It is a question which is asked by almost every beginner, from
young students to adults. It is natural to want to know how long will it take
to be able to play an instrument. However, most people often forget the fact
that it is their practice time and commitment towards the instrument that will
determine their progress. Then again, there are some other factors as well
which shapes up the duration of their progress. We usually have two different age
groups of students, namely young
students and adult beginners. Let’s discuss these two groups individually under
specific parameters.
Young Students (Aged 8 years to 12 years)
Approach to Learning: Young beginners should have fun with their instrument. As they are
just getting to know the instrument and the skills they can achieve while
learning it, it is very important that it excites them and inspires them to
work toward progress. As they are young, theories and basic reading should be
introduced in a progressive and practical way so that they can take in the
details and master one aspect at a time.
Objective: Their
objective should be to perform in about a year with the knowledge they have
gathered during that time. They should be able to connect with their instrument
and play the tunes they want to play. Once they can execute the music they hear,
there is a sense of achievement that inspires them to learn further and therefore
accelerates their learning progress as the instrument has catches their
interest.
Duration: If
you are a complete beginner and aged between 8-12 years, it may take you about
6-9 months to have a strong command over the basics, especially certain
techniques such as chord shifting, pitch change and the coordination of both
hands or hands and feet (as this requires advanced motor techniques), etc.
Students aged above 12 has the capacity to take more information and process a
bit quicker, so they might be able to have better command on basics in 4-6
months.
Adults
Approach to Learning: As an adult, there is an interest to learn and play the instrument
that has been there a long time but you haven’t found time or you had other commitments.
There are also cases of adults who’d learn from the ever-growing internet but
are either unsure due to too much information or stuck at a point where their
progress has been constant for a long time (they don’t know where to go next).
First as a working adult, you have to decide what you want out of it. Is it
just to play in front of friends (as a hobby) or gather knowledge to be able to
play in a band or release your own compositions, or for therapeutic, stress
release or other reasons. Whatever the reason is, you should ensure that where ever
you are learning from (teacher or institute), should be flexible enough to suit
your timings as well as your goal. So, it should be goal or result oriented
approach.
Objective: The
objective should be able to measure your progress and layout a practice
schedule that works for you. Keep in mind what you want to achieve and spend
time on that. Try to excite and inspire yourself during practice which will
help you commit to the instrument more. Keep playing the songs you love other
than just the exercises your teacher might have given you for your improvement
and make a conscious effort to understand what you are executing.
Duration: If
you are just beginning, it will take you at least 3-4 months to have good
command over the basics and then further take it to the level where you will be
able to play along with certain songs and even hum it yourself. It also matters
how you see yourself playing the instrument, if you expect yourself to be able
to jam along with other instruments, it will take a little longer especially if
your just beginning to learn your instrument.
The duration is just an assumption, and not always true but it is
the average time one takes to finally understand their instrument based on our experience.
There are other factors that determine how long it takes to progress including daily
practice of the exercises and lessons given to improve muscle memory. So, make sure that you set your goals and follow them with plenty of regular practise and commitment to achieve them in the duration.
BlueTimbre is a unique Music Company that provides Music Education and Recording Studio services. BlueTimbre also works with schools to provide end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools.
The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running Structured Businesses, Music Curriculum Development, Music Education and Performance.
References
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