[scottious]

I envy the fact that you can read music so well! I'm the opposite of you: I play by ear and I am mediocre at reading music.

I started piano lessons 9 years ago when I was 27. I had a background in marching band where we were not allowed to carry sheet music with us on the field for 4 years in college

I think that experience with marching band really forced me to develop my ear and learn to memorize music. Also I was terrible at reading music so I used my ear (which also wasn't that good) to fill in the gaps.

Eventually I became proficient enough at this that I could just listen to the other saxophone players and play what they were playing. I didn't know anything about keys, chords, intervals, or anything. I just played what I heard because I had no other choice.

Perhaps putting yourself in similar situations would be helpful. For example, I'm now a keyboard player in a band and I have to be able to learn a song that I've never heard at a moment's notice. That kind of pressure would force anybody to develop their ear because sheet music is just not as useful in that kind of setting.