MUSIC 101<br> ADOPTING AN INSTRUMENT
Hobbies are a nice way to kill time. There are some hobbies that can be more rewarding than others; learning to play an instrument is one such hobby. But starting off with an instrument can also be challenging, since everything ranging from what sort of instrument to buy and who to learn from can be daunting questions if you're on your own.
Keep in mind that when you're starting off, it's absolutely important to know what you want from your instrument or how far you see yourself going. If you are, for example, looking for a casual hobby, buying high end gear is obviously unnecessary. Similarly, if you have long-term plans, it's still advisable that you start off with decent but not so expensive equipment. It's still hard to tell early on if you'll stick with your instrument. Once you've invested some time into it, it will be easier for you to re-evaluate your goals and get more expensive gear.
Note that all the prices mentioned are current with Guitar Centre, Level-6, Bashundhara City, Dhaka as of August 2014.
GUITAR
When it comes to an instrument, nothing is cooler than the six-string. But starting off with the guitar can be confusing since you have the question of whether you want to go acoustic or electric. Now this depends on you and your taste in music. If you're not really into rock or metal and prefer lighter pop, country or indie songs, then a decent acoustic will be just fine for you. Good quality acoustic guitars from TGM are available for around Tk 6,000 at Guitar Centre, Bashundhara City. TGM has factories in different countries so be careful to seek out the Korean ones, if you can. It's advisable to not buy instruments from questionable origins since they have a tendency to react badly to our unpredictable weather. Nevertheless, Signature Acoustics can be purchased for around Tk 4,000. The main difference between Signatures and TGMs is that latter can work as a learning as well as an entry-level performing tool.
Some guitars can be horribly set up and with bad action (string height), those can discourage you from playing just by being unnecessarily difficult. Beginner level GIO model guitars from Ibanez start at around Tk 15,500 with the Ibanez GRX150. GIO guitars are made in Indonesia and while they aren't world class, they are decent enough to get you through the learning patch and even perform a little. It might be better to avoid guitars with a Floyd Rose Tremolo Arm, since maintaining those is a lot of work, something you shouldn't have to deal with right away. Several GIO models are available within the Tk 15-20 thousand price range such as the versatile GAX30, which is priced at Tk 18,500. Spanish company SX also make the SX Pirate, which is the same price as the GAX30 but has the Les Paul shape.
Once you're done with buying an electric guitar, you will want an amplifier or an effects unit or both. Some amps like the unnamed beginner series ones from SX come loaded with basic effects like overdrive and reverb, and cost around Tk 6,000. Amps from India's Stranger do not come with such effects and only give you a clean speaker with equalisation. Stranger's Cube 30 costs around Tk 4,000. Zoom make the best budget series multi effects units. Their G1 Next is probably the staple for beginner effects unit and it costs Tk 6,000 roughly. It has a multitude of effects and if you can teach yourself to dial in the tone right, can be used on stage easily.
If you're looking to just strum a few songs for fun, learning online at channels like justinguitar or YouTube's GuitarJamz might be enough but if you want to take it further, learning alone might be difficult. Shaikh Salekin of 12AM, Samir Hafiz of Shrapnel Method and solo prog-jazz guitarist Imran Ahmed are some of the best young guitar teachers in Dhaka.
Also, get a tuner if you are buying an acoustic. Investing in a tuner will help you a lot down the road.
BASS
Let's move over to the guitar's cousin, the bass. Acoustic basses are rarely seen so we'll focus on the electrics. Basses start off at around Tk 12,500, with TGM offering a few decent models around that price range. Unfortunately, Ibanez models don't become available at under the Tk 20,000 price range but TGM makes very good basses. A basic bass amp from SX costs Tk 6,500. Starting off, multi-effects aren't really necessary. A good source for learning the bass is scottsbasslessons.com, the free lessons just about do it.
Again, get a tuner. As a bassist, it's even more important to have a tuner.
KEYS
Keyboards give you the option to casually play songs like guitars do but also have the versatility to function as a harmonium, which will also let your mom brush up the singing skills she's lost touch with. The very basic Casio SA46 is listed at Tk 3,500. Moving up, the Casio 240 costs Tk 8,500 while the decent stage quality Yamaha 243 costs Tk 16,500.
Warfaze's Shams Mansoor Ghani is probably the most reputed keyboard teacher in Dhaka, offering a solid background on both Western or Eastern styles of music so you will get what you prefer.
DRUMS
It's time for the instrument that has been the bane of neighbours everywhere, the drum kit. Unbranded local drums can be purchased for around Tk 10,500 and then the price skyrockets to nearly the Tk 60,000 region but we'll leave that out. Mesh pads that help you bring the noise down can be bought for around Tk 1000 to add on top of the drums. For starting out, the random local sticks cost around Tk 40. Maxtone sticks cost from Tk 200-300 and Tama sticks are Tk 650-850.
Something that is a problem for drummers in Bangladesh is not having their own drum kits. And the primary reason they do not have their own drum kits is because of the complaining neighbours. But really, shadow practising (practising on walls or other hard surfaces) hardly compares to the feel of the real thing. However it will undoubtedly depend on you (and your neighbours) as to which road you choose to follow. But keep in mind, mesh pads do help.
Funk/jazz/prog drummer Towfiq Arifin Turjo who plays with 42, is among the premier young drum teachers in Dhaka and his teaching method incorporates quite a bit of creativity.
VIOLINS
Moving away from the mainstream instruments, let's touch on something classier. Keep in mind, from the get go, the violin is not for the faint of heart. The learning curve for the violin is much steeper than the any of the other instruments mentioned and there really isn't a “casual” violinist. It's sort of an “all or nothing” deal with this one. Chinese made Valencia violins can be bought for Tk 5-6 thousand while Taiwanese Maxtone violins are listed at Tk 12,500.
Alliance Francais is the best place for learning the violin in Dhaka. A lot more of theory is involved in learning violins and while you can sort of get away with not knowing much theory on the guitar or bass, it will be nearly impossible to navigate a fretless violin neck without proper theory knowledge. So it's best to learn from an organised course and AF offers a 9 month-long course for beginners, split into 3 trimesters (with fees of Tk 8,000, 6,000 and 7,000 in that order).
CERTAIN ISSUES TO CONSIDER
(1) Buying 2nd hand: Shopping for used equipment can be a useful way to get the gear that you want at a cheaper price. But know that websites and several Facebook groups for buying and selling used items, while offering a wide variety of equipments, are also filled with people who are looking for unsuspecting prey to rip off. It is advisable that you take the help of an experienced teacher or friend while shopping second hand when you're still a novice.
(2) Learning on your own: There might be a variety of reasons as to why you would want to do this and it's not like it's impossible to become a respectable player on your own. Lots of people have done it in the past and with YouTube, you have thousands of channels at your disposal. However, while channels can show you how to play a song or even teach music theory, what they can't do is point out any fundamental mistakes in your technique. And if you get through the beginner phase with any critical error, it might be very difficult to undo the damage later on. So it's probably a good idea to have a teacher, at least for the first year or so.
*A word of thanks to Proloy Ghosh, Guitar Centre, Bashundhara City for his help.
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