THE BEAST

Every individual can have a different set of hobbies and interests from another individual. While hobbies tend to be people’s favorite activities during pastime and leisure time, some individuals turn their hobbies into their passion and transform these into their careers. Learning how to play an instrument is an excellent hobby and interest that gives a rewarding experience, although knowing how to play might not be that easy. 

Learning A New Instrument: How Do You Start?

People of all ages can start learning an instrument whenever they want, as it’s never too late to begin one’s musical journey. Before renting or purchasing your first instrument, it’s essential to identify and choose which type you’d like to study. The biggest factors you can consider when selecting an instrument are music preferences, personal preferences, budget, space, career potential, and music background. 

Typically, you can start with instruments that require less effort to play or challenge yourself to try out one of these hardest instruments to learn, as compiled by GrooveboxStudios . While playing instruments demand utmost dedication and persistence, some are undoubtedly more challenging to study. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach in choosing your instrument because this will greatly depend on you. 

Basic Guide To Learning A New Instrument 

 Since some instruments are quite expensive, make sure that your choice is final before purchasing. If you’re still quite undecided, you can rent one out instead to grasp a better feeling of playing it first. When you have settled on a musical instrument, you’re ready to begin.

Here are some essential tips to guide you in this learning journey:

• Patience And Consistency Is The Key

Learning how to play a new instrument doesn’t happen overnight. Even seasoned musicians still undergo a lifelong process of mastering their chosen instrument. If you’re planning to start playing one, you must possess the patience to practice consistently. After all, every great outcome results from taking patient and accurate baby steps that build up eventually into something magnificent. 

Before having the ability to create your first melodies, you must know how to read and listen first. For instance, if you’re playing the piano, you can start with easier classical songs such as the Fur Elise, Clair de Lune, and The Entertainer, to name a few. 

Your brain can only concentrate efficiently on a specific task for 20 to 30 minutes, so don’t pressure yourself to practice for three hours straight daily, hoping that you’ll get immediate results. 

• Do Your Homework On Music Theory

It would be much more demanding to learn your instrument without exploring music for the first time or brushing up on your past musical knowledge. Along with learning the basics of your chosen instrument, exploring components of music theory is also paramount to understand, analyze, and create music. Essentially, music theory deals with fundamentals that make up rhythm, melody, and harmony. 

Moreover, studying music theory helps enhance your creativity and musical awareness, as there’s a fine line between memorizing a song and playing it on your instrument compared to knowing music production. While it isn’t mandatory to learn, you can achieve the following benefits if you do:

• Help understand how music works
• Improve musical development
• Understand chord progressions and melodies better
• Strengthen music appreciation
• Enhance song arrangement skills

Once you have a theoretical understanding of how music works, it’ll be easier to practice your instrument.

• Enroll In Music Lessons

Playing instruments alone is a great advantage for amateur musicians, especially for instruments that can facilitate more self-teaching. However, if you want to improve your knowledge and skills further, enrolling in music lessons can help, too.  Most lessons are paid, but you can also find free resources online if you’re resourceful enough. 

When finding paid learning programs , it’s important to weigh your choices carefully to get the most out of your payment. Taking music lessons will guide you in walking on the right path, as well as prevent you from developing incorrect habits that could hamper your musical education.

• Join Musical Groups And Clubs

Aside from one-on-one instrument lessons with your instructor or online course, you should also prioritize gaining experiences elsewhere. Find people who have the same music interest as you, whether in your neighborhood, school, or online communities. While gaining fun experiences and developing relationships with these people, you won’t even realize that you’re getting better in your instrument as you play with them during practice sessions. 

Bottom Line

Learning how to play an instrument is a lifelong journey. Every time you hold your instrument, it would be more helpful if you set a specific goal to achieve at the end of your practice session. Whether you’re simply playing an instrument to relieve stress, pass the time, or improve concentration , you’ll eventually thank yourself for setting realistic goals as you play your instrument and incorporating this guide into your journey to discovering music.