11 Tips For Beginner Musicians in 2024

So you’ve finally decided to learn an instrument and couldn’t be more excited to get started!

As a music teacher who spends most days observing people play, here are the best tips I can give you to help you make fast progress whilst keeping things fun:

· Buy an instrument with great reviews

· Get a teacher at the start

· Learn your favourite artists songs/pieces

· Keep doing what inspired you to start learning the instrument

· 5 minutes practice will turn into more

· Have a goal when playing

· When you’re in the zone and making progress, keep playing!

· Play along to songs at slower speeds using Youtube or an app

· Play each chord once and sing along

· Go back to your old songs/pieces to measure your progress and build repertoire

· Learn entire songs/pieces and some music theory

Buy an instrument with great reviews

Spend time looking for a well-made, easy to play and good sounding instrument to learn on. With the help of your teacher or reviews on the internet/friends, you can get some great recommendations.

I’ve met so many students who’ve been trying to learn on a badly setup/built instrument and seen their enjoyment hindered because of that; you don’t need any unnecessary difficulty at first!

There are plenty of great, good quality instruments for a reasonable price. You can also purchase second hand to get even more for your money but be careful to ask plenty of questions and try the instrument out/ask for a demonstration.

If you’re buying a new instrument and are willing to spend £150 to £250, this is usually a good price range for a beginner instrument.

For a teenager or older, these are the main desirable beginner features:

Keyboards

A good quality key sound for maximum enjoyment

Weighted keys or at least touch sensitive keys

66 keys at least, but I’d recommend 77 or 88 keys

Sustain pedal jack

Maybe some other instrument voices but it’s not that important

If you’re lucky enough to have a piano from the word go, then all of the above are already taken care of.

Guitars

Buy the instrument from a guitar shop (if new)

Low action

Good intonation and tuning stability

.009 gauge strings for ease of playing (ask the dealer/seller)

I suggest an electric guitar because they are easier to play, a bit more cost is involved though

An amp with gain (if learning on an electric guitar)

Get a teacher, especially at the start

It'd be very very useful to have a one-to-one teacher with great reviews at the beginning, to act as your musical compass. They can point out your errors in a constructive way so that you can speed up your journey with the correct technique and focal points!

You’ll save yourself so much wasted time and time is what you need to improve at your instrument. Any teacher worth their soul should have your goals and music taste in mind whilst planning lessons, ensuring the right things are practiced but using the right material for enjoyment.

They’ll give you guidance on how to practice, keep you accountable and you’ll benefit from all the knowledge they’ve picked up over many years.

Learn your favourite artists songs/pieces

If you’re a beginner, it can be disheartening if you do find the instrument very difficult at first. Some people find the early stages much easier than others but all will benefit from this bit of obvious advice.

I think it’s vital that you try to learn music/songs that you really enjoy; your teacher should be willing to find songs/music that you enjoy and that’s suited/simplified for the stage you’re at.

It’s so important that you have early successes when learning to play an instrument. If you find a certain style of playing easier or more enjoyable (hopefully both), I think you should focus on that at the start to build confidence and keep you coming back for more practice.

If you enjoy playing melodies do that, if you find chords easier and less difficult to remember, focus there.

Keep doing what inspired you to start learning the instrument

Nothing motivates aspiring musicians more than watching their favourite artists perform live or watching them on Youtube.

If this or something similar is what made you pick up an instrument, chances are that’ll make you fall in love with the art time and time again. When you’re feeling unmotivated to play, watch someone you admire perform what you’re trying to learn, works every time!

5 minutes practice will likely turn into more

A great trick to help establish a consistent practice routine is promising yourself you’ll play your instrument for a few minutes at set times. It’s a lot easier to commit to that than it is to set aside an hour and actually stick to that plan, especially if that’s proved hard for you.

Plus, once you’ve actually started to play there’s a good chance you’ll get into it and practice for a little longer than intended anyway!

If you do this enough times, I think you’ll form the habit of practice much faster than you would by making plans you’re unlikely to stick to. Once you feel this routine is fairly stable, only then do I suggest committing to longer practice sessions, especially if you’ve struggled to stick to them until now.

Have a goal when playing

Whilst this may be something that you know you should be doing, many don’t because it’s easier to skip this step and just start playing.

Now, I can definitely understand why it’s very tempting to dive straight in when you’re on a time budget; but with the benefit of my experience I suggest you take a few seconds to jot down what you intend to practice first.

If you have a teacher, they should be telling you what to work on so there’s less confusion and to stop you developing your skills very unevenly. If you use the internet or a book to learn, do some good research and then refer to the site/book when playing; if it’s a trusted source.

You’re much more likely to achieve what you want if you know what you should be practicing to get there, don’t skip this obvious but important step!

When you’re in the zone and making progress, keep playing!

There are times when you’re playing an instrument that you seem to be thinking clearly, playing better and really enjoying yourself.

When you feel like you’re in this state, you need to make the best of it and let your musicianship grow, try not to interrupt yourself if it’s not urgent that you do.

You’ll turbocharge your progress if you make a habit of taking a short break when you just can’t focus; the same as you will by committing extra time when you’re in the zone.

When you take a break to refocus, take the opportunity to remove distractions from where you’re practicing and if you haven’t already got a goal(s) in mind for your session, be sure to write one down!

Play along to songs at slower speeds using Youtube or an app

Something that really helps to motivate you when you first start learning music/songs is being able to play to them at a reduced speed thanks to technology.

You’ll likely find yourself playing for longer, thanks to the challenge of trying to keep up with the music.

Obviously you’ll need to learn the basics first and learn the song/piece but once you have, this can be a really fun and beneficial way to practice during some sessions.

Play each chord once and sing along

If you enjoy singing or have an interest in giving it a go, a great time to start trying is once you can play a few simple chords. I recommend trying this even if you have never sung before or don’t feel it’s something you’re interested in.

You’ll likely wish you had started singing earlier if you go on to play an instrument for a long time; it’s a very useful skill for many reasons:

- It’ll keep the instrument fun and fresh

- It gives you another reason to play your instrument

- It gives you more confidence

- It means you can sing with others

- You may be chosen to be in a band because you can sing and others can’t

- It relaxes you when done in a space you feel comfortable with (even if alone)

- It’ll make you more skilled on your instrument

Your voice will soon start to sound more in tune if you sing along to songs whilst playing each chord once on your instrument.

You could also try singing scales, along to exercises or with your teacher as you start to progress; it’s all optional but can be a lot of fun.

Go back to your old songs/pieces to measure your progress and build repertoire

This is another brilliant habit to get into, you’ll be excited by new songs/pieces many times but that’s no excuse for forgetting things you’ve played in the past!

Even as a beginner, it’s so important you revisit the first things you ever played. You’ll be able to see whether you’ve improved and it’ll help you memorise songs/pieces for the long term.

Motivation is very important when learning an instrument; so being able to see improvements or able to play better because you have the music in your mind helps a lot.

Knowing a lot of songs/pieces means you can:

Entertain people

Have lighter-hearted, fun practice playing music you know well

Join in and play with other musicians

Learn entire songs/pieces and some music theory

These ideas aren’t as important for complete beginners as they are for someone who’s been playing for a couple months. Still, if you have a teacher from the start some of these topics below will be included at a basic level; hopefully all of them.

You will definitely thank yourself for:

- Learning entire songs, not just your favourite parts

- Learning the names and locations of the note on your instrument

- Learning some music theory and how best to apply it on your instrument

Benefit from my thousands of hours spent with beginner musicians, all 11 of these pointers above are worth their weight in gold!

Thanks for reading ;)