also: みみコピー
playing by ear; transcribing by ear
Colloquial term used among musicians for learning or transcribing music by listening, without sheet music.
He played the difficult guitar solo perfectly by ear.
Transcribing by ear takes time, but it trains your ear.
Variant with long vowel; less common but seen.
Compound of 耳 (ear) and コピー (copy), literally 'ear copy'. A colloquial coinage from music circles.