5 ARTISTS WHO PROVE THERE IS NO AGE LIMIT FOR LEARNING MUSIC!

Yes, you doubt yourself because you are an adult and wonder if it is too late for you to start learning something new? Simple answer is that You are not! However if you don’t believe our words, maybe the following artists who had a similar curve and had a late start to their professional career as musicians. They started late or got recognised very late in their life.

Sheryl Crow

Crow started out as a music teacher after graduating from the University of Missouri, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree. She continued to pursue her dreams, however, by playing gigs on the weekends and writing jingles for commercials. Crow didn’t reach mainstream success until she was 31 years old when she shot to fame with her single “All I Wanna Do.” The song helped her win the Grammy award for Best New Artist in 1995.

Leonard Cohen

Cohen was born in Canada in 1934, and emerged in the music industry at the age of 33. He started as a writer but found it difficult to earn money, and turned to writing folk music full-time. He began writing for other artists, such as Judy Collins, and eventually signed with Columbia Records. After a failed stint as a fiction writer, Cohen released his debut album at 33, but it wasn’t for another 17 years did he release “Hallelujah” which has been covered (and released) by over 200 artists in various languages. He played various instruments including guitar, piano and synthesizer. 

Tuli Kupferberg

Kupferberg was a poet, author and cartoonist, along with being a musician. His music career took off at the age of 40, when he co-founded the Fugs, a funk/punk band. Before that, Kupferberg was well-known for his counter-culture books “Beatniks” (1961) and “1001 Ways to Beat the Draft” (1966).

Bill Wither

Withers enlisted with the United States Navy at the age of 18 and served for nine years, during which time he overcame his stutter and became interested in singing and writing songs. Withers released his debut album with the hit “Ain’t No Sunshine” at age 32. When he debuted with the song "Ain't No Sunshine", he refused to resign from his job because he believed the music business was a fickle industry.

Andre Bocelli

One of the best-selling singers of all-time, Bocelli was 34 when he released his debut album, but it wasn’t until his third did he reach worldwide success with Sogno which went cracked the top 10 in 10 countries. Bocelli was diagnosed with Traumatic glaucoma, becoming completely blind at age 12 after a football accident . Since 1982, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo studio albums of both pop and classical music, three greatest hits albums, and nine complete operas, selling over 90 million records worldwide. He has had success as a crossover performer, bringing classical music to the top of international pop charts.

So, it is never too late. All of us will agree that even if the artist discussed above got their fame at an old age or started late, they were determined and passionate about learning. They always inspired themselves and finally, they got there. Like Picasso rightly said “ Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working .“

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:

https://takelessons.com/blog/its-never-too-late-5-musicians-who-got-a-late-start/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Withers

https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2015/08/03/18-musicians-who-made-it-later-in-life/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Bocelli

3 Ways to Determine how quickly you can go from Learning to Performing Music

Everyone loves to perform. And if you are just starting to learn music, you may be wondering about how long until you can start performing with your instrument. Well, it really depends on the phase of musical development you are in. Let's break down the factors that will give you a idea about when you can start performing on stage.

Instrument Skills

When you are performing, you do need to put up a performance that is not completely out of place. You have to be somewhat skilled to put up a satisfactory performance in front of a crowd. Now, there are a lot of people who are learning on their own and sometimes that makes your development unsteady as there is no discipline in the sequence of your lessons. Most of all, there is no feedback and there is no one to give you an honest suggestion about how well you are playing a song. So, it is preferable that you find a teacher or get good online lessons which will not only develop you better, but will help you gain some important skills that you need to start performing. If you have little knowledge on your instrument and only need polishing, you can start performing in 2-3 months. If you are a complete beginner, provided you practice your stuff, it shouldn’t take you more than 4-5 months to start performing.

Jamming skills

There are a lot of people who are not used to playing with a lot of other musicians. Jamming has a different dynamic and you have to keep jamming to get comfortable with it and understand the different components of a band. This plays a huge part in preparing for performance. If you are not used to playing with other instruments, you will need at least a few jamming sessions with other instruments which might take a couple of months or so to really get used to it and be able to perform without any jitters which basically means you are comfortable with your instrument and also able to communicate with other instruments effectively.

Professionalism

Now if you are starting out you cannot expect to get well paid shows straightaway. You have to keep real expectations and start out with small shows. Try to do as many shows as you can which will build your confidence tremendously and will shape you for the challenges that come with putting up a professional show. Showmanship, sound dynamics and execution of techniques on stage comes with experience, so you learn along the way. It takes years of experience to be able to put up a flawless show out to the crowd, so yes, start small and build your repertoire, it will eventually get you where you see yourself as a musician.

So, if you are dedicated to your instrument, practice with discipline and with organised content, it will only take you 3-4 months to start performing. Also it will help you to get the required skill and quality if you are under the guidance of professionals who can give you advice that will assure a performance that a crowd will enjoy.

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.

3 Reasons Why you Should Perform Music

Learning Music just as a hobby? Not keen to perform? Got Stage fright? Well, those should not be excuses should not stop you from performing music. Believe it or not, but it gives you more joy when you are singing or performing with or for someone else. The feeling is rewarding and no one plays music just for themselves. It is a form of expression and the best way to express it is to perform in front of others. Now, if you are just beginning to learn and feel like you are not ready to perform, then it’s okay to take some time to build you confidence but you must eventually perform. Performance should be the goal that drives you to play your instrument longer and commit more time to practice.

1. Music is The Best Teacher

Yes, your performances can be teacher you need. No one can teach you more than performances in terms of building musicianship. Musicianship is about training the student not just to be a player of an instrument, but to be a Musician. This is the only platform where you can be a self-critic, you yourself will be able to see/hear the shortcomings and areas that you want to improve on. It will teach you to be comfortable around other people and open up new ideas and ways to make your instrument sound better. Also, when you play things right, it boosts your confidence and your ability to play the instrument automatically upgrades.

2. Know your Instrument Inside Out

There are more to your instrument than its looks. It be a guitar, keyboard, drums or even your voice - it is not something that makes any sound, it is an object that if used right, can paint a story to the audience. There are so many dynamics and so many different possibilities of using your instrument to sound different and contribute to the song in the right way. Playing your instrument is not just about playing your notes right, it is about giving definition to a melody you play. All these things, although taught through technique but the real understanding only comes through experience and for that, you have to perform as much as you can, and learn from each experience.

3. Helps Build relationships

Performance is not just about you, it is about understanding those who stand with you on the stage - Complementing and supporting each other in a band. The idea of coming together and playing a song is a rewarding feeling. You understand the importance of each and every instrument, and learn from each other. Only if you prepare for performances, will you be able to discuss music with your peers and come up with ideas that will make the songs sound better. You also understand different influences and open up to the exploring different genres and styles of music and that makes you a better musician. As a musician you should always want to keep growing and learning new things. Also, you get a chance to interact with the audience which, will give you more encouragement to continue what you are passionate about.

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.