Top 10 Things to Know When You Start Learning a Musical Instrument

When people find out I’m a musician (I’m mostly a fiddler) and ask me what instrument I play, I’m slightly embarrassed to start into the list. My mom was super shocked one afternoon when she came to a performance my school students were giving and watched me play trombone in a little jazz ensemble with my 6th graders.

“You play trombone? I didn’t know you played the trombone! When did you learn to play that?”

Yes, Mom, I’ve learned just enough on a lot of different instruments over the years.

As a music teacher since 2001, I have helped hundreds (perhaps thousands…I don’t really want to count that closely) of people learn the basic skills of a variety of instruments. I’ve taught children as young as 3 and adults who decided to learn an instrument in retirement. While starting an instrument at different ages has different challenges, it also has immense rewards.

When adults find out I’m a music teacher, one of the most common comments I get is “Oh, I played <flute, violin, piano, sitar, or other instrument> in elementary school! I wish I’d kept playing,” or “I always wish I’d learned to play __________.” It makes me sad that something so concrete and feasible is something people don’t take the opportunity to pursue.

Learning an instrument does take time and effort, and if you hope to play on the stages of New York, L.A., and London, 8+ hours of practice a day will likely be required. However, if you’d like to play an instrument for the pure joy of playing music, it can be done with MUCH less effort (and time!).

Top ten suggestions for starting a musical instrument as an adult:

1. Just do it! Find an instrument you’ve always wanted to play and get playing. Check out pawn shops, online, music stores. If you can, have an expert on the instrument give you some feedback before you buy to help you avoid complete duds of a purchase (there are some fairly atrocious instrument-shaped-objects I’ve come across while teaching). Many stores also offer various levels of rental or rent-to-own instruments if you’re not quite sure yet.

2. Set aside a small time every day to play. Incorporate this into your normal routine. 5 or 10 minutes every day is worth more than an hour once a week. Attaching playing time to a daily activity can help you remember to get your instrument out: Every morning after you brush your teeth, play through one new tune or skill. Or every evening when you get home, feed the dog and then get that instrument out. Find a small task you do and practice just before or after.

3. Learn the basics well. If you can play one scale on a melodic instrument or 3 chords on a chord-based instrument like guitar, it actually opens up a huge repertoire of pieces.

4. Seek a teacher. This could be in person, but as our world gets smaller, the opportunities to learn through YouTube videos, website, or books is ever increasing. More and more teachers also do lessons via a video messaging program, so even if you’re in a rural community, playing an unusual instrument, or want to learn an obscure style of music, it’s still possible to work with a teacher.

5. Play music you enjoy. While this will take time to start as you build the basic skills on your instrument, if you play things you love, you’ll love playing.

6. Build your resources. When I first started dabbling in guitar I had purchased one book that was recommended to me. I hated it. I didn’t find it clear, it seemed to skip essential concepts, sometimes it moved super-fast, and sometimes it took multiple pages to cover a simple topic. As a result, I did not enjoy playing guitar. When I started looking and picking up a variety of guitar methods, I found some were great for working on some concepts, some were great for others. As a result of having multiple materials, I could build my skills at a pace that worked for me.

7. Connect with other musicians that play your instrument or the style of music you’re learning. Connect with other adult learners. Part of the appeal of music making is the community that envelopes it. Often I speak of the life-long friends that I’ve made because of my connections through playing music.

8. Get to a camp, festival, or retreat. There are hundreds of camps open to all ages of learners. Summertime is a particularly flush season for the camp/festival season. Many of these are also family friendly, in beautiful areas. Summer vacation plans, anyone?

9. Have patience with yourself. One of the difficulties of starting as an adult is you know what the instrument is “supposed” to sound like and that you don’t sound like that yet. This can be the most difficult phase to trudge through until you start making gains. This is also where the community of musicians can be essential in supporting you. Reach out in person or online, to people who’ve been there (or ARE there) with you.

10. Just do it. Because you will regret the things you don’t to in life. Because learning something new will inspire you to continue to grow in all areas of your life. Because showing dedication to a new endeavor impacts your kids, family, friends, and colleagues for the better. Because this world needs more of what makes people feel alive. Because this world needs more of what brings people together in peace.

And if you ever want to connect, drop me a comment. I'd love to hear of your music journey.