Learning a Musical Instrument: Tips for Beginners
Learning a musical instrument is one of the more rewarding things you can do with your spare time, whether you're seven or seventy. It can also feel daunting at the start. This guide covers why it's worth doing and the decisions that make the first few months go well.
Five good reasons to learn
1. It's good for your brain. Playing an instrument uses memory, coordination and listening all at once. Studies of children who learn instruments have linked music training with stronger memory and language skills, though researchers still debate how far that carries over into schoolwork. Either way, it's a serious workout.
2. It's a way to switch off. Practice is absorbing. For twenty minutes there's no room in your head for anything except the next bar, which is why many adults say it's how they unwind.
3. It teaches you how to get better at things. Progress on an instrument comes from small, regular effort, and you can hear it happen. That's a habit worth having well beyond music.
4. It's sociable. Bands, choirs, school orchestras, open mic nights, playing with a friend in the kitchen. Music is one of the easiest ways to meet people and do something together.
5. It lasts. Most hobbies come and go. An instrument is something you can keep coming back to at any age, and it's never too late to start.
Choose your instrument
Start with the music you love. If your favourite songs are driven by guitar, learn guitar; you'll practise far more willingly than on an instrument somebody else chose for you. Think too about noise, space and budget at home.
Here is roughly what the first few weeks feel like on the four instruments we teach:
- Guitar: sore fingertips for a fortnight, then simple chords and whole songs fairly quickly.
- Piano: a pleasant sound from the first note, and the clearest picture of how music fits together.
- Singing: nothing to buy, and the quickest route to performing a complete song.
- Drums: real beats in the very first lesson, and wonderful for coordination and energy.
If you're choosing for a child, our guide to what age a child should start music lessons goes through each instrument in turn.
Find a teacher
A good teacher sets up sound technique from the start, tells you honestly how you're doing and keeps you going when it gets hard. Look for someone with experience of beginners who is happy to teach the music you actually want to play. Take a single lesson before committing to a block, so you can see whether their teaching style and personality suit you.
Prices vary with experience and location. Our guide to how much music lessons cost in Bristol explains what's reasonable and what you get for it.
Build a practice routine
Consistency matters more than anything else. Set aside a regular time, begin with ten to fifteen minutes, and lengthen your sessions as they get easier. Know what you're working on before you sit down. Good practice beats long practice every time. We've written more about this in how much to practise.
Buy sensible equipment
You don't need to spend a fortune, but you do need an instrument that works properly. A very cheap or badly set-up instrument is hard to play, sounds poor and makes beginners think the problem is them. Buy the best you can reasonably afford, second-hand if need be, and ask a teacher or a good shop to check it over. Our guide to Bristol's music shops lists places where you can try before you buy.
Find other people to play with
Playing with others is the best motivation there is. Look for a beginners' band or ensemble, a choir, a jam night or an online community where you can share progress and ask questions. Go to gigs, too. Watching good players up close reminds you why you started.
Be patient
Every musician you admire was once a beginner who sounded exactly like one. Choose an instrument you love, find a good teacher, practise a little most days and enjoy the stages along the way. You'll be playing your favourite songs sooner than you think.
If you'd like help getting started in Bristol, request a call back and we'll find you a tutor.