Many people who want to learn to play music are put off by the fear that they “Don’t have it”…. that they’re not “musical” or “talented” or that they just can’t learn music. We know this isn’t the case.
We know that everyone can learn music because we see it everyday. Every day, complete beginners come to us for mentoring, and they all end up being able to learn music.
In Other Cultures, Everyone Plays Music
In traditional cultures, everyone sings, dances or creates music in one way or another. When travelling to an African country, one of our staff was asked what she did for a living. When they were told that she was a singing teacher they were confused. They had no singing teachers in their community, everybody just sang. This is because it’s a normal part of life and they had grown up surrounded by it. In much the same way that we learned our first language, children growing up with music just learn it. No one in that community had any doubts about their “talent”.
Excuses For Not Learning Music:
Everyone seems to have their own special reason why they can’t learn music. Here are some of the more common ones.
I’m Not Talented
I’ve never met a musically talented person. Never encountered someone who learned music per hour faster than anyone else. I’ve met people who are passionate and obsessive about music and practised 8+ hours per day and thus learned quickly. Never have I met anyone who did a limited amount of work who made great gains in their musical ability. Working as professional musicians, we’ve not met anyone who was amazing who hadn’t worked really hard.
I’m Tone Deaf
If you can hear when someone inflects upwards when asking a question, then you’re not tone deaf, as simple as that. We’ve had clients express a concern that they may be tone deaf. To this date we’ve not encountered anyone who was. It does exist, but it’s extremely rare.
I’m Not Musical
What does this even mean? Does it mean that you can’t play or sing instantly without having done any practice? If that’s the case, then no one is musical.
I Don’t Have Time
Can you find six minutes per day? We’re pretty sure that you can. If so, guess what! You have enough free time to learn music. Doing regular playing or practice is more effective than doing a long practice once a week.
In 20+ years of teaching we’ve not met anyone we couldn’t help. Depending on your prior experience and the amount of free time you’ve got. The time it takes to learn will vary (see How Long Will It Take to Learn Music ).
The sooner you start the sooner you’ve be up and playing.
IMA Music Mentoring — Brisbane’s Premier Music School.
Book an introductory music lesson and start following your musical dreams.