Learning doesn’t end when graduating from college. It is a continuous process, and it should be seen not as a task but as a goal: to be educated at all times and expand your view. The purpose of education is to be more aware of the world you live in and make the most out of it. In music, when trends are constantly changing, you need to be open to any new music tastes and learn from them.
Luckily, at the moment, there are plenty of resources that can help you enhance your level of music knowledge. With that in mind, here are a few tips that can improve your education.
Be more curious
Curiosity is one of the best things that humanity could have. It has helped humans explore and find out things about the environment from the beginning by overcoming their fears. Through curiosity, many scientists discovered and created the things you are using daily, from the lightbulb to the benefits of gravity.
Music is the same. Although nothing seems to be innovative anymore, and everything is a remix of old songs, that’s far from the truth. When you’re curious you learn more about the world that you live in. try to discover music genres that you’ve never thought about listening to. You can start by looking at each country’s music style, and you’ll learn more about their culture and understand them better. And you’ll see in time that you developed your curiosity, which will help you learn more actively in school or at your next music job.
Online Tuition
If you want to excel in a subject, you can opt for affordable online tuition. More people choose this option for school or even for learning something new because it has many advantages, such as:
● Flexibility: you can include online classes in your daily schedule whenever it’s best for you; it’s also convenient because you can participate in discussions with people with similar interests and learn remotely.
● A combination of teaching methods: the online environment makes it easier to use more learning methods, like visual representations, quick access to any materials needed, and more interactive tools to grasp the complexity of music.
● A cost-effective plan: you’re saving on what should’ve been travel costs and other expenses.
● It promotes an independent work ethic, and you can be in direct contact with your tutor.
● You have the possibility to choose your tutor.
Learn how to read music
What you’re learning in college is crucial for creating a stable foundation for your future career. Besides that, you can expand your knowledge range by reading more sheet music. No matter the instrument you play (or even if you don’t), reading music will help you analyse a music piece from another perspective.
If you don’t know where to start, begin with the songs you like most, no matter the genre. For example, here are some songs that are pretty easy to learn to read:
● “Young and Beautiful” by Lana Del Rey
● “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars
● “Thriller” by Michael Jackson
But you don’t have to limit your readings to a sheet. You could get well-informed on how other music artists made their way through the music industry and how they created music. Aside from the mainstream artists, some innovative ones you can learn something from are:
● Lea Bertucci
● Ian Chang
● Sevdaliza
Learn a new instrument
Learning a new instrument might be difficult initially, but it’s worth it after a while. This activity may benefit cognitive development at a young age and can help with preventing memory loss. It can also boost your confidence when you get to the point where you can play something without guidance.
First of all, know that you should be able to dedicate some time to practice, and depending on that, decide on which instrument you want to learn. The easiest instruments are ukuleles, harmonicas, and recorders, while the hardest are violins, harps, and drums. There are many more instruments to choose from, so research thoroughly. A teacher can help you learn faster, but if you’re choosing an easy instrument, you should be good on your own.
Your first instrument shouldn’t be the most expensive one because you might not know how to use it properly in the beginning. With this in mind, look for second-hand shops or sites to buy it from.
Extend your skill range
When it comes to personal skills, there are two categories:
● Hard skills are abilities you’ve learned in school or at work that are easy to emphasize—for example, being proficient in a foreign language or having a degree in a specific area of study.
● Soft skills are known as interpersonal skills, including communication, teamwork, time management, etc. These are harder to highlight because you can prove that you’re a good communicator only by constantly improving your way of socializing.
These basic skills will help you with your job, but what if you wanted to expand them and improve your education? If you’d like to have more hard skills, you can easily participate in online courses or take more classes. There are plenty of resources that will help you learn something new.
But if you want to develop more soft skills, you need more practice. For example, if you want to be more organized, you’ll need to reset your past behaviors and add new habits that will help you in this direction. Some of these skills vary depending on your personality; extroverts may have better communication skills, while introverts might know better how to listen and observe.
Nowadays, employers consider soft skills more important than hard skills, because even in career areas that are more technical you need good communication or problem-solving abilities.
The most important soft skills in music are:
● Self-discipline
● Adaptability
● Memory
● Concentration
● Confidence
Final thoughts
Lastly, know that each person has different learning styles. These include visual, auditory, verbal, kinaesthetic, mathematical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. If you noticed that it’s easier to absorb information through listening, you should choose to learn from educational podcasts or online videos; if you’re the visual type; images, figures and representations will help you more than other methods. Combining these styles will boost your knowledge and self-esteem, and nothing will stop you from working in the music industry if you’re confident about it.
Hi, I’m Erick Ycaza — a music blogger with a BA in Advertising & Graphic Design. I created this blog to keep you updated with daily music news. Surprisingly, I’ve been writing about music since 2007. If you’re an artist and would like to be featured, feel free to reach out: info@electrowow.net
