After a long day in your workplace, class, or whatever undertaking you are committed to, you might want to figure out what you want to do during that downtime.
Well, learning how to play an instrument can be the choicest and the most life-changing hobby you can ever venture into.
Therefore, a critical question comes up:
Is Learning How To Play A Musical Instrument A Useful Hobby?
Yes. Learning to lay instruments is absolutely a stand-out hobby for anyone interested in it. The goodness with it is that you can always do it as long as you are alive. Unlike sports and other hobbies, this one can still be done later on in life. It is never too late to start playing an instrument.
As we will uncover in this article, there are many cool benefits of playing musical instruments. Keep reading to learn more about that and other ideas and facts about playing instruments as a hobby.
Why Learning to Play an Instrument Is an Ideal Hobby
There are so many hobbies from which to choose.
But why would learning how to play an instrument be the best thing to choose?
Well, playing an instrument has immense benefits as explained below.
1. It Is Relatively Cheap
All you require is your musical instrument of choice.
However, it can get expensive with the addition of new instruments and perhaps when you get even more serious to the point of hiring training services from an expert.
Overall, it is not an expensive endeavor.
2. You Can Do It For The Rest Of Your Life
Learning how to play a musical instrument is all about learning a skill that will be built for the rest of your life.
It is not like other hobbies that may be forgotten along the way.
Developing some skills in playing instruments is a long-term investment in your life that will always be rewarding to you and those around you.
3. It’s A Constant Journey Of Boundless Learning
There is always something new to learn when you venture into music.
You can always keep honing your skills throughout the years.
Besides, if you get bored or tired of learning to play one instrument, you are always at liberty to go to the next level and pick up another one.
That means trying new styles and techniques and building your knowledge base. It makes you curious, satisfied, and knowledgeable.
3. You Can Adapt Your Skills To Different Musical Genres
Taking a hobby in learning to play an instrument opens great doors for other opportunities and styles of music.
If you start with guitar lessons, for instance, you may find yourself landing in jazz, pop, rock, or country music genres and much more.
This brings a deeper connection with the music you love since you can now understand what and how it takes to create them. There is a heightened appreciation of the field of music in you.
4. It Boosts Creativity
It takes a lot of mental energy, focus, and time to master the art of playing a particular musical instrument.
In the event of honing your skills, your brain is massively challenged.
Overall, it brings about a certain degree of creativity in you and the ability to face new challenges is invigorated.
Furthermore, learning makes you improvise certain things and makes you express your ideas and feelings through music in a vast array of mediums.
5. It Serves As A Great Stress Reliever
No other hobby relieves you of stress as much as learning to play instruments does.
Musical instruments take you into a soothing world and can be a great way to ease the pressures and tensions of life.
It is an ideal thing to do after a long and busy day. It is an opportunity to decompress, recharge and rejuvenate.
What Do You Need To Kick Start Your Musical Journey?
1. An Instrument and Its Accessories
This is on a basic level and nothing goes on without you having the instrument of choice at your disposal.
2. Time
You can always create time to learn whenever you are free from your daily tasks. A hobby means a lot and that involves having time to learn and upgrade your skills.
3. A Teacher
You can get a physical trainer or a remote one. If you have a friend who can help you master the skill, you are better off. By all means, have someone to walk you through it.
4. Desire To Learn
Desire and attitude form the driving force without which things are boring and seem impossible.
You can develop a great desire to learn by being available for it and researching particular music and genres and how people play certain instruments.
Eight Ways To Select The Right Instrument For Yourself
When you are starting, you are likely to bump into a tough decision-making process on the choice of instrument to start with.
You are a beginner in the game and you hardly have any idea which instrument to pick or to purchase for your training.
You are probably worrying about where to start it all.
Given the wide range of musical instruments in this era, it can be a daunting task to start.
Worry no more since we get you covered in the section below.
We have narrowed down this particular topic into some questions that you need to have at the back of your mind before you delve into playing instruments as your hobby.
1. What Kind Of Music Do You Like?
This may seem to be an obvious question but you need to think it through on a deeper note.
