Learning music didn’t come easily to me. I was interested in music at an early age because my dad exposed me to a wide variety of classic rock, from Led Zeppelin and Queen, to Jimi Hendrix and Thin Lizzy, and even Steely Dan. But the ones who really inspired me to even think about playing the guitar one day were Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. I was in disbelief that none of my friends at school were listening to these guys because they were doing things on the guitar no one was doing. As a kid, I began to imagine playing crazy guitar solos in front of people. Their music just sounded much more interesting than what I was hearing on the radio. That’s how I developed my love for how music makes you feel. This is what pushed me to explore and learn music.
The Journey Begins
Even though my main instrument today is guitar, I actually started my music education on the piano. My parents signed me up for piano lessons when I was 5 years old and I took lessons on an old casio electric piano. Like everyone who started at that age, I started learning basic music notation and how the notes on the page matched with the keys on the piano. It wasn’t the most exciting thing to learn, but it’s pretty hard to learn anything without a foundation of the basics.
The thing that got me excited was learning music that I was interested in. At that point in time, I heard Lenny Kravitz’s Fly Away a lot on the radio. I heard the repeating chord progression in the song and figured if I can learn the four chords in this song, I would learn the WHOLE song. So I went to Ultimate Guitar and found the chords. I also had a piano chord book at home. I matched up the chords with the song and naturally I tried to mimic the rhythm of the piano chords with the guitar rhythm. For the first time, I taught myself how to play a song.
Playing music on the piano was fine, but soon I started to realize that a lot of music I liked and was listening to required a guitar. I was also jealous of my brother and my dad who were getting guitar lessons. And so I switched instruments and started taking guitar lessons in the 7th grade, when I was 12 years old. Also my piano skills have never improved since then. I’m kidding of course, but I was definitely hooked on the guitar and it’s changed my life.
Investing 10,000 Hours
Malcom Gladwell popularized the idea that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill. I’m not going to lie, it’s probably true. But 10,000 hours of practice sounds boring. I was never a big fan of learning scales and doing technical exercises. Sitting down next to a metronome was mundane. I did latch onto the idea of improving speed and trying to see how fast I can play something, Afterall, I was trying to play like Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. So naturally, I tried to learn songs that I was interested in. If it was too difficult, I would find something that was more fitting for my level. That way, I didn’t stay discouraged.
The main thing that I attribute to my success at learning music is the fact that my parents NEVER let me play video games on a school night. From Sunday night to Thursday night, I could not touch my video games. At this time, I was in high school and all my friends were talking about all the fun they were having with World of Warcraft. I was super jealous that I was missing out. If I finished my homework early, I was expected to read something and I wasn’t big on that. However, my parents were fine with me playing guitar. My dad had some guitars, amps and pedals laying around, so I thought I might as well put them to good use on school nights.
My 10,000 hours racked up during these times. When you’re focused on honing your craft while everyone else is watching TV and playing video games, one day everyone is going to wonder how you got so good and the answer will be obvious. When practicing, I mixed it up with learning scales and such, but I really enjoyed songs. What really got me excited was improvising. Nowadays you can easily find backing tracks on YouTube to jam along with, but back then I played along with CDs that my friends burned for me (we used to copy individual songs onto CDs and share them). My favorite song to jam along to was Guns N’ Roses’ version of Knocking on Heaven’s Door. I played that over and over again while playing the one pentatonic scale I knew. I believe that’s the best way to learn any scale. Play along with your favorite songs.
My Next Level
After high school, I went to Musicians Institute for one year and that accelerated my journey faster than if I were to go at it on my own. That school made me appreciate music theory and how it makes people feel. I also gained an appreciation for all genres of music. Playing guitar for rock music is my bread and butter, but learning from teachers who specialize in blues, jazz, country, and funk were side quests I didn’t realize I wanted to take.
However, I don’t think you need to learn in a school setting. Everyone has their own style and I know plenty of professional musicians who are self-taught. I truly believe that taking one’s music education to the next level involves playing WITH and/or IN FRONT OF people. This, of course, is optional and may not align with your goals as a musician. If you’re happy with playing by yourself and learning music as a hobby, you don’t need this at all.
My first experience with this was playing at grade school talent shows. It’s nerve racking to perform what you’ve been practicing in front of people you know and don’t know. And the idea of making a mistake in front of everyone kills me inside. But that level of stress means you care and makes you want to be a better musician. Later, as a junior in high school, I joined a choir at a local church to play guitar. I was familiar with my open chords and some barre chords, but I never tried playing music I wasn’t familiar with or even reading guitar charts. Doing this for years set me up for what I do as a professional musician today. I wouldn’t be able to play over 300 songs with other professional musicians without that experience of playing at church.
Your Journey on Learning Music
My path in music is unique and yours should be too. Everyone should find their own way and decide what they want out of their music education. If you’re feeling stuck or uninspired I would focus on these:
- What are your short-term and long-term goals as a musician? (hobby vs. professional)
- What milestones would count towards these goals? (playing a specific riff or song)
- What’s keeping you from achieving your musical dream? (distractions or negative self-talk)
- How can you get feedback on your progress? (play in front of people or record yourself)
Start your journey now by registering for an account to access free lessons on Bandora Music!
About
My name is Eric and I have a career in corporate finance but I’m also a part-time musician. I’ve been playing guitar for over 20 years and about 15 years professionally. I play in a live-karaoke band regularly and I volunteer as a choir director at a local church. No matter how busy life gets, I have always made time to include music in my life. Music has always been an important part of me and I want to share it with whoever is willing to listen.
