How to learn all that music stuff? Time is a problem...

[Evengy]

hey guys,

im try to making music since 2-3 years. one of them i played the guitar only because i don´t had the feeling that im a real musician.
there are so many things i want (must!) to learn that im interested in how you guys handle this.

i´m coming home @ 16:30 and going to bed @ ~22:30 to watch some movies/series with my girlfriend (living with her). so i have max 6 hours a day to spend on whatever. time with my gf, time with my friends, cleaning home, doing private stuff, cooking and eating so i have hmm 2-3 hours normally. i know that this is more time than other people have because they had children or another things to do.

so i have 2-3 hours on the one side and a lot to learn on the other side:
- learning piano/keyboard
- learning music theory
- understanding sequenzer, plugins etc.
- synthesis
- composing
- reading books, tutorials, workshops (to work trough a book can "steal" a lot of time but i/we need it. but i can´t work on a music theory book for a year because i have no time for playing piano then or learning synthesis or the important one -> making music)

i WANT to be good on all that things to make better music but learning piano needs many years (training every day) to be good. whats with synthesis? 1 or 2 years to be good? composing? whole life? i think you know what i mean

i began to play piano yesterday and i can spend 2 hours a day on it to be good in 2 years. but in this 2 years i have no time to learn synthesis really good. yesterday i played 1 hour piano and only had time for 20 mins synthesis. the bad thing is that i didn´t make any music and i don´t want to stop making music because of learning other things i need for myself to make better music ^^ im 26 and had no chance as a child to buy a piano when i was born ^^. i wish i had the chance to learn this as a child so i could concentrate on composing instead of learning an instrument for the next years. don´t understand it wrong, i love to learn but time is a problem. maybe im not organized enough? thats the reason why i write this thread.

please tell me how you would organize that. maybe you have the same problem so tell it to me too. any hints for me what i should do to use my time better? i think i have problems to combine all this tasks to one task -> making music. i see synthesis or something like that as an special task like learning piano so i stop all other things and doing synthesis only. maybe thats the problem?! please help me

thank you guys!

[Theo Void]

[Evengy]

There is nothing wrong to ask in a board how YOU guys organize your learning stuff. It´s not a topic about organizing my life! (you would wonder how detailed i organized my life to get maximum time for myself). I have no friends who plays an instrument or makes music (only a few dj´s)

I do that all for music but how can i make GOOD music without all that important things. yeah i know there are a lot of musicians who makes only music without thinking about it but im a guy who wants to know every detail. yes i can programming sounds, yes i know music theory(intermediate), yes i know my sequenzer, plugins etc. yes i can read notes, rhythms, my beats are grooving (hundred of projects) and all that things but yes you are right.... music takes the biggest part of my life and i do that all for music and on the other side i don´t make music. and thats the problem...

im a perfectionist and thats the reason why i want to know all. i know thats not good and THATS a personal "problem" (perfectionism is good and evil). i hope to find people like me who found an answer for my question i don´t have the feeling that im a real musician and that worries me.

i hope there is no personal attack against you thanks for your answer!

€: maybe i should concentrate on playing piano. on this instrument i learn alot of music, theory, hearing, composing and i think i need a break from the technical side of producing.

[crumhorn]

When learning an instrument the main thing is to practice every day, even if you can only spare 15 minutes, and to learn to use that time effectively.

If you want to progress quickly you should find a good teacher who can provide a structured approach and make sure you keep progressing instead of just going over what you already know, which is what people tend to do if left to themselves.

[mbird21]

+1 with guy above, structure is everything, without it we just go round in endless circles never really going straight, it wasint until i actually got physically shown how to mix music properly (and still have a great lot to learn!) that i was able to finally make tracks that could stand up to the so called pro dance producers.

Sure i can troll the net looking for free videos on youtube and learning from peoples posts but some people dont realise when they slandered me for going to Point Blank for learning to mix dance music that not everybody is same! im a hands on kinda person, i like to see how its done in practical terms, for me reading forums and watchin some random guy on youtube quickly flick between screen dosent work with me, so i needed structure like the good advice from the guy above .

[Evengy]

Sounds nice, i handled it while i played guitar only. I did very good progress because i played 2-3 hours every day + teacher + training plan but then i lost motivation (since 3-4 month) :/ i think that was too much...

ok i will do a plan again and build a structure where i start with the important things. i really think that i don´t use the practice time effective.

another question: is it ok for you when you can´t practice for a few days? do you take it easy? i have the feeling that i lost alot of time when i can´t practice. but i think when i had started as a child i would take it easy i think so often that i need to catch up the music time which i lost in my childhood it´s not pressure in a classical sense but some kind of it o_O

@crumhorn
i remember now.. while i had a guitar teacher he shows me new techniques when i understand the actual exercise which i practiced a week etc. when i practice alone it seems to be that i wanna master a single exercise before i go to the next step. maybe this is a key point.

@mbird21
i wanna see it in practical terms too but i don´t know any person so i watch youtube videos and read 347509873458 tutorials on the internet. thats for me the best way i can learn! two days ago i build a little structure in my head and today i wanna do it detailed.

thank you guys!

[Dragonbreath]

I understand your perfectionism and your wanting to know everything. But it will never happen. You gotta pick your battles and remember why you do all of this.... because you LOVE it!

If you start bringing yourself down for not doing as much you would like too, for not doing as much as you think you should...
you gonna start hating yourself and hating music.