All this time, you should be aware that a musical instrument is a huge investment of time and money.
You, therefore, must make sure that the instrument and type of music of your choices fit the bill in the first place.
That is why this section is critical in setting the base for your hobby.
Sometimes you love genres like acoustic music with drums but that might not be the choice. So you will have to dig even deeper into this question.
The trick here is that some instruments prove to be more versatile than others.
And once you master the basic tips and skills, you can proceed to specialize in other areas with ease.
Some are a bit more limiting and hard to pick.
All the same, if you are the type of student who likes taking on new challenges, you are all set to go.
2. How Does The Instrument Make You Feel?
In what situation does the instrument put you in when you play or hear it?
Does it impress you?
If playing an acoustic instrument pleases you so much, then perhaps a mandolin would be an ideal choice.
On the other hand, if you are less social, a piano will fit you well.
Besides, a piano is a wonderful-looking piece of furniture even when it is not being played.
3. What Is Your Budget?
Your budget determines how far you can go as far as purchasing an instrument is concerned.
A wide spectrum of instruments can be purchased in various price ranges. Some are cheaper while others are expensive.
Quality also matters where the price is concerned.
So you have to go for an ideal instrument that will not bore you at all. If you are clueless about where to purchase them, it is a good idea to seek recommendations from friends who know more about them.
4. Where Do You Plan To Practice?
It is a hobby, yeah. But you need to make sure that the instrument you want to bring in fits into the space available.
It should be spacious and comfortable enough for you to practice. Just make sure that you squeeze freely.
5. Can You Find A Teacher Close To You?
Whether it is a cello or guitar instructor, it should not be hard for you to find them.
Well, some instruments come with a challenge. Sometimes it is very hard to locate an instructor for certain instruments.
So these are the high-profile issues that need to be sorted before embarking on purchasing any sort of instrument for your training sessions.
Just bear in mind that you may require to travel some distance away from your home for physical training sessions.
Some instrument instructors, thanks to modern technology, can be found remotely. If you are okay with taking these online sessions, then you are all good to go.
6. How Much Time Do You Have?
The truth of the matter is that all instruments will require a huge investment of time to learn.
That is all that it takes to become an excellent player.
The choice of instrument you make affects the amount of time you need to practice playing it.
For instance, a simple rhythm guitar will require fewer hours of the day to learn something new as compared to kora.
Kora will require some hours of learning. So you realize your time schedules also matter here.
7. What Are Your Physical Limitations?
If you cannot afford to have something heavy in your room, upright bass will not be your choice.
You will also have to think twice about daring saxophone classes as a hobby if you have issues with your lungs capacity.
Having a problem with your elbow? Well, trombone may not be a suitable choice for you.
Honestly, if you are so willing to learn an instrument, you can conquer all odds.
At the same time, you must have the energy to counter a bit of adversity if you have a physical challenge.
8. Do You Want To Learn To Read Music?
Some music will require you to learn to read them first.
For instance, if you decide to start learning how to play Western classical music, you must be able to read.
That means you will have the additional task of learning to read them first.
The same applies to any jazz player.
They must first learn to read the music they are playing.
So if you are looking forward to playing an instrument without necessarily reading your music, there are many genres of folk music for you to try all around the world of music.
They don’t require any written notation and given that you are nurturing your hobby playing an instrument, added work means distraction, you might want to avoid that at all cost.
More Tips on Choosing an Instrument for Your Hobby
1. Choose With Care
Don’t go for an instrument you don’t love. If you don’t like it, discard it for something else that impresses you.
2. Have Patience And The Willingness To Learn
Perfecting your skills in playing a particular instrument does not happen overnight.
There is no miracle here and all you have to do is invest your time and determination into it.
It will take a while before you refine your skills in playing a particular instrument.
So please give it time. Don’t be discouraged at any point.
3. Adults Vs Children
Discard the common notion that learning to play an instrument is much easier for children than adults.
Science tells us that children have strong brain plasticity and can learn new things faster.
Well, while that is true, adults are pretty good at practicing. So make good progress through constant practice. Hard work has ever been rewarding!
