starting out

[bigskydrinkwine]

any advice for a novice type who's into the process of becoming a musician, learning guitar and chords, etc.... and wants to gain as much knowledge as possible about music, instruments, recording equip., etc....

are lessons worth it really for guitar and piano for example?

if most people starting out are pretty poor, how do you go about getting gear,etc... do you guys work your ass off while working on bigger and better things like a future carrer in music? or do you charge gear?

probably come back with more next time out....

thanx ~ B

[awolski]

I took guitar lessons for a while in high school. I didn't keep up the lessons but I did get a lot out of them. Basically the teacher helped me with some exercises that really strengthened my hands, taught me some scales and fretboard theory, taught me some basic playing techniques and taught me to read music a little. I haven't kept up so I lost the sight reading but I don't regret the lessons. You could learn all of these things on your own easily and cheaply but it was nice having someone structure it for me and show it to me. IMO it takes a really good teacher to do this.

For gear, I look for those "1 year same as cash" deals from the big music chain stores. They are basically a situation where you get your gear, you don't have to put money down, and if you pay it off in the set time period you pay no interest. There is usually a credit check because this is just like a credit card. You are also limited to the brands the store carries and/or has on the special deal. But if it's this vs. no gear at all, I'd rather have my Tascam and my Octavas and Events and learn something with it rather than have no gear at all.

And yeah, I'm still trying to save up for nicer gear. Always.

And of course the web is a great resource for learning about music. Library too. That's kind of obvious, but I mention it anyway.

[Meriphew]

Continue learning on your own (reading, lessons, whatever) and get into a band ASAP. I think learning to play in a group dynamic is invaluable as is learning to actually write quality songs. Someone who is a great songwriter with original ideas is a rare breed these days.

[dwelle]

if i could do it all over again (i'm assuming you're pretty young) i would have taken piano lessons. i'm completely self taught in every aspect of my musical endeavors. i feel like having a basis on that instrument would have really helped my learning curve early on. the key is to do whatever it is you're gonna do everyday, and push yourself to learn.

DO NOT charge equipment. work your ass off, it'll pay off over the long term...

[rfbutter]

I second dwelle on both accounts. Any sort of lessons that teach you pitch and the ability to read music will definitly pay off in any future recording endeavor. As for charging, I am in deep bill doo doo thanks to credit cards and loans. If I had to do it over I would have put together a more modest set-up and really focused on how to make it sound the best it possibly could.

[jamoo]

I could write a dissertation on this question, but I'll keep it brief.

Learning how to play an instrument and recording are *two completely different things* Unless you're a genius, pick one to focus on and use the other as an aside.

If you're still in the process of learning guitar chords, you could probably do with lessons. The archives here are incredably good for recording, but they're not going to teach you between a Maj7th and a Minor9th.

Unless you're lucky, buying cheap gear will get you depressed. Regardless of how well you play, it usually sounds like it costs. I would gradually accumulate what you need, looking for value, and not using credit.

Also, get some kind of feedback from other people. Don't try to work in a vaccuum.


Nice handle

[jtienhaara]

Choose a good teacher. Talk to them and ask them what music they're into. If they're into stuff you've never heard of, that's often a good sign -- they'll expose you to new ideas that you probably wouldn't stumble upon otherwise.

A decent piano teacher is much better than a decent guitar teacher. But great piano teachers (ones who teach theory rather than dogma) are probably non-existant. A great guitar teacher will not only go over chords, scales and how to play particular songs; they'll also get deep into music theory. As deep as you want to go. College noticeboards are the best places to look for guitar teachers IMO. In the music faculty I mean.

Practice is vital. Start off by practicing at least 3-4 days a week, for at least 20 minutes each day. Do that until it becomes fun, and then increase to 7 days a week!

And yes, as Meriphew says, join a band or jam with friends. Please please please improvise. I can't stand cover bands.

Have fun with it!

Johann

[Ben Logan]

Unless you're lucky, buying cheap gear will get you depressed. Regardless of how well you play, it usually sounds like it costs.

Oh - I disagree! Cheap gear sounds less pretty than nice gear to my thirty two year old ears. But hearing some stranger chunk away on some power chords on a Japanese Squier Strat plugged into a Gorilla practice amp sounded like sonic gold as a teen. I asked the guy "how long you been playing?" He said, "three months!" with this big shit eating grin, as though he himself could not believe the sound he was making.

Take your time. This is a wonderful hobby. I agree with Sonchue though on a more important point: stay away from credit cards!

