Violinist Sarah Chang, even at ten years old, rips through Pablo Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy. She plays the end of the final movement, filled with challenging double stops and sixteenth note arpeggios, at around 152 beats per minute with her eyes closed. Chang, now thirty-six years old and playing professionally, can undoubtedly play the piece even better and faster. If one listens off in the distance during the quiet parts of the song, the sobs of many adequately-skilled musicians can be heard.

While it may be too late to become a child prodigy, it is never too late to learn a musical instrument. Musical abilities are envied by many. The idea of learning how to play an instrument can seem overwhelming to some—just like many other skills, playing an instrument is a continuous learning process. However, there are many ways to ease this process.

Surrounding Oneself

Exposure to music provides learners with many benefits. With technology being as advanced as it is, recordings of music have never been more accessible. Listening to music provides one with examples of technique, style, how the music should sound, etc. Senior Nathan Johnson, violinist and co-concertmaster of Lincoln Northeast’s Orchestra, often listens to pieces he is learning or pieces of similar style. “I’ve been listening to some fiddle stuff to kind of figure out that style,” he says about an Irish-inspired piece he is working on.

Being exposed to music often serves as a source of inspiration. Senior Dylan Gearhart, a percussionist at LNE, comes from a musical family—his father played trumpet in the Cornhusker Marching Band, and his brother got him into metal music—which he finds beneficial. “I think it more inspired me,” says Gearhart. “I saw what they were doing and I wanted to do it.” Gearhart now participates in many musical ensembles, such as Honors Jazz Band as well as bands he has started outside of school.

“The reason most of us play is because we’ve been inspired by something awesome in music and want to be able to do it just like how we’ve seen it,” says Mr. Brian Vuu, saxophonist and head band director at LNE. Learning and improving is better when an individual has a specific standard he/she would like to match. These goals can be developed by listening and surrounding oneself in music.

Taking Lessons

Private lessons are largely impactful on musical development. Often, students in school ensembles who also take private lessons are more skillfully advanced than students who do not. The one-on-one experience of private lessons usually allows students to advance at their own pace and advance more quickly.

“It was the single best thing I could have done to become better,” confesses Vuu. “I was stagnating in high school, not knowing how to achieve a better sound and level of musicianship ….Taking lessons opened my eyes on how a saxophone could sound, and it made the process digestible.”

Private lessons are also great for students who are not in music programs. Often, these students want to join band or orchestra but do not because they feel their inexperience will hinder their success in the class. The one-on-one experience of private lessons will allow these students to learn at their own pace.

The “P” Word: Practice

It is impossible to improve at anything without doing it repeatedly. Practice is such an important aspect about being a musician. “It’s a time to be incredibly humble and realize how incapable you are in comparison to who you want to be,” adds Vuu. “I have never worked harder in life than I have in a practice room.”

Staying dedicated to practicing, however, is hard. Many music students are familiar with this scenario: struggling through a piece they did not practice as their teacher sighs disappointedly. Often, students quit because they do not practice—either because they cannot or will not. Practicing can be frustrating; many musicians may become discouraged when something they hear is not as good as they want it to be. Despite it being a crucial part of being a musician, it is often avoided.

How does one keep himself/herself from dreading the practice room? Gearhart says that he does not find practicing to be difficult because playing is fun and exciting to him. “The moment that I transferred practice from being a chore to being something I enjoyed was the moment that I saw significant improvement across the spectrum of me as a musician,” he states. “But in the process of auditioning for college, [practice] did the exact opposite because practicing became a chore.” It may seem obvious, but the more willing one is to learn, the easier it will be.

It is also important to find methods of practicing that are most effective for oneself. What may work for one player may not work for another. Traditionally, many musicians will do their practicing with a metronome (a highly recommended and valuable tool) for rhythm work or building up tempo. Gearhart, however, finds this to be inconvenient as he is used to playing off of other musicians in more informal settings. Practice tools and methods will vary by musicians’ preferences.

One beneficial habit is learning to play music from a variety of styles. Not only does this broaden one’s knowledge of the styles themselves, but this will also improve technique as certain techniques are associated with certain styles. Johnson likes to study multiple pieces at once because the variety helps him learn faster.

Piano: A Versatile Instrument

Piano is a great instrument to pursue, but it can also be a very useful tool in developing an understanding of music and how it works. Johnson mentions learning other instruments, especially piano, has helped him realize different patterns in music such as chord progressions and structures.

Fortunately, piano is a relatively less difficult instrument to learn. The playing technique is rather simple and the instrument itself makes it easier to see what one is playing and how the notes work together. While a real piano may be less accessible, there are many alternatives, such as electric pianos, that may also be as beneficial. “I dabbled a little bit on our three-octave MIDI keyboard,” Vuu says about his musical beginnings. “It developed my ear a lot as a child.”

“If you learn the process of learning an instrument, it will actually help you with every other aspect of your life. The skills you learn can be transferred to almost any other experiment or idea whatever you’re doing,” notes Gearhart. Indeed, many skills require much practice before one can become proficient—maybe even proficient enough to play with your eyes closed.

“Be humble and realize your faults, and work harder than you ever have to reach those goals. That’s how you become successful,” concludes Vuu.