Learning a New Instrument

Learning a new instrument is a very rewarding thing to do. It will give you a hobby and a skill that once learned will stay with you even if you stop practicing. Choosing which instrument to learn will be crucial. If there is not a strong urge to play a certain instrument it will be an uphill slog. Here is the good news though. Once you have mastered a small piece of music it becomes addictive and you will want to learn more.

If you opt for guitar then you will have the option of electric or acoustic. Although if you can play one you can play the other. There are however different techniques for either which need to be focused on once you are at a certain level such as finger picking for acoustic or right hand muting for electric. Its a radically different sound from an acoustic or an electric but I would recommend learning on a classical acoustic guitar at the beginning. The classical acoustic guitars strings are made from nylon and not steel or copper like on electric and acoustic guitars respectively. This makes the classical guitar a lot easier on the fingers as anyone who has tried learning an acoustic guitar will tell you, it hurts until the fingers harden up.

Once your fingers have strengthened up a bit you can move to the steel strung acoustic. The beauty of this is that once your fingers get strong enough to play the acoustic you will find the electric to be a breeze in comparison. I think the important thing to remember when learning the guitar is that all you have to do is remember how to play three or four chords in succession and hey presto, you'll be playing music.

Once you've got to that point you'll realize that there's more to it but by then you will be on your way and looking to make more progress. There are many guitar books and magazines that help by including practical music tablature. Tablature or tab is an easier way to read music for the guitar as it displays the positions for the fingers to be placed in sequence. Whether you get a guitar teacher or not you will tab will help you figure out how to play a lot of new music.

The good thing about guitar is that it can be quiet or loud. With drums you don't have that option. If you live in a city there's a good chance that you will be able to find a rehearsal room which supply's a drum kit. In Glasgow there are around ten of them, all with drum kits provided. Learning the drums is something that either comes easily or not. The first thing you will need to master is a four four beat which is hitting the hi hat four times and hitting the bass drum on the first beat and the snare drum on the third. Once mastered its your ticket to a lot of fun. It is a very expensive instrument with cymbals costs often running into hundreds of pounds but its worth it.

Another very rewarding instrument to learn is the piano. Its bound to impress your friends whether you achieve concert level ability or not. Buying a real piano is often not an option for a lot of people. It'll cost a lot of money and take up a lot of space but the plus side is that it will make any room look better. A digital piano or keyboard is a good option for a lot of people. If you are going to seriously study the piano it will be worth investing in a good digital piano that mimics the way a real piano will work regarding the foot pedals. An authentic acoustic piano is a very detailed piece of equipment with finely tuned strings, hammers and keys so replicating this is not easy.

As for learning there are a myriad of books available or you can find yourself a teacher. I'm of the do it yourself mindset but I'm sure lessons would stop you from picking up any bad habits. However if you are looking to be creative with your new skills remrmber that too much teaching can inhibit the ability to compose.

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