Introduction:
I have seen sudden spikes in number of people calling me to help them out in buying a new musical instrument, especially guitars. Mostly, these sudden spikes occur shortly after a movie's release in which the protagonist is a guitarist or musician. Fine, but as far as I know, only 2 of the people (out of 10+) who bought guitar with my help, learned to play guitar to some level! So let me tell you how to choose a music class and when to buy your first instrument in my own opinion. You are free to do whatever you want, and you may think who is this guy to tell me what to do. I am just suggesting. To take it or not, is always up to you!!!
Literate vs Illiterate Musicians
Musician is a person who can play any musical instrument. That includes people playing flute in railway stations to those violinists who play in concerts. But they can be divided in to two groups. Those who are able to read and write music notations and those who can't. It is much like being able to speak a language fluently won't make you an literate person. Likewise, just playing an instrument won't make you a literate musician. So to become well versed in theory and in practice, one MUST learn to read and write music notations. Else your capacity will be limited to playing some cinema songs and showing off to your friends.
Choosing a Music Class
Don't think learning music is easy and fun. It is boring and hard to learn it and nothing like watching someone playing guitar on TV. If you find your class very interesting and easy, probability is high that you are in a wrong class. You should choose a music class that teaches music with notation. It should follow a set of standard syllabus for all students. There are some classes where the masters just teach students to play some random chords or movie songs. They are not good in the long run. They will cripple your learning and also teach some wrong practices like positions and fingerings which will be hard to rewire to correct positions and fingering. So, you look for the following while choosing the music class/school.
1. They should teach to read and write musical notation
2. They should follow a syllabus based course (uniform to all) and should not deviate out of the syllabus like teaching movie songs etc
3. They should provide music instruments during class. (You may like to show-off by carrying your guitar back and forth to the class, but your guitar will suffer the most!)
4. It is better to have 2 or more classes per week.
Buying Your First Instrument
Don't buy your first instrument before 3 months. Give it a thought only if you are able to continue your class and find yourself confident and comfortable with what you are learning. Also don't buy a very costly instrument immediately unless you are the 1% ;-) Buy a budget guitar. Givson standard model guitars can do a decent job for beginners. They are cheap and locally made. Anyway if you are going to be a good guitarist then you will be buying a good quality imported guitar after 2 or 3 years when you start mastering the instrument. To buy a costly instrument as your first instrument is like buying a Bullet 500 CC for a preschooler. So choose and spend wisely.
Continuing The Learning
You should continue the classes and practices at home without fail. A break longer than 10 days usually can reverse your skills. So don't take long breaks often. That will exponentially slow your learning. It is advisable that you finish the entire syllabus followed by your music school. Don't stop after few grades/levels. Buy a metronome and write your lessons on paper. That will improve your skills a lot compared to a costly imported instrument!
Join The Community
Join fellow musicians by enrolling in to bands in schools/colleges/offices. Also join in Church choir or any other religious/cultural activity that involves music. By this you can get exposure to various styles and approaches. This will encourage you to practice and perfect your skills.
Conclusion:
So, learning music is much like education. (yes, music is an education not just an activity). So you have to put hard work, you should have patience, you should practice without long breaks and finally you should have commitment. You didn't become a graduate in a year. So is the music. You can't become a maestro in few months. Don't get carried away by cinema stars and buy a costly instrument so that it can sleep at a corner. Again, it is your wish, your money. Don't curse me for telling the truth.
I have seen sudden spikes in number of people calling me to help them out in buying a new musical instrument, especially guitars. Mostly, these sudden spikes occur shortly after a movie's release in which the protagonist is a guitarist or musician. Fine, but as far as I know, only 2 of the people (out of 10+) who bought guitar with my help, learned to play guitar to some level! So let me tell you how to choose a music class and when to buy your first instrument in my own opinion. You are free to do whatever you want, and you may think who is this guy to tell me what to do. I am just suggesting. To take it or not, is always up to you!!!
Literate vs Illiterate Musicians
 |
| Learn to read and write music! |
Musician is a person who can play any musical instrument. That includes people playing flute in railway stations to those violinists who play in concerts. But they can be divided in to two groups. Those who are able to read and write music notations and those who can't. It is much like being able to speak a language fluently won't make you an literate person. Likewise, just playing an instrument won't make you a literate musician. So to become well versed in theory and in practice, one MUST learn to read and write music notations. Else your capacity will be limited to playing some cinema songs and showing off to your friends.
Choosing a Music Class
Don't think learning music is easy and fun. It is boring and hard to learn it and nothing like watching someone playing guitar on TV. If you find your class very interesting and easy, probability is high that you are in a wrong class. You should choose a music class that teaches music with notation. It should follow a set of standard syllabus for all students. There are some classes where the masters just teach students to play some random chords or movie songs. They are not good in the long run. They will cripple your learning and also teach some wrong practices like positions and fingerings which will be hard to rewire to correct positions and fingering. So, you look for the following while choosing the music class/school.
 |
| Better if they provide the instruments! |
2. They should follow a syllabus based course (uniform to all) and should not deviate out of the syllabus like teaching movie songs etc
3. They should provide music instruments during class. (You may like to show-off by carrying your guitar back and forth to the class, but your guitar will suffer the most!)
4. It is better to have 2 or more classes per week.
Buying Your First Instrument
Don't buy your first instrument before 3 months. Give it a thought only if you are able to continue your class and find yourself confident and comfortable with what you are learning. Also don't buy a very costly instrument immediately unless you are the 1% ;-) Buy a budget guitar. Givson standard model guitars can do a decent job for beginners. They are cheap and locally made. Anyway if you are going to be a good guitarist then you will be buying a good quality imported guitar after 2 or 3 years when you start mastering the instrument. To buy a costly instrument as your first instrument is like buying a Bullet 500 CC for a preschooler. So choose and spend wisely.
 |
| A good second guitar can do! |
Continuing The Learning
You should continue the classes and practices at home without fail. A break longer than 10 days usually can reverse your skills. So don't take long breaks often. That will exponentially slow your learning. It is advisable that you finish the entire syllabus followed by your music school. Don't stop after few grades/levels. Buy a metronome and write your lessons on paper. That will improve your skills a lot compared to a costly imported instrument!
 |
| A metronome can teach you a lot! |
Join The Community
Join fellow musicians by enrolling in to bands in schools/colleges/offices. Also join in Church choir or any other religious/cultural activity that involves music. By this you can get exposure to various styles and approaches. This will encourage you to practice and perfect your skills.
Conclusion:
So, learning music is much like education. (yes, music is an education not just an activity). So you have to put hard work, you should have patience, you should practice without long breaks and finally you should have commitment. You didn't become a graduate in a year. So is the music. You can't become a maestro in few months. Don't get carried away by cinema stars and buy a costly instrument so that it can sleep at a corner. Again, it is your wish, your money. Don't curse me for telling the truth.
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