Music Education – Laid out on the table!. Review on Tips on Music Education

A lot about music has been said through the forums on MS. Here, let me share my views on music from my experience of learning it. As with all things, for someone to be interested in something, he /she has to relate to it in his/her own special way, and they should feel at ease with it. Similarly, with music(whether it’s singing or playing) one has to be at ease with what they are doing.

At this juncture, comes a big thing called talent. Some people are hell bent saying that it’s hereditary, you know, like “father-like son”. I would agree with this to a great extent, but the bigger picture is this. Any music that is created is a basic rotation of the 7 notes of music. So, you create new music by rearranging this in number of ways. The newness of the whole thing is the uniqueness, the feeling, the experience it creates/leaves on you. How may times you have been moved by tunes?…or how many times you may have been put off by songs?…what’s the difference?…it lies in the arranging of the notes. So it all lies with how you think with your instrument.  Think outside the box. That’s the only thing that’s dynamic.

At the same time, whatever skill sets you are learning, ensure you learn it and master it to the dot, cuz that’s what is going to shine a spotlight on you, or erase you off without even leaving a spot! As someone said, there’s nothing much with talent when it comes to music, it’s just that you seem to have that new idea of turning the notes in a new way that clicked with people. That’s all.

For me learning music has been a discovery. I never really learnt the guitar at all, and even before that I was into the keyboard, then drums, bass, lead etc. So, what this has given me finally is a solid understanding of all the instruments you’d need to start a band. As you learn your instrument, understand the instrument as a person, treat it with respect, give a lot of care and you will see the effects. If you look at any pro., you will see that they are passionate about their music  and instruments.

It’s very important to learn notation, regardless of what instrument you learn and what category of music your style of playing falls under. Basic things like timing sense, pitch sense, harmony sense should all be developed. When learning music it also can be daunting and tough depending on the type of instrument you choose. For ex. Guitars can be tough in the beginning as the strings will hurt your soft fingers and you have to cut your nails frequently etc. But the toil pays back at a much later date. On the other hand, keyboards are simpler to learn in the beginning, but are tough later on as everything is black and white. So the only way to get out of this is  - consistent practice. Nothing beats that. Keep you mind open to a lot if different music styles around today. They will help you nurture your musical knowledge.

Today, music has become such a high technological endeavor, as you have MIDI, soft synths, rack based effect processors, so it’s also necessary to keep abreast of the technological advancements in the field of music(general) and specifically to the instrument of your choice. Did you know today you can create music that is studio quality with just your computer and a keyboard?.it’s possible and you get CD level mastering.  You don’t have to go out of your room to do this, you can do all this with your home PC, provided it fast and efficient.

Wish you all the best in all your musical journeys!