Learning music

8

I'm a complete beginner in music and have no prior musical knowledge (I'm unable to read music, play instruments, ect.) however I would really like to pick up music and possibly make a career out of it.
I'm thinking of starting music theory, vocal, guitar, and/or piano lessons.
How long does it take to learn?
Is 15 too late to start music if I want to have a career in music?
How can I write songs?
Any ways that I can learn quicker?
Thank you in advance for any help 😊

Reply 1

Georgeallen

11

Original post by Bumblebee2023

I'm a complete beginner in music and have no prior musical knowledge (I'm unable to read music, play instruments, ect.) however I would really like to pick up music and possibly make a career out of it.
I'm thinking of starting music theory, vocal, guitar, and/or piano lessons.
How long does it take to learn?
Is 15 too late to start music if I want to have a career in music?
How can I write songs?
Any ways that I can learn quicker?
Thank you in advance for any help 😊

Hey,

I would love to be able to help you on your music journey. I personally don't think it is ever too late to begin music and become successful as long as you are passionate and enjoy it. I'm 17 and started at around age 12, starting having lessons at age 15. I am working on grade 8 practical now (looking at taking it at the end of this year) and have achieved grade 5 theory, and moving onto the higher grades. I think this shows that it is definitely possible with determination!

I'd love to be able to give you some pointers as to where to begin if you would be interested - let me know where I can contact you!

Reply 2

username6543429

OP

8

Original post by Georgeallen

Hey,
I would love to be able to help you on your music journey. I personally don't think it is ever too late to begin music and become successful as long as you are passionate and enjoy it. I'm 17 and started at around age 12, starting having lessons at age 15. I am working on grade 8 practical now (looking at taking it at the end of this year) and have achieved grade 5 theory, and moving onto the higher grades. I think this shows that it is definitely possible with determination!
I'd love to be able to give you some pointers as to where to begin if you would be interested - let me know where I can contact you!

Thank you for your reply 😁. Have you learnt any instruments? If so, what instruments, and how long did it take for you to be able to play them confidently? Also, is it necessary to learn music theory?

Reply 3

MrReasonable

10

Does anyone know the chords to this song

Reply 4

dramaqueen17

1

Original post by Bumblebee2023

I'm a complete beginner in music and have no prior musical knowledge (I'm unable to read music, play instruments, ect.) however I would really like to pick up music and possibly make a career out of it.
I'm thinking of starting music theory, vocal, guitar, and/or piano lessons.
How long does it take to learn?
Is 15 too late to start music if I want to have a career in music?
How can I write songs?
Any ways that I can learn quicker?
Thank you in advance for any help 😊

Hey!

It is wonderful that you want to start a journey in music! To give you some idea before I give you any advice - I graduated with classical piano from another country and played for 10 years there. The educational system is way more different outside of the UK, so when I moved to England it turned out my knowledge and practice equaled Bachelor's degree, which was fantastic to know haha! I have been teaching privately for 3 years now as a full-time job and a bit part-time before that.

What I can say is that learning anything is an ongoing process and that's the beauty of it! A lot of people think that once you do grade 8 you have achieved the highest level of playing and know everything. It is understandable to feel this way, since it is the highest grade most people do. However, there are so many components and other exciting things around playing and around music theory that the syllabus for the exams can limit, that I would say - judging yourself based on the exam grade you have received is not always the most beneficial thing to do (if it is the only thing you are focused on).

Also, definitely don't feel discouraged by age! You can learn anything at any age and that's just the truth! We don't always know what we want when we are very young, so it's absolutely normal to figure it out later on - in our 20s, 30s, even later. 🙂

Here are a few tips for advancing properly;
1) The best path for learning is to find a teacher that can tailor plans specifically to your level, needs, difficulties and enjoyment and definitely someone you feel comfortable with. Personally, I am a bit of a organisation freak, so I have separate folders, notebooks and files for every student, which can be too much work! But it is worth it, because having lessons tailored to you is always the best.

2) Try to create a routine when it comes to practicing - in the same way that we have to be consistent with exercises, we need to be consistent with practice. Consistency is the main key to progress.

3) Don't confuse fast results with good results - good results come with patience and consistency. If you want to play famous and impressive sounding pieces, you need to work on the basics - technique, scales, arpeggios, etc. that your teacher will lead you through. If you gloss over the fundamentals and you go straight to something big, this is a red flag from the teacher's side. It means they want you to enjoy the lessons, but they are not teaching you much. Also, another big big red flag is not teaching you to read sheet music!!

4) Look for in person lessons rather than online ones, because the quality of the lesson is always better in person!

I teach both ways - in person and online, to make it more accessible to people, but due to the quality not being as good, I have a discounted rate for the online lessons. So, believe me, in person lessons are always better!

I wish you lots of luck in your future music career and if you have any more questions feel free to message! 😊

Reply 5

7899

11

Original post by Bumblebee2023

I'm a complete beginner in music and have no prior musical knowledge (I'm unable to read music, play instruments, ect.) however I would really like to pick up music and possibly make a career out of it.
I'm thinking of starting music theory, vocal, guitar, and/or piano lessons.
How long does it take to learn?
Is 15 too late to start music if I want to have a career in music?
How can I write songs?
Any ways that I can learn quicker?
Thank you in advance for any help 😊

I know this is a month old, but this may still be useful.
I am not a musician nor do I have any experience

But Like other people have said it’s not about age.
Personally what I would say is if this skill takes you 15 years (again I have no clue, but this seems like a long time), you’ll be 30. But Whether you decide to learn music you’ll still be 30

Essentially go for it!

