I have no musical experience

[Rawlinson]

I have no musical experience whatsoever, and was looking to change that. Suggestions?

[McMathTX]

I'm interested in getting in the music game as well. I bought an acoustic guitar at a pawn shop. Does anyone have recommendations about online or cd lessons? I also bought a bodhran and have been learning how to work the tipper. Good luck.
Dean

[Rawlinson]

I've got a harmonica and a 7-tined kalimba on my desk; I've messed around with them a bit, but I decided against risking teaching myself bad habits and haven't really done anything extensive.

[ShaunMaxwell]

I got my first guitar at age 30, and 11 years later am still enjoying playing. Guitars, like kilts, have a tendency to multiply, as I now have 5 guitars. If you decide on guitar, I'd strongly recommend that you find a teacher and invest in some lessons to help you get you off on the right foot, as it's MUCH easier to learn proper technique from the get go than to have to try to unlearn bad habits later.

In my lifetime, I've played the piano, saxophone and guitar, and have found that the guitar is the only instrument that I actually ENJOY practicing... But that's just me.

Hope you find the instrument you're after!

[piperdbh]

I'm a high school choir teacher, so I'll recommend you call your local high school or junior high/middle school and talk to the music teachers there. They'll know somebody who can teach you. If there are no music teachers nearby, your local pub or church will know somebody. They both seem to attract musicians...

[Tobus]

I have no musical experience whatsoever, and was looking to change that. Suggestions?

Depends. What do you want to play? That will make a huge difference on what type of start you should have.

First, though, I would highly recommend learning to read music. There are plenty of books out there that can teach you this. But it's a language all its own, and you'll want a decent book for reference.

Being able to read music isn't necessarily the absolute starting point to begin playing music, but the more you get into it, the more you'll find yourself hindered if you can't. It's like trying to learn to speak a language without being able to read it. You'll have a much better chance for success if you couple your playing/listening with being able to follow along on sheet music. A lot of stringed/fretted instruments will have "tablature" which is intended as an aid to playing without having to read music, but you can really only go so far on tabs.

I would shop around some music stores in your area and find out who offers lessons. Either general music lessons or ones that are specific to an instrument.

Keep in mind, though, that it's not something you can just jump into and master. If you're serious about it, it will take a lot of dedication and practice and study. Make yourself stick with it in an organized manner (i.e. create yourself a practice schedule and set goals), and you'll find reward in it.

[auld argonian]

Have you considered the ukulele?

A nice tenor or concert size is a modest investment, lots of instructional resources online and the skills are transferable to guitar if you decide to go that way.

There's also the factor that people sort of don't expect much when you whip out a ukulele so if you can demonstrate even modest skills, you impress them.

Best

AA

[Cynthia]

Pick something you really would love to learn, and definitely find a teacher. I am self-taught on the fiddle. I played alto and tenor saxophone in middle school, and had messed around with other instruments on my own. I have struggled these 5 (or is that 6?) or so years (I've lost track how long I've been playing and played for a year several years ago before I picked it up again). It's very frustrating for me to deal with some of the issues I deal with off and on, but at the time it was really my only option to learn on my own and I can't change the past. I have a fiddle friend I get to see occasionally and she'll help me when we have the time to get together.

A friend of mine told me recently that he would like to learn the cello and I told him to definitely find a teacher. Luckily he knows of one very close to where he works, and I told him he was very fortunate and to definitely take advantage of that.

If you're not sure what you want to play or where to go to get started, then perhaps find where you can chat with some musicians. Assuming you're interested in Scottish or Irish music for example, then perhaps attend an event like a session and chat with some of them when they're on a break and not playing. Ask them questions about their instruments and how they learned, see if they give lessons or know of any good teachers.

[Tobus]

I am self-taught on the fiddle. I played alto and tenor saxophone in middle school, and had messed around with other instruments on my own. I have struggled these 5 (or is that 6?) or so years (I've lost track how long I've been playing and played for a year several years ago before I picked it up again). It's very frustrating for me to deal with some of the issues I deal with off and on, but at the time it was really my only option to learn on my own and I can't change the past. I have a fiddle friend I get to see occasionally and she'll help me when we have the time to get together.

That's a very good point. Like you, I played instruments as a child (baritone and tuba in middle school and high school band, bell choir at church, piano/organ and guitar for fun). Then I dropped out of music altogether during college and for about 10 years afterwards. I then picked up guitar again in my early 30s, played for a couple of years, and switched over to the mandolin which is what I play now (self-taught).

One thing I've learned as get back into playing an instrument... perhaps the most important thing... is that you HAVE to play with others. Whether it's through formal lessons or just sitting around with people who are skilled at playing your instrument, that's where most of the learning takes place.

[Cynthia]

One thing I've learned as get back into playing an instrument... perhaps the most important thing... is that you HAVE to play with others.

I second this, whole-heartedly. Don't do what I did. First, you have to understand a bit of my past and that I was suffering from some anxiety so me getting out around others was a whole other challenge.

The thing is, since I was self-taught, I played at home alone. Even my hubby barely heard me play. For some reason, the minute I'd try to play if I knew someone was home or listening I would massively mess up. Some friends would always say I should join in the sessions but I don't quite play by ear yet and I can't memorize tunes quickly enough (at one point I had 25-35 or so songs memorized, but it seemed like by the time I wanted to try to play, the session circles were no longer playing the tunes and I didn't want to try to start or recommend any songs... I didn't quite feel like I fit in just yet). My fiddle-playing friend and her banjo-playing hubby would try to get me to play with them in a mini session and I would suddenly forget tunes I knew very well (and I feel very comfortable around these two, so that says a lot). That in itself started making me more nervous and I just found I had troubles. This past December when we were visiting, my fiddle friend gave me her fiddle and picked up a mandolin while her hubby plucked away on mandolin or banjo, and the three of us played. It had been a few months since I had even touched a fiddle, and I forgot a lot of tunes and notes, and had been drinking. Amazingly, I was able to play with them for the first time. My husband might play bodhran just enough to accompany me when I'm at home and when we're playing with a couple friends (if he has time since he's job hunting and has other things he needs to do, too).

Definitely don't play by yourself. I'd never had that trouble before with playing with or around others when I was in band in middle school, but for some reason it was a huge issue this time around.

(edited to add: one of the problems I had was that instruments that were so different like banjo or mandolin threw my ear off and I was focusing so much to make sure I was playing in tune that I got a little overwhelmed. I not only should have been playing with other fiddlers, but I should have been playing with other instruments, since that's obviously going to happen even if I only play at smaller friends-only sessions)