I've been playing bass guitar for a few years, but as a person who started in my mid 40's, working full time with a family, my learning progress has been slow. I can learn songs and play them, but I really would like to be able to improvise on the fly.

Last night I went to an open mic and it turned into a jam session. One of the performers asked me to play bass, but I did not have the chords he was playing with (these were original songs of his). My ear could not handle this. He essentially went into all kinds of solos, just expecting me to play something that grounded what he was doing. I had no idea what to do.

We did 3 songs together - the first 2, he tried to give me the chords via an app - he just handed me his phone. This was a problem as I could not see ahead to what chord was coming, and it didn't scroll at the right speed - just a disaster.

The last song he said was easier - "it's just a rock song in A". And then he just went off and running. I figured it was likely some combination of 1/4/5 chords, but it felt like he was jumping all over.

I very much would like to be able to handle this situation - if I can do it, it would be fun. But yikes, I had no idea what to play. If you give me chords, I can build SOMETHING (probably a simple combination of roots and fifths) but this? I could not do this.

What is the secret? I've seen people just jump in and play songs they don't know. I feel really far away from this, though. How can I build the ability to do this?

Thanks!

Sup!

I studied music(trumpet) as a child, for nearly 9 years so I can read single pentagrams pretty well. But I'm starting to learn saxophone now at 28. Idk random things that happens in life.

I find it pretty hard to be honest. The digitation is really hard for me and now I'm curious.

How long does it take to a student normally to pick up an ok level with fingers in saxo, clarinet... those kind of instruments with lots of positions?

Do you guys make them study everyday? What is a sweetspot, like 3 days a week? The more the better? Maybe I'll build an app to make me play.

Cause trumpet has 3 and it is combinations. And I kinda forgot how hard was it to learn.

First time posting here and I know the question has been asked before so I’ll get to the point. I just want to learn covers, jam by myself/ with musicians around me. make friends,content and maybe do a lil cover show at my local bar. I don’t really want to be a pro and compose and create or spend a ton of time on music theory. I just want to have fun and be a hobbyist playing the songs I’ve had fun listening to right now. Eventually Id like both but I want to hear opinions from experienced people on where I should put my time and money first. Much appreciated!

Hi guys, what's up?

I'm a self-taught pianist, I've been playing the instrument for a couple of years. I can read sheet music and I'm progressing at a pace I like (I'd like to be faster but adult life doesn't allow me to dedicate myself to it).

So, although I can read sheet music and chords, I don't really understand how they work.

This version of “Bedford Square Blues” for example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUur7DiuOwI

At 0:27, when he starts a solo in the song, what makes this solo work?
What does he do in G7 that wouldn't work if he did C7?
If he did the same thing, would it also work since it's the same scale on different degrees of the harmonic field?
I'm not talking about the rhythm he uses, but the choice of notes and licks in that chord.

If it's too difficult to explain without a teacher, could you at least give me some direction on where to start?

Sorry if my question is too stupid, I'm trying to learn more about music theory in a more applied way.

I've used the search but this is a subject I might have more questions about. Sorry if it seems like I'm being lazy.

I’ve been playing guitar for about 6 years now, all I really did was find tabs for my favorites songs and learn them. I still learned the basic chords, notes and understood what keys are. 4 months ago I decided to really learn music theory and understand how to play improvise guitar, I went online and they told me to learn the 5 pentatonic scale shapes, basic chords and that’s it. Today I went to an open mic and had a jam session with some people I just met there and holy shit was I shocked. I felt so limited, anxious and very angry. Everything I played sounded so basic, every note I played felt like it was removing from the music instead of adding to it. I asked the guys there what should I do to improve but they gave me no direct answer even though they were really nice and nonjudgmental. I talked to one of them while another group was playing he lead me in on what’s the guitarist doing, it felt so different from what YouTube told me. No one told me I’m supposed to playing power chords to build up to my solo, or that I should know how to change keys and when it happens. I’m very very distraught, sad, and angry; I just feel lost and filled with imposter syndrome.

i need to do a performance in college like the popular video 'one bucket'. i literally have 0 knowledge about music and bucket drumming. but ive got free time. how do i learn from scratch and reach that level. is there any step by step tutorial online or playlist. it can be paid or free (preferably free)

Hi everyone

I'm an oudplayer and I'm giving online and on site lessons for a year or two now, if you are interested in learning oud you can contact me via email; delaramnfarahani@gmail.com or instagram: delaramfarahanii

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let's create and enjoy music together : )

first lesson in free!

musiq.is

Hello! thought this community might enjoy my little side project. It's a web app that tests basic musical aptitude without requiring any formal musical education.

