To play it by ear means to improvise, to make it up as you go along, to act without planning.
The phrase originally meant playing a piece of music (“it”) without sheet music (notation), but rather only by listening to the music and playing intuitively. The word ear can always stand for the ability to play music without instructions or sheet music. We say that a musically talented person has a good ear. Now, we often say play it by ear when we want to act without planning, such as when going out for the evening, or exploring a new city. If we do not want to plan, we can say, “Let’s play it by ear.”
More Examples of “Play it by ear” Used in a Sentence
- You need people who can improvise, shift and play it by ear.
- I’m just going to kind of play it by ear and we’ll see what happens.
- Some carry notebooks to the dates and take notes, while others just play it by ear.
- I’ll see how things go over the next few months and play it by ear.
- “We’re going to have to play it by ear and see how he responds to treatment,” Cook told BBC Sport.