Learning To Play A Musical Instrument Online

Summer is here, and with it come longer days, summer Fridays, and family vacations. 

With those extra hours, you could find the perfect time to sit out on the patio and strum out a few songs on your guitar. To flex those fingers and start tickling the ivories of your old piano. Or to stop using the chopsticks as drumsticks and actually get your kit out of storage.

That is, if you still remember how to play. I, like most of us, had my share of music lessons as a kid. From the occasional elective in public school (got kicked out of piano class, if you didn’t know that was possible) to a summer camp here or there, music was a part of my upbringing.

Then I got a little older and a little less musical as things like work and also work started to take up the times I used to use for piano and guitar.

Lately, though, the itch has been coming back and I decided to give it a scratch. Now more than ever, there are plenty of resources to learn music at our fingertips. 

While there’s still nothing like sitting down with an experienced teacher and learning from them directly, it’s also entirely fine to recognize your own limitations. 

Maybe Saturday afternoons are reserved for families, so you need to find a teacher available on Friday morning at 6:30am. Or maybe there’s not much of a budget for music lessons, and you’d like to figure it out on your own.

Whichever boat you find yourself in, today we’re going to help you paddle. Below we’ve got a few great resources to help you get started on (or get back to!) your musical journey.

Where To Learn Music Online With A Teacher

1. Live Music Tutor - As you might’ve guessed from the name, Live Music Tutor is here to provide you with live music lessons. With a database of teachers organized by style of music and instrument (with everything from accordion to zheng), this may be the most comprehensive option for learning music from the comfort of your home.


2. Preply - In addition to helping students learn languages, Preply helps connect students with music teachers all over the world. This international access will help you find teachers who fit with your schedule and your price range, ensuring you have the access you need to advance.
   
   
3. Lessonface - With a similar interface to Preply, Lessonface seems to have even more focus on music, with guitar, tuba, harmonica, steel drum, and vocal lessons, among others. Many teachers also offer a free introductory lesson so you can make sure you’ve found the right fit.

How To Learn Music Online On Your Own

1. Yousician - While Yousician is a premium music learning service, it has the tools you need to advance at your own pace. With learning plans currently in place for guitar, bass, piano, singing, and ukulele, it’s a great place to brush up on more than one instrument, too. Plus, they have a family plan which could make for a fun shared experience.
   
   
2. YouTube - It’s true that  you can find just about anything on YouTube. That includes music tutorials, music lessons, tips and techniques, and more… for just about everything. With that accessibility comes a need for accountability and structure. If you can commit to a channel or a teacher and work through it, you’ll likely improve. If you get distracted by everything else on video, though…
   
   
3. Coursera - As one of the pioneers of MOOCs and making education accessible online, Coursera also has a wide selection of music courses. Though they’ll ask you every now and again to subscribe, it’s possible to audit a majority of courses for free.

So, has learning to play an instrument been on your bucket list? Or will you be brushing off the cobwebs and picking up where you started a decade ago? Now you’ve got the tools you need to get after it this summer. 

Let us know how it goes!