Anyone Can Learn Music | Fiddlosophy Episode #4

Anyone Can Learn Music. Period.

Realize that if you really want it, then you can do it. A lot of people tell themselves, “I don’t have talent. I’m too old. I don’t have the right gear. I don’t have the right look.”

None of those thoughts are true. They’re just stories that wound up in your head. In this Fiddlosophy episode, we’ll change that story.

If you’re someone who’s been defeated by this negative self-talk, know that it’s possible for you to overcome it. I’m going to talk more about this in this video. By the way, the tune I played is called “Redican’s Farewell to Appalachia.” I learned it off a recording by a band called Hog-Eyed Man.

Maybe you’re thinking, “Yeah, I want to learn an instrument!” Or you’ve already started your fiddle journey but want to devote more time and energy. You may be wondering, “What do I have to do? What’s required?” I’m going to give you four things to keep in mind.

Play Every Day

The most important thing is to play every day. It’s quite simple: if you do it every day, you make progress. As you make progress, you start to gain confidence and feel better.

I suggest at least 20 minutes a day, six days a week—preferably more. Try to practice at the same time and in the same place. Having that optional day off gives you a little healthy slack, so you don’t have to beat yourself up if you miss a single day.

Make it a priority by scheduling it on your calendar, letting family, roommates, and neighbors know, and setting up a practice space with minimal distraction.

Celebrate every time you practice! 🎉

Play the Instrument You Want to Play

Don’t listen to people who say, “YOU HAVE TO LEARN PIANO TO PROPERLY LEARN MUSIC.”

It’s important to learn the instrument that excites you, whether it’s fiddle, drums, or being a DJ. If you’re excited, you’ll be motivated to practice.

On a related note, learn one instrument at a time. Wait until you can competently play that first instrument before starting another one.

Music is a lifelong journey. Instead of being anxious about what you’re not doing now, feel joy knowing that you’ll never run out of fun and interesting things to learn.

Keep Going

You have to keep going. It’s like taking a long road trip. There will be roadblocks, dead ends, and traffic. You are going to feel doubt, frustration and self-loathing (my personal favorite) at times. Expect this.

I’ve been playing and creating music my whole life. Maybe I’m just weird, but these feelings never totally go away. I’ve just learned to manage them. To understand their presence and have a conversation with them.

Knowing this in advance will help you keep going. But then there will be amazing scenery. You’ll have adventures and meet new people.

Practice Well

If you want to keep going, you have to learn to practice well. Learning how to practice well is a lifelong journey. I’m still learning new ways of practicing after doing this for 40 years. I’ll mention the three most important practice strategies right now:

Chunking: Don’t just play a tune all the way through a few times and then move on. Identify the hard parts of that song, and strive to make at least one of those a little bit better today.

Go Slow: There is a natural tendency to speed up, not just while playing a song, but in your learning journey as well. Play things slowly. This gives your hands, ears, and brain time to map out the music.

Looping: Once you figure out the key chunks of a song, play them in a continuous loop. In this way, you move from thinking to playing. It starts to sound like music!

Choose a growth mindset

Realize that you can decide to grow and learn. You can decide to view challenges as fun, or you can decide to have a fixed mindset and limit yourself. You can decide to say, “I’m not musical! That’s for other people.”

I recently learned about this in a book called “Mindset.” I’ve always thought of myself as someone who likes learning. But after reading the book, I realized that I often fall into a fixed mindset—not so much with music, but when problems arise in other areas of life, like something in the house needs to be fixed. Instead of immediately trying to learn about it, I just complain that I have to deal with this stupid issue that’s below me! I have more important things to do! I have to make fiddle lessons! I have to make valuable content so that my audience is engaged!!

Here’s the good news. If you know about the growth versus fixed mindsets, then you have the ability to choose the growth mindset. You can always decide to grow if you just know that it’s possible. If you never hear about this, then you may fall into a fixed mindset and decide that is who you are. You are set in stone and that it’s totally beyond your control. Now that you know this, which mindset will you choose?

Realize how fortunate you are if you’re able to really listen to a song, play a fiddle tune, or dance with your kid.

OK! If you have questions, or something to add to the discussion, then please leave a comment. I love hearing from you guys.

Keep on fiddling, and have fun along the way…🎻