What musical instrument should I learn?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I reeeeeallly want to learn a musical instrument lately for some reason. Maybe I’m just pining over never having been one of the cool “band kids” in high school. (And why wouldn’t those stupid morons let me in their club for jerks, anyway?) Anyway, I’m down to two choices but I can’t choose between them. Do I go for

keyboard
or
guitar?

Pros of a Keyboard: They’re more musically diverse. It gives me an excuse to run around Best Buy again. You can play more on them. It’ll be easier to hook up to my computer, so I could just get myself some decent interactive piano software and spend an hour on it every night.

Con: Keyboards don’t lug around that easily. I don’t know if I could train all ten of my fingers to be that coordinated: I tend to get reeeeallly frustrated when I don’t understand something.

Pros of Guitar: You can play more American “folk” music on them. (“American Pie” just wouldn’t work on a keyboard.) Chicks dig guitars. You can sling a guitar over your shoulder and transport it easily. You can entertain people in airports. Persephone once offered to teach me guitar, so any excuse to hang out with her means it has to be worth it.

Cons: Computer software probably wouldn’t be as effective, but I don’t have the luxury of time to take lessons. String instruments are more limited in what they can play. Again, my fingers might not be coordinated enough to figure out this thing.

I want some pointers from you musical types. Maybe you can suggest another instrument of interest to me, who knows. Anyway…your suggestions are most welcome.

2

I play both.

By keyboard, I assume you mean a synth of some sort, not a piano.

Keyboard is indeed more diverse in what you can play and do with it. You can be the whole orchestra. Even low-end keyboards let you record and play back pieces, so you can accompany yourself. And you get many more sounds (brass, organ, piano, whatever) to monkey with if that’s what you like. You can indeed hook up any but the most humble keyboard to a PC.

OTOH, guitar (especially just doing chording for voice-accompaniment) is way easier to learn. Practice a little every day and you can know several songs in short order. ‘American Pie’ would probably take a couple of weeks once you can voice basic chords and your left wrist stops aching.

As far as tranportability – an acoustic guitar is somewhat more transportable than a keyboard. With an acoustic, you don’t need an amp – the thing speaks for itself (ahem). An electric guitar needs an amp, and is generally harder to use and play well, but produces waay cooler tone. But is much less transportable because of the amp situation.

I’d say go for whichever makes a sound that motivates you. Go to a music store and pick up several guitars. Bring a friend that can play. Then do the same with some Casio consumer keyboard, then a Yamaha or better synth, then a piano. What sound really turns you on and would motivate you to play well and practice hard? What ‘sucks you in’ the most? If you want to learn, the instrument must motivate you, or there’s no point.

Also compare the instrument to the kind of music you like and what you see yourself doing with an instrument. How does this all fit together.

Lastly, what is your ultimate goal? You want to be proficient at the instrument and do…what? Compose? Sing songs on the beach? Get a group of friends together and play rock? All or any of these are within your grasp. Learning any instrument isn’t difficult, it just requires dedication to practicing technique and learning some really basic music concepts.

Go for it – pick something and learn how to play. It’s frustrating at first (and it will stay frustrating – there’s always someone who can play better than you!), but the payoff can be enormously satisfying.

3

If you’re going to learn guitar be prepared for your fingers to hurt reeeeaaaaallllyyy bad for awhile.

Though it isn’t one of your choices, the harmonica is a fairly easy first instrument to learn, and it sounds really cool.

4

Agreed. You will get blisters on your fingertips, and your wrist will need to loosen up. And piano wreaks havoc on my wrists sometimes, so this just goes with the territory. Think of it as a sport – you’re doing strength training.

Yeah, but the tongue blisters when you start out are a bitch. :slight_smile:

5

You might find that if you choose either of those two instruments, the other one will be easier to pick up, given the nature of them. However, this phenomenon doesn’t work for some people, so if I had to choose one, piano/keyboard if you have the means (watch for weighted keys in the case of a keyboard, you’ll want those). But, guitar is just as versatile. I’ll go ahead and echo squeegee and say don’t let the tediousness of the instrument get you, but let the sound motivate you. Oh, and don’t get hung up on scales. Learn chords.

I’d also like to throw in an unsolicited plug for drums- true, they can be quite pricey, but the materials needed to learn much of the necessary technique can be acquired for $50 american or less (sticks, practice pad, technique book). Kinda satisfying too, and good drummers (at least where I’m at) are in demand, so all the guit/key/bass/etc players tell me…

6

I have no musical knowledge at all, but I recently inherited a piano and yesterday made my first enquiries into learning how to play.

Keep me posted on your progress (especially if you choose the keyboard).

N.

7

Amen. I picked up guitar pretty easily, but when I tried to learn piano, even with lessons, I just flopped. Couldn’t get my brain to separate into two parts to control each hand separately. Sure, you use both hands to play guitar too, but they’re working together–one hand mashes the string, the other plucks or strums it. Both hands working together to play the same sound. With keyboards, the hands are doing entirely different things, though ideally they should be complimenting each other. To be a really fine guitar player takes tons of practice and talent, but to be an okay guitar player is not hard. To be an okay keyboard player, for me, is impossible. YMMV.

