Welcome to the first part of a possible multi-part series I’ll call “Advice from someone who doesn’t really know any better, but hell I’ve been on this planet long enough to have a good idea or two, surely.”
I’ve been in a band since late 2019 and shared in it’s ups and downs (mostly ups, thankfully), I’ve also recorded solo bleepy-bloopy nonsense. I’ve played guitar longer than I care to admit given my skill level, so I like to think I know a thing or two about a thing or two.
So you wanna be a musician? great! It’s fun, learning an instrument is rad, and once you start down this path everything is expensive so you’ll have no money to waste on drugs, Fortnite skins, or OnlyFans egirls (uwu).
If you’re wondering where to start? Well, I’m a terrible role model, but I’ll tell you what I can. I’m going to be sharing some general stuff, as well as tips and tricks that helped _me_, specifically. Ultimately, I hope any budding muso out there finds this useful!
I’ll also be talking primarily about guitar, but I’ll try and keep it as general as possible.
PROTIP #1: Figure out your learning style
Do you prefer to just figure it out on your own and follow along to a YouTube video? Do you want lessons? If so, in person or online? This is a tough question and one you may not have an answer for right away, but it’s good to know. There’s no real right or wrong way to learn (picking up bad habits aside, but I’ll get to that later), so figure that out as well as you can.
For me I felt that getting lessons face-to-face was definitely the leg-up I needed when it came to starting out. It wasn’t through a music school or anything (it was pretty much some guy at school) so it’s wasn’t the most robust education, but totally worth it. That was for a few years and then I was out on my own, learning new songs and tabs via YouTube and Ultimate Guitar. Occasionally, I’ll pick Herschel’s brain for things if I need to.
PROTIP #2: What sort of music do you want to play? Where do you want to take this?
This sorta goes with tip #1. I’ll admit YES, learning the basic chords, your scales, whatever the fuck modes are, and a few rounds of ‘Greensleeves’ or whatever never hurt anyone. There’s a lot of fundamentals there you kinda need to know to be good at an instrument. But learning “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (as much of a bop as it is), or “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” isn’t going to be fun or teach you anything about learning how to play say, Black Sabbath, or Bad Religion. Definitely learn the fundamentals, but cater it to the sorta stuff you wanna play.
Additionally, do you want to just play for fun? (the answer is almost always is yes. The age of getting rich from playing music is kinda over) Do you want to work on your own music? Do you want to join a band? Work that out, too. I started playing guitar because I read that the school band needed a bass guitarist and both me and my parents misread the PSA. It takes all sorts. Even the annoying cunt with the acoustic guitar at parties had to start somewhere.
This will also narrow down the instrument you buy (though, it never really ends at one).
PROTIP #3: Get good gear
This is an important line in the sand. I didn’t say “buy the most expensive”, or “buy the best”, but buy good gear. The benchmark for affordable instruments (in the guitar world, anyway) is pretty decent these days, so don’t waste your money on ebay-spec, bottom-of-the-barrel trash unless you definitely know what you’re buying. Hell, buy used! Yeah you’ll have to scrub off years of skin flakes and dust and god-knows what, but that’s what technicians are for. Read or watch reviews, do some deep diving if you find something you like, and definitely take the time to go into a music store and have a play of things, as well. With everything going online these days, the store clerks will probably be grateful.
Speaking specifically on guitars, here. Some models you could look into are the Squier Sonic series and the Pacifica series by Yamaha.
PROTIP #4: Go outside and touch grass
No, seriously, you might have to go outside at some point and touch some damn grass. Go meet other musicians or get your mate who also plays an instrument over and just noodle, have a laugh over a beer while playing dumb songs. I learned way more and was table to take stock of my playing ability from rehearsing and gigging with a band than I ever did on my lonesome. Plus it’s fun! And you can count it towards your quota for socializing and going back to being a hermit!
PROTIP #5: You. Are going. To suck. (at least for a while)
There’s no avoiding this. You’re going to suck. You’re going to suck harder than a Hoover for a long time. You’re going to suck during lessons, suck during practice, suck at the music store, and suck while playing with friends. Learn from it, embrace it, and just fucking have fun. Learning an instrument (unless you’re a particularly gifted River Tam-type) is hard. Don’t make it harder by being hard on yourself.
PROTIP #6: Work on a repertoire
Inevitably, you’re going to be asked to play something for someone. This happened to me at a party and it went down faster than a lead balloon with concrete shoved in it. Learn a few songs and shove ’em in your back pocket for these occasions. My recommendation? Go for a couple of funny songs, couple of happy songs, a couple that just sound nice to listen to and a couple of crowd favourites (maybe a few sad songs too depending on your friends circle). For the sake of transparency, here’s mine:
Eels – I Like Birds
Corky and the Juice Pigs – The Only Gay Eskimo
The Smashing Pumpkins – Bullet With Butterfly Wings
The Smashing Pumpkins – Today
Bill Bailey – I Will Not Look at Titties For a Year
Blink-182 – Dammit
Blink-182 – Stay Together for the Kids
Eels – Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living)
Jon Sudano – Wonderwall (Wonderwall chords, but the lyrics to “All Star” by Smash Mouth)
I sincerely hope all of this helps you get somewhere, young (or old, or somewhere in between, for that matter) budding muso. If you read this far? You’re gonna do great. <3
Till next time…
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