On a musical note : The Tribune India

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On a musical note

Of the leisurely pastimes that humans have taken to through the ages, there are few that jack up the coolness of an individual the way music does.

On a musical note


Divyanshu Dutta Roy

Of the leisurely pastimes that humans have taken to through the ages, there are few that jack up the coolness of an individual the way music does. From the unforgiving high school to ridiculous reality TV shows, it’s abundantly clear just how much your stock rises if you can string a banjo or blow a clarinet. Add to that those scientific studies that show the benefits of learning to play music range from heightened memory capacity to becoming better at math.

But be it the times we dwell in or the places we inhabit, acquiring a skill like learning to play an instrument or such somehow always remain beyond our reach these days. And so, while there might be scant replacements to learning the shehnai from a guru on the ghats of Varanasi, turning to the world wide web today might actually do more good than harm if you are remotely curious about strumming a rhythm or dropping a beat. Of course, you will still need to put in the hours but these will be on your terms and conditions. Here’s a quick rundown of the resources that will help you get started.

YouTube 
www.youtube.com

The first and the most obvious place to start is the music section of the world’s most popular video-sharing site. People from every imaginable corner of the globe have crowded this website with guides about how to play instruments that have been invented by humans since the beginning of time. Search for an instrument, see if you like the instructor and then start learning.

About.com 
www.about.com

This website has assembled one of the most comprehensive and neatly arranged guides and getting started material for those interested in instruments such as the guitar and the piano. If what you are looking for is a slightly more uncommon search for it on the site or any other search engine and chances are you will find the literature right there.

Chordify 
www.chordify.net

To get started on your favourite song, among the first things you’re going to need are its chords. There are few better places to turn to than this site where any YouTube link or uploaded MP3 file can be turned into chords that you can then replicate on your favourite instrument.  

Reading music
http://datadragon.com/education/reading/

Before you use chords, you will need to know how to read them. If you seem to have missed that lesson, here’s a great guide to do catch up on the latest in 20th century music reading skills.

Guitar tricks
www.guitartricks.com

If you are very serious about learning the guitar, then this site is where you probably spend your money. The site takes its job very seriously and you get in depth lessons and a complete course that promises much better results than YouTube or random instructors.

Drums Database 
www.drumsdatabase.com

The site may seem straight from 1995 but don’t be fooled as this site offers an exceptional straight forward way to dive right into driving your parents/neighbours up the wall. The guide to accurate head-banging is not included though.

Zebra keys 
www.zebrakeys.com

Zebra Keys is piano equivalent of Drums Database. With comprehensive piano tutorials, all in one place, this site is a great place to start learning the piano.

iPerform3D
www.iperform3d.com

If the video and text don’t cut it for you, then how about in-depth 3D animation? Even though the best stuff on this site is paid, many people vouch for its worthiness for how it makes to see what those fingers are really supposed to do when elsewhere all you see is blur.

Soundslice 
www.soundslice.com

If you have gone further down the road and like your music in sheets, then this website comes strongly recommended for its repository of interactive notation and tabs.

Apps 
App Store, Google Play, Windows Store

An honourable mention goes out to hundreds of great apps out there on your smartphone, tablet and PC app stores. Just search for ‘learn music’ and see what you find!

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