hiya shlump
i play air piano ALL the time. drives ppl crazy!!! i do it basically any time i’m listening to music (alone)
i took piano lessons for about a year by someone who wanted me to play classical-ie strictly by notes and i had no interest so i left. my basis of music is notes-and all the fancy lingo it comes with. after i left i played by ear.
basically, i taught myself to play by ear. i do use a book i got when i had lessons that i use for finding the minor keys and for the cadences.
until i started nursing school, i practiced alot. i havent touched a keyboard other than for typing since winter break 🙁
when i did play by ear i either first figured out the melody, then figured out the cords to go along. when i knew the cord order cold, i wrote it down-baruch hagever looked like this “C Am F G …” after that i would experiment with arpeggios along with cords or arpeggios with melody, would it work with a rhythm and cords etc.
if i found sheet music online, most of the work was done. i would play around with the cords till i found the sound i liked more.
this is (was) my technique but i think there are others in the CR who are more musically inclined than i am