As well as being a massive music lover, I've also tried my hand at several different (and surprisingly varied) musical instruments throughout my life. Like most kids, my musical journey began with the obligatory recorder in primary school. Since I apparently showed prowess at the recorder, I was then offered the chance to take up the flute.
I loved the flute, but the flute definitely didn't love me. Despite diligently practising for several years, I never managed to properly get the hang of it and my woodwind teacher eventually recommended I try my hand at another woodwind instrument - the oboe.
Finding the Right Instrument for You
Even though it is a relatively unusual instrument (and often described as one of the hardest to learn), I instantly clicked with the oboe, finding it far easier to play than my ill-fated flute. Admittedly, my previous attempts at other instruments probably made things easier as I was already a proficient sight-reader and many of the basic keys were in a similar location, but I was still impressed.
Later on, I also tried my hand at the drum kit (a bit of a drastic change, I know) and have had various half-hearted attempts at self-teaching myself to play the piano on my bog-standard Argos keyboard over the years. However, it was always the oboe that really captured my musical heart.
I ended up taking oboe lessons throughout a good chunk of my school career, only ending once I started sixth form, passed my Grade 5 oboe exam and realised that taking any further gradings would require a significantly larger amount of effort and practice time than I had or was willing to put in.
Despite this, I remain grateful to my teachers and proud of myself for at least semi-mastering such a notoriously tricky instrument. Learning the oboe provided me with a whole host of benefits, many of which extended far beyond the confines of the music room - some are still with me today, years later.
Since the music lessons I received were so beneficial to me, it pretty much goes without saying that I'm always ready to champion any way that spreads the word and gets more people interested in learning music. One major drawback of learning an instrument is that once you leave the confines of the educational system, finding decent tutors at an affordable price can become insanely tricky. Fortunately, services like Tutor Hunt are available to help connect you to private, personal tutors through an effective, innovative platform.
I loved the flute, but the flute definitely didn't love me. Despite diligently practising for several years, I never managed to properly get the hang of it and my woodwind teacher eventually recommended I try my hand at another woodwind instrument - the oboe.
Finding the Right Instrument for You
Even though it is a relatively unusual instrument (and often described as one of the hardest to learn), I instantly clicked with the oboe, finding it far easier to play than my ill-fated flute. Admittedly, my previous attempts at other instruments probably made things easier as I was already a proficient sight-reader and many of the basic keys were in a similar location, but I was still impressed.
Later on, I also tried my hand at the drum kit (a bit of a drastic change, I know) and have had various half-hearted attempts at self-teaching myself to play the piano on my bog-standard Argos keyboard over the years. However, it was always the oboe that really captured my musical heart.
I ended up taking oboe lessons throughout a good chunk of my school career, only ending once I started sixth form, passed my Grade 5 oboe exam and realised that taking any further gradings would require a significantly larger amount of effort and practice time than I had or was willing to put in.
Despite this, I remain grateful to my teachers and proud of myself for at least semi-mastering such a notoriously tricky instrument. Learning the oboe provided me with a whole host of benefits, many of which extended far beyond the confines of the music room - some are still with me today, years later.
Since the music lessons I received were so beneficial to me, it pretty much goes without saying that I'm always ready to champion any way that spreads the word and gets more people interested in learning music. One major drawback of learning an instrument is that once you leave the confines of the educational system, finding decent tutors at an affordable price can become insanely tricky. Fortunately, services like Tutor Hunt are available to help connect you to private, personal tutors through an effective, innovative platform.
Although they offer many different tutoring services (literally encompassing everything from languages to lifestyle), I was understandably most interested in checking out their range when it came to music.
Luckily, there were certainly no disappointments there. Even the most unusual of instruments are covered, with tutors for as wide a range of instruments as you could ever dream of learning to play! To my great delight, the service also offers oboe lessons - a real boost for musical diversity.
A couple of months ago I actually bought myself a second-hand oboe so I could play again for the first time in about five years. While my memory had lost the finer points of musical intricacy, my fingers retained the muscle memory and it wasn't too much of a stretch before it all came flooding back once again.
Learning to play a musical instrument really is a thrill like no other - it's one of those bucket list items that I strongly recommend everyone should try at least once in their lifetime.
Luckily, there were certainly no disappointments there. Even the most unusual of instruments are covered, with tutors for as wide a range of instruments as you could ever dream of learning to play! To my great delight, the service also offers oboe lessons - a real boost for musical diversity.
A couple of months ago I actually bought myself a second-hand oboe so I could play again for the first time in about five years. While my memory had lost the finer points of musical intricacy, my fingers retained the muscle memory and it wasn't too much of a stretch before it all came flooding back once again.
Learning to play a musical instrument really is a thrill like no other - it's one of those bucket list items that I strongly recommend everyone should try at least once in their lifetime.
* This is a sponsored post
Can you play an instrument? Have you ever had music lessons? Let me know in the comments below!
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