It is ever easier to get passionate about music these days. Modern technology has made it easier to learn to play an instrument, as you can find anything from guitar lessons to saxophone lessons online and practice playing from the comfort of your own home. But learning to play an instrument or becoming a better singer isn’t always easy to achieve on your own, and you should think about finding a music tutor that can help you with your new adventure.

Why Should You Consider Getting a Music Tutor?

It is a good idea to think about why hiring a tutor is beneficial for your learning experience. As many people know, learning to play an instrument can be very beneficial for children as well as adults. This is because music is a great way to boost confidence and studies have even found it can improve children’s cognitive abilities.

Music tutoring can further enhance these benefits. This is because having a tutor can help you focus on the right aspects of playing, which naturally gives you more confidence in knowing you are doing the right thing. Whether you are taking saxophone lessons, singing lessons, or focusing on any other area of music, a tutor can ensure you are given constructive feedback and positive reinforcements.

This Cross-Eyed Pianist blog post beautifully demonstrates the positive effects of taking music lessons. Not only is music a powerful way to relieve stress, but doing it together with a tutor can teach you a lot about cooperation and teamwork. These advantages mean it is definitely worth embarking on a tutor hunt for someone that could help you.

What to Look for in a Good Music Tutor?

Starting your tutor hunt is much easier once you know what to look for in a good music tutor. You need to be aware that the internet is full of all kinds of tutors with varying skills. If you are going to invest your own time and money in learning to play an instrument, then you want to find music lessons that are worth the effort.

The Music Teachers Helper website has an interesting article aimed at music tutors on what makes a good teacher. Although it looks at the question from the point of view of the teacher, it still highlights some valuable points to people looking for music lessons. First, you don’t want a tutor who pretends to know it all. If you are taking guitar lessons, then you want a guitar teacher who is willing to learn from you as well and who isn’t afraid to try different things.

In addition, you want to find a tutor who is receptive and understanding of your needs. This also means that you need to understand how you learn the best. Some people might want one-on-one tutoring whereas another might learn faster by taking online lessons.

Where to Find the Right Music Tutor?

When it comes to starting your tutor hunt, you should definitely check online resources first. Technology has truly revolutionised music and there are plenty of online lessons available from guitar lessons to vocal coaching. Our own lessons at Pro Music Tutor help you get online tutoring that fits your schedule and lifestyle.

Naturally, there are also plenty of traditional music tutor options available as well. If you want one-to-one coaching or perhaps you are looking to join a local music group, websites like MusicTeachers.co.uk can be a very helpful place to start.

So, consider your personal needs and the things you want to get out of the music lessons. Once you got that figured out, you can start your tutor hunt online. It will definitely be worth the effort!

In the modern world there are plenty of ways for guitarists to get their fix of the latest news.  Social media is cool for finding out what’s happening in the guitar world, while there are plenty of websites around to pick up guitar tablature from.

Still, some of us prefer buying a magazine, despite them fast becoming almost a retro thing.  The beauty of a magazine is that you can have the physical copy in front of you, tear out pages, and do what you like with it.  You can usually get an app and full access to the website of the magazine when you buy it, too.

Why wouldn’t you still want to read a guitar magazine?

Here are some of our favourites.

Total Guitar

Total Guitar is a brilliant magazine, and owing to its target market of beginner and intermediate guitarists you could well find it a useful read if you’re working on any of the guitar lessons here at Pro Music Tutor.

As well as featuring guidance to help you develop your playing style, Total Guitar carries news and gear reviews that mean you’ll always be the most well informed guitarist in town.

Guitarist

Published by Music Radar, who are also responsible for Total Guitar, Guitarist magazine calls itself the guitar player’s bible.  Anyone who has read the magazine will tell you that isn’t just marketing speak, either, it really is a brilliant read and an essential companion for guitarists everywhere.

If you’re at the start of your guitar learning journey, then this maybe isn’t the best read for you, but once you’re in tune with your instrument, the gear reviews, star interviews, and other features will make it a must read.

Acoustic Magazine

Acoustic Magazine is the one to be reading if you’re passionate about your acoustic guitar and don’t even bother with an electric.  It’s also a top magazine for anyone that wants a dedicated resource for acoustic guitar rather than a separate section or a few pages at the back of other publications.

Subscriptions to Acoustic Magazine get you access to digital editions, too, so if you want it in print and ‘the modern way’ you have that option here.

Our favourite feature in Acoustic is definitely the ‘Techniques’ section; a must consult for anyone who exclusively plays acoustic or struggles when moving from that to an electric, or vice versa.

Guitar and Bass

It doesn’t matter if you play bass or are even interested in the instrument at all; Guitar and Bass is another top title that should be essential reading for guitarists whether novice or professional.

While we recommend reading the magazine in print, one great feature of the website is the way it breaks down guitars by brand so readers can get tips on their specific instrument, whether they play a Fender, a Gibson, and Ibanez, or something else.

Get these brilliant guitar magazines in your life today, and take advantage of all the features on offer to help yourself become a better player.

Speaking to some of the younger generation of today, if you mention saxophone to them they’ll instantly associate it with being “old fashioned.”  While the saxophone certainly has a rich and storied history, it is wrong to suggest that it belongs in the past.

In fact, all you have to do is look at some of the hottest bands today and you can see how much of a part saxophone has to play.  While bands like Coldplay, Muse, and Green Day don’t have saxophonists in their actual line-up, they commonly use them during recording sessions and subsequently during tours.  The sax is obviously still a massive part of the global jazz scene, but it doesn’t look out of place in any setting.

Why does the presence of the sax work in modern music, and is it here to stay?

It’s Something Different

Music is a strange beast, and that is partly down to the fact that music critics and music lovers are strange beasts themselves.

Imagine you get a band that releases music with a very distinct sound.  Blink 182 and Oasis are two bands that have stood accused of releasing music that all sounds the same in the recent past.

Yet, when bands step away and do something different, they’re hated for not staying true to their signature sound.  You can’t please everyone all the time!

The different sound is the main reason sax works today.  Modern musicians are usually credited more than scorned for trying something different, and it immediately becomes something fans and the media pick up on.  How many times has a band done something different and the first question regarding a new record has been about the new sound?  It happens every time.

Sax Isn’t Old Fashioned!

Time to shoot down what youngsters might think about the saxophone.  Saxophone playing, and indeed the whole of the jazz music genre in general, has evolved and moved with the times.

Now, jazz and sax are cool again.  While jazz clubs aren’t anywhere near as popular as dance clubs might be, they’re still thriving and becoming an essential part of a night out for many.  More so, people are getting used to hearing punky sax riffs and other unusual sounds, a world away from most people’s traditional view of sax, which is usually a gentle, easy listening type of style.

Today, it is common to find sax played alongside heavy metal riffs, in slow, melancholic songs, and in various other types of music.

Musicians are More Open Minded

Music by its very nature is reliant on the creativity of those practicing it, and while musicians in general need to be an open minded bunch, there is definitely less tension between artists in different genres now than at any time in the past.

The lines between one genre and another have never been more blurred, and this lack of identity means the sax as well as other instruments can easily pop up and fit in anywhere.

There’s no getting away from it: sax and modern music just work, whether it is with sax as part of the re-emerging jazz scene or within a heavier, rockier sound.

Is the sax going to go away?  Don’t bet on it!