or sing music can’t read music at all.

4

Well, yeah…a couple of guys named John Lennon and Paul McCartney did alright without ever being able to read music.

But I think the term “play it by ear” implies a sort of “let’s go to Plan B” or “let’s do the best we can under the circumstances” attitude that parallels being forced to pluck out a melody vs. being able to read the sheet music for a piece, so that’s why I explained it that way.

5

I agree with SpeedwayRyan. The metaphorical meaning of “play it by ear,” which the OP seems to be asking about, comes from the musical meaning. Take a song or melody that you know well enough to sing or hum. How would you play it on a musical instrument, like a piano—how would you know which notes to play? You’d either get some sheet music, which would tell you which notes to play, or you’d play it by ear: you’d figure out, from what sounds right, which notes to play.

Metaphorically, then, “playing it by ear” is what you do when you go into a situation without having a predetermined plan or spelled-out instructions. You try to avoid hitting metaphorical wrong notes and try to figure out what “sounds right” in the context of the situation you’re in.

6

The literal meaning of playing a song without any written music is first traced back to at least 1658–

while the metaphorical meaning goes back to at least the early 1800s if not earlier.

7

Awesome job! Thanks everyone.
The reason I asked, more or less, was because A friend and I were out and didn’t know how long we would be out/who else was coming out and I said we could just play it by ear; to which she then wondered what the origin was…so I said “I will ask the internet!”

Thanks again everyone.