I’ll just chime in to mention that I know many very fine pianists with small hands. You’re not going to be playing a lot of Brahms and Rachmaninoff, but there’s plenty of stuff out there that doesn’t need big hands.
And of course the best instrument is voice. I may be biased.
I have tiny hands and have played piano for many years - through to certification! So don’t let tiny hands stop you if you’re interested in playing piano. Yes, there are certain styles of music you will need to adapt or simply be unable to play well, but there are plenty of styles that work for small hands just fine!
Thanks for that link - Their version of Psycho Killer is killer!
This is like recommending a kind of exercise: sure, someone could analyze your body type, goals, etc and recommend something exactly suited, but the bottom line is the best instrument is one that you have fun playing.
Since you mostly listen to rock and roll, get a guitar. That is what I think you’ll want to play. If possible, rent or borrow one for long enough to be sure that it doesn’t make your carpal tunnel worse.
I’d start with an acoustic; you can always get an electric later if you want, but an acoustic is better for learning on. Plus you can get all singer-songwriter-y with it. And if you want to get a ukulele or pedal steel or mandolin or who knows what later, you can and transfer a fair amount of the skill, but in the meantime, it will be a lot easier to get a guitar and get lessons for it than for something quirky and exotic.
Sure, sax is great (been playing for 40 years), easy to learn fingerings, but difficult for a beginniner to produce a good sound on, so most get discouraged. It’s also a “high-maintenance” instrument - a used one might need a couple hundred dollars worth of repairs (replacing pads, etc.) to get into top playing condition. Then there’s the confusing choice of mouthpiece and reeds. Imperative that you get a good teacher to help you.
I’d recommend flute…
I’m quite older than you (46) and just a few months ago I started learning my first musical instrument - the fiddle (violin). Just throwing that out there because IME, tiny hands would be a big plus over my big sausage fingers.
The downside, of course, is you don’t hear too many (but some!) fiddles in rock music. But check out some songs by Old Crow Medicine Show to see why the fiddle totally rocks.
Oh one other thing I’ve discovered: the violin is really, really hard. But someone told me that you can become an expert after about 10,000 hours of practice so I figure I’ll be pretty good in another 30-40 years.
This. It’s inexpensive (until you start amassing a collection), forgiving, and there are lots of decent video lessons online.
Oh, and if you’re going to buy a starter instrument, go to the store with a friend who is experienced in playing that instrument. A lot of those nylon string guitars on the hangers behind the counter with the big price tags with low prices on them are unplayable. Consider a used instrument for a starter also. A LOT of instruments that people buy to learn on end up in a corner just collecting dust, so you want to try to limit your potential $$ loss.
Autoharps can be “plucked” but that is for the seriously advanced level. And they can get really expensive without trying hard. Playing them they aren’t much of a strain to hold though.
My thoughts are running towards recommending a recorder but those you can’t sing along to and play at the same time.
As for ukes, I offer
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What instrument to do with a poetry background?
Bongos, hands down.
kopek, it’s a relief to see there’s someone with good taste here amid all the muggles.
Look closely at the instruments they’re playing. I can easily imagine a single cutaway uke, but a resonator uke? Some serious work and $$ went into that. And some of the inlay work on the fret boards.
Ukuleles are great. You can play any style of music on them. It’s inexpensive to get into and it’s fairly easy to learn basic chords and songs. One of my go-to places is The Ukulele Site. One of the things I like about it is that all of the instruments have demonstration videos and I liked the variety of music that is played and could see what ukuleles are capable of. The store comes highly recommended and there are also tutorials. Ukulele underground is a big forum for the ukulele community. I keep a ukulele by my chair and plunk away at it whenever the mood strikes.
And it sounds horrible until you develop some skill. My brother did “Suzuki” violin lessons for a while in school. It sounded like he was torturing a cat. It was a huge relief when he switched to trumpet.
Augh. So much to consider.
It’s not a decision I’m in some kind of hurry to make, but once I do I will update with how things turn out in terms of progress. I may say to heck with it and just stick to what I’m already good at.
I think uke and harmonica are your best bet. Inexpensive, versatile, easy to quickly develop some minimal proficiency thru self teaching. Might want to consider tin whistle as well. If you try any of these, and decide you don’t really enjoy music, you’re not out a ton of coin. But you could play along with many different instruments/styles with any of these, and learn more about other instruments you might want to pursue.
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Cowbells! (until they come home):rolleyes:
Right! I don’t know about rock dulcimer but it’s an instrument that’s possible to play with a slide bar and a pick, without any finger action. And it can be an acceptable singing accompaniment without a lot of technical skill. You can even buy a kit and build your own.
Bingo.
Regarding hand size, forget it. Everyone starting on guitar thinks their hands are small, even guys who can palm a basketball (which I can’t do, not by a long shot.) Zillions of youtube videos show 12-yr-old kids with tiny hands playing like masters. (Unfortunately, zillions more showing them shredding playing too many notes with an absence of passion, but that’s beside the point!) So, don’t rule out guitar. It’s a great instrument. But, so is uke! Take your pick.
Again, bingo.
Physically, uke is easier than guitar. Mentally, guitar is actually quite a bit simpler. However, IMHO, they’re both the quickest and easiest instruments for an adult to learn and go from complete novice to sounding good enough not to annoy people. That’s because, unlike wind and bowed instruments, it doesn’t take much technique to get decent tone, and strumming simple chords in simple patterns sounds great, especially when accompanied by a good voice.
I’ve said this before but I’ll repeat it. Kids have three big advantages over adults when it comes to learning an instrument:
Of the three of these, I’m confident that the third one is by far the most significant. So, if you’re serious, do your best to cultivate your inner child and find a way to enjoy baby steps! Once you get in the feedback loop of appreciating each small advance, you’re on your way to, over time, becoming a decent musician.