Learning a Musical Instrument E-Book

Richard Crozier

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 304

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

This book is a useful guide for adult learners who are thinking of taking up a musical instrument for the first time or who want to pick up from where they left off as children. The author helps the reader to answer such questions as which instrument they should choose, the level of difficulty involved in learning and the likely costs. The book discusses the various benefits of taking up music for fun and general well-being. The author provides practical information about the most commonly taught instruments as well as some of the more unusual ones, and includes useful contact information to help readers to take their interest further. This book will help all aspiring musicians to make a truly informed choice.

Leseprobe

LEARNING A

MUSICAL

INSTRUMENT

A Guide for Adult Learners

Richard Crozier

ROBERT HALE

First published in 2016 by Robert Hale,

an imprint of The Crowood Press Ltd,

Ramsbury, Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

www.halebooks.com

This e-book first published in 2016

© Richard Crozier 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 0 71982 055 7

The right of Richard Crozier to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Contents

Introduction

1.Starting your Musical Journey

2.What’s Involved in Learning an Instrument

3.Your Musical Experience to Date

4.Tutors, Teachers

5.Learning and Teaching

6.Practical Matters

7.The World of Music and Music-Making

8.Practical Tips

9.Personal Stories

10.Detailed Information on Singing and Instruments

Let me count you in

Glossary

Resources

Index

Introduction

This guide is for adults of all ages who are thinking about taking up a musical instrument for the first time, or who are picking up from where they left off while at school. It addresses the questions that may be in the mind of the would-be learner, such as:

Which instrument should I choose?

How do I find a good teacher?

Will I be able to do it?

Will learning music be too hard for me?

How much will it all cost?

Learning an instrument from scratch or resuming music lessons is one of the most absorbing and exciting things anyone can do, and need hold no fear for you if you are willing to give it a go. The rewards will be numerous, without doubt.

Music exists in a huge number of different formats across almost all cultural groups, but the focus in this volume is principally on instruments used in Western classical music-making, with jazz and popular music included, and a brief look at traditional instruments and some from Indian classical music. The book includes practical information about all the commonly taught instruments, the real stories of some individuals who have taken up an instrument, a look at music education, and a glossary of terms used. Also included are a recommended reading list and compilation of web addresses for some of the many associations and organizations connected with music that are based in the UK.

CHAPTER 1

Starting your Musical Journey

STARTING FROM SCRATCH OR PICKING UP THE THREADS

Perhaps you are one of those people who have never really experienced the joy of music, but just feel that you know instinctively that it is worth finding out some more about it – or maybe you began engaging in some form of music-making when you were at school, but for all sorts of reasons it has just dropped out of your life, or you chose to drop it from your regular pattern of activities.

Music makes human beings human: it is a much older form of communication than reading and writing, and it deals directly with your emotions, rather than facts or information about them. It is a form of self-expression that can also be a form of communication. As a form of communication it has the advantage of allowing you, as a composer, to ‘say’ what you want to say, but it also allows the listener to ‘hear’ what they want to hear, and allows a performer to make the music express what they want it to express. There is no other art form that works in quite the same way as music, because music only exists while it is being performed and while you listen to it. The rest of the time it may be stored in another format, such as digitally, on vinyl, on CD or on paper, but you can only hear it when it is performed or when a recording of it is played.

It really doesn’t matter if you are not a great performer: the important thing is that you make music at your own level. The reality is that even the greatest performers and composers weren’t great when they started – even child prodigies had to begin somewhere. As you begin to learn music through playing or singing you will gain a heightened awareness of the attainment of greater performers, and an insight into what the greatest performers are capable of.

So, let’s begin with a few questions to provoke some thinking and get the ball rolling:

Do you remember your class music lessons from your school days?

Do you remember more of music in your primary or your secondary school?

Did you enjoy your music lessons?

Can you recall anything musical that you learnt from those lessons?

Did you take part in any musical groups in school time?

