Learning to play a new instrument online

[Jazzy]

Learning to play a new instrument as an adult is intimidating!  I know because I am a beginning classical guitar student.  I had tried to learn once before, but I live in a rural location and there wasn't a teacher nearby, so my beautiful instrument languished for a few years.   Back then I had tried to learn just from books, but I really needed both the visual instruction and the feedback an instructor provides.  The difference between then and now is that now is not that I have moved, but that online music instruction has exploded.  I had to try a couple of teachers before I found the right fit, but once I did, learning has become quite rewarding.   Make no mistake, it is still hard work - I practice an hour twice a day paying close attention to what I am doing.  I warm up with scales and technique lessons, but after just a few weeks I was able to play beginning etudes and waltzes.  Even though I take lessons on-line, I find community through participating in various forums.  Sometimes people have meetups, or get together for summer school.  I haven't done that yet, but maybe one day!  The best part is that on-line instruction can be much less expensive than private lessons.

[celebrate]

I am familiar with buying an instrument so that you can finally learn to play it, only to keep it stored. As adults we have pretty busy lives and we not always make time for ourselves. Consistency is key! Just like you said there are a lot of ways to teach yourself to play an instrument online. You just must make time to learn. I bought my ukulele two years ago, but these last 3 months are the only ones I have practiced. What helped me to commit is to make a schedule. The goal is to practice every day. But I recommend setting a schedule you know you can keep, otherwise you can get discouraged and stop practicing at all (been there). The tools are all out there all you need is the motivation and dedication!