Curious to hear what you think, and thanks for stopping by!

Hello to everyone in the group, I’m writing because my girlfriend is a singer studying at the conservatory (first year), and she wants to make singing her profession.

For years, despite studying with teachers and attending an academy, she still has some weaknesses she would like to resolve. Since it’s a recurring issue, I thought I’d reach out to you to understand at least how to guide her.

Her main problem is that she struggles to manage the mix between chest voice and head voice; she doesn’t have control over it. Sometimes she sings in mix voice without realizing it, and, more importantly, she can’t reach notes between C5 and F5 while singing in mix voice. She can reach C5 in full voice, and according to her, her problem it’s not a range issue because with "turning" she can go up to C6.

While singing, she also has a breathing issue that her teacher has pointed out, but she isn’t aware of when she’s breathing correctly and when she isn’t.

Is this something she can learn to manage? Or is her voice inherently limited?

My daughter is in dance and she’s really struggling with finding the beat in her music. Are there any games or tips or tricks to help her learn? Unfortunately she gets this from me. I couldn’t find a beat or rhythm to save my life so teaching her is rather difficult.

Hi everyone! 🎸
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Hello, I want to start learning music, more specifically to learn playing keyboard. My approach is that I want to have a solid base in music for possible composing in the future and further DJ-ing. I don’t want to start to learn to DJ right away but rather learn about music theory first, again solid base in music. My interest in music is more electronic but also incorporates tunes from past generations from my culture (North African/Middle Eastern).

I want suggestions for keyboards that can be suitable for my needs and what I want to do. Should I opt for a Midi keyboard? Or a normal one? And what is the difference? Thank you

I have a dream of playing eeir music on a misty night but i dont know what instrument i would use

Edit: ty yall i have decided to learn viloin if that doesnt work then im going to try a flute

Not long ago, I was joking with my sisters about learning to play some Mario kart songs in the metal genre and dressing as Mario characters to perform some epic Mario kart jams. Now I’m here getting back to learning music and thought it would be cool if a collective of nerds who had little clue what they were doing got together and figured this whole music thing out. In actuality, it would really just be a group of folks holding each other to learning what they want to learn and bettering their craft, but I’m going to say it’s all about the Mario kart metal, because that’s cooler. If anyone’s interested, let me know and I can set up a little discord to gather our noob selves in. And hey, for fun’s sake, what do you play and who would you dress as to play? I largely play electric guitar and keyboard, though i have lute as well; I would probably dress as Luigi though my sisters say princess peach would be a comical choice.

Hi! I purchased this beautiful instrument and want to learn how to play it. I was told it’s an ocarina but when I look up how to play it on YouTube, they only show little plastic odd- shaped ocarinas that look nothing like the one I have.

Does anyone know the proper name and maybe guide me as to where I can look to learn how to play it?

TIA!

I'm starting to focus all my attention into learning instruments as soon as possible, the ones i'm in the process of attempting to get better at are guitar and piano. If there is any advice or words of wisdom when it comes to learning one of these you could give it would be highly appreciated.

God bless!

Doulingo has music lessons now but it feels clunky and I am not really learning much.

hey. I'm 17 years old and I'm trying to learn bass for nearly 1 year. today a friend of mine asked me if I would like to join their band. I said yes but there is a question mark in my head. am I good enough to play in a band? I think that I am not that bad at playing but I am not sure that I am that good at the theory part. I have no idea what to practice. please help me :D

I have been picking up music theory lately. Mostly as a means to help me make making music easier and help navigating by sorta mapping out this landscape of music instead of just relying on intuition. I use an app for this and currently mostly learning intervals, perfect 5ths and perfect 4ths and recognizing them by ear and stuff.

If I make music, I like to create a lot of movement with having little walks up and down and a lot of slides and bends. But like on a guitar I know a little bit better what to do because I can place my finger by feel and just bend the note down. The thing with slides however is that I don't really think about where to slide to or from precisely. I just know that I either know what the note is that I want to be the clearest and just slide either away to towards it and the rest is a bit "whatever". But if I'm programming on my laptop I have no clue because here I have envelopes that need to program and starting notes or ending notes to set, and thus every time I try to add either a slide or a bend note, it doesn't sound right.

So I wonder is there some theory behind this?

Let's say as an example that you are playing a melody and logically the next note is gonna be a perfect 5th (because of the previous pattern) and you want that to be the main note that draws the attention of the listeniner, is there some logic behind what start or end note to pick? And what kind of envelope would be best for when?