But (again I have no knowledge and expertise), a career in creative arts is large, but what I would say is don’t expect that you will be the next Taylor swift, as it takes a lot of effort and quite often it is luck if they blow up - even if your music is good, it’s got to reach the people and I believe this is difficult (BUT DEFINITELY NOT IMPOSSIBLE, so don’t let this stranger with lack of knowledge on the internet persuade you to not do this),

Essentially be prepared to do anything in music and don’t expect that you will just be up on stages at concerts, because music is not just that and if that is the only thing you want please ensure you have a backup plan - as you need to do something you enjoy, like i said before you will be still be x age, but it’s all up to you whether you want to be happy

I hope this is helpful, sorry for the waffle, and I hope none of this offends you (as I’ve not read over it and I am just trying to give you some advice to prevent you from having any regrets)

Ps if I haven’t already mentioned I have no musical knowledge so some of the stats may be wrong

Reply 6

username6828106

8

Hi, I'm a grade 6/7 guitarist and bassist. I started playing guitar at 14 and bass at 16, and I'm 18 now. I have never had a practice routine, but my formal education has been music focused, with a music GCSE and an A-level equivalent diploma in music performance and production. If you're looking at learning guitar, here are my bits of advice.

To be honest, what got me going was learning songs and knowing how to read tabs. Tabs are super easy, I promise, there's bound to be videos on it and after that you can get going with learning songs on sites like songsterr or using tab videos on YouTube.

At the same time, I would recommend looking up spider walking on guitar and alternate picking. You can practice alternate picking in the songs you're practicing, and try use that four finger movement in spider walking in learning songs too. No rush to do this if you're not at least 50% ish comfortable with both at a moderate speed.

Those should get you going quite quickly for your first things to learn, just keep in mind that what you're able to play for the time being will be limited, so it might be hard to find the motivation to get going at first. Just remember, at some point, you will be able to play the songs you want with practice, and one day you'll be able to write songs that are so much more complex.

Also, you'll need to look at theory sometime soon after your first couple of songs. Scales are great to look at if you want to start songwriting as you'll be able to understand what notes are where and what key you want to write in.

Break a leg! I'm open for DMs if you have any questions.

Reply 7

username6543429

OP

8

Thank you for all of the replies 😊

Reply 8

Haniahasan

6

Original post by Bumblebee2023

I'm a complete beginner in music and have no prior musical knowledge (I'm unable to read music, play instruments, ect.) however I would really like to pick up music and possibly make a career out of it.
I'm thinking of starting music theory, vocal, guitar, and/or piano lessons.
How long does it take to learn?
Is 15 too late to start music if I want to have a career in music?
How can I write songs?
Any ways that I can learn quicker?
Thank you in advance for any help 😊

Good you can learn through practising keep working

Reply 9

ahriana

9

Hey,
I've been playing the piano for eleven years, but three years ago, I decided to take up the guitar. For context, I'm 17 years old. I found the piano and guitar to be drastically different, so even my prior knowledge of music theory didn't help me much with learning the guitar. I had to teach myself entirely from scratch. There were times when I wanted to give up, thinking, "I'll never be as good as someone who has played all their life." But I persisted, and three years later, I can play the guitar at a grade 4 level, all self-taught!

Music, like any other skill, takes time and persistence to improve. I've played a wide range of instruments-drums, cello, flute-you name it, l've probably played it. One thing l've learned is that if you don't like one instrument or think you're not good at it, don't assume you're not skilled at music altogether. When I first started, I thought that because I wasn't good at one instrument, I wasn't good at any. That's simply not true. It's just that some instruments might not be the right fit for you, and that's okay. If you find yourself in that situation or experiencing burnout with an instrument, it's perfectly fine to take a break.

To learn quicker on the guitar, I found that watching Youtube tutorials by guitarists like Marty Music or Marin Music Center was really helpful. Additionally, online resources for finding chords, tabs, and backing tracks were invaluable. I would definitely recommend taking lessons, especially for piano. While some people can teach themselves Piano, I wasn't one of them, and lessons helped me tremendously in getting to where I am today. The key to making progress with any instrument is practice. If your tutor tells you to practice for half an hour a day, definitely do it. I know it can sometimes feel like a chore, but it really helps in the long run!

I now tutor primary and secondary school kids in piano, and l've adopted a practice from my own tutor that has proven very effective. I keep a journal for each student, noting down what they should practice between lessons. This makes it much easier for them to focus on their weak points and know exactly what to work on. If you take lessons for any instrument, I highly recommend asking your tutor to write down what you could work on at home after each lesson, if they don't already do this. Having clear, written guidance can make a big difference in your practice routine and overall progress.

If you take lessons, it will also help with learning music theory. For writing songs, programs like Noteflight are useful! They allow you to write your own music compositions, which you can access easily via your phone or computer. Noteflight definitely helped me when I was writing my own music for my Higher Music composition at school!

I hope that all made sense and wasn't too much to read! Keep up your practice, as you can definitely have a career in music if you're persistent. If you have any questions, feel free to let me know! :smile:

Learning music

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