How did you learn to play?

[MrChainsaw389]

How did you learn how to play your instrument? Did you take lessons? Did you read books? Did you just start jamming?

Also, for the more experienced musicians, what do you think is more important; learning from a professional source (books or lessons) or just getting together with friends and working it out?

[IcedOpethBlind]

mix of jamming/practicing tabs from bands like dream theater/metallica/opeth/coheed/malmsteen

oh and

practice. practice. practice.

[merv the perv]

I learned from watching a friend sometimes, then I just taught myself. Tabs helped a lot, and also taking a music theory class helped me understand tunings and everything.

[Kif]

I never had lessons or anything, I just taught myself. Haha, it shows in my music

But seriously, I think jamming with your friends makes you a better musician by far. It teaches you how to play in time, how to play along with the bass/drums/guitar depending on what you play, and you end up having more fun doing it so you are more focused

[richter915]

I learned from watching a friend sometimes, then I just taught myself. Tabs helped a lot, and also taking a music theory class helped me understand tunings and everything.
ya tabs were a big help for me.

[AsMemoriesFade]

I just learned to play guitar on my own making everything i played something new and creative..then i started my own band so i could share my ideas with others and gain some of theirs.

my tips for those wanting to learn to play guitar or any other instrument for that matter is just practise hard and set goals for yourself each time you do so. Then get together with some freinds and share ideas...most of all GET CREATIVE!

[MrChainsaw389]

I'm by no means a master musician, I wouldn't even concider myself a musician at all, but I took lessons for about a month and a half, then I had to stop for other reasons. However, learning the basic chords and how to make chords helped me out a lot. Now I just kind of jam alone.

[Kif]

I do that as well. I'm not in a band. I started playing guitar because me and some friends wanted to be in a band, but that didn't work. The next band I joined, I was the only one really putting input into it (Lyrics, chords, etc) and the bassist and drummer kicked me out?!

So I figured most people around here want to be in a band for the wrong reasons; because it's cool and because being in a band makes you scene as fuck. Don't get me wrong, that's why I started playing, but I've grown up a lot since then and now I love playing just solo stuff acoustic and stuff. I've wrote quite a few electric songs as well, and plan to record them on day in the school studio.

But basically the way I learnt guitar was playing tabs, learning different techniques with the pick and fingerpicking and stuff like that, then I branched out and started writing my own stuff. At first, I will admit. They were horrible. But I love writing songs now I've gotten more used to it

[marrost]

I started playing guitar, and noticed that I was much better at playing single notes than chords, so I switched to bass and pretty much just taught myself by playing easy stuff by ear. Since then I've also learned how to sing pretty well.

[AsMemoriesFade]

Yea my band had a "TBS" delema and now im the lead vocalist and guitarist, it was difficult at first but im getting used to it.

[i like guitars]

self taught but im gona start taking lessons soon because i have a job and can pay for them. i try not to rely on tabs they sort of hinder your learning.

[allelish]

I only started last christmas (guitar) but i knew how to read tabs so i used mxtabs a whole lot to play blink, alkaline trio all the powerchord stuff. Then i finally started having lessons a couple of months ago.

[BrandNew20]

I started by learning basically every Green Day and Blink 182 song on earth, then I just made up my own stuff for a long time, finally this past semester I started taking guitar lessons.

[AShannon04]

I used to play guitar, and at the same time, my younger brother started playing drums. After awhile, I got sick of the guitar, for one reason or another. I had lessons and books and all that stuff, but for some reason, the instrument never really clicked with me. I guess I was frustrated with the steep learning curve. Anyways, my bro eventually quit drums and had a good kit, and a few summers ago, I was really bored and started fiddling around on his set of the fun of it, and I've been going strong ever since. I've never had a lesson, and pretty much played parts I liked from songs and taught myself how to play.

[ArTkY_]

I tought myself. Practice, practice and more practice. I think you get more of a feeling of accomplishment and you develop your own style by learning on your own.

[SonEric84]

I'm self taught so far...I'm pretty decent I suppose.

