Whether you’re interested in learning music theory or playing an instrument, music is easier to understand than you might think! After you’ve mastered the fundamentals, you must practice more challenging materials to eventually have a good handle on your instrument and music theory.
Leading music coach and piano expert Sean Wilson is the founder of Sean Wilson Piano, an online subscription-based website for musicians who want to learn to play gospel and jazz by ear at a high level. With his vast music knowledge, he underlines the approaches through which people can learn how to understand and play music.
While every individual has a unique way of understanding and performing music, Sean highlights three significant ways of learning music that can be useful to every developing musician. In order to flourish and grow in the music industry, practice, passion, and consistency are the best ways to help individuals reach heights in music. According to him, learning the art of differentiating notes and setting appropriate goals to stay persistent, along with daily practicing, is essential. He adds that music is not just a theory; it is more of an art that reconnects our emotions and helps us express ourselves. When playing music, it is necessary to understand certain chords, pitches, scales, and other musical notes, as they help you become more versatile as a musician.
Understanding the difference between notes
For beginners, learning the difference between sharp and flat notes and producing these sounds with your instruments is the first step to learning how to play music. Hence once you have mastered the concepts of notes, chords, and scales, practice playing the whole song from the start to make your music sound better.
Learning basic elements of music
Sean also maintains that after learning different musical elements, it is also essential to set goals. Setting a goal helps you stay consistent and guide you in improving your performance. In selecting a plan, you must look deep into the reason behind learning music – if you are doing it as a hobby or are passionate about performing music. This way, you can set realistic goals for what you want to learn and how much time you will spend practicing. Additionally, practicing is the best way to learn music and achieve your goal. Practicing around 25-30 mins each day, avoiding distractions, and taking breaks in between is the best strategy for learning music.
Accepting failures and mistakes
According to Sean, another way to learn music is by studying music theory and history, as it helps individuals combine the pieces they are learning. You will be able to understand the melodies and chords in your work with the aid of music theory, and as you know more pieces, you may begin to notice patterns in the musical structures. Finally, a crucial component of learning how to perform is learning how to accept inconsistencies and defects since, in a performance, you can’t keep starting and stopping; you have to learn how to play through your errors. The more you perform, whether with a group or alone, the better and more natural it will feel.
Sean explains that learning music can be tricky for developing musicians, but once they start learning different musical techniques, they can play any song they hear. Learning the basics of musical elements, doing music theory exercises, and practicing musical instruments can help them succeed in music.
If you wish to learn more about music and get access to all the chords and notes, tune into Sean’s Youtube channel or Instagram page, where he teaches beginning musicians just starting on the piano all the way to playing piano at an advanced level. In addition, he guides them in figuring out chords and theories, along with breaking chords down in a way that is easy to understand.
