There has been a bit of discussion in the comments recently about the best way to learn music. How did you learn?
Each Tuesday we open our mic to readers and lurkers alike to come out of the woodwork and tell us your thoughts and opinion, your experiences and mistakes, what you love and what you hate. We want to hear from you, and here’s your chance.
How did you learn to play music? Was it a good way to learn? Do you have any comments or interesting/embarrasing stories about learning to play?
Share any advice or tips in the comments.
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By Adrian Try
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I learned to play by jamming along to records. Later on, I actually learned some scales and little bit of theory at GIT.
I went to classical music school for 4 years starting at about 11 years of age, but didnt really like it then, I choose the piano as instrument. I really didn’t have a choice, my older sister already was playing the piano, and my parents didn’t want to buy a new instrument
. I really wanted to do percussion, but which parent wants his child to do that. Maybe it wasn’t that bad, because my pianoteacher always said I couldn’t stay in time, and that is an essential skill to be any good as percussionist. Anyway, it wasn’t a fun experience for me, and was glad i finished the lower grade (after 4 years and some exams you get a diploma in belgium so you can advance to the equivalent of music high school).
Now I am really glad I did it, I know how to read music, and have some piano playing abilities. I only recently started studying some basic harmony. I was inspired by some article on this site, thx for that. And I know I understand it much more easily because of my formal training.
In ’96 I bought my first pc (I was 15 years old) and a friend showed me this weird program: fast track 2. I was completely sold, since then I have been trying to make music with pc with various programs.
I now know I am not really talented or at least miss the motivation/drive to put in the work required to break loose from the masses and produce something worthwhile, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have a lot of fun with it.
So I guess I learned that if you want to be good, you need to be extremely talented or put in the work that is required. How much is that? Well, more than the average player, otherwise you will only be average.
I am still a student, doing my master in computer science, and my thesis is about rendering sound in a physically plausible way in a virtual environment. So I guess I keep going back to this subject I love, sound and music.
I can’t really say that I’m a musician, but I know how to churn out a melody or two at the piano and the guitar. My first teacher was my mom, who had lessons as a kid and has a good ear. She taught me how to read my notes and play the scale, so by the time I went to school and had a music class, I was somewhat ahead. I don’t really play as much now, though I can easily pick a songs melody on the piano. I guess it helps that I also have a good ear like my mom, and that my siblings are also all musically inclined.
I learned by putting on my headphones and playing along. But then again, I suck so maybe you should listen to someone else.
I played sax as a kid then switched to bass as a teenager to be in a rock band then with a twist of fate I discovered opera went to university and did a music performance degree and now am a professional opera singer (not at any great houses as of yet) but I still love to play my guitar and bass and try to write songs even though I am pretty ass at it. Lots of fun though.
Guitar – 3 chords at a time.
The best answer I’ve gotten to a question like this was when I asked my former roommate from Chile.
I asked him, “So you play music?”
“I make music, with machines…”
What he meant were synthesiers and samplers, he didn’t have any music training and couldn’t play an instrument, but he could create music out of synths and samples.
So although some of us are musicians, many don’t play an instrument. They don’t play music. They make it.
“I make music, with machines…”
That’s sort of where I fit in these days. Though I played the clarinet for a while. My grandpa taught me most of what I know when I was younger.. I miss playing though, and actually just took the ol’ licorice stick into the shop the other day to get some minor repairs done so I could start playing again
correction: I *haven’t* played for a while..
idd, it would be nice if we could edit our answers..
My mom and dad have allways been into music, and my dad played (and still plays) guitar. He teached me the basic chords on the guitar, and from then, i started to learn all by myself. I have not played guitar for a while, cause i realised that, as i started on a music school, that everyone wanna play guitar, so you have to be really good, to be different from the others.
I started playing the piano as a child, around the age of 9 i think. Got 2½ years education from a teacher, but wasnt really interested in it. However, today, i am very glad i did it, cause i got all the basic “piano” theory, and this helps me alot!
When i was around 12 i started in an ochestra (march-music), playing trumpet, and i kept playing for 5-6 years or so. It was kind of boring music, but they helped me alot with music-theory, so now, as i started in gymnasium (danish school, similar to high-school) i feel pretty ahead of the rest of the class, and that helps on my grades!
Also, being familiar with the basic music theory, i think it helps me when im creating electronic music, wich is what i do mostly these days. However, sometimes i find my old trumpet and play it. Still love that instrument!
I also play a little bass-guitar, drums, percussion and stuff, all self-learned…
I don’t play music, music plays me.
Or at least, all the companies churning out cool gear year after year do.
I learned Violin as small child (about 5 years old) then moved to Australia and couldnt find a teacher of the Suzuki method.
Then I learned keyboard from when I was 10
When I turned 13 I realised I would never get any chicks playing keyboard and was getting into rock / metal so I started playing bass.
At 15 I discovered electronic music and rebirth and now over 10 years later I have never looked back and am under the “I make music, with machines…” title.
I first started music when I was 6, I kept on asking if I could play the guitar but my music teachers and family told me that if I play the piano it’ll give me a good musical base not bass, base knowledge. Well anyways, I played for 2 years but then I stopped for 2 years (I don’t why) At the age of 10 I rediscovered my love for music and I picked up my first fender acoustic and started learning, I tought myself and I had a teacher. My teacher tought me how to play but one thing I noticed a year later was that I played it like a bass, so I starting playing bass too, then I got into drums and started playing them too. I play music all the time and write catchy riffs and songs and transfer them over to actual music using “FL Studio”. Very soon I will be getting a Mac and will move on to better programs. I make music and music makes me.
I don’t know why*
I also didn’t mention that I am an RnB/Pop Musician but sometimes my beats are hip hop but they end up being more Jay Sean or Jason DeRulo ish
When I was a kid, I worked my butt off one summer in an old ladiy’s garden so I could buy a cheap guitar for $5.00 and a Venture’s album about how to play guitar. The guitar had such a high action it was almost impossible to play. I stuck with it long enough to learn G, C & D chords. Learned some basic songs to go with it. Then put it away for awhile.
Later I borrowed a friend’s guitar and learned a little more, but still pretty much sucked. It wasn’t till I was married that I really started to learn. My wife bought me an El Degas, still not too good an instrument, but I learned a lot playing around with it. Later she bought me a nice Seagull acoustic, and I bought a solid body electric knockoff, learned some blues licks and a lot of country stuff. Started writing songs and performing at open mics. That’s about where I am now, still trying to learn and get better.
I love it, wish I had had a good guitar when I was a kid.
I started trumpet lessons probably about 28 years ago after being inspired by the great sounding brass in John Williams’ Star Wars music. I continued lessons all through college and played all types of gigs ranging from jazz, concert, show, and rock bands to symphony orchestras.
Having always been fond of a very wide range of music I picked up guitar, keys, and bass along the way.
I think a better way to have gone about learning music would be to study a ‘C’ pitched harmonic instrument like the guitar or piano. I believe these instruments provide the student with a greater view and understanding of more musical concepts than a single voice instrument like the trumpet. Also, because they are pitched in ‘C’ there is a lot of confusion avoided that one has to deal with when learning a transposing instrument.
Kevin