[christianP]

On piano, I took lessons from when I was 5 to 16 or so, then stopped because I didn't want to do it anymore basically. Then a year later I picked up a guitar and I've been learning since then, got some help from my very talented friend on the basics but beyond that I've just been teaching myself stuff, and practicing and writing when I get the chance. Gonna take lessons this summer provided I find a good place to do it at.

I also just bought my first electric, nice used squier strat for 60 bucks, it's a lot of fun.

[xcorruptpunkx]

i took piano lessons from 4th grade until recently. sounds pretty lame in a thread full of self-taught musicians lol.

[Manbotisdead]

How did you learn how to play your instrument? Did you take lessons? Did you read books? Did you just start jamming?

Also, for the more experienced musicians, what do you think is more important; learning from a professional source (books or lessons) or just getting together with friends and working it out?
Lessons and alot of sight reading with the drums.
I'm nothing too great though.

[MrChainsaw389]

i took piano lessons from 4th grade until recently. sounds pretty lame in a thread full of self-taught musicians lol.
Well that's what I'm hoping for. Some diversity in how everyone did it is what I was hoping for.

[oldwirehands]

I had an acoustic guitar since I was three. I would pick it up as a child and just strum open notes haha. Then I lost it for years. I had no clue where it was and forgot about it. Freshman year for my birthday, I got an Ibanez GAX 70 and have been playing since. I took lessons for about a year and a half. The last 8 months of lessons was just me giving my teacher a song, he'd tab it out and teach me to play it. Other times we would just jam.

I play everything else self-taught. You can hear my play everything in some of those links in my sig.

[winnertakeall]

I started out playing guitar and knowing very little. I still do not know all that much 8 years later. I never took lessons, but i do recommend them.

[monkeyboy14]

I just tried to learn songs. I realise now that this was the wrong way to go. I should have learnt from books and gone and gotten lessons. Or at the least learnt more than shitty 4 chord punk rock songs. I am now suffering with mediocrity because of my mistakes.

[CircaEnder]

mostly self taught .. my friend is amazing so he helps/

[TheWoj]

My dad played guitar, so as a kid i got the hand-me-down acoustic, and never played it.
Then I bought a bass and learned how to play that via self teaching and tabs.
Moved up to guitar the same way.
Next I look to learn piano.

I've learned the most from jamming with other people, because if youre by yourself, sometimes you can get static and start playing the same thing over and over in different keys, and other people force you to be more creative.

[-whisp-]

taking lessons is a great advantage, it's best to get the basics out of that, then jam out with your friends for reasons others have already mentioned.

[Tristan Needler]

i took lessons for saxophone so that taught me about music.
my dad showed me a little guitar, but im mostly self taught on that.
im a totally self-taught bassist (my 'main' instrument)
and im teaching myself harmonica for the hell of it.
i've also concluded it is next to impossible to teach yourself piano, so i might have to start taking lessons because i want to play it.

[the rog]

when i was 10 i started on saxophone, then switched over to trumpet because there weren't enough trumpet players in the middle school band.

i got trumpet lessons over 1 summer and then had lessons during class time for the next couple years.

around 8th grade i got a nylon string acoustic guitar (shoot me it was only 20 bucks) and i started to teach myself based initially on tab, and then i figured out all of the notes on the fretboard (based on my elementary knowledge of music theory [major chords etc])

when i was in 9th grade, i got a bass and started to play it seriously, initially from tabs, but i knew the notes i was playing too (thanks to my initial work with the acoustic) then i started to get better music theory knowledge and i used that to educate myself on modes/chords/scales/etc.

then i decided to try to teach myself keyboard/piano. that's still an ongoing process.

[Samuel]

i took piano lessons from 4th grade until recently. sounds pretty lame in a thread full of self-taught musicians lol.

but those self-taught people wish they took some type of lessons

for me atleast

ive played guitar for 3 years..just reading tabs and messing around..i still suck though

[FinchBulldog2]

It's important to have a mix of both. You should learn some parts of theory for sure. You should also check out tabs of stuff you like for fun and an idea of how to write a song. Playing with friends is also a good idea, because the better the people you play with are, the better you become.

[punklet2101]

How did you learn how to play your instrument? Did you take lessons? Did you read books? Did you just start jamming?

