Also, I firmly believe the importance of ear development in the understanding of the written music. Playing by ear doesn’t mean imitating or learning by rote. Playing by ear means inner ear hears and the fingers finds the notes on the keyboard. A student who has very good ear will learn sight reading with ease and fun. Students who can inner hear the sound by looking at the written music score then play on the piano have more fun and easier time with their sight reading than students who decode the score they see and think what to do after looking at the music. Robert Schumann said, “A good musician sees with his ear and hears with his eyes."