Did you take part in any music-making out of school?

Do you listen to music now? If you do, is it live or recorded?

Do you take part in any form of music-making now?

Do you sometimes imagine yourself playing a musical instrument. If so, which one?

What sort of music do you like: jazz, pop, classical, world, other?

In conversation adults are often heard to say that they wish they had been given the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, or that they had persevered with the instrument they did start learning when they were at school. This book will help you if those thoughts are in your mind, or if you just have an idea that you’d like to make some music. There’s no reason why anyone shouldn’t be able to make reasonable progress learning an instrument, especially with the help of a good teacher and some time dedicated to practise. After all, playing, composing and listening to music are natural and enjoyable activities, and learning to play music well on an instrument, or taking part in some sort of choral group, should also be an enjoyable activity, and will be, if the teaching style and instrument are right for you, the learner. If you started lessons at school but didn’t get very far, why not give it another go and see if you can take it a few steps further?

In the past, learning music in a school environment often meant learning information about music. It is much easier for music teachers to teach factual information about composers, pieces of music, musical notation, musical theory, instruments and so on, than to get a whole class of children involved in practical music-making. And in one sense it is easier for learners to learn this way, and then to be tested on whether they have remembered the facts they have been given. Unfortunately that sort of teaching and learning does nothing to satisfy our natural desire to make music of whatever kind we choose. Sadly, many people remember more about the less musical aspects of their musical encounters at school, and in contrast remember the joy, delight and excitement of discovering and following, say, pop music, which they did for themselves, and from which they took enjoyment as much by being listeners as participants.

This book is all about encouraging you to embrace practical music-making in whatever musical genre appeals most to you, regardless of any of your musical experiences in the past.

If your experience of classroom music was less than wholly positive, or if you began learning to play an instrument but lost interest, or had too much pressure on your time, then there is no better time than the present to put things right. Whatever style of music appeals to you, and whichever instrument you would like to play, there’s no reason to hold back from having a go. You can learn a lot about music through learning to make and control sounds on an instrument, without wanting, or being able to be, the greatest performing musician on that instrument. Once you get started, you may find that your interest moves more towards composition, or towards working with sounds electronically. Effective instrumental teachers teach music through the instrument, rather than just teaching the technique that you need in order to play the instrument itself.

Learning to play an instrument describes the journey from simply making a sound, to acquiring control over sound and tone production, fluency as a performer, and in many cases, confidently reading written musical notation. Perhaps very few people, if any, truly complete the journey, but whether you progress just a few steps along the way, or enjoy some truly long-haul travel, it should bring you enormous satisfaction. This book provides some information and suggestions to help anyone who is embarking on that journey.

DOES AGE MATTER?

When it comes to learning to play a musical instrument, age really does not matter. Starting the violin or piano at the age of five does mean that your fingers are more flexible, and yes, it does get a little harder, in that respect, the older you are – but the compensating advantage of age is being able to understand why it’s a little more difficult, and knowing how to pace yourself on your learning journey. It is most certainly never too late. When it comes to your choice of instrument, rather than focusing on its size or shape, it may be as helpful and important to focus on your gut reaction to the sound and sight of the instrument, and the music you have heard being made on it. There is research evidence to show that individuals with certain temperaments are more likely to be suited to particular instruments, so don’t be afraid of being guided by your feelings and intuition, as well as keeping an eye on some of the practicalities.

It may be that you are simply picking up the threads from what you learned whilst you were at school, or this may be a completely new adventure for you. In either case, there’s nothing to stop you, and no reason to hold back. As with anything new in life, the old saying that ‘every journey starts with the first step’, holds true. Once you have taken that first step, there is no reason at all why you shouldn’t travel a long way in your exploration of one of the most intriguing and fascinating art forms there is, and the speed of your journey is not the most important thing.

There may be a number of practical matters that need careful consideration, but let’s begin by looking at what music is, how the sounds of music are made, and what the positive benefits of learning music are.

