Picking up a new instrument to learn is a great way to exercise new muscles in your brain, relieve stress, and simply master a new skill to impress your friends and family. Like most things you learn, there is a right way to do it and a wrong way. The former will help you learn quickly, while also being fun. The latter will only try your patience and force you to give up sooner rather than later.
While having a musical background even makes learning a new instrument a lot easier, you may still face other challenges in being a multi-musician. tool. Conversely, picking up an instrument for the first time without a musical background can benefit you in a number of ways, as your brain won’t get bogged down by different theories or techniques. Here are some tips to help you master a new instrument without losing your mind.
Build on existing knowledge
If you’ve learned to play the ukulele and say, you want to learn how to play the guitar, there’s an obvious way you can make the most of your technical knowledge. Fortunately, the ukulele and guitar are pretty much the same, so you should be able to develop the skills you need to work later with a few hiccups.
Unfortunately, if you need to learn the saxophone, but the other instrument you’ve mastered is the piano, you’re out of luck. The only way that building on your technical knowledge can help you is if you are choosing an instrument with similarities for the first one you’ve learned, this will help you catch things sooner rather than later. However, don’t be discouraged if your instruments are too different; it may take a little longer to expand your knowledge but well worth the effort.
Using music
Sheet music is a great way to help you learn an instrument, especially if this is your first time trying it out. Nowadays, there are many online resources, made digital sheet music readily available to many users, which can accelerate the learning process if used correctly. These will become even more prominent when taking music lessons, as studying with a good teacher will certainly allow you to fully understand the piece while learning how to play your instrument much faster. A teacher will kick your bad habits early on and will give you interesting tips to help you feel more confident over time.
Patient
If you don’t follow any other rules, at least make sure you don’t set unrealistic goals for yourself in the first place. Work slowly and patiently, otherwise you will immediately feel frustrated, unable to implement the ideas in your head. Learn one tool – whether you have a musical background or not – it will take time, and you should try to do what you can to take it one step at a time so you don’t get discouraged quickly.
Learning a new instrument can be a lot of fun, as long as you do it right. If you don’t give yourself the opportunity to gradually learn new skills, you can give up your instrument pretty quickly. If you take lessons, read sheet music, and practice every day, you’ll be able to play a new instrument before you know it. Remember it’s never too late to learn!
