Posts Tagged play music
Do You Need College To Learn To Play Music?
Music courses are a great way to learn about virtually any area of music; history, theory, and musical instrument
instruction — you name it and somewhere music courses specialize in it. Though generally found through colleges, universities or high school programs, courses are also offered via one-on-one instruction with a private teacher or community-based workshops. Some churches even offer courses as a complement to their choirs; the courses may be offered to the general public, but they’re often geared toward the choir members and congregation.
In the last few years, however, a new dimension to learning music has appeared in the form of the internet the world wide web. Now instead of being limited to classroom courses, students are free to create their own schedules and learn at their own pace. A quick search on Google or Yahoo will turn up online courses in:
- Chord Piano
- Classical Piano
- For Beginners
- Improvising on the Piano & Guitar
- Rock Guitar
- Praise & Worship Guitar
- Killer Drum Instuctions
- Black Gospel Piano
- Jazz Piano
- and many many more
Music courses offered by colleges are generally far more in-depth than other courses and are usually only available to degree-seeking students (though some colleges offer courses as part of their continuing education programs). Lower level college courses often focus on an amalgamation of music theory and history, teaching individual theory concepts based on the historical period to which they are particular. As the courses grow in skill level so too does the number of specialized topics. Advanced courses are available for nearly every historical music period and are sometimes based on one particular movement. Advanced courses for theory grow increasingly more difficult and slowly teach every detail found in modern theory; it’s during the theory courses that students intending to major in music have their skills challenged the most — some even refer to these music courses as a weeding out period.
Instrument-based courses are equally as tough at the college level, though they usually assume a working knowledge of the instrument before the class begins. Those wishing to learn an instrument, therefore, are better off with private courses or courses offered by a community orchestra or social group. These courses will focus on the basic details of learning an instrument, starting from the very beginning. Fingering, theory and music reading will be covered, in addition to the occasional bit of history. Students of these courses may then wish to move on to college-level courses after completing a few years of private instruction.
But for those more interested in recreational music in other words, music that is played for personal enjoyment or to entertain family and friends, college music classes are not at all necessary. The internet abounds with wonderful courses that will help you do everything from play at your church to accompany your child on their flute or trombone, or even play in a jazz or rock or fusion or country group.
Tags: education, guitar, high school, jazz piano, learn to play music, learning, learning music, music, music classes, music course, music courses, music theory, musical instrument, piano, play music, school, teacher, teachingRelated posts
Learning Music As an Adult
While we have all heard stories of child prodigies and the importance of learning music as a child, an adult can still learn to play an instrument quite well. Even with no prior experience, the right training can help an adult learn to play music just as well as a child. The main thing is to find the right way to learn, whether it’s through a tutor or self-study.
Adult learners come with their own baggage, often from childhood lessons. Adult piano students may have had bad experiences with music lessons as a child. These can range from scary instructors to endless exercises or abusive teacher-student relationships. Sometimes a teacher may have punished the student for not being skilled enough, while other times a teacher may have pushed a promising student too hard. This is one of the hurdles that come with learning music as an adult.
Accepting the teacher as an authority figure is another difficulty that comes with learning music as an adult. An adult has learned to be independent. An adult wants to take part in the development of curriculum and wants to be able to self-evaluate. It may be difficult for an adult to simply listen and take instruction from a music instructor. So the best avenue for learning music as an adult may be to self-tutor or to find an instructor who teaches by long distance via the internet. There are many wonderful piano courses available nowadays on the web: just type in something like “play piano” on any search engine, and you’ll find several.
Though the process of learning music as an adult is different from a child’s, it’s not necessarily harder. For a child, making music is magical, while an adult sees the work involved to get to the music making stage. It’s mainly a mental hurdle that must be overcome. Also, learning music as a child is part of the natural development process, while learning music as an adult is usually part of a larger goal. For example, an adult learns how to play an instrument to join the church worship team.
Learning music as an adult can also be difficult because of ingrained personality traits. Even the most outwardly confident adults get insecure when someone points out their flaws. So it goes with learning music. If a tutor is used, an adult can get embarrassed when the tutor corrects a mistaken note or technique. Some adults may have difficulty breathing and concentrating when they’re highly nervous. All of these can lead to a difficult learning environment.
Adults also demand comfort. This is why adults often learn an instrument in their own home. Children are less demanding about the hardness of a piano bench, for example. Adults may have back problems or other conditions that require a high comfort level.