WHAT IS MUSIC?

Music is harder to define than it first appears. We cannot see it, touch it, smell it or taste it. We can liken it to natural sounds or the sound of an animal or human voice, but we perceive it differently from the way we perceive colour, for example. When it is played or performed, each individual component sound of a piece of music only lasts as long as the composer and the performer require it to, after which it is replaced by another sound. We may describe a musical work as lasting three minutes, or thirty minutes, or three hours, but unless there are one or more sustained sounds throughout, the individual sounds are momentary. Furthermore on many instruments the sounds naturally diminish from the first sounding of the note. In its notated form (called the score), music in one sense does appear to become more tangible, and someone with acute aural perception may be able to hear a complete symphony in their head, simply by looking at its notation.

For most people music has a temporary existence, akin to spoken language, and in one sense it does not exist other than as a passing experience. It is this quality that makes music what it is, and whilst we have developed all kinds of sophisticated recording mechanisms allowing us access to almost any piece of music of our choosing, and the ability to listen to it as many times as we choose in almost any circumstances, there is no real substitute for the live performance of music. It is only through live performance that we really experience the power of music, the power that drew us towards it in the first place.

As an art form, music is found in almost every human culture, and exists in many different forms. It carries a huge array of functions, including dance, ceremonial, ritual, accompaniment, as a mirror to human emotions, such as at a wedding or a funeral, and having meaning in its own right. It is performed by professional musicians, who are paid to perform, semi-professionals and amateurs alike. It is found throughout history as being important to almost all societies, and remains so today.

Music is sometimes referred to as an international language. It is of course a non-verbal language, and conveys emotion and meaning to the listener through its structure, harmony, instrumentation and performance. It is because it is non-verbal that mastery in one sense presents a greater challenge to the learner: in verbal language you can easily test your achievement and attainment in practical or theoretical terms. In music-making you may perform well in terms of getting the sounds right, and may even pass all your graded exams, but you may still fail to ignite the spark that is communication, and which is the very essence of music-making.

SOURCES OF MUSICAL SOUNDS

Sound is created by the vibration of air or materials, and musical instruments can be categorized according to the way sound is produced on them. In the Western classical tradition, instruments are grouped in families such as those found in the symphony orchestra: strings, woodwind, brass, percussion and keyboard.

A more widely applicable categorization was developed in the early twentieth century in which the group names are aerophones, chordophones, idiophones, membranophones and electrophones. Percussion instruments, or those that you hit or strike to produce a sound, are found in two groups: idiophones and membranophones. However, early percussion instruments are known to have been lithophones or, in other words, rocks or pieces of rock that were struck to produce a particular sound. Brasswind and woodwind instruments are categorized as aerophones, stringed instruments as chordophones. Electronic instruments are referred to as electrophones. For most people, understanding the categories is not of particular importance because they are most likely to be interested primarily in one, or a few, specific instruments. There is a full list at the end of this chapter.

The characteristic sounds produced by a vibrating column of air, or material, are determined by the frequencies it produces. The tuning fork that a piano tuner or sometimes a choirmaster uses, vibrates predominantly at a single frequency producing a clear, quiet sound, whereas a clarinet produces more complex vibrations and a set of frequencies which give it its characteristic sound. This character is referred to as the timbre of the instrument, and the difference in vibrating frequencies accounts for the difference between, say, a flute and a clarinet, or a bassoon and a trombone. It is probable that certain timbres will appeal to you more than others, so if you are not sure about which instrument you would like to play, try and listen to as many as you can and allow your heart to rule your head – unless you find yourself settling on an instrument that is just going to be impractical for you.

MUSIC’S COMPONENTS

Music consists of pitch, volume, rhythm, harmony, texture and timbre, and when a sound is made, we speak of its attack, how well it sustains itself, and its decay.

