adieux romance

How to Succeed at Playing a Musical Instrument

Friday, December 16, 2011 at 4:40 PM

If you had parents like mine who made you learn the piano from a young age, chances are you either loved it or you didn’t. Some excelled at it and became proficient players while others never practiced, had little interest and dropped it the coming years. Me? Well I belonged to the latter group. I felt sorry for my teacher for having to teach a person with such a lack of commitment. As a kid, I never practiced and was never forced to practice. I’ve always wondered if I had been forced to practice daily, would I have come to love it? Do you have to continue doing something repeatedly for an amount of time before you like it? Or does it make no difference as the desire to do something reign a much greater importance? I remember apologising to my teacher numerous times yet she insisted I was a good player. I’m sure I didn’t suck. I just lacked passion; no real desire to drag myself to the piano and practice every day. I forced myself to be inspired, forced myself to play things I liked but it was short-lived. One day, I finally persuaded my mother to let me quit.

In 1997 Gary McPherson studied 157 randomly selected children as they picked out and learned a musical instrument. Some went on to become fine musicians and others faltered. McPherson searched for the traits that separated those who progressed from those who did not. IQ was not a good predictor. Neither were aural sensitivity, math skills, income, or a sense or rhythm. The best single predictor was a question McPherson had asked the students before they had even selected their instruments: How long do you think you will play? The students who planned to play for a short time did not become proficient. The students who planned to play for a few years had modest success. But there were some children who said, in effect: “I want to be a musician. I’m going to play for the rest of my life.” Those children soared. The sense of identity that children brought to the first lesson was the spark that would set off the improvement that would subsequently happen. It was a vision of their future self. (The Social Animal by David Brooks)

I’m going to tell you why I believe that this type of determination is the key to succeed at playing a musical instrument. Since when, I don't know but for quite some time, I desperately wanted to play the drums. I was thirteen and knew for sure that if I were to ask my parents, they would say no immediately. It was loud, big and not a typical girls instrument. Girls were meant to be gentle and the instruments they play should be the same. There was no way I would be able to learn but I held onto my desire for another three years. In the lead up to my final year of high school, I realised I had the opportunity to learn. Of course, I couldn't afford a kit but I signed up for lessons. I struggled to pay off my music fees initially, had no kit to practice on at home and assignments continued to pile on. The strange thing is, when you want to do something, you will always manage to make time for it. Piano practice was a struggle for me as I always “had too much homework” (despite being in Year 8). There are always better things to do when you don’t want to do a certain task. Yet, here I was in the busiest year of my high schooling life and I managed to fit in time to play the instrument I loved.

I learnt that the key to a good drummer wasn't reading notes or playing perfectly. It was improvisation and good aural skills. I bloody sucked at those but my passion and determination helped me progress quickly. I practiced during recess, lunches and any other moment the drum room was free. On most days, I would wait for the entire school to empty out after the final bell to stay behind and practice for a good hour or so. There was just something about playing as loudly as you want that felt incredibly amazing. With all of that said, if you want to master an instrument, pick something you truly desire to play. Everything else will just come naturally.

Labels: drums, inspiration, motivation, music, piano