I am a ear player and agree with Rico. To be able to hear chords and know where they fit in a song is certainly a gift
from God. An ear player can improvise and add interest that
a pure reader simply cannot.

The ear player can have trouble when a piece of music has chords that are very different from the norm.

The song "Girl From Ipanema" gave me a fit to try and learn so
I bought the music and from that I was able to get the right chords and play it. Being able to read music and also have a
gift for ear playing is the perfect combination. I certainly
am thankful to be able to "hear" those chord changes and put
them in the right places. That's my story and I'm sticking to
it. Lloyd