Ever since I started playing piano as a child, music has become an integral part of my life. Throughout the years, I’ve picked up guitar, violin, clarinet, and saxophone. To this day, music remains one of my passions, and as horribly cringe-worthy and cliché as it sounds, I honestly don’t know what I would do without it.
However, looking back, there are certain things I wish I had known before I embarked on the journey of learning how to play music. Here’s a look at a few:
- It will be frustrating. No-one becomes Paganini overnight. There will be passages you can’t perfect, pieces you can’t master. There will be times when you want to snap every single reed you have, and there will be practices when you just want to throw down your instrument and cry. But it’s these times that will make you a better musician, and ultimately, a better individual.
- It will hurt. There will be cramped necks, callused fingers, aching jaws, cracked lips, and you’ll often wonder why you chose music. But as they say, beauty is pain, and I would gladly suffer a few sore muscles, and bleeding lips, if it means I get to partake in the beauty of music.
- There will always be someone better than you. No matter how talented you are, there’s always someone more talented. No matter how hard you work, someone out there is working harder. No matter how many hours you put in practicing, slaving over your instrument, someone will put in double. But that constant striving to do better, and to be better, is one of the best parts of music. Being a musician isn’t like studying for a test. You can’t study until you know everything and get 100%. There is no perfection in music, but that’s the perfection of music.
- But you will love it with all your heart. Even now, the decision to start music has undoubtedly been one of the best you’ve ever made, and one of the best you ever will. Despite the frustration, despite the pain, despite all the challenges, you will never once regret choosing to play music, and to be a musician.
- It will all be worth it in the end. Music will make you stronger, more disciplined, more patient, and more creative. You will meet some of the best people in your life through music, and learn some of the most important lessons. Music will not only be something you love, but it will become a part of you, and that’s something you should be grateful for every day.
