Technology

5 Ways Modern Technology can help you learn how to Play a Musical Instrument

There is a lot more to playing a musical instrument than just being able to create a nice sound. There are in fact a wide range of physical and mental health benefits including improving your muscle coordination and memory. 

A lot of us have attempted to learn how to play some sort of instrument at some stage during our lifetime, but after a handful of lessons, we have decided to pack it in. It can be an extremely difficult ordeal, which is why many of us give up without giving it a proper go. 

For most of us, mastering a musical instrument takes years of dedication and practice. However, in recent years, due to modern technology, learning how to play an instrument has become a little bit easier. Although it can still prove to be a challenging journey, having technology on your side is a major advantage. 

Invest in a Metronome App

Some people can naturally keep a beat, yet others can’t. If you struggle to keep a beat throughout a song, it will make learning a full song a lot more difficult, but don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world! 

Traditional metronomes have been around for a very long time and they were designed to produce an audible clicking sound at a certain time. People have been using these to practice an instrument to help them keep a regular pulse. There are plenty of digitized metronomes available on the market these days, however, there are some fantastic metronome apps available too. These apps will help train your brain and muscles to keep a beat while practicing, which is vital no matter what instrument you are learning how to play. Without being able to keep a beat, songs won’t sound right. If you are unable to keep a beat, playing with other musicians will prove very frustrating. 

There are plenty of metronome apps on Google Play and the Apple Play Store available. Although some of them are free to download, investing in a quality Metronome App won’t break the bank. You can purchase a top-of-the-range metronome app for less than $3.  

Find your Music Sheets Online

If you tried to learn how to play a musical instrument before the internet was readily available, finding music sheets with songs you wanted to learn was almost impossible. Most of us found ourselves digging through music stores searching for music books, hoping that our favorite song was included. Even if you did manage to find the song you were hoping to learn, the cost of these books often cost a mini fortune. 

Nowadays, thanks to the world wide web, all you have to do is type the song you are looking for into a major search engine, and in a matter of seconds, you’ll have a wide array of websites displaying the chords and notes for the song you want to learn. If you are looking for Chords smells like teen spirit, just type it in and before you know it you will have all the chords in front of you! 

Some sites are dedicated to publishing guitar chords while others specialize in piano notes. You can also download an App for piano chords. However, not all websites publish the same chords for each song. You might have to search through a few websites to find the right chords. 

Practice with Others Online

Playing music with others is one of the best things about being able to play an instrument. Not only will playing music with other musicians give you the chance of creating great music, but it will also help improve your overall skills. 

Thanks to modern technology, you don’t have to physically meet up with other musicians to practice together. There are plenty of apps like Skype and Zoom that allow you to connect with fellow musicians all over the world. All you need is your instrument, headphones, a decent microphone, and a reliable internet connection to get your online jam session started. Since the outbreak of Covid-19 musicians have been practicing with others online more than ever before. Because people have been forced to stay indoors, band members have relied on the internet to keep the music going. 

Even if you don’t have anyone to jam with there are lots of communities online that welcome musicians to practice with them. 

Record yourself playing

In the past, people used dictaphones to record themselves playing a musical instrument. However, the quality was rarely any good. To help improve your skills, recording yourself playing can help. Nowadays there are a lot of recording apps and software packages with incredible quality. Although it won’t sound as good as a professional recording studio, if you have the right equipment it won’t sound too far off. 

Recording your own music in a recording studio will cost a lot of cash, however, with advanced software readily available for desktop and Apple computers, you should be able to produce your own music for a fraction of the price. You might have to invest in a good quality USB microphone if you plan on singing, instead of using the built-in standard microphone found on most computers, plus, you might also have to spend money on cables that connect your instrument to your computer. There are plenty of free apps and software available to help you record yourself playing, but you might have to spend a small amount of cash purchasing a well-known recording package. 

There is lots of incredible technology available that will allow you to edit your songs, add in different effects and other instruments. Even if you don’t have anyone to play with, technology can help your music sound like you have an entire band playing with you. 

Upload your Music to YouTube

Performing music in front of others is an exciting way to show you have learned how to play a musical instrument. However, the pressure of performing will prove whether or not you can actually play well. 

Avoid uploading songs during the early stages of your musical journey, but if you are confident and mentally strong enough to be able to handle criticism, publishing your songs to well-known streaming services like YouTube can motivate you to improve your skills. Of course, playing in front of an audience, even if you can’t physically see them, is a big step for anyone. Most people who play to an audience strive for perfection, but the advantage when uploading your songs to YouTube is that you can record the song as many times as you want before you publish it. 

To go even further, you can play your songs live on YouTube. For the last few years, the streaming service has allowed its members to stream videos live, and musicians all over the globe have been loving this new feature. They can easily stream their music all over the world live from the comfort of their own homes. However, when playing live you will want to make sure every single note is perfect in your performance. However, you will quickly notice that you will have to accept imperfections and inconsistencies. The difference between playing in front of people live and playing by yourself, is that you can’t stop midway through a song. Even the best bands on the planet play through their mistakes, however, managing to do so without your audience knowing is something that everyone learning a musical instrument has to learn.

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