How do i find out what key I'm in, when the piano player is playing?

[MrButch]

I'm a beginner on playing the bass. I need a liitle help from someone to tell me what do I listen for to tell what key that they are playing in. I can read music, but playing by ear is a challenger for for me. I have a decide to play by ear along with any musicians. Please help me! Thank you
Butch

[hotdog]

Most people start on the fouth string of there guitar and run the string until they here the note but i like to start from the thrid string and run the string until i here the note that way when you are playing and you need to hit the lower note you will have from to go to the four string if you start at the fourth string you have no room to go anywhere

[Bassyboy]

lol

i understand that playing by ear is a challenge for you BUT my advice is that you take it...........................
i believe that after you take the hard yards by playing by ear, you will have no problems having hard times
trying to find what chords your piano player is playing on.
BUT thats how i done it. and it worked for me.

god bless.

[malthumb]

I typically listen for a note that I can identify and I land on it.  Then I try to figure out where the progression is going (is he going up a half step?  down a full step?  Up a fourth?).  Sometimes I'll do something similar to what Hotdog described to find that 1st note.

More often than not, though, I say "Lou....what key you doin' that in?"  On some of the tougher songs I'll ask him for the whole chord progression.

Peace,

James

[MikeGee]

What I do is just play lightly where my ears think he is. All the while I'm counting the black keys he is hitting. If I saw that he only hit one then it is most likely F maybe Gminor but most likely F. You say you read music so I guess you know the key signatures.

[bass_mann1]

I can only play by ear, if you see the keyboardist, most I played with, the root note is the pinky on the left hand, that is generally how I learn a song if I haven't heard it, watch the left (bass) hand and listen for the flow of the song