[Rigsby]

Personally i work my ass off these days, i find i get more done in the periods between work than if i were living off my credit card (which i did as a student). I'm way more prolific if i have other things to do, i'll just knuckle down without delaying too much.

I'd try a few instruments out if you're not sure what you want to play or have an affinity for. If you're respectful and visit at less busy times, most instrument stores will be glad to help, just be honest and say you'd like to take up an instrument, but you're not sure exactly what. Have a discussion, it'll make you think. The guys also get a chance to show off their chops, some people love that. Probably best not to actually buy something on your first visit though, cooling off periods can be really handy as we all well know.

As for recording, i'm not sure about advice, but i started with tape machines with inbuilt mics, moved onto tape machines with two jack inputs but no overdubbing, then a karoke machine type thing, where using two tapes you could keep layering, then a few years of four-tracking, then digital eight-track, and a mac for the last couple of years. I've enjoyed the learning of new things even though it initially seems you're ten steps back from where you were when you first use something new. I'm thinking sixteen track tape next, but that's probably a little way off.

That's my ramble anyway. Most of all, have a ball.

[dustdude]

any advice for a novice type who's into the process of becoming a musician, learning guitar and chords, etc.... and wants to gain as much knowledge as possible about music, instruments, recording equip., etc....

are lessons worth it really for guitar and piano for example?

if most people starting out are pretty poor, how do you go about getting gear,etc... do you guys work your ass off while working on bigger and better things like a future career in music? or do you charge gear?

probably come back with more next time out....

For several years I took lessons on guitar, and it was helpful for learning sight reading, jazz, theory, and improvisation. Jamming with a more advanced player is a sure way to improve your own sh!t. Private instructors can help correct faulty technique, to get you playing more efficiently.

These days I teach private lessons and the majority of students are beginners. Once kids (or adults) learn some chords, 12-bar blues, read notes, and start grooving on their own, they are more prepared to take music in a personal direction.

As far as gear goes, inexpensive does not always equal cheap. You can get a lower line Ibanez or Squire electric and a small practice amp for under 300$. A decent nylon or steel string acoustic can be had for less than a 100. When you are just learning, it is important to have an instrument that is easy to play (low action on guitar) and stays in tune.

[/i]

[kxlujc]

i'm not happy unless i'm doing a million music-related things at once. i wish i had figured that out from the get go (your age) instead of being loyal to my one silly band. nowadays, i'm a radio dj, club dj, writing my own music, collaborating with a singer, producing and playing on another girl's demo, building daws for other musicians, engineering, singing, playing guitar, a little keys, a little bass, a little drums, and some occasional live sound. obviously, i'm happiest when i'm immersed in my own tunes, but it all gets me going, and i get to be around musicians, who are my favorite kind of people in the world. if you like several different instruments, get good at all of them, and if you also enjoy the recording process, get good at that too. it all just means more knowledge to draw from.

and, yeah, stay away from credit cards, they'll ruin your life. i've never regretted being cash only, and amassing equipment slowly. it gives you more time to research each piece anyways.

best of luck!

[justinf]

Oh - I disagree! Cheap gear sounds less pretty than nice gear to my thirty two year old ears. But hearing some stranger chunk away on some power chords on a Japanese Squier Strat plugged into a Gorilla practice amp sounded like sonic gold as a teen. I asked the guy "how long you been playing?" He said, "three months!" with this big shit eating grin, as though he himself could not believe the sound he was making.

man that made my day. maybe my week.

[swedishstudios]

learn music theory.

study jazz and improv.

experiment.

[Isolation]

yeah, buying cheap gear isn't a bad thing at all, it takes a person to bring out the magic in an instrument i've realized in my short less-than-a-year stint at learning/playing bass guitar...i've got an ibanez that i bought off of a friend of mine who no longer plays for $150 and it's in fantastic shape, little usage, and i have a Crate BX-100 bass amp that i bought off of another friend of mine for another $150, not bad so far, then all was left was to buy a tuner, i bought a Korg that does the job nicely and a couple of cables and a bassdriver overdrive pedal made by digitech for $80 off of musiciansfriend.com...the lesson is this, buy off of friends or even ebay...and yes, credit cards are an artist's enemy pure and simple...most of us are not math people for a reason...once i get some money i may look at taking some lessons myself, i'm not satisfied with learning from books...but the books i do have stress that you'll learn more by playing around and not reading a book...great fucking advice after you buy it right? good luck...i'm more or less in the same boat as you are at this point...

[jamoo]

The consensus seems to be cheap gear is o-kay. So I guess, er, a, buy cheap gear?


(that is, instruments -- low-end mic's and pre's are a sacrilege on tapeop, for some reason )