Can a person learn to play by ear, or do you have to be born with it?

 There is a common misconception that you have to be "born with it". That is because the gift seems to come unexpectedly to random people. Add to that the fact that most people that play by ear can show you what they are playing but they can't explain their process. It seems to just come out of thin air. But there definitely is a process. There are definite rules to creating music. And if there is something these individuals are born with, it is unusual desire. That desire draws them over and over like a magnet to the instrument. Over time they discover the "rules" (or theory) of music through their experimentation. As a teen in the seventies, I was captivated by the music of Billy Preston. "Will it Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from Nothing" played in my mind all day like a stuck juke-box. I just HAD to play it. I spent hour after hour, day after day until I figured it out. I also got a lot of tips from my uncles who were blues organists. But unlike most piano players around me, I wanted to understand what I was doing. So I read extensively on music theory. I can play anything I hear, no matter what the style. I can also explain the concepts to other people so that they can understand what I am doing. And that is just the beginning. I have taught this theory to others who in turn teach it at our school, KENERLY MUSIC STUDIO. It is our most popular course.