Learning a musical instrument isn’t as easy as it may seem. You might have gotten inspired by a guitarist looking ‘cool’ while playing your favorite song or a pianist winning the hearts of people in his performance. But here’s what most people miss out – the struggle these instrument players have to go through, to be able to play with grace and ease. Not just struggle, it takes years of training, patience and a couple of right steps in the right direction to become an accomplished musician. If you are wondering how you can begin your journey and kickstart start learning musical instrument, we have come up with a few simple tips that would surely help you out.
Understand the type of musical instruments
There are several types of musical instruments – from wind instruments like flute and mouth organ to string instruments like guitar and violin. Understanding the types of musical instruments at first will help you get familiar with each of them, helping you choose the right musical instrument to start your journey.
Connect to the genre & tradition
When you pick an instrument, it is equally important for you to understand the genre and connect to it. If you love listening to country music and would like to play the same, buying a cello wouldn’t make sense. Similarly, if you want to play traditional folk music, you should look at trying your hand at an instrument like flute. Connecting to the genre of your choice and tracking your way back to tradition will make it simpler for you to pick the right instrument and stay motivated.
Choosing the musical instrument
After having understood the music instruments, getting to know the type of music you would like to play, and getting the right motivation, you now get to choose your music instrument. Unfortunately, there is no intelligence or personality test you could give to find the right pick when it comes to choosing the music instrument. You just have to go with what you find better or have enough passion for. Whether it is an Indian classical instrument like Sitar or the western drums – choosing the right instrument wouldn’t be difficult after you have followed tips 1 & 2.
Buying or Renting the musical instrument
After you have chosen a specific instrument, it is time to finally bring it home to start off with your first lesson. You could either go to a music store or check out the musical instruments from various brands on an online store. As most of you are just about to begin learning a musical instrument, we recommend renting the instruments from a reputed online store and start off your practice for a month or two to get familiar with the instrument. With packages starting from as low as INR 250/week, you can rent instruments like guitar, keyboards, drums, flutes, cellos, and more.
Getting the necessary guidance
Since you have decided to begin your journey, it is important to take the necessary guidance to ensure you do not stray away and are following the right path. Get a tutor or join an online course – this will help you understand the theoretical aspects, positioning, maintenance as well as practicing techniques. Apart from that, this will also induce a sense of discipline and persistence, which are very important to successfully learn a musical instrument.
Producing the right sound
One of the most important things to remember is that you have to start right to get it right for all the way along. For example, the way you press the keys on a keyboard or hold a drumstick needs to be just right so that you can become habitual to it, irrespective of how uncomfortable it feels. When you strike the first chord, note or beat, remember that the methodology and technique matter – the end result will follow with time and practice.
Practicing as much as you can
The key to success lies in hard work which is why to successfully learn a musical instrument or to master it eventually, all you need to do is practice as much as you can. When you practice and work upon your weakness, you end up clearing the technique, smoothening the procedure and increasing your speed while striking the chord/note/beat. With practice, you would soon be able to move on to the next levels and become the accomplished player you have wanted to be.
Be patient and persistent
Last but not least, remember that Rome was not built in a day. And hence, a day with 3-hour practice will not transform you into a musical genius. Learning musical instrument requires dedication, commitment, and persistence. You have to be regular in your practice and be patient. You are not going to sound right or sound like a professional in a week or maybe in a month. Carry on with your efforts and you would surely be able to play the instrument the way you have dreamt of.
A few final thoughts
Playing or learning musical instrument is perhaps one of the best stress busters and rejuvenating activity to take a break. Even if you want to learn and play the instrument as a hobby, you would need to put in time, effort and patience while remembering that learning has no end- you can always find more interesting styles and things to learn in the musical instrument you choose to play!