Old school myths busted with new school thoughts: learning a musical instrument

Learning a new instrument is hard.

Like, very, very hard.

I would know, because I have been playing the piano for 9 years now and have already achieved the ABRSM grade 8 one year ago. (FYI, this is the highest grade you can achieve in instrumental playing without going down the professional route.)

And do you know what else I know? (Dear god that’s a mouthful...) There are a lot of myths and stereotypes when it comes to starting to learn a musical instrument.

The feelings that people have towards this matter are, in a nutshell, mixed. Many are excited, others are lazy and unwilling, but most, if not all, are intimidated. After all, the journey from a novice to a master is not easy. It will take time, it will take effort and, to be frank, money. It is a rocky road that has no shortcuts. However, some of those intimidations felt is largely due to detrimental myths that were whispered from person to person. This constructed an invisible barrier that prevented people from experiencing this outstanding experience.

In this article, I will bust these myths, and hopefully, encourage you to start learning a new musical instrument.

No. 1: It will be a manic test of endurance that brings no joy.

Well, first, if you would like to get somewhere with your learning, you must put effort into it. Just like the effort you put into school subjects, such as math or physics. However, the process of learning is neither just a painful grind of endless hours on the piano stool, nor is it just a hand-freezing wait behind the curtains on the stage. There is still sweetness in that bitterness.

What joy? You ask.

How about the joy of conquer? After each endless hour of painful grind there is a satisfaction of achievement; that you have finally mastered that bar; that phrase; that score. Ever so often you will look back behind you, and you will see how far you’ve come.

How about the joy of friendship? You will surely find people that share the same interests as you, whether that will be in your school, in the orchestra, or even on the internet. You will be able to share your journey at any time. Having a partner surely makes the pilgrimage to the top easier and more joyous.

How about the joy of being praised and admired? The thunderous applause after each performance is the proof of your hard work- the proof that you have paid time and effort; that you have achieved something that others wouldn’t even dare to start. You will be the one under the spotlight, and trust me, you will enjoy it.

Not interested in professional plays? Well, you can surely go down the casual route, but those delights still apply. Want to play your favorite song from your favorite band? Of course! Want to spend a cozy night with your friend and play some jazz? Definitely! Want to play some romantic classics for your boyfriend/girlfriend after dinner by candlelight? Well, go get a boyfriend/girlfriend first! (And I am very sorry to say that I cannot help you with that at all T_T.)

No. 2: Learning a musical instrument is useless and it doesn’t help your academic grades

It does. You are probably not going to take music in IGCSE or IB because you are reading this article right now, but this doesn’t mean that learning a musical instrument doesn’t help at all.

It teaches you how to persevere and it grants you willpower. Whenever you want to give up learning a piece of music you will tell yourself to continue; whenever you want to throw the instrument out of the window you will tell yourself to go on. (Well, hopefully…) The same desirable traits apply for the academic activities, you will keep yourself away from your gaming PC and your manga shelf when you are studying/working, which are things that most people cannot do. These traits will improve your academic grades in the long run.

It can also help to build your counter-stress mechanism. It is so true that performances hone your confidence and courage. Can an exam possibly be worse than being watched by 100 people when you perform? I don’t think so. This will help you to survive your exams much better. Be that IGCSE, IB, or even the weekly quiz set by that annoying teacher.

The benefits of learning a musical instrument are plenty, and I would be a fool to list them all. What are you waiting for? Start looking for a teacher right now!

Myth 3: music is too tight to fit in my already tight schedule!

No, it is not! I, as a year 10 student, can still arrange practice time into my schedule even if I cannot practice every day after school. This just means that I need to cut 30 minutes of manga here, another 30 minutes of YouTube there, and whatever else. It just depends on whether you are willing to sacrifice that 30 minute or not. And if you can’t spare even that time, then you wouldn’t be reading this article to this point, would you?

To be honest, as you grow older and dwell deeper and deeper into your studies, time will become increasingly valuable. Many people will therefore think that, if you are going to give up anyways, why would you bother starting it?

They tend to ignore the fact that if you learn a skill, you might forget some of it, but if you don’t learn it at all, there is no way that you will know anything about it. 0 is always smaller than 1, eh?

Due to word constraints, I will stop at the 3rd myth now. (sad…) I really really hope that this article has convinced you to start learning a musical instrument, and I will see you next time!