This ‘Learn Music Faster’ series of posts highlights things my best students do that contributes towards their success. There are no secret formulae or magic tricks. Learning to play well still requires hard work, dedication and above all, practice. However, my students who do these things seem to improve quicker than the others.
Ask questions
It takes a bit of confidence to ask questions – whether it’s to you teacher or other musicians. But it really will help you progress with music faster.
No matter how good a teacher or a course is, there may still be bits that don’t quite make sense to you the first time round – or even the tenth! There are a whole bundle of reasons for this. It doesn’t really matter what they are. The important thing is that when you don’t understand something, ask about it. Or if you’ve heard about something that you’re interested in and want more information, just ask.
A good teacher won’t be annoyed by this. Quite the opposite, it shows that you care about understanding and getting things right. It demonstrates interest in the subject and a desire to do well. So ask!
Some people hold back for fear of seeming stupid, or because they feel they should know the answer already. But you have to try to overcome that. If you don’t you may never find out and it may be an important foundation for future learning.
I would hope that a good teacher would be understanding even if you ask something that you’ve covered before. No one can remember every single thing from every lesson. It’s the teacher’s role to ensure you understand everything fully. If you don’t, they need to know that so they can help. The way you do that is by asking!
This applies even if you don’t have a teacher. You can always ask questions of other musicians. If you don’t know anyone personally there are hundreds of forums on the Internet where you can ask and get answers from loads of experienced people.
If you just wait for the right information to come to you, you might be waiting for a long time. But if you go out and ask questions then you can make what you need come to you. That’s bound to make you learn faster.
Previously on Learn Music Faster – Use Your Voice
Pingback: Learn Music Faster - Have a Sense of Humour - Matt Helm Guitar