The Six Easiest Instruments You Can Learn To Play
Even though people have varying preferences as far as instruments are concerned, some are way too easy to learn as compared to others.
We have compiled a list of 6 instruments that can be great game-changers for your hobby. Read on.
1. Piano
Plenty of people take piano for a complicated instrument.
This is especially true since one has to learn to coordinate both hands at once in a proper way.
The piano is undoubtedly one of the easiest musical instruments you can ever learn to play.
Furthermore, learning how to play the piano sets a firm foundation on how to play other instruments.
A piano combines all aspects of other instruments.
For instance, when you get to read and understand piano sheet music, it makes it easier to read on almost all other western instruments.
That is not all. The piano is one the most popular musical instruments with universal terms that are of great help when you further your music career.
The piano is also easier to understand as compared to other musical instruments since the notes are just displayed on it.
You might not need to worry about intonation as in the case with other musical instruments.
2. Bongos
Bongos usually go with salsa fans and so if you are one, bongos are a good choice of instrument for your hobby.
Originating from Cuba, bongos are a set of two drums joined together.
It is a simpler drum kit with almost the same level of satisfying experience as a full drum kit.
It is a lot of fun to bang on bongos even without some knowledge on how to go about it.
It may take a while to master the art but this instrument is one of the easiest.
One cool thing about bongo is that they are great social instruments.
It takes you to the world of salsa where you can uniquely jam with friends.
Additionally, learning to play bongos enables you to master rhythm skills which are indispensable in learning to play other instruments.
3. Guitar
The guitar is the master and icon of the musical instruments category.
And there is no end to learning how to play the guitar. Guitars come in many varieties.
Some are electric, others are acoustic. It is easy to play the guitar if you develop a great attitude for it.
There are thousands of remote classes published online where you can learn to play the guitar as a hobby. Create time for that at least once a day or as many times as you can.
One cool thing about the guitar is that it is a portable instrument that can be played anywhere.
So if you have a colleague who is good at it you can always take it along with you and play it anytime, anywhere.
4. Harmonica
Also called Blues Harp, the harmonica is a great instrument for beginner adults.
The best part of this is that you don’t need to know a lot to get started. It is hard to sound bad on a harmonica.
And like guitars, harmonicas are portable.
That means you can carry them around and play them with friends or experts.
You can perfect your skills with time on these easy-to-play musical instruments.
Like with other instruments, there are plenty of remote sessions published online where you can visit and teach yourself how to go about it.
5. Ukulele
Ukulele is undoubtedly one of the cheapest and most available instruments.
It has four nylon strings making it very simple for the learners to pick chords and play their favorite songs just within a matter of a few weeks.
Graduating from ukulele to guitar is therefore very simple since it sets a ground for you to master the art of creating sound from strings.
Some of the greatest guitar experts started from the ukulele.
You should never underestimate what the ukulele can do.
With just a handful of chords, you can play a wide array of your favorite tunes or start a band with your friends.
Ukulele can be used to play music from almost all musical genres and it does the job perfectly well.
Mastering the basics of playing ukulele only takes a few lessons. It is very easy to get started.
6. Glockenspiel
If you ever enrolled in Kindermusik classes, you must have seen a glockenspiel.
It is designed to look much like a small version of a xylophone.
The difference is that the wooden bars used in a xylophone are replaced with metal ones in a glockenspiel. It, therefore, produces a cheery sound.
Glockenspiel is a great instrument that can be used in bands.
So when you get to learn this instrument you will always secure some space in the community of musicians whenever they are making their auditions.
Working with a band is the best way to refine your skills and elevate them to the next level
Final Words
Learning is a continuous process. Each day comes with a package of challenges for us to dare and become great.
Creating a hobby is a unique way of building your skills, talents, and career life.
Some of the best musicians of all time got there by developing hobbies in music and consistently practicing.
Knowing what it takes to learn is a great game-changer. Use these skills to scale the heights of your musical path.
Related
References:
How to pick up an instrument as a hobby
Why You Should Learn How to Play a Musical Instrument as a Hobby and How it May Make You Smarter
How to Choose a Musical Instrument to Play