Also, for the more experienced musicians, what do you think is more important; learning from a professional source (books or lessons) or just getting together with friends and working it out?
I had lessons for 8 years and then just starting writing music on my own and playing by ear, etc. and jamming. I never really read any books.. didn't help me.

As for the second question I think it's best to start with lessons and then jam.

[IAmCountryMusic]

taught myself bass, all i needed to do was learn to read tabs.
and piano, i learned from a guy on PBS.

[littler101]

i taught my self. my freshman year of high school i got a 5 piece rogers drum set for $250 (brand new(ya.....nice set huh)) once i figured out basics pretty much, i just listened music alot and tried to ply stuff.

[screamoutmyname]

i took guitar lessons for awhile and then when i finally had a jam session with some friends with hopes of starting a band, they saw my sister's old-ass drumset and nominated me the new drummer... so i was kinda forced into learning drums in a very short time period... i've been playing drums for like 5 years and guitar for about 6ish...

for guitar, i read a lot of tabs and learned techniques from my teacher... drums i just kind of started duplicating what i heard from other bands and learning songs that way... then i got a little more creative and started to try stuff of my own.

[OveriseFan]

I think it depends on your teacher in terms of lessons... I started playing guitar just picking it up and learning some chords and whatever, reading tabs. Then I took lessons for about 8 months, over the course of which I didn't really learn much. He started me in a beginner book, and pretty much had me follow through that, despite the fact that it was clear I was too experienced for it. (I had played piano, so I knew how to read music, which is the only thing the lessons really worked on.) I didn't learn to much in terms of technique with guitar, or even much about music I didn't already know.

Now, I knew some theory and what not, and when I got into high school I started just jamming with everyone who wanted to. That's how I got my current band; everyone in the band is an incredible musician (all play multiple instruments, too.) and I have learned more from playing with them then any lesson, any book, any article has ever helped me. I think to become a good musician, you have to know music, not just your instrument. Even if you're a drummer you should understand melodies, harmonies, and chord progressions, as well as everything you can about percussion/rhythm. You need to be able to hear and understand what you're playing along to, remember.

[jdesutter]

Taught myself how to play electric & acoustic guitar (yes, there is a difference in playing styles), bass, drums, and keys.. Took lots and lots of time and practice, but now that I took all that time it's a real blessing to be able to play all of the instruments.

[The Untitled]

Started out trying to teach myself Guitar. Didn't work to well. few months ago i finally signed up for lessons.

LESSONS ARE WAY BETTER THAN ONLINE STUFF OR BOOKS!

because the teacher actually works with you on your errors and helps you as well as teaches you.

[parallelism]

Self-taught for guitar, bass and drums.
It helped me keep it fun and didn't diminish my motivation to learn more.


When I look back at instruments I've taken lessons for, like piano, saxophone and cello, I really wish that I had more fun spending time to play them. However, when practice is a responsibility rather than a hobby, it gets rid of all my drive to learn.

[Edo_Speedo]

The best way to start learning is lessons to begin.I started out trying to self teach (percussion) and the fact of the matter is I didn't put in the time, nor was I able to deal with more complicated pieces. I then took lessons, started with basic rudimentary stuff, then co-ordination, simple beat structures, and followed the chain through different styles. You can only get so far with a teacher though. Sure, you can understand how a latin beat is played, but it's another thing to write one. Jamming helps a ton with that. Find some friends, jam a bit, and maybe something will happen. If not, have fun with your instrument and jamming anyways.

[Zeke]

drugs

and more talented friends

[CranE]

How did you learn how to play your instrument? Did you take lessons? Did you read books? Did you just start jamming?

Also, for the more experienced musicians, what do you think is more important; learning from a professional source (books or lessons) or just getting together with friends and working it out?

this man tought me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wle7A_1SKkg

arguably the most gifted guitarist in virginia.

[eraserhead]

Self-taught guitar. but I'm really not that great a player, I can lay down chords but I can't do any lead stuff.

and I've been playing saxophone for seven years, and during that time I've taken numerous lessons/classes. that's where I learned all my basic theory.

[duhpunk]

i took lessons for years, but now i mostly teach myself.

