Why Music?

Probably the most fundamental question you should ask yourself before signing up for lessons is "Why?" Why learn an instrument? Why make music? Why take lessons?

Not everyone will have the same answers to those questions, and that's ok. But it is good to consider these things before you leap into something; you will have a lot more focus and fun with your instrument if you do.

Here are some reasons why I have pursued music, as well as some of the unexpected benefits:

1. It's fun!
2. It's a wonderful family/social activity.
3. It a great way to learn that self-discipline is necessary if you want to maximize enjoyment. This is true in so many things in life, not just music.
4. It has taught me patience.
5. It's romantic!
6. It's a satisfying way to uphold and display the beauty and infinite worth of God!

Studies have shown that children who take music lessons do better in school. Admittedly, I lost my source for that statement, but I promise I'm not making it up! Learning music, (especially learning to read music) helps kids understand concepts such as fractions, relative values vs. absolute values, transformations on patterns, and so on. Not to mention the fact that lessons can improve abstract reasoning skills.

You may have noticed ads on this site for "Free Online Lessons." So why take lessons from me? Believe it or not, I won't discourage you from looking into online lessons. There's a wealth of information on the internet, and I want people (even my own students) to learn to take advantage of it. However, having a weekly lesson with a real human being affords students the opportunity to ask questions, receive constructive criticism, and to perform in front of people, come recital time. I can also guide students away from poor learning methods (there's plenty of junk out there!) toward much more effective methods.

Piano or Guitar?

Ok, so now you've thought about the "why," and hopefully you're beginning to see that lessons could be a wonderful thing for you or your kid(s). What next?

You're going to need to figure out which instrument you or your kid(s) want to learn. I teach piano and guitar. If you'd rather learn voice, violin, tuba, accordion, or glockenspiel, you'd better move on to another teacher. But let me make some suggestions that will help you decide between piano and guitar.

If you or your kid(s) have never had any musical experience, do yourself a favor and start with piano. Guitar is a very difficult first instrument. Generally, I don't accept guitar students younger than eight years old, because most just don't have the patience. I almost gave up guitar when I first started learning because pressing the strings down really hurts your fingers until you get callouses! For piano, I generally don't accept students younger than five.

Your first instrument is always your hardest, so you might as well pick the instrument that is the least difficult to learn. Just remember, you're never limited to one instrument for the rest of your life, and most concepts of music are directly transferable to another instrument later on down the road.

If you or your kid(s) have at least minimal exposure to music in any form (singing, dancing with a steady beat, etc.), then you can flip a coin, if you want. Often the initial decision is driven by budget, so let's talk about the goods needed to get you started...

What to Buy

Remember, music is supposed to be fun in the long run. Since music involves making a pleasant sound, make sure you have an instrument that is capable of producing a pleasant sound. Trust me, you or your kid(s) will not want to practice if all you've got is a beat-up guitar that's missing two or three strings and is so deformed that it can never play in tune. Or if all you've got is a dinky little 61-key keyboard, with no touch-sensitivity, and the sound of it barely reminds you of a piano, then you probably won't have much fun with it, and you'll probably give up on it fairly quickly. I know budget can be an issue, but please consider saving up for something that didn't come from a garage sale or Walmart. It may mean the difference between giving up after a month of lessons versus enjoying the gift of music for a lifetime.

Although I can't recommend specific brands, here are some things to look for when shopping for an instrument. First of all, go to a music store, not Target or Walmart or any other place. Support your Albuquerque music stores! Beyond that:

Piano

• An electronic keyboard is fine in place of a real piano, though of course a real piano is preferable (but I don't even have a real one! How sad!)
• Above all else, try to get a keyboard that has at least 76-keys (they generally come in three sizes: 61-key, 76-key, and 88-key.) 88-keys would be best, but can be too expensive depending on your budget.
• A built-in metronome would be very nice.
• Weighted, hammer-action keys. This ups the cost, but is very desirable in a keyboard. Try to get one like this if you can afford it.
• The number of sounds and techno-wizardry on the keyboard doesn't matter all that much. I teach my students how to play the piano, not how to play a synthesizer (two very different animals!). Just try to find one that doesn't sound intolerably fake with its piano sound.
• I have an Alesis QS 8.1, and I love it. They don't make it any more, but they do make a QS 8.2, and they managed to bring the price down significantly (from $1,500 to $800!). Unfortunately, the quality isn't as good, but it's not bad. Either way, you don't necessarily have to spend $800 to $1,500 to get a decent starting keyboard.

Guitar

• An acoustic, steel-string, dreadnought-style guitar would work best for lessons with me, unless you already have your heart set on electric. In that case, you're on your own. Nylon strings (which is what a classical guitar uses) will be easier to press, but the neck is a lot wider and playing chords is more challenging. Either one will work fine, but I recommend steel-string.
• 6-strings. Don't start with a 12-string or a 7-string or whatever. Most are 6-strings anyway, but I don't want you to make that mistake.
• DO NOT get a left-handed guitar, even if you're genuinely left-handed. It just isn't worth it. It will feel awkward at first either way, so you might as well learn to play it the same way everyone else does. You'll save yourself a lifetime of frustration from not being able to play other people's guitars.
• Good action. "Action" is the distance from the strings to the neck at the 12th fret. The greater the distance, the harder it will be to press the strings down. Higher action = greater pain. Just ask the salesman to show you what "action" is.
• For adult-sized guitars, I wouldn't go much below $250, or you'll really regret it when the neck starts bowing in and the glue inside the body comes undone and it can't play in tune anymore. For kid-sized guitars, I'm guessing you probably wouldn't want to go too much below $175. I've never bought a kid-sized guitar, though.

All graphics and content copyright 2007 Scott Horlbeck. All Rights Reserved.