On becoming a Musician

The first thing to remember on becoming a musician is that you already are one.  It's not a matter of collecting something from outside of yourself; it's a matter of letting go of what might be in the way. You need time and space. Then breath slowly in and out and the music will come. It's been in there, waiting, since before you were born.

Then you'll need to purchase your instrument.  A shop run by musicians for musicians is your best bet.  In Liverpool if you're going for a saxophone or a flute I'd recommend either "Curly Music Shop" in town or Richard Behrand's in Aigburth on Greenbank Road. You can usually rent a saxophone or a flute for a few months and then pay the rest of the price if you decide to continue playing. A student sax is about £350 new and a flute is a bit less, or sometimes you can buy one a bit cheaper second hand from the shop. There's no point in buying an expensive spectacular instrument at this point because it won't make any difference to how you sound or how easy it is to play. The differences between more expensive instruments will come into play at a later date. If you're buying a saxophone you'll need to buy some reeds, and for both flute and saxophone you'll need some cleaning equipment. Curly's or Richard Behrand will sort you out with that. You'll also need a notebook and a music stand and, once you get started on your lessons you'll need a few music books. Again these can be purchased at the above shops or you can buy them on the internet.

When it comes to a teacher you need one who is easy to get along with and knows his/her stuff. They should be enthusiastic and supportive but also suitably laid back. If you can, book an introductory lesson to begin with before committing yourself to paying for more. Then you'll be able to tell from the introductory lesson whether that teacher is the right one for you. If not, try another. You need to be comfortable. If it's your child who is learning to play there shouldn't be any problem if you want to be there for the lessons as well. Ideally talk to the teacher before you buy your instrument so that they can give you further advice about that and answer any questions you have. You can get to know them and the way they teach a little bit better that way too.

Most music teachers charge about £22 for an hour or £12 for half an hour if half hour lessons are best for you to begin with or if your child is quite young. If the teacher comes to you for the lesson they may need to add on a little for petrol. Some teachers charge about £40 for an hour but they are not necessarilly any better at teaching or playing than the ones who charge the standard rate. In many cases, after your introductory lesson, your teacher may ask you to pay for a block of 5 lessons at a time. This is the usual case if you are having your lessons in a music school because the teacher is renting the room. If you are learning in your own home, however, your teacher is likely to be happy if you pay for one lesson at a time, as long as you cancel any lesson that you need to before they set off from home.

Although the content of your music lessons matters a great deal, it's what you do in between lessons that matters the most. The more you practise the more you will progress. Also, listen to music a lot. Explore all kinds of music; have an idea of what you are aiming for. And remember as I said at the beginning, a musician is not what you are becoming; it is what you already are.

Eddie

It's what we all are, not what we become.