Wooohoooo! You just got a brand new instrument and are excited to begin! Here are some tips to help keep you motivated and get you through the most difficult time of learning a new skill. Always feel free to ask questions or leave your own advice for beginners!
1. Start out slow- When you first start playing an instrument, you have so many new things to focus on. You are reading music (which is like a whole new language), wind players are focusing controlling their breathing, correctly holding the instrument, proper sound production, and a million other new skills.
Give yourself time to adjust to all of these new tasks you are asking your brain and body to do! Your body needs time to process the new skills and turn them into muscle memory. The best way to make progress on your instrument is to practice a little bit EVERY DAY! Push a little harder each day to accomplish a new goal. Learning to play an instrument and play the fun music takes a ton of practice, and all musicians regardless of their level practice their skills continuously.
2.Listen to other musicians- Listening to others that play your instrument helps you to recognize great sound, but also the variety of styles and tones your instrument can produce. It’s inspiring to hear great musicians bring music to life and it’s a great motivator to practice more. You’ll get to explore and experience different styles of music, how fun is that?!
3.Play fun music- Play music that makes you happy and excited! Play the melody from your favorite pop songs. Buy a book with different Disney melodies. Find anything that makes you excited to play! A simple Google search for what you are looking for will yield a ton of results. Play your favorite melodies when you starting out, then work on your technique to tackle harder music. If you’re not having fun, you aren’t doing it right!
4.Learn your favorite songs by ear- Learn to play music by ear. This is a skill I WISH I would have learned and practiced when I was first starting out. Learning to play melodies, harmonies, and rhythms by ear is the first step to improvising and creating your own music. Start with melodies that are very familiar to you; like Happy Birthday or Baby Shark. Something you can not forget. Try to match the pitch and go from there! It won’t be easy at first, but the more you do it the better you will be.
5. Join a group- Playing music by yourself is so fun, but there is so much missing from the musical experience by only playing by yourself. You will make a lot of friends and experience a great camaraderie with people that have the same interests and passions as you.
There is also something amazing about the electricity in the air when the group collectively makes magic through music. You get goosebumps and you feel the energy of the vibrations in the air. When the music is done you look around and everyone is silent and then a collective, “Wow” is whispered through the ensemble. Playing with a group and learning to play as one is a unique experience that only music can provide you with.
6. Practice– If you do nothing else on this list, just practice. You can not improve if you don’t focus and practice. Just like any other skill and goal, we have to be committed and make time for it. Have fun practicing, set realistic goals; but practice. Simone Biles just didn’t get up on the balance beam and win gold, she was committed to her practice goals and made her dreams come true. You can make your own dreams come true, too!
7. Invest in good equipment– I am not an advocate for buying top of the line, most expensive instruments and and equipment available. Absolutely not. I still play on the horns I had in high school, and they achieve everything I need them to and do not hinder my ability to play at all. My parents were so generous in supplying me with instruments, but the only reason they lasted so long is because they invested in good equipment.
Good equipment will do exactly what you need it to do and does not create any problems that you need to compensate for. When you buy cheap instruments from Amazon, Mendini being one of the most popular and most problematic, you are setting yourself up for failure. Cheap instruments are not designed to work. They are designed to look cool and make a quick buck, that’s it. Yeah your blue saxophone looks cool, but what good is it if you literally cannot produce a sound and you just honk? When students start out on instruments that are cheap and do not function, the student thinks that they are the problem, that they are unable to produce a sound, when in reality it is the instrument that is the problem. A student can have all the proper technique, follow everything their teacher says, but if their instrument cannot produce sound or the keys or valves cannot move correctly, the student will never be able to play. How frustrating! A beginner that does not progress at the same rate as their peers can become demotivated and that frustration will cause them to quit. It’s really sad to see a student that was once excited to play just give up because their instrument is garbage. Beginners have so much to worry about when learning, don’t compound their frustration by buying cheap ones from the internet. Talk to a music store owner, band teacher, or a professional player of that instrument for good product recommendations.
8. Create your own music- Music is for everybody, and the one thing we do not do enough of is make our own music. Right from the beginning we should be making our own music. Only your first week and you only know quarter notes and two pitches? Great! Compose anything! Reinforce skills by letting beginners create their own music. Music is about being creative, not just recreating the art of another person. This is another skill I wish I would have learned as soon as I started playing. It doesn’t have to be long or all that impressive, just create anything and let your voice be heard. How fun would it be to show off your creative skills!?
9. Get a teacher- Music is so difficult to teach yourself, and Youtube videos are really great for troubleshooting specific problems, not sequential learning. A teacher that has spent 20+ years learning their instrument is the best way to set yourself or your student up for success and fend off quitting so early in the process. Teachers dedicated to their craft have gone through all the common problems that beginners have and can offer techniques and strategies to make playing easier and more fun.
10. Don’t give up! Learning an instrument and making music is NOT EASY! The fun thing about learning music is that there is no right or wrong way to create music, and the possibilities are endless. But, continuing after you feel your skills have plateaued can become discouraging. Learning should be fun, and you should have fun making music! Once you learn the basics, find the music you love and play it! Incorporate composing, listening, and ear training into your practice, and you will never feel bored or want to give up. You got this! I can’t wait to hear what you create!