By: Ben Fraser
Are you tired of practicing the same scales and songs out of your lesson book and not seeing the progress you want to see? Do you find yourself less than thrilled to begin practicing or preparing for the lesson? If either of these apply to you, I have a great recommendation that will help reinvigorate your passion for practice.
Learn songs and pieces that you enjoy! Don’t always stick to technique, theory, and lesson books. There are a wide variety of resources available for learning more popular and modern music that can be much more enjoyable.
The internet is a great place to start. Simply hop on a web browser and do some research on some of your favorite songs or pieces. Most of the time, you will be able to find multiple versions of the same piece of music, whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced. You can simply type the name of the song or piece you wish to play, your instrument, and the words, “sheet music.” This will pull up numerous results. Some of these resources will cost a small fee and others will actually be completely free. Some great websites include: Sheetmusicplus, Sheetmusicdirect, and Virtualsheetmusic.
Another great resource is Youtube.com. There is a vast multitude of instructional videos, tutorials, song lessons, and sheet music videos to be found. Do not waste this excellent tool for learning and improving musicianship at your fingertips. Musicians just a few decades ago could not dream of such a fantastic resource. So, use it, you are guaranteed to find valuable resources on Youtube at zero cost.
Finally, purchasing a new music book that sparks your interest can be a game-changer! Whether it’s a popular repertoire book or a collection of selections from your favorite era, getting a book that appeals to you is a great move. They even make books that have music for a specific artist that you can buy. Pick your favorite artist, buy a book of their songs, and start learning!
Whatever method you choose to approach it, get out there and start learning music you love to play. And be sure to pick something at your skill level! There is nothing more important in music than enjoying yourself and feeling fulfilled in what you are practicing and performing.