So if after learning guitar for a year and you start to get comfortable with it you start to loose interest and want to learn piano or synthesis or mixing or whatever instead... then do that!

Theres nothing wrong with setting down your guitar. What you learn there can help you elsewhere, and what you learn elsewhere (maybe on piano for example) will help with you with guitar when you decide to pick it back.

Just keeping doing something and make sure you like what your doing

[eddiex]

you should do music theory 1st......get some basic understanding, you can couple that with piano. once you get some music theory in, and start playing some scales on the piano, composition will just kind of come to you.
save the synthesis and sequencing etc. for later, it is a lot to take all of that in at once.

[3dot...]

so i have 2-3 hours on the one side and a lot to learn on the other side:
- learning piano/keyboard
- learning music theory
- understanding sequenzer, plugins etc.
- synthesis
- composing
- reading books, tutorials, workshops (to work trough a book can "steal" a lot of time but i/we need it. but i can´t work on a music theory book for a year because i have no time for playing piano then or learning synthesis or the important one -> making music)

all of these are intertwined with each other in more than one way.. you'll see..
a nice path :
start off with an instrument (thus naturally learning theory in the process!)...
and start learning to use a recording software (as a means of recording/playing your exercises..)
the next step should be your entry into sound processing.. which basically ties it all together..

with books ..
don't go all over the place or you'll learn a whole lot of nothing.. (tiny parts of everything)
be specific at what topic you wish to learn NOW.and go as deep as you realistically CAN
get a recommendation of a book only in that subject.

don't give up quickly .. the road is long.. and full of small victories..
enjoy the process of learning rather than hit yourself on the head with what you don't know..

if possible.. get yourself a teacher/mentor..

[oddstep]

I see synthesis or something like that as an special task like learning piano so i stop all other things and doing synthesis only. maybe thats the problem?

that's what struck me when I read your post. unless you're trying to pass a test you don't have to have any ability above what is necessary to get the music made.if you want to be the sort of performer that plays keyboards or pads or what ever... get an instrument/synthpatch/ set of samples that roughly approximates what you want to hear and practice melodies, harmonies and rhythms on it. every time you notice that something could be improved reflect on what that is - it might be physical skill, it might be a better knowledge of chord progressions, it might be than the synth sound doesn't go where you want it.
Just solve problems as they arrive. Also remember that no one else knows what your idea of perfect music is - so even a really crude sketch of it could delight someone. I can think of a few bands who I liked less as they got more proficient - I liked their limitations more than I liked their ambitions.

[Evengy]

you are right guys! i read all your posts many times and thought about it

i think i have a plan:
i will focus on learning piano ~30-60 mins a day. while i played guitar i tried to search a band where i can play rock music. when i´m comfortable with the piano i will search a band again where i want to play the keys. maybe i search some people where i can jam with. you remember? i love to jam but i need a few skills to do it with other musicians. if the band gets real i wanna buy a keybpard synthesizer like Juno Stage or a real one like virus ti keyboard (had the ti desktop a few month but it was too much for me that time) where i can learn synthesis and in a band it would be a really good connection. if i reach this goal i will learn technique/piano, music theory, synthesis, improvising, composing and much more. i can´t describe it as good as it is in my brain

i said that i handle that topics as a special one. with my goal to play in a band it feels more like hmmmm MUSIC and i will learn a lot on this journey. i know there are a lot of people who makes music only with their mouse but it seems that this way doesn´t work for me so i need to try another way. everything i will learn helps me to grow as a musician. mostly i spend more time than an hour a day so i will try to create some sounds and jam with them to a backing track, creating some riffs and melodies and something like that.

i wanna use my time more effective and i don´t wanna learn so much "nothing" (i did alot :/)

btw. the keys feels more comfortable than the guitar and its easier for me to learn music theory on my keys because its more logical to me. every time i learned a bit of music theory i tried to understand it on a keyboard first and after that on the guitar. i don´t wanna sell my guitar because i love the sound and the possibilities and i know i will play it "later" again.

[simpleton]

Don't be a fool. You don't have time to learn all that stuff. Just do what the pro's do. Sample or copy somebody else's work and just slice to midi and rearrange it, run it thru some glitchy plugin... done.

[9V]

"electronic musicians" today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wb1s8Iulwk

[invol]

so i have 2-3 hours on the one side and a lot to learn on the other side:
- learning piano/keyboard
- learning music theory
- understanding sequenzer, plugins etc.
- synthesis
- composing
- reading books, tutorials, workshops (to work trough a book can "steal" a lot of time but i/we need it. but i can´t work on a music theory book for a year because i have no time for playing piano then or learning synthesis or the important one -> making music)

all of these are intertwined with each other in more than one way.. you'll see..
a nice path :
start off with an instrument (thus naturally learning theory in the process!)...
and start learning to use a recording software (as a means of recording/playing your exercises..)
the next step should be your entry into sound processing.. which basically ties it all together..

with books ..
don't go all over the place or you'll learn a whole lot of nothing.. (tiny parts of everything)
be specific at what topic you wish to learn NOW.and go as deep as you realistically CAN
get a recommendation of a book only in that subject.

don't give up quickly .. the road is long.. and full of small victories..
enjoy the process of learning rather than hit yourself on the head with what you don't know..

if possible.. get yourself a teacher/mentor..

Yes, very good advice here from 3dot.

[Saxer]

- get rid of your day job
- get rid of your girlfriend

than you are a real musician