Let’s take a moment and explore these terms in the context of learning to play a musical instrument or developing vocal skills. Pitch is fairly self-explanatory, and by creating sounds of differing pitch we are able to construct and recall a melody. The volume at which we play any of our sounds is likewise easy to understand, and in Western classical musical notation we use Italian terms such as forte (loud) and piano (soft or quiet) to describe and refer to these musical volumes or dynamics, and these terms are quickly acquired and mastered. Rhythm refers to the sequence of one sound after another when set against a pulse of some sort, and plays a significant part in the way that we are able to memorize music. Harmony occurs when two or more sounds are played or sung together. Timbre is simply the characteristic sound of one instrument or voice compared with another: for example the timbre of the saxophone is different to that of the clarinet and the violin.

When we make sounds musically we learn to control or influence all of these component factors. Similarly we learn to begin sounds in different ways to reflect the composer’s wishes, to sustain the sounds in particular ways, and to let the sounds die away or decay in different ways. All this is done to turn the composer’s notation into music and to develop our own interpretation of the composition before us, so that we are able to communicate our own version of the composer’s wishes. Some instruments, for example woodwind and brasswind, allow us to maintain loud sound for the duration of a long-held note, as long as our breath control permits. On bowed strings we can similarly maintain a loud sound, but on the piano the sound begins to die away from the moment the key is struck. Learning to play music musically involves developing the necessary skills to control or influence all these factors.

Playing Off Key, Tuning and Intonation

It is not unusual to hear someone describe a musical performance as being ‘off key’, meaning that it wasn’t enjoyable to listen to and sounded wrong in some way. Most Western music is written in a particular key, chosen by the composer. It could be a major or a minor key, and a key signature will be written at the beginning of each line of music. For all keys, other than C major and A minor, this means there will be a number of sharp or flat signs, although never mixed, placed at the beginning of each musical stave, and the performer must remember to implement these sharps or flats as he or she plays the piece. In one sense, playing ‘off key’ could simply mean forgetting to sharpen or flatten a particular note, and this would certainly make the piece sound incorrect.

However, the term is sometimes – perhaps mistakenly – used to describe playing that is out of tune. Western musical instruments manufactured in recent times are all designed and constructed to be played at the pitch where the note A (A above Middle C on the piano, or the pitch that is found in the second space up in the treble clef) is tuned to 440hz: this is sometimes referred to as ‘concert pitch’. The fixing of A=440hz was only agreed formally in the middle of the last century, so is a relatively recent innovation. The term ‘concert pitch’ is also used in the context of transposing instruments, such as the clarinet, trumpet or saxophone, where an instrument, such as the clarinet pitched in B flat, actually produces sounds one whole tone lower than the player is reading. The sound produced is referred to by conductors and players as being at concert pitch, in order to be clear exactly what is being discussed during a rehearsal.

Although an instrument may be constructed to sound A=440hz, it is still down to the player to play that instrument in tune. For example, a piano that is left untuned will slip out of tune as some of the strings slacken with the effects of temperature fluctuations and so on, and some notes will sound flat. In this case it is the piano tuner’s job to tune the piano as perfectly as possible, and the owner’s job to keep the piano regularly tuned. In the case of a woodwind instrument, the player could make small adjustments in pitch by altering the overall length of the tube, for example, pushing the mouthpiece or reed further in, or pulling it out a small amount. Even having done this, the player can raise or lower the pitch of a note when playing simply by the way he or she makes the sounds. These small differences in pitch, smaller than a semitone, are referred to as poor intonation.

A comment about someone’s poor intonation may override the fact that they have played the piece at an appropriate speed, taken note of the key signature, and played expressively with suitable dynamics and a good dynamic range – but if, nevertheless, they have played some notes flatter or sharper than they should be, they would still be playing with poor intonation. We may describe a player as having poor intonation because the pitch of the notes is inconsistent. It is sometimes these inconsistencies in pitching that result in the description ‘off key’, even though the player believes that they are playing all the correct notes and sharpening or flattening notes according to the key signature’s instructions.

