by ear

He could identify many species of birds by their calls alone and sometimes taught “birding by ear” classes in Homer.

“Could play piano by ear, could hear something and play it. Also, he had a beautiful voice — booming, beautiful voice. He liked many different kinds of music. Practicing opera sometimes. He had a fascination with Enrico Caruso.”

“But at the same time if I’m not here I know somebody else would be happy to take me. We’ll see how it all plays out. Just play it by ear.”

“I’m continuing to talk to a lot of other schools, so I’m going to play it by ear. USC is in there, Nebraska is in there, Washington for sure, and there are a couple other schools that haven’t reached out yet.”

He was also capable of picking up instruments by ear; he played guitar and recorded rock songs with his brother, who played drums.