Origin of the phrase - Play it by the ear..

Here is one of the interesting origin of phrases..

“Play it by the ear”

Meaning

To do something by feel and instinct rather than with a plan.

Initially, this referred to the playing of music without reference to printed notation. More recently it is also used figuratively to mean 'handle a situation in an impromptu manner', without reference to pre-determined rules or guidelines.

There are occasions when we do not plan too far ahead; in such cases, our response to a situation depends on how the event unfolds. Usually, we improvise. Our responses are not thought out before hand; we do whatever we think is the right thing to do in that particular situation. This manner of dealing with something is called ‘playing it by ear'.

Origin

The origin of this phrase is rather straight forward and comes from the musician’s world. Originally, it refers to playing compositions without the benefit of sheet music. Instead, the musician would simply use his/her ear to feel out the composition and follow the musical progressions.