So if you could learn any instrument and any language what would it be and why? Personally I would do Japanese because I find the culture and the scenery of Japan to be fascinating and I would love to spend some time getting to know the area.
For instrument I would go with bagpipes. I love the sound of them and would like to get more familiar with my Scottish heritage.
Huh. Instrument. Well, I already play piano, flute, and bagpipes. I’ve dabbled in guitar and drums. I’d like to learn the banjo. I’d really love to be a kick-ass fiddler but I tried that one and … I’m not a fiddler, m’kay?
Languages - English is my native tongue and I’ve studied French, Irish, and Spanish. Assuming I should pick one I don’t already know…Tough one. Chinese? Japanese? Russian? If I could get instant fluency in the language of my choice (other than English) it would be Spanish because it would be darn useful.
Mandarin Chinese and I’d like to be a much better guitar player than I am.
I’d like to learn the balalaika, because I own one that was passed down from a family member who could play it, and brought it over from Eastern Europe. I ended up with it, mainly because no one else wanted it. I gave it to a cousin on the other side of the family for a while, because she can play guitar, and she managed to teach herself to play it pretty well. She was supposed to then teach me, but I didn’t have much aptitude, and not a lot of time to make up for it, so I learned to pluck out “Have Nagila,” and that was about it.
I would like to learn Spanish, since it is the second most common language in the US. I have been doing the Duolingo course, and trying some other “teach yourself” methods, but I really need a university class, and some people to interact with.
Alto sax or piano, and Italian. The language would a bit easier, as I’ve had formal training in French, Portuguese and Spanish.
Instrument: Acoustic guitar, especially classical and flamenco styles but folk,blues & the like as well. Guitars are portable and versatile, and I like the sounds they make.
Language: French - I like France, and it would be nice to have more than the tiny smattering I already speak.
I’ve played guitar for almost 30 years and tried my hand at the cello (with mixed results). I’ve started the piano - in part thanks to various dopers’ suggestions - 2 months ago, and I’m really enjoying it and making good progress. Since I’m 42, I consider it as the last instrument that I have a real shot at becoming proficient at. As a result, I really don’t consider learning yet another one but if I did, I’d probably pick a wind instrument. Woodwind probably, either the clarinet or the bassoon. I just love those dark, low notes.
As far as languages are concerned, it’s more difficult because my insticitve answer is : “All of them !” and that’d be a bit time-consuming but I did come up with a list.
Language that I need to learn or at least get much better at for personal reasons: Arabic.
Language that I’ve learned in my youth but that I’d love to start again: German.
Language that would be completely new to me and probably useful: Italian.
Language that would be completely new to me and more of a curiosity: **Finnish **(I’ve always found it fascinating).
Exotic language that piques my interest for some reason: Indonesian.
Instrument? I wish I could play jazz piano a hundredth as creatively and fluidly as, say, Keith Jarrett or Oscar Peterson. If I were capable of learning this (not sure that I am, no matter how much effort I put into it), I guess you could say I wish I had the time to do so – maybe someday I will.
Language? I would love to learn a language that is very different from the two I speak well (English and Spanish). Maybe Yucatec Maya – an indigenous language, but spoken by about a million people, so not entirely “impractical” either. It’s ergative, whereas most languages you’re familiar with are agentive (or do I have that backwards?), so (for example) direct objects of transitive verbs have the same form (personal pronoun and case ending) as subjects of intransitive verbs, but they’re different than subjects of intransitive verbs.
Or, I’d love to learn a language that happens to have a gorgeous writing system (script), whether it be alphabetic, syllabic, or whatever. Tamil would be a good choice – spoken by many millions, and related to other Dravidian languages spoken by millions more. Plus, my in-laws speak it fluently, and my wife speaks it okay.
Spanish - I recall my High School vocabulary, but would enjoy being fluent and engaging more in the Spanish-speaking communities I am exposed to.
Guitar - yeah, I play, but would enjoy expanding my capabilities. Playing jazz or more Jeff Beck-like, or maybe a sorta-flamenco style like Gabrielle of Rodrigo and Gabrielle. It’s all good.
And, as I think about it, Spanish and Guitar go together nicely.
Duolingo has courses in all of those except Finnish (more’s the pity - I’m interested in that one, too).
Language: Italian. I’ve been to Italy after taking a 2-week night class in Italian, but I’d love to learn enough to understand Italian opera.
Instrument: On my 70th birthday I began teaching myself cello. I thought it wouldn’t be too hard, since I already play violin and viola. But it’s very different. Actually, I’d love to be proficient in just about any musical instrument. Except bagpipes, which is more of an instrument of torture.
Small pipes rather than the full military band outdoor version can be fine: and there’s not just the Scots version, but the Irish and Northumberland pipes to choose from as well.
I’d go for Russian, and the bass recorder - a lovely mellow sound when handled properly.
Russian. I already know how to speak one language that’s very good for cursing, and judging from the opinions I’ve gotten from both sides, Russian is damn good for it too.
Instruments, uh… I think the most portable thing would be something along the lines of “learning how to use a regular keyboard to play electronic organ on the computer”.
PatrickLondon, you can go south or east for more versions of pipes, including electronic ones.
Instrument: piano/organ/keyboards in general. Too versatile to not learn.
Language: Here’s where it gets tough. For sheer usefulness Spanish wins hands-down. But around here, Mandarin would be almost as useful and a different skill set from your usual mook. So I’d go with that.
In my fantasy world:
Instrument: tenor sax. But I’ll settle for xafoon. I pluck around with a small, 5-string kantele, but have no talent for music at all.
Language: Japanese. My native language is English, My Finnish is good, I read Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian, have tiny smatterings of French and German, and am working on learning Spanish, since it’s useful. But Japanese actually attracts me.
I wish I could play guitar better. I would like to speak and write Chinese. I took very introductory lessons and learned the pictograph for “chicken” when eating out on Beijing when no translations were available.
Tuning Fork and Jive.
Language:
For fun, Gaelic.
For practicality, Spanish (I took about 3 years worth in high school and college, be great to be fluent at it and where I am I’d certainly be able to use it a lot).
Instrument:
For fun, didgeridoo or bagpipes. I have a didge that my folks bought me the last time they lived in Australia, I can make some appropriate sounds through it but never learned circular breathing. I love the sound of both instruments and especially for bagpipes, skipping the “learning” phase and going straight to “good at it” would be awesome (for me and everyone within earshot).
Also piano. There’s pianos all over the place and I love the idea of being able to walk up to one in a bar or something and surprise people with some good tunes.
Language: Spanish
Instrument: Harp
I’m pretty boring and/or practical.
For language I would choose French because I live about 40 miles from the Quebec border and it would be nice to be able to speak the language when traveling there.
For instrument I would choose the piano. I am at a really shitty place with music. I have a fairly deep natural understanding of music and appreciate and enjoy multiple genres. But I have absolutely no musical talent. Part of this is due to a learning disability, dyscalculia, which affects both mathematical and musical learning. Part is a less than stellar ear. So I would just love to be able to master any musical instrument, piano is just the most versatile.