Why we gave up on learning how to play an instrument?

demesisx , 15 days ago

Reading your replies to comments here, it’s definitely your attitude that prevented you from learning guitar. Put it down and learn piano or keyboard. However, this time, try to somehow have a positive outlook.

orcrist , 15 days ago

How many hours did you practice? What did you practice? These are fundamental questions for any new instrumental hobby.

If you are doing everything solo, it’s easy to have misplaced expectations or a bad practice menu, or even worse, no solid practice menu at all. Screwing around is cool once you have a basic level of proficiency.

But also, it’s OK to try it and later realize that you don’t like it.

Zelaf , 15 days ago

I started playing recorder in 2018 and have been practicing ever since, bought a couple different instruments after that and it’s been great. I joined a recorder ensemble too and we do local plays every now and then!

Since I started learning I learnt the alt recorder and tenor recorder too. Then I had a ukulele laying about I started to learn as well. I also bought a trumpet but learning that has been slow, I also got a Venova, kalimba, accordion and melodica laying about that I play on occasionally.

I think it’s a mix of finding the right instrument and inspiration to get a goal of. The only reason I started practicing recorder was because of this meme from VRChat

boogetyboo , 16 days ago

I got myself a ukelele during lockdown. Inexpensive and I figured easy to learn. And it is. But the problem is, it’s not a rhythm instrument. And I can’t sing.

So it’s me strumming away and quietly butchering songs. I can not perform for the enjoyment of anyone and that makes me sad.

Corno , 16 days ago

I’ve been told that I used to be really good at playing the piano by ear, and I used to be really into it! I became more enamoured with visual art though, so I shifted my focus to that. Perhaps I should try playing the piano again sometime… The title theme of Pikmin 4 always reminds me of when I used to play the piano, and if I picked it up again, this would be my starting theme!

corymbia , 16 days ago

What about Tiananmen Square…?!? That was kinda cool for the CCP!

I wasn’t there but maybe someone here was.

Oh wait.

No.

They were all killed and then turned to mush by tanks repeatedly driving over the bodies and then hosed dune the drains.

GLORY TO THE CCP AND HOW WONDERFUL THEY ARE TO ALL THE PEOPLE.

wuphysics87 , 17 days ago

Maybe the destination was more important than the journey

Stalinwolf , 17 days ago

I wish I had learned piano. I’ve spent my entire life wishing I would learn piano, but I’m too awkward to book lessons and/or commit to sitting down with an instructor. But as a kid I had a natural ear for playing and could figure out a portion of most songs if I spent enough time poking at the keys. My daughter (4) has been fidgeting with her little keyboard a lot. I’m wondering if we shouldn’t learn together in the future.

I often close my eyes and move my fingers as though I’m playing naturally, and I swear I know where all of the keys are. It’s more than just pretend. It’s like it’s been here all along, but I’ve never honed it. I know that I could play something beautiful if I just fucking tried.

eightpix , 17 days ago

Take it from one who quit piano at 16 after having started as a 4-year-old… the regret runs deep.

Take the stupid lessons, buy a $100 keyboard and a pair of headphones, and PLAY. Its hard and you’ll suck for a time, but treat it as play. Laugh at your mistakes and revel in your success.

2 bars at a time. That’s how you build.

eezeebee , 17 days ago

Guitar is hard. It takes months or years of practice to even develop the finger strength and speed to play some things. I always had fun learning in my early teens, because I wanted to, even though I was terrible. Then after 2 or so years of playing every day it became really fun and I was able to get the ideas from my imagination to my fingers.

It’s like a lot of things worth learning - you have to really want it, and it’s never as easy as it appears.

lolola , 17 days ago

I think I’m one of the lucky ones with a natural aptitude for music, but I don’t quite take it seriously enough to really hone my skills and become an expert at it. Whenever I’ve tried, I’ve found it to be more stressful than it is fun. I’m not trying to make it a side hustle, so if it stops feeling fun, I back off of it.

I guess it also depends on the instrument a bit. I mostly play solo, and some instruments don’t seem to lend themselves well to that for me. Piano is my instrument of choice these days.

juliebean , 17 days ago

trying to start any kind of art as an adult sucks because inevitably by that point, you’ve got a fair head start on your art appreciation skill, which makes you perceive your initial attempts at art creation as particularly heinous. if you start as a kid, you’re less capable of recognizing how bad you are, and you aren’t having to compare yourself against peers who’ve got twenty years of experience on you.

anon6789 , 17 days ago

Yesterday there was another AskLemmy about what was the easiest instrument to learn and I felt like anyone asking that question without already having a clear vision in their head of what they wanted to be playing as far as instruments and music was just going to waste their time and money, but even trying to be very polite I thought it was too negative so I didn’t post it.

I think people think music will be a fun relaxing hobby, but it’s really like training to be an athlete. You won’t get any good unless it’s something you truly want to do because it’s a ton of work and a good instrument is expensive and I feel you should really start by taking lessons so you didn’t waste time on trial and error figuring out what to learn instead of learning how to do it.

Craigslist and eBay are full of gear that was barely touched because music is hard. It can be very rewarding, but you will still hate it at times. I tell my teacher all the time that I hate her 3/4 of the time because she constantly challenges me, but by the end of that week, I’ve put in enough time to master the lesson, and then I’m so happy and feel the rest of the time was worth it. It’s like some people love going to the gym and getting those endorphins or runners getting a runners high. Some people live for that, but for others, it’s just hell.

It sounds like you don’t enjoy the time and money you’ve spent. Just live and learn. Maybe come back to it later in life and see if things change. But don’t force yourself into hating it.

makingStuffForFun , 17 days ago

I’ve been learning traditional art for nearly 2 years now. I suck constantly.

Then very rarely I paint something I like.

I find I paint things I like more often now than previously.

This stuff takes time. Stick with it.

WhiteOakBayou , 17 days ago

I’ve played and given up the mandolin several times over tge past several years. Longest continuous before now was maybe three months. What I’ve learned through my own learning process is:

1. Practice in time. Even if it’s slow.
2. Playing with backing tracks helps a ton
3. Posture is key. On my current streak of playing I was able to go from playing the melody of kids songs to the rhythm of some grateful dead songs (at 80 bpm instead of 140 bpm) after spending time watching videos of how to hold and sit. I then had to relearn all my fingerings but it didn’t take nearly as long this time.
4. Sucking is just part of learning anything new. I guess one either enjoys the act of improving independent of the current result or one doesn’t.

Post script: The reason I quit when I do is because I become frustrated with plateaus. I now believe a lot of these plateaus came from bad mechanics. My pinky could not reach the 7th fret no matter how much I practiced. I could not switch chords without destroying my rhythm or muting extra strings etc.

Nefara , 17 days ago

That’s ok. I like to play music but guitar just isn’t that fun for me either. I have trouble remembering fingering and chords and it’s hard on my squishy delicate nerd fingers. The musical instruments I’ve been able to keep with and practice I did so because I just liked messing with them and making nice sounds. Did you make this post hoping people would encourage you to keep at it? You don’t have to keep at it if it’s not fun, you can sell the guitars to some local aspiring musician. What I would recommend is trying out some other instruments, maybe at a music store. Something drove you to try out guitar, maybe that creative spark just needs a piano, or a glockenspiel, or a zither or something else instead. Just… try before you buy next time.