The need for an agreed fixed pitch is centred on the desire to play music together on different instruments. In Elizabethan times instruments tended to be played more in family groups of instruments, so a group of different sized recorders might be played together and would very probably have all been made by the same maker and tuned to a specific pitch. A neighbour’s recorders may have come from a different maker and be tuned to a slightly higher or lower pitch, so it would not have been possible to play all the instruments together with a harmonious effect.

Before the nineteenth century there were few attempts to standardize musical pitch, and levels across Europe varied widely, not just from place to place or over time, but often within the same locality and by as much as four or five semitones. Pitch was set by tuning forks, from which an instrument tuner may still take their starting note today, but these could also be manufactured to sound different pitches for supposedly the same note.

For many years, pitch was increased by players seeking to get a brighter sound from their instruments, and instrument makers simply responded to this demand. While this may be acceptable for instrumentalists, it was bad for singers who experienced difficulty reaching their higher notes, and for some stringed instruments where the necessary tightening of the strings caused too much additional tension within the instrument.

Playing in tune and with good intonation takes time and practice. For the pianist it is simply a matter of making sure that the instrument you are using is tuned regularly, and that’s an end of it. For all other musicians it’s a question of developing both the practical skills to ensure that you are reading and playing the correct note, and alongside those, developing the necessary aural skills to ensure that you are creating and sustaining that note in tune. When playing with others it is often necessary to compensate, so that if your fellow performers play sharper or flatter you can tune your playing to them, rather than to a fixed external pitch.

When two instruments are being played together, other than agreeing to tune to A=440hz, one instrument being played sharp simply makes the other one sound flat. Temperature and acoustics both contribute to pitch differences, so this adds a further layer of complexity. A good teacher will help you, as a beginner, to acquire the skill to listen to your own sound and that of others, and to adjust your intonation accordingly, having tuned your instrument to a fixed external pitch to begin with.

MUSIC-MAKING IS ‘GOOD FOR YOU’

If you are already thinking about taking up an instrument or joining a choir, you probably don’t need too much more encouragement, but it may help you to know that there is a wealth of evidence to support the view that music itself, and in particular taking part in music-making, is a good thing for pleasure, health and well-being.

Music has been part of human culture for many years. It was probably part of the cultural change which took place in Europe between 60,000 and 30,000 years ago. Simple bone flutes dating from some 43,000 years ago lead us to assume that the techniques of making instruments and playing music were passed down via an oral tradition for generations, and if we take a brief look back at more recent history it tells us that there are numerous references to the value of music. Here are just a few: the Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479BC) said in The Book of Rites, ‘Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.’ In ancient Greece, music played an important part in society. Around 500BC, Pythagoras studied the musical scale and the ratios between the lengths of vibrating strings needed to produce them. He articulated a theory of harmony and proportion which connected music, sound, colour and light. Another Greek philosopher, Plato, born around 425BC, referred frequently to music in his writings.

It is believed that the development of Western musical notation occurred in the Church across various parts of Europe. Many of the earliest forms of musical notation were for choral music, with the notes being typically indicated above the word or syllable of the text being sung. The church music of this period is known as ‘Plainchant’ or ‘Gregorian chant’, and is named after Pope Gregory, who was pope from approximately 590 until his death in 604AD. Precise note pitches were not specified in the notation used at this time: it was simply a matter of whether a note should be higher or lower than the previous one. In England, the earliest schools that we know anything about date from around 600AD, and included music as part of the curriculum.

A stave of four lines, similar in appearance to the five-line stave we use today, is usually attributed to the Italian, Guido d’Arezzo (c991–1033), and from the thirteenth century a way of indicating rhythm was also developed. Slowly, with the four-line stave being increased to five lines, what we recognize as modern musical notation developed. The introduction of clefs to indicate the range of sounds shown on a stave became accepted, and as keyboard instruments were pioneered, so was the idea of using two separate clefs, one for each hand, for music composed specially for keyboard.