[jadedromantic18]

I took lessons when i was like 4 and then I forgot after not playing for like 2 years and then I had to reteach myself. But I love my keyboard and piano more than anything so i had like mad determination.

[ArisonCain]

never took a lesson. i started writing melodies and songs way before i ever picked up an instrument. i got sick of frantically writing and having no way to cohesively put anything together. so, out of necessity, i taught myself guitar about 5 years ago.

[petrie182]

this is interesting!
well, my parents put me in piano when i was four, and i stuck with that until i picked up a guitar when i was twelve. ever since, i've stuck with guitar, and i'm completely self taught. no books, no tabs. just ear.

[theguy77]

piano was taught with lessons and then guitar just came naturally, self-taught. other instruments are far easier if you start out with piano.

[3mpire]

Jamming with Blink and Green Day tabs -> Lessons for about 4-5 years -> writing my own shit / jamming.

[Spewk]

I learned guitar partly from a few teachers, and mostly by myself. I learned bass completely by myself.

[The_kok]

from teh interwebs

[theguy77]

i miss taborama.com that site was the best. its how i got started, until i got good enough to learn everything by ear (and ironically enough i MAKE tabs now.)

[ieatcrayons4fun]

i learned what i could from people that i knew played already, but mostly i tought myself, and i think that's the way to go. play the music that you like, it will help you write your style of music.

[liveloud4life]

I played like school percussion for about a year then I picked up trapset on my own. I'm actually still doin percussion at OU now, something like 8 years. So I've had drum lessons but never actually on trapset. I think it's important to get some kinda professional instruction (lesson, books, youtube, whatever) to develop good technique so your not just like holdin 2 clubs but as far developing I think it's better to figure it out on your own so you can form your own unique style and not be some cookie-cutter mold of what they've taught you to play. Just listen to alot of different drummers you like and get some ideas and do some experimenting of your own.

[Jim Morgan]

I fumbled around on guitar on my own for awhile, before I seriously picked it up and started to teach myself when i was 18/19. I've played every single day since then, and I'm no shredder, but practicing pays off :) I learned to play bass the same way. Playing guitar definitely helps playing bass too.

I learned piano from 2 semesters of keyboarding at college. plus i'm in my fourth semester of music theory (which is hard but helps tons).

[Alexxx]

I took lessons for like a year, and it dramatically helped me.

[leezer]

I twaught myself too, through tabs. My guitar wasn't tuned for the first 4 months. I just thought I was shit. Then I went to a mates house and his guitar was tuned, I tried playing the same chord and voila. There is nothing like the first time you put 2 chords together, its so hard to do at the beginning. I remember when my guitar wasnt tuned my ex gf always gestured for a kiss so I would stop trying to play.

[goodarmcindy]

I taught my self using tabs. I am pretty rubbish for the amount of time I've been playing though. I feel it was an achivement to teach myself (using tabs) but I'm too lazy to teach myself theory so I think I have pretty much hit a brick wall in terms of technical ability.

[cone_bone]

When I was a little kid I started drumming to the cd Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt... One of my first cd's then that led into drum lessons, then middle school band... then during high school i just drummed to whatever i was listening at the moment.

[MissGrunge]

I actually learned to read the music, get the tempo and all that by playing the cello and bass in an orchestra. it actually helped a lot because you get the feel of actual melodies, and then you can apply all that to whatever it is you're playing.

tabs helped a ton, but i learned more from watching friends/colleagues and just generally rocking out by myself. but i honestly can say i don't miss orchestra in the least.

good luck!

[Kid B]

by ear

[chrisstahl]

I started playing guitar, and noticed that I was much better at playing single notes than chords, so I switched to bass and pretty much just taught myself by playing easy stuff by ear. Since then I've also learned how to sing pretty well.

are you in a band?

[SLoT]

i learned one song (ill leave out the title) from tab and then i went to my grandmothers house for like a fuckin month and wrote as many songs as i could by making shit up. that was bass. for guitar i had my dad show me a G chord and from there i learned an Emaj and a C chord. eventually the first song i ever wrote completely on guitar was filmed and broadcast on my local television network. cool shit. but current times... i still suck hard. i just focus on being a great songwriter instead of a spectacular musician.