Self Taught or Lessons

Finis · October 7th, 2008, 11:27 am

Well people, i what to know if your are self taught, lessons, or both.
lets discuss all the deatails as well, and with the results i am going to write a paper and hopefully publish it(i enjoy writing)
ok so its my turn,

Instrument: Guitar
i am self taught never had clases or read books i just used internet for the chordes and tabs and learned from there.

Instrument: Flute
Lessons, i am learning flute in traditional music clases, so i use a standerd flute method book along with teachers instructions.

HanTony · October 7th, 2008, 01:44 pm

Piano
self taught to an extent. Not an expert since it was just a passtime among many so I never got to become good. Just some basic songs and I can read sheet music reasonably well.

Gekkeiju · October 7th, 2008, 02:10 pm

Oboe- lessons. Am doing grade eight at easter

Piano- self taught. Though, i am now having lessons, so far ive had three. Grade eight next summer.

Clarinet, recorder, flute, guitar, bass, double bass- self taught. I find as soon as i can confidently read music and i have an instrument, i can just go on to google and find a fingering chart. Then i practise, practise and practise some more, et voila.

Though, i dont think any amount of self teaching or even a book can replace a really good teacher.

clarinetist · October 7th, 2008, 08:53 pm

Oboe- quit after about a year, self-taught (however, I wouldn't mind going back to it with at least some guidance)...

Clarinet- played for 6 years self-taught, with few times meeting with a teacher (not too many that are great around here). However, I developed bad habits and had to fix them...

Gotank · October 7th, 2008, 09:39 pm

Trumpet - Self taught (a friend showed me the fingerings) , nearly 10 years now... Still, I find that I'm notably inferior compared to others who have played for this long, probably a result of not having lessons... I don't know. And until a few years ago, I was breathing through my nose while playing (not a good habit).

bradz · October 8th, 2008, 06:04 am

Hmmm ill list down a few, i really dont have the energy to list down all of em.

Piano: Lessons to a certain extent, from there on is self taught
Guitar: Self taught, this includes the whole range from six string to twelve string bass.
Violin: still kinda scratchy my sound is but its okay, Self Taught
Drums: about two lessons from my sister then on is self taught.

that1player · October 8th, 2008, 07:07 pm

violin: lesssons
piano: lessons
bass: self-taught

Finis · October 9th, 2008, 03:13 pm

Thanks ppl, keep em comming, oh and i also forgot to metion about sheet reading capability(can you or not, to what etc..)
also add any other deatail or story about your musical exprience/life its all good

Thorn · October 9th, 2008, 06:27 pm

flute i was taught
piano im self taught but started lessons last year

and im better at piano than i am flute which is weird

only thing is i was looked down on as a pianist because i didnt take any exams i just played what i liked, so i put myself through the grade 8 exam and passed so yeah, fuck them. and then i got a teacher so things got better for me after both those things

as far as sheet music reading ability goes im fine. i learned to do it through flute and then i got better at piano and because of the music i play most like debussy and ravel, i can comfortably read three staves at the same time. so yeah ive never really had any trouble reading music

Sephiroth · October 9th, 2008, 08:21 pm

I was self taught for piano. My mum taught me how to read music and what keys were what note then the rest was just practice. now i can play some complex pieces and even transcribe. quite happy with myself lol

Mazeppa · October 10th, 2008, 09:31 pm

Piano- Lessons

I only started a little over 3 1/2 years ago (I taught myself very simplistic things for a couple months before) and I just picked up really quickly. I developed bad habits over the last few years, and trying to make them work but I got to the extent now where I had to almost forget how to play and just start back from my base (no, not going to exercise books or easy stuff, etc.) and I'm doing A LOT better and haven't had a plateau since July.

mu-chan · October 11th, 2008, 12:19 am

Violin - lessons
Piano - self-taught, but I'm planning to have lessons.

stealth_swimmer · October 18th, 2008, 11:27 pm

saxophone - I was in band from 6th-12th grade so I guess that counts as lessons but a lot of it was just practice. There was very little one-on-one time with instructors. There was this one kid that had some private lessons and he learned a whole lot faster than anyone else...but I practiced lots so I could catch up to him.

But yeah, lessons is probably the way to go. It helps keep you from building bad habits and also can help give you an idea of what you should be sounding like.

Vulpix · November 2nd, 2008, 07:39 am

Guitar - Self taught for almost two years now. I took a beginners classical guitar class but I already knew everything that was taught in the class so it was used more for playing with others.

Piano - Almost two years. Lessons half a year and self taught the rest. Stop playing recently so I could practice the guitar more and now I can't really practice the piano since I don't have easy access to one around me.

As for reading sheet music I'm pretty good but I don't really like to =P

Trinkletty · November 2nd, 2008, 02:35 pm

Clarinet - Lessons for 4 years, now self-taught. Reached Advanced level through lessons and exams but didn't have time for it all as study-load got harder. Still play regularly at home and lead clarinet in university orchestra.

Piano - Had lessons for 5 years, now just play occasionally for own enjoyment. Haven't played anything in a few months though and discovered last night my piano is now very out of tune.

Alto Sax - Had lessons for 2 years, quit lessons and kept playing for own enjoyment and in school bands for a couple more years, but since given it up (as was only hiring the sax itself!)

Flute - Self-taught using finger charts and instructional method books. I didn't find this too challenging but it took me about 3 months to developmy embouchre to the point where I could play the higher registers in tune. Playing for a while in school orchestra but now just pick it up every so often for personal enjoyment.

As for sheet music, no problems reading it in itself (my piano teacher was very gung-ho about theory since I started at 8 and I took music theory as a senior school subject) but am incredibly bad at sight-reading on piano. Usually fine on clarinet and flute though.