Music played a prominent part in Elizabethan England, when it became more refined and sophisticated. New musical forms, including the madrigal and ayre, and instruments, including the viol, were introduced. Music in this period became more expressive overall, and the court of Elizabeth I and the homes of the nobility featured music and entertainment from musicians. New instruments included the viol, the hautboy, a precursor to the oboe, and a number of keyboard instruments including the spinet, the harpsichord and the virginal. Elizabethan composers did not insist which instruments should be used to play the music they composed, but left that decision to those who played their compositions.

Perhaps the best known composer of the Elizabethan era is William Byrd (c.1540–1623), who served as an organist and chorister of the Chapel Royal. Arguably the most prolific and most versatile English composer of the era, Byrd wrote hundreds of pieces over six decades, including masses, motets (songs for multiple voices without instruments), liturgical music, secular songs for solo voice and small vocal ensembles, pieces for keyboard and for strings, and instrumental fantasias. Of particular interest to us is the preface to his Psalmes, Sonnets & Songs, published in 1588, in which he gave eight reasons for his belief in the value of singing:

It is a knowledge easely taught and quickly learned, where there is a good Master and an apt Scoller.

The exercise of singing is delightfull to Nature and good to preserve the health of Man.

It doth strengthen all parts of the brest, and doth open the pipes.

It is a singular good remedie for stammering in the speech.

It is the best meanes to procure a perfect pronunciation, and to make a good Orator.

It is the onely way to know where Nature hath bestowed the benefit of a good voyce; which guift is so rare as there is not one among a thousand that hath it; and in many that excellent guift is lost because they want Art to express Nature.

There is not any Musicke of Instruments whatsoever comparable to that which is made of the voyces of men, where the voyces are good and the same well sorted and ordered.

The better the voyce is, the meter it is to honour and serve God therewith; and the voyce of man is chiefely to be employed to that ende.

Since singing is so good a thing,

I wish all men would learne to sing.

Byrd addresses us in the language of his time, but there is little doubt about his complete dedication to the value of singing. We’ll come back to the idea of starting your journey with your singing voice later in this book.

In Germany, Bach (1685–1750) described music as ‘harmonious euphony for the glory of God and the instruction of my neighbour’.

Writing in 1888, the German philosopher Nietzsche says, ‘Without music, life would be a mistake’; and moving forwards to modern times, the term ‘musicking’ was coined by Christopher Small, a New Zealand-born musician, composer and educator, in his book of the same name published in 1998. He used the term to explain his belief that music was a verb, an activity, rather than a noun, and emphasized the importance of the activity over the notation.

Music educator Professor Keith Swanwick, in his book Teaching Music Musically (see Recommended Reading), draws our attention to the work of an earlier writer, Merriam, who identified music as being ‘good for’ the following: emotional expression; aesthetic enjoyment; entertainment; communication; symbolic representation; physical response; enforcing conformity to social norms; validation of social institutions and religious rituals; and as a contribution to the continuity and stability of culture and the preservation of social integration. Thus with no more than a moment’s reflection it is clear that music plays many roles for us in our everyday lives.

Many people, especially in Western culture, think of, and refer to musical notation as music, and a focus on notation and studying written music is given pre-eminence in programmes of study at many levels – whereas Small argues that the real importance lies in the activity and the sounds that it generates. For our purposes, it serves as a reminder that there is strong evidence to support the view that any engagement with music, be it as an active listener, composer or performer, is beneficial to the health and well-being of the individual. This idea dates back for many generations, but Small was among the first to articulate it so clearly in modern times.