On the other hand, learning keyboard will probably lead to a better understanding of music in general. A good guitar player will have a good understanding of music, but it’s possible to learn to play pretty well without really knowing what the heck you’re doing. I think that’s less likely with keyboards.

Playing steel-string guitars can hurt, but nylon strings are pretty painless. They are also probably less versatile and less popular, though I like the sound of them, myself.

These days I mostly play fretless bass guitar. I have settled on that because I love the way it sounds, and it’s fun to play. I agree that you should find the instrument that motivates you. What part do you follow most when you listen to music? What sounds do you like the best?

8

I don’t play the piano, but it seems to me the two-handed thing shouldn’t be a problem for anyone who is used to typing with both hands on a keyboard. My vote is for keyboards/piano, just because I like it better. Although a well-played spanish guitar…sexy!

StG

9

So bagpipes and the accordian are right out?

10

If your aim is to just learn to play an instrument, I’d say go with whatever makes a sound that’s most intriguing and interesting to you. If you want to learn and understand music, then I say piano.
I’ve played guitar for close to 40 years, and I believe that it’s actually one of the more difficult instruments to really learn how to play. Sure, anyone can pick up a few chords and play a few songs in a matter of weeks, but to achieve any level of mastery or to use it as a means to study and create music takes serious determination and dedication. I believe there are many instruments that are much less challenging, although each has it’s difficulties. Do you want to be a serious musician, or are you just looking for a little fun and a way to impress girls? Hanging out with *Persephone may in itself be reason enough to go buy a six-string!

11

Dang blast it! Persephone!!! Rats! How impressed can she be, now?

12

Absolutely agree here. I play both, and piano was my first (and longest studied) instrument. The guitar is easier to pick up some basics – sturmming chords, for instance, but it gets more complex if you want to sound like Eric Clapton playing a guitar solo.

Piano/keyboard would give you a better musical understanding overall. But yes, it will take longer to learn to play it well. (And if you want to be able to have fast fingers on the piano, scales will be necessary, too)

And Joe K is right – for a keyboard, don’t go for some synth with light shallow keys. Something with weighted keys, perhaps something that better simulates the touch and feel of a piano, is going to be better for your playing in the long run.

As for which one… why not learn both? :wink:

13

There just aren’t enough accordian players in the world - I think you need to learn to play the accordian.

OK, seriously, I tried both and had much more success with the keyboard. I won’t speak for others, but the motion seemed more natural to me. My theory is that I am a software developer and so I’m used to using my fingers in that motion all day. Of course, others here will tell me that they are programmers and play the guitar, so please understand that I am speaking about my experience only.

14

Yeah, I should clarify that scale bit I mentioned- fine for technique, but when you’re learning, it just gets in the way of learning the structure of songs, etc. And, perhaps this applies only to certain instruments as well; for instance, a bass (upright or guitar) is more appropriate with attention to chords, in most cases…but not to hijack, just correcting myself…carry on.

15

I’d go with keyboard. If you learn a little bit of technique and a little bit of theory, you’ll be able to play (or at least fake) a lot of songs. It helps to have a good ear for music too.

“The piano is a wussy instrument, but playing it doesn’t make you one.” --Ben Folds

16

No, I haven’t decided yet. At this point, I’m leaning towards acoustic guitar simply because, as an earlier poster said, I’m concerned that I won’t be able to separate my left and right hand movements.

Plus, my girlfriend already plays piano, and suggests that if I had a guitar, she and I could do duets.

Did I mention I have a new girlfriend? :smiley:

17

<sigh> another fine prospect lost.

I’ve puttered about with both piano and guitar. Like Mr O, I found I couldn’t master the two-hand thing - just not dextrous enough to have each hand doing something completely different, simultaneously. (And I respectfully disagree with St Germain’s comparison to typing - I’m a fast typer, but it’s an alternating thing, with one finger doing something, then another, and so on. The key board is both hands doings something different at the same time - I just couldn’t get it.)

I was playing classical guitar (i.e. - separate notes, not chords), and found it a lot of fun. My hands could work together to produce individual notes.

Now I’m working on the pipes, which has both hands working at once, but to produce individual notes in sequence, much like the guitar.

18

Hey Res, a piano-and-guitar duet sounds just fine to me. I’d get my brother to explain the merits of the keyboards vs. guitar, but he logged off MSN a while ago to do homework. (the dude plays seemingly everything… piano, guitar, keybaords, violin, flute, drums, bass, etc.)

But my opinion is that you should go with whatever makes you happiest. Not much of an answer, I know, but there it is. As for you and your new girlfriend playing duets together, once you get proficient enough at your chosen instrument, I’m sure you two will sound just fine together. (hey, I’m avoiding the obvious line here; give me some credit, at least)

It takes time to become proficient at either the piano or the guitar, unless you have an innate musical talent that you haven’t yet discovered. So please don’t give up in frustration too easily. That’s my opinion. It’s not particularly informed, but I just had to share. :smiley:

F_X

19

Did you hear about the accordian player who stopped at a bar, and after a couple hours, realized that he had left the car unlocked with the accordian inside? He rushed out to the car, only to find two more accordians there.

20

I play harmonica and I’d second that. My only regret is that you can’t play harmonica and sing at the same time (unless maybe I figure out how to play it with my arse - it would get me a slot on Eurotrash that’s for sure).