It's funny when I talk to people and tell them that I am a musician and play guitar everyone and their cousin plays guitar or can find another instrument they used to play in high school or band. I understand that by abiding by the laws of conversation this comes from the deeper sense of trying to find a common ground. Everybody should have played or tried an instrument at some point in their life. Music helps children develop skills and forms an outlet of energy and feelings for everyone. If you've read prior posts you are already familiar with my findings that adults play instruments for many different reasons ranging from recreation to business.
I often wonder why people stop playing instruments and making music. Most often I hear the lack of time as a reason or the interest in other hobbies. Although I believe that there are so many things in this world that are interesting and we generally only scratch the surface of what we try, I also believe in balance. Picking up an instrument every once in a while can be a welcome change of pace from going to the gym for the eighth time this week. Another reason I hear quite often is that people were not making progress or developing the skills they desired.
There can be a couple of reasons for the failure of reaching ones goals. First and foremost you need to practice. If you don't practice you will not see any improvements. Music doesn't give instant gratification and by sitting down for half an hour today you are not a stellar player tomorrow. You need to be aware of the hard work and commitment it takes to make music and improve instrumental skills.
Let's assume for a moment that you practice diligently. Do you have the right expectations? Do you have a clear image what you want to accomplish? Do you listen to music, listen to people that do what you are trying to achieve? Seriously, I have met quite a few people that I taught in my life that never listened to anything they wanted to play. I had students that wanted to go to college to study music. They wanted to play Jazz. Jazz is quite a big umbrella of styles so I was interested in their preference. Someone said Be-Bop and others just insisted on Jazz. When I asked about artists they listened to I got a blank stare. Others knew a few names to throw out there but when I inquired about albums or songs they listened to I got the same reaction. You cannot learn music if you don't listen. Listening to the charts does not help you develop skills and an ear for Jazz or Blues.
There is another reason why people quit playing their instruments. It's the teachers. Not every city has a music school. Not every primary school has a music class. While most of the teachers in music school have at least a degree and some knowledge of their instrument, a lot of people take lessons from individuals who offer music lessons. I am not saying that either one is bad. There are good individual teachers and good teachers in school. But there are also the bad and the ugly ones. There are teachers that push their own agendas instead of listening to students’ needs and desires. There are teachers that don't know how to teach or don't know how to play.
A good lesson should be driven by two forces: The basic knowledge about music that the teacher has to offer to the student and the goal of the student. No good teacher says my student only wants to play Metallica so that's what we do. If the student only wants to play Metallica he doesn't need a teacher, should go home and start practicing by listening to Metallica as I mentioned above. If the student wants to learn more about music and the instrument and the teacher has them practice scales in all 12 keys all day long the student will go home and quit playing.
A good teacher will offer their students insights on music and their instruments. They will offer practices to understand harmony, melody and rhythm. They will teach tonality and techniques. If you follow these simple rules you will actually have fun learning, playing and on the other side teaching. It is a win-win situation.
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