So the basic ingredients for learning music as an adult are adaptable tutoring, reason for learning, confidence and comfort. By taking these key points and seeking the best method of learning for yourself, you can become an adult musical genius — well, maybe not a genius — maybe just a person who has more fun. Or maybe you’ll be the guy or gal at parties who knows how to play the latest song everyone is talking about. With the right teaching, grown ups can enjoy playing music wherever they go.
Tags: learn to play music, learning, learning music, lessons, making music, music, music lesson, music lessons, piano, piano course, piano courses, play music, play piano, teacher, teachingRelated posts
What Is Music Theory FAQs?
1) What is music theory?
Music theory is the language of musical construction. Those who understand the language of music, those who can read and write music are called musicians. Just as people who share a common language communicate everyday, musicians communicate through a common musical language.
The language musicians communicate in is not by speaking but rather by the use of sheet music. Sheet music contains information that allows musicians to play the same piece of music on their instruments regardless of which language they speak. People all around the world communicate through the language of music and that is why music is called the universal language.
2) Do I need to know music theory in order to play a musical instrument?
This is a tricky question and the answer is yes and no. Allow me to explain. If some noise or sound has rhythm, a melody, and harmony, it can be called music. Without these components it is simply noise or organized noise.
A musician, someone who understands music theory and is able to communicate in the language of music, will compose a piece of music and know what they are doing and why they are doing it. A musician will know the name of the notes, chords, and scales they are using and more important, they will know why the musical composition works or sounds good.
A musician does not need to hear the musical composition to know wether or not certain notes and chords sound good when played together, because the theory has already determined what note and chord families will sound good together and why it is so.
On the other hand many people who play music, do play by ear. Many of those who play by ear do not know the name of the notes, chords, and scales they are playing, yet they are able to create a musical composition that is pleasing to the ear of the listener.
Players who learn and create music by ear have developed a good sense of pitch and as they continue to train their ear, their ability to identify notes, chords, and qualities of chords, will improve.
Typically, those who play by ear are limited to playing simple forms of music like blues, rock, pop, and country. It is very difficult to play classical and jazz music without some form of musical training and a decent grasp on music theory.
People who have the ability to learn complex forms of music by ear have an extraordinary musical gift and they might even be considered musical prodigies.
To help draw a distinction between musicians and those who play music by ear I offer this example. A person who uses a computer may not have a clue about how a computer works, yet they can type a letter, send an e-mail, or surf the net. The same is true with music.
So, if a person who plays music by ear creates a musical composition that pleases the ear then they are likely applying principles of music theory wether they realize it or not.
3) Is music theory only beneficial to musicians?
No. Many studies have concluded that those who study music and the arts excel in school, career, and in life.
A degree in music is most always a liberal arts degree and therefore does not limit one to just being a musician. There are many career paths one can pursue with a music degree.
A person who understands music theory will typically pay close attention to the music they are listening to. Musicians will listen for rhythm, melody, harmony, note juxtaposition, point counterpoint, dynamics, etc… The better someone listens and can understand the nuances in the music they are listening to, the more they can enjoy it.
4) What is tablature and is it the same thing as reading music?
Tablature would not be considered reading music. Tablature is a system that shows guitar players exactly what notes and chords to play by showing where to place their fingers on the neck of the guitar. Tablature does not give enough information to play the music as it was written, with tablature you must know the song to be able to play it as it was written.
Tablature is a very effective tool for musicians and players alike and is widely used by both. Accurate tablature will allow a player to to copy a piece of music very close to the way it was written if they are familiar with the piece of music.
Tablature is not the same thing as reading music but it is a very useful tool for learning note for note transcriptions, and is a good learning tool as well.
5) What is the best way to learn music theory?
I believe the best way to learn music theory is through formal musical training. Music study can be acquired at a school that teaches music or by way of private instruction or tutoring. Learning music theory without the assistance of a teacher is possible but it would be a challenge.
My own experience is that the best time to learn music theory is when a person is young, between the ages of 8 and 12 or when a child is in elementary school. The chances of successfully learning music theory seems to be much better when the music training starts at an early age.
To read discussion on this topic visit my blog and remember, in music ignorance isn’t bliss, it just means more work!
Tags: guitar, guitar play, guitar player, learn music, learn music theory, learning, learning music, learning music theory, music, music theory, music training, musical instrument, play music, reading music, school, sheet music, study music, teacher
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