Being able to play a musical instrument adds a lot to your overall personality.
Listening to a piece of melodious music is always pleasant and soothing to your ears and when you know that you can also play a musical instrument yourself, it gives you a lot of pride and confidence. But, not all people can do so easily.
It always requires some essentials before you get able to play an instrument like a piano, guitar, violin, flute, etc. There is no need to worry if you cannot play any musical instrument yet. Here we are with our simple guideline to enable you to play a musical instrument of your choice.
- Choosing an instrument to learn to play
If you are not yet decided which instrument you prefer to learn to play, you must know the different families of musical instruments to help you choose from. Being able to play one instrument of a family makes it much easier to learn to play the other members of the same family as well. The different families are:
- The strings family includes the violin, guitar, viola, cello, and ukulele.
- The brass family includes the trumpet, trombone, and tuba.
- The percussion family has all drums, cymbals, xylophone, and maracas.
- The woodwind family boasts of the flute, clarinet, bassoon, and oboe.
- The keyboard family contains the piano, organ, and harpsichord.
- Deciding which genre of music you like to play
Your final selection of the instrument you like to learn depends upon the type of music you like to play. Many instruments are associated with a certain genre of music. For instance, the guitar and ukulele are prominent instruments in rock and pop music. Likewise, the banjo or the violin is associated with the country or bluegrass music. Besides, the piano is a versatile instrument associated with a variety of genres like jazz, rock, classical, etc. If you are interested to go with many different styles of music at a time, the piano will be the best choice for you. You must spend time to learn the piano to enjoy your life and to get known to many.
- Mastering the basics of the instrument
Having decided and bought the musical instrument to learn, the next step is to master its fundamentals.
- The very first step is to learn how to sit or stand with proper posture while learning or playing your instrument. The main objective in this regard is to adopt a pose as never to disturb or hurt your backbone, muscles, and limbs. You must ask your instructor about the proper posture you need to sit or stand with to avoid any bad impact on your physique or skeleton.
- Always hold your instrument correctly to make it easy for it to produce its original sound properly. Even a slightly imbalanced holding or handling of your instrument can change the genuine sound.
- If you can manage a proper teacher to teach you how to play your instrument, this is the best option. A good teacher not only teaches you the various steps involved with passion and technical skill but also keeps you motivated to learn to play your instrument thoroughly. Besides, he also holds you accountable for the practice sessions you are bound to go through at home.
- If out of hard-luck, you don’t have a teacher to guide you, just don’t worry. You can either download a remarkable app on your smart-phone, tablet, laptop, etc. or use other free resources online.
- You must be very vigilant regarding picking up your first ever notes, chords, or beats. Instruments like guitar and piano can play both individual notes and chords depending upon the style of music you choose to play whereas a saxophone or a trombone can only play a note at a time. It is highly advisable to select one of the simplest melodies to start playing your first notes, chords, or beats.
Having received the lessons wholeheartedly, the next step is to practice the scales efficiently, frequently, and fluently. Practicing your scales strengthens the foundation you need to be a good musician one day. The more you practice them, the more you get expert.
