Fergus Cassidy

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THE most important thing I know about learning to play the guitar is never to show up early for a music lesson. And it was learned the hard way.

I pushed open the door of my music teacher's house and caught a blast of two electric guitars in full flight. Some day, I assured myself, I'll be able to play like that.

When the bouncy blues jam finished, two brothers - aged 13 and 10 - emerged, grinning like it was the first day of the school summer holidays. They skipped out the door leaving me deflated. All I had for comfort was my miserable three chords and the truth. Getting to Carnegie Hall does take practice.

Then again, I'm not bothered about Carnegie Hall. I want to play music for its own sake and I'm not alone.

Despite the economic rollercoaster of the last ten years and the time constraints it has brought, there has been strong and steady growth in the numbers of people learning music.

My own teacher's schedule has never been as full and she believes the same is true around Ireland. They can't all be trying to 'make it' or thinking of music as a career. While TV programmes like You're A Star use music as a competitive sieve, the reality is that thousands are playing because they really enjoy it.

People like Brendan Jewell, playing since he was a teenager and father to two young musicians: "I play for the love of music. To be able to create something that is your baby, while nourishing and developing it into a song. You can then place it on the world stage and watch it grow or see it rejected as fodder".

What's changed dramatically over recent years is the technology which enables Brendan to record and distribute his music. From animal skin to drum machine and from string to sequencer, technology has played a decisive roll in music's script.

There may be those who view music as part of the 'arts' and not to be contaminated by technology, but they've probably never witnessed a Stradivarius violin or a Steinway piano being put together.

Computer technology has already taken music into uncharted waters, but the ongoing development of software will take it into even newer territory. This may well raise some middle brows but for musicians it's nothing short of access all areas.

Recording your own music has previously required a wealthy relative or an understanding bank manager. Jackpot if it's both. Now a quick search for music software yields a ton of alternatives, many of which are free to use.

Even for recording professionally and releasing CDs, many musicians record and experiment at home and only venture into a studio when they're ready. This can save a lot of money. Many Irish musicians are quietly going about recording and releasing their work completely independently of the existing music business.

Software has brought the cost of recording tumbling down and musicians are chomping at the bits. When bandwidth catches up here (sigh), it will allow musicians to play in real time with others across the net if they fancy it.

For those content to record their music for its own sake, the web is transforming their approach to playing.

One of Brendan's sons, Simon, is in no doubt about that: "A lot of online computer programmes teach you simple scales and riffs which really help your progress in songwriting. It allows you to add structure to an otherwise simple song".

As far as recording his music is concerned, he said that "it has certainly helped to share my music more easily. Being able to just play your guitar into a computer mike and then listen to it back and judge your own music really helps your progress".

The net has facilitated an explosion in text-based creativity and, in time, it will have the same effect on music.

At the rate my own playing is progressing, don't count me in.