Why You Should Learn Music With Others
Learning music by yourself is great, but you can usually progress a lot further if you do it with other people. Just look at bands. They all work together for entertainment and to enjoy themselves.
In this post, we take a look at why things like group piano lessons are such a good idea. We explain some reasons for engaging in musical practices with others and how they can ultimately make you a better musician.
Here’s everything you need to know:
More Cost-Effective
Let’s say you’re on a budget. Learning music with others is often significantly more cost-effective than learning on your own. You can all divide the cost, just like a group language lesson.
What’s more, you don’t even all have to have the same level of ability. Even if there’s a range of people around you, you can all still learn. Usually, the instructor will come to each person, listen, and give you feedback. Then, all you have to do is work on what they’ve said to do.
Another big benefit of practicing with other people is the shared repertoire you develop. Getting this right can expand your ability to play new pieces of music after seeing how others attempt them.
For example, going back to the piano example, let’s say you’ve only played classical music. If there’s someone there who plays jazz, then they can get you in the mood to do it yourself.
It might sound a bit strange, but group sessions force a kind of cross-pollination between everyone in the group. Often, you can’t help but pick up on what others are doing and want to emulate it. There’s usually some healthy competition.
More Performance Opportunities
You’ll also notice that when you practice in a group, you get more performance opportunities. People will rarely go to see a solo instrumentalist, but they will often pay to see entire bands. As such, it can be a good way to build stage time and develop more confidence in front of audiences.
Public performances can also help you in other areas of your life. Just being in front of a large audience is a powerful way to build deep confidence across situations, allowing you to thrive in many settings.
Better Social Skills
What about the social side of group or joint music practice? It turns out that this element is more important than you might think.
Since 2020, the average person’s social life has declined. More people are simply spending time on their devices and less time with the people around them.
However, individuals with active social lives have significantly lower anxiety than those without them. Therefore, playing music with other people could be a shortcut to better mental health. It’s something that almost anyone can do to be around others regularly.
Furthermore, the ability to engage in lifelong friendships is critical. Once you start to play music with other people, you’ll notice that you form deep bonds with them and want to spend more time hanging out. In fact, these social bonds are among the primary reasons why people continue to play their musical instruments. It isn’t necessarily about the joy of music, but the people they can hang around with.
Learn More Instruments Indirectly
Another reason to learn music with other people is that you can learn multiple instruments indirectly. Think about it: when you’re playing with guitars, wind instruments, percussion, and electronic music, you know all the patterns of these modalities. Over time, you see how they all fit together and can incorporate that into your understanding.
In fact, this approach can sometimes enable you to learn instruments by osmosis. You won’t get the muscle memory you need unless you play them directly, but you can pick up on things like the timing and how they appear in bar music.
Furthermore, you can develop a broader style. You’re not just pinned down to whatever you learned at school or in conventional music practice. The people around you are constantly adding new elements to spice things up and make each practice session memorable.
Being Competitive
Of course, competition with your peers is another reason you should learn music as a group. You don’t want to be left behind, so you have a massive incentive to put in effort and really get to know your instrument.
Being competitive isn’t a bad thing. It’s the sort of unconscious motivation that a lot of people need to get to where they want to be musically.
It all goes back to social comparison theory. People will often compare themselves to others in their environment. So when you play with your friends or people you know, it can make a massive difference in your skill level. You really want to be good at playing music, and it goes beyond just the joy of doing it. There’s a social purpose to it.
Think about how garage bands get good. What usually happens is that they arrive with basic skills, but then competition drives them to produce the most incredible music. That’s exactly what happened with Nirvana.
More Feedback
Learning music as a group is also good because you can get more feedback. It’s not just your ears listening to the music, but those of your peers as well. They can tell you how it sounds, whether you’re playing with the right intensity, and what you need to do to improve your play style so that it really makes sense.
If you can self-record, that helps. But the live impressions of others are usually a better way to approach practice. They can let you know what you’re getting wrong.
More Accountability
Finally, playing music with your friends, peers, or others fosters greater accountability. You’re much more likely to keep practicing if there are others putting pressure on you.
Studies back this up, too. People who play in groups are more likely to stick with it.
