PERSIST
Everything worth having takes a lot of effort and no one ever said it was easy to become excellent in music. Most people find that the harder they work, and the more they practice, the more naturally talented they become.

It is easy to come up with a good goal, something you really want, and then lose it somewhere between conception and implementation. If at first it don't succeed, try again and again until it does. Make persistence a habit and your loyal friend. In the factory where people are made they turn out hundreds of pessimistic 'Dream Crushers' - those who lurk all around you promising defeat and failure.  Their only chance at victory is to be able to say 'I told you it wouldn't happen'.  Your persistence in achieving your goals is the characteristic that separates you from them and stops you getting caught up in their negativity.

The thesaurus sums it up perfectly - persistent means 'sticking to your guns'. Once you have defined what want, got a plan, and taken action. Your persistence is the only thing between you and having what you want.

PRACTISE
Someone once told me that practice makes perfect. I was stupid enough to listen to them and wasted hours practising with no improvement. I got really de-motivated and stopped! Then I heard Eric Clapton in an interview say 'perfect practice makes perfect' and that got me thinking. The point he made was 'if you do something over and over again, you will find it easier and easier to do it without thinking'. If you practice things incorrectly, you will become really good at producing incorrect output. If you practice enough, you could become the world's best person at producing a really horrible noise! You must practice exactly what you want to produce. This is another place a good music teacher can be a massive time saver. Showing you what to practice and picking you up if you make mistakes you are unaware of.
 

TEACHER / TUTOR INDEX
If you've ever wondered about getting some lessons, but are not sure where to go, or what you want to get out of it, this section will help you.

Who Says This is Better Than That?
Is there any such thing as bad music?
My First Teacher
If at first you don't succeed, try a different angle.
Get What You Want
In order to get what you want, you first have to know exactly what you want, and what you'll have when you get it.
Take Action
None of your plans are going to work out if you don't make it happen.
Persist and Practise!
Perfect practise makes perfect.
"Learning Music"
Learning about music is a never-ending process, better get started!
Music Tutor Contact Details
This page contains a list of music teachers you can contact.

See a list of Musical Tutors.

When you are practising your instrument you are also training your ears! If you practice on an instrument that is not in perfect tune, your ears will learn to assist you play out of tune even when you switch to a perfectly tuned instrument. This is where electronic tuners really come into their own. Make sure your instrument is in perfect tune before you begin every practice session.

One last thing on practice. You learn most in the first five minutes and the last five minutes of every practice session. This means you will learn about three times as much in three ten-minute practice sessions as you will learn in one thirty-minute session!