Current research has shown that music can help with many things: it can help pain management; it can improve the value of a workout at the gym; help develop areas of the brain involved in language and reasoning; and enhance teamwork skills and discipline – and there are many more good reasons for engaging in musical activity. It is perhaps rather sad to note that, all too often, when music and its place on the school curriculum are being discussed, reference is made to ‘the Mozart effect’. This term was coined by the French otolaryngologist, Alfred Tomatis (1920–2001), who used it to describe a slightly different beneficial effect from the one later popularized by Don Campbell in his book The Mozart Effect. Campbell claimed benefits relating to the transformational power of music on health and well-being, and in educational outcomes when young children listen to music. Even if the claims are true, and subsequent research has cast some doubt on this, foremost is the joy of ‘musicking’ in itself, which can bring pleasure to you as the music-maker, and with a rising level of accomplishment and achievement, quickly bring pleasure to your listeners as well. There is abundant evidence to suggest that spending some time learning to make music is indeed time well spent.

In the table opposite, instruments are grouped by the way they create sounds.

Woodwind

Brasswind

Strings

Percussion

Percussion

Electronic instruments

aerophones

chordo-phones

idiophones

membrano-phones

electrophones

Recorder

Cornet

Violin

Xylophone

Timpani

Guitar

Ocarina

Trumpet

Viola

Cymbals

Snaredrum

Bassguitar

Piccolo

Flugelhorn

Cello

Hi-Hats

Bassdrum

Keyboard

Flute

French horn

Double bass

Bells

Tom-tom

Synthesizer

Fife

Trombone

Harp

Wood block

Tabla

Electronic organ

Oboe

Tenor horn

Guitar

Singing bowl

Djembe

Cor anglais

Baritone horn

Balalaika

Steel tongue drum

Oboe d’amore

Euphonium

Banjo

Triangle

Clarinet

Tuba

Guitar

Marimba

Bassoon

Sousaphone

Lute

Saxophone

Mandolin

Sitar

Accordion

Ukelele

Concertina

Harmonium

Piano

Mouthorgan

Harpsichord

Pipes

CHAPTER 2

What’s Involved in Learning an Instrument

Perhaps somewhere, in a corner of your mind, is the notion that you would like to do something involving music-making. The idea may be quite advanced and you already know which instrument you would like to play. Perhaps you have already pictured yourself making music on this instrument, or maybe the idea is still at that rather vague stage where you need something to steer you a bit more firmly in one direction. If that is the case, then this chapter should help you to make up your mind by approaching the issue from a very pragmatic standpoint.

PERSONAL CONSIDERATIONS

Personal considerations include eyesight, noise, location, musical skills and singing.

Let’s once again start with a few simple questions:

Do you know which instrument you would like to learn?

Do you have a particular musical style or genre in mind?

Does your current accommodation allow you to store and play that instrument?

Might neighbours be an issue in terms of your playing disturbing them?

Do you wear glasses?

Are there pets that may be disturbed by musical sounds, in your home or nearby?

Have you ever done any singing?

Do you have any physical limitations that might influence your choice of instrument?

Yes, it’s a sort of checklist, but it really isn’t intended to stop you in your tracks or stifle your enthusiasm for making some music. However, before rushing to your computer to order an instrument over the internet, or dashing to your local music shop, if you’re lucky enough still to have one, it may just help to spend a few moments to think about your personal situation and a few practical matters. Where will you keep your instrument? Not too difficult for a flautist, but tricky for a pianist if your home isn’t particularly large. Will you be able to practise without disturbing other family members and neighbours? Do you wear glasses, and ones with different focal lengths? Check that you can focus easily on some sheet music on a music stand, and talk to your optician if the dots aren’t clear enough for you to see and read comfortably. Do you anticipate any difficulties picking up or holding the instrument you have in mind? Is your breathing all right?

All that said, it’s unlikely there will be anything insurmountable that will prevent you from some engagement with practical musical activity, and a little thought in advance should help to smooth the way forwards. In the next few pages we’ll take a look at some of the background factors to learning an instrument.

HOW NOISY WILL LEARNING AN INSTRUMENT BE?