Growing up I was never formally trained to read music efficiently. I had a few music classes here and there, but it never stuck. I used to hate music classes and loved getting my hands on any available Music Production Software so that I could feel the music and make it sound as I wanted to rather than spend time on theory. I hated singing in front of everyone. I always felt pretty dumb. When I was young I took a few months of piano, but I didn’t care. My parents let me end the lessons. I was more worried about fishing, Pokemon and Nintendo 64.
Why did I lose interest? Maybe it was the instructor. Perhaps my own ignorance as a young boy. I like to think a mix of both. I don’t think the interest was ever there beyond my own occasional inflated curiosity. I was a kid. Kids don’t want to do things they are forced to do. No one else in my classes seemed to enjoy music class either. It was like a weird break from studying. Teachers never spent time to focus on what I might have been doing wrong. I was just a boy in the class. Just a body. I never felt like music mattered growing up.
Today I feel the complete opposite about music. It brings me to life.
Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness. ― Maya Angelou
I’ve been a “musician” for nearly 10 years now, but I still can’t read music very well. Despite that, there were pivotal moments in the past decade that I really loved. Where I felt true progress. The moments when I finally felt like a “good” musician. It’s a cool feeling when you are honestly or constructively complemented by your peers.
One of the biggest assets to my understanding of writing came from my music theory classes I had in 2007 in college. I actually failed music theory in 2006, the semester before along with most of my classes. I learned my lesson about college and studying really fast that year. It took me a few semesters to get out of academic probation. That’s a story for another day. Anyways… When I took music theory for the second time with better focus, understanding the language of music and how it portrays certain feelings really opened up my eyes and my writing abilities. I may not have been very skilled at the time, but concepts really started to click and became applicable to songs I was writing.
It started to make sense.
Sadly, after taking the class I stopped learning how to sight read music since I was mainly a guitarist. Most modern guitarists don’t sight read music. Most play by ear and feeling. More recently I have been writing music on the piano completely by ear and emotion as well. This is something I feel that I excel at. Despite that, I’ve always wanted to excel in sight reading music so that I could bind those two skills to become a better musician. Over the years I never found a good enough reason… Until now.
I want to learn how to play the cello.
My very first cello lesson is on Wednesday January 21st. A day I will never forget. Why cello? That’s a very good question. One I’ve been asked a lot when I share this great news.
Reasons for choosing the cello.
- I would love to play in an orchestra some day. This would just be a surreal experience for me.
- An active way to learn how to sight read music. This will allow me to play in an orchestra some day.
- It is one of the most dynamic orchestral string instruments. It reaches fairly low and high frequencies. It also has a great percussive nature through multiple techniques.
- I don’t have any friends that play the cello. This is going to be a very personal journey for me. I can’t wait to play and write music with my friends through the cello. One of my friends is a very talented violinist and some day I hope to play along side him.
- There are not very many cello instructors in my area. If I commit to this instrument I can be valuable resource in the future. I would be honored to teach others and share my experience in learning and growing.
- To learn a new instrument. This is going to benefit me in many different ways. Both as a musician and my mental health. Music is good for the old noggin.
- Expand my writing abilities. Being able to understand classical strings will make me a better composer and will allow me to record my own cello parts.
Not knowing how to read music only holds me back from my musical abilities and more importantly, opportunities. For the longest time I was against learning to read music because I would just write and play by ear, but now, more than ever, it will be important for my progress and growth as a cellist. I’m learning to read music again and I would be stupid not to become an efficient reader. Not to mention the rental cost of my cello would be put to waste. The less I learn the more money I am throwing away.
This year I plan on sharing how I am learning to read music, the struggles I have and ways I have found the best progress. From personal experience, the best way to learn something faster is to write about it and discuss it with others. My blog is great platform to make that happen and I hope you can join me along the way. I’ve already started using an app that has helped me quite a bit with single note reading. I’ll be sharing more info on that soon.
You can check out my most recent music here.
