HOW TO APPROACH LEARNING AN INSTRUMENT AS AN ADULT - HOW TO FACE THE CHALLENGES
Hi there, I have myself experienced learning as a child and as an adult. The following is my observations from my own experience as a learner and as a teacher. First, congratulations, because just the fact to have the courage to learn seriously something new or get back to it, is already a victory.
YOU KNOW MORE THAN YOU THINK
Starting learning an instrument or anything as an adult can be quite challenging, mainly because as an adult, in our society, we are supposed to ‘know’ already. We do know a lot and here are a couple of things you might not realize you know, that you can use in your instrumental practice.
- how to establish a work plan
- find the right people, teachers, to guide you
- your strengths and weaknesses
- your real motivations that will make you persist
- how to parent yourself (hopefully)
- patience
- how to go back up after a failure, the mindset you need not to be discouraged
- musical knowledge, culture
- how to control your body, muscles, hands, how to stretch, when to stop, when to continue.
You know all those things, whether or not you decide to use them is totally up to you. But you know all those things already, right?
WHAT IS SLOWING YOUR PROGRESS?
Why is there this belief that kids are learning faster than adults, then?
The main advantage of kids, when learning, is that
THEY DON’T THINK - don't anticipate or apprehend the future
& THEY ARE SELF-CENTERED
This is how you want to be when you practice!
We learn sacrifice as we grow up. Which is not gonna help us with any practice.
WE ARE THINKING TOO MUCH and have millions of other things to focus on, but ourselves and we make excuses.
WE HAVE PRE-CONCEIVE IDEAS ON WHO WE ARE, WHAT ARE OUR ABILITIES (as we've been told this and that), AND WHAT OUR PROBLEMS ARE and imprison ourselves in them.
DON’T THINK, FEEL! Just be open to possibilities and discover who you are as an artist.
DISCIPLINE YOUR MIND, AND RETURN TO SENSATIONS BE AWARE OF YOUR THOUGHTS WHEN YOU PRACTICE - Are you thinking negatively?: ‘Oh it’s hard this thing’ ‘It’s gonna take me hours’ ‘I have to work hard because this is the way’..... This is slowing you down as well!
The best way to see it, I found, is having 2 sides: THE ADULT: the one that plans, prepares, organizes, and makes a decision. THE CHILD: the open-minded, creative, spontaneous, ready to absorb knowledge without a pre-conceived idea of her abilities
YOU CAN DO IT ONLY BECAUSE YOU'RE AN ADULT: TAKE BOTH SIDES AND USE THEM. KIDS CAN'T DO THIS.
GIVE YOURSELF TIME
You know you are not gonna be a pro in one month, right? Not even one year, not even three. It takes a long time to achieve being able to perform 1 hour of concert. 15/20 songs... Don’t believe people telling you you can learn an instrument in 3 months they are lying to sell you something! This is just gonna end up with you being frustrated and thinking you suck because you didn’t make it in 3 months! A kid who starts at 5 years old, and works seriously, usually starts to play in public at 14/15 years old. That’s 10 years of practice! Not 3 months. In 3 months you certainly can achieve more than a kid in 3 months.
So don't stress yourself and expect too much.
TAKE CARE OF THE BASICS THOSE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT
The beginner level is the most important as it prepares you for all the rest. So, be patient. Take time at the beginning.
Note: At the beginning, you will not be able to practice even one hour anyway, for your hands and brain will be too tired. Increase the practice as you feel it's right.
HOWEVER, GO STRAIGHT TO THE POINT: LEARN SONGS RIGHT AWAY
Don’t waste too much time on studies, or perfecting technical exercises, unless you have 6 hours per day.
Why?
Because, this is all you will play. Hence if someone asks you 'Can you play a bit for me' this is all you will know how to play.
Use studies to help you develop your technique to play a song but not as if you were to perform them in public.
Focus on the things you gonna play live. On stage or for fun.
It's not because you play for fun that you need to play badly. It's like taking Maths lessons for fun and pretending that 2+3 = 4 because you don't care it's just for fun... a lot of people have exactly this attitude with music.
GO TO THE ROOT - LEARN JAZZ/BLUES STANDARDS
Always go to the roots. Even if you play modern pop, check what has been done before... There’s a lot of chance you will see pop differently then... but anyway... Whatever style you want to play, it is always a great value to learn songs written by master composers Gershwin, Arlen, Porter, Berlin etc.... they are so rich musically and have all the ingredients for you to learn: great melodies, and amazing rhythms. And also, the blues is the BASE of popular music.
If you go straight for pop repertoire, your set might be ready sooner, but that shows your commitment to music is not very deep and your knowledge will be superficial.
They are also famous plastic surgeons why not try that! Classics are not called classics by chance! They are not all super difficult, chord-wise and you can find transcriptions. This is a wonderful base because it teaches you everything: rhythm, harmony, and phrasing, you can find amazing references of artists from the 20s, 30s, 40s, that I recommend you study if your commitment to music is real. If you can play those songs, you will be able to play everything and start with an evergreen repertoire that will never stop being performed, and that’s another chance to connect with other players as well.
FOLLOW THE FLOW, FOLLOW YOUR INSPIRATION
If you’re attracted by a player, research and see how they started, and what they were playing, and start from there. And be open to moving to something else. The important is to find and keep the motivation going, and to nourish this excitation to learn.
