Instrumental Indecision Crisis
 

I've been through a couple of instruments, and I can't seem to find my niche.

Age 11, got an acoustic guitar. Dreamed of being Johnny Cash. Found out I can't rightly work the frets.
Age 15, got an electric. Figured, hey, maybe I can play this easier. Was wrong.
At 17, tried keyboards briefly, again not having nimble fingers is a hindrance.
18, I got my first bass. I fell in love, played it all the time.
Lately, I've fallen out of love with bass. I hoped that getting a new one would change anything, but I'm sure it won't now.
While at Guitar Center last night, I listened to all the guys trying out different istruments and I felt, well, inadequate. Discouraged, even.

I wasn't discouraged by their skill, moreso by the fact that they found their instrument, and I hadn't.
Practice makes perfect, I understand this, but I can't practice something that I can't fall in love with.
It's a matter of interest over talent.

I know I have some kind of music in my soul, but I just can't find it.

Currently, I have a harmonica, which I'll say I'm playing fairly well, but my heart just isn't in it, nor is my interest.

I'm posting this to all of you, looking for suggestions or even like stories.
Above everything else, I'm at a loss for what direction to head.

Care to lend a hand or drop some knowledge?

I think the flute is a fine and underrated instrument. ;)

You can even get them quite cheap, either second hand or - there are some made cheap in countries like China.

Sounds to me like your problem is practice, not instrument. Nobodies fingers can do anything on guitar when they first start to play. Hell, I think most people I know agree I'm a good guitar player. Certainly a couple of people have mentioned I'm the best they know, but when I picked it up I was tone deaf and I had to use my right hand to literally FORCE my fingers into chord shapes. The fluidity and so on only came with extensive practice. Now I'm going on 10 years strong. I didn't begin to make anything remotely musical until I'd played at LEAST 4 months, playing most days.

^True, any instrument requires practice. Even those little eggs with sand in them. Some level of patience and sticking-with-it is obviously required and before you reach some level of skill, it might not be all you thought it was cracked up to be.

:)

I realise I'll need practice, but I can't do it if I'm not happy with it.

Also, I thought about flute earlier, but I'm not sure it's for me. I'll give it a try at some point, I just can't see myself playing.

I was thinking of looking into a fiddle or violin, but I realise they go back to my poor dexterity.

Drums are a lot of fun, even from the start, but unless you're rich and have a lot of space and live someplace people will put up with it .. it may not be the most practical thing to pick up.

Practice, practice, practice.

End of story.

I've been playing guitar for years now. And the reason I'm not good is cause I don't practice.

I've already said I get the practice part.

And again, why practice on something you don't love?
I'm in it for more than looking cool.

That's why I posted all this, in hopes my horizons would be broadened to new instruments.

Ukulele... a good one will cost you 50 bones and if you're already familar with the guitar it's pretty easy to pick up. I'd recommend the Lanikai LU-21.

Have you ever tried the clarinet? Cheap, easy to learn, and it lends itself well to different styles of music.

The use of the flute in genres like rock is underrated. I guess because the instrument was not intended to play that type of music!

I sold my first flute to a beginner student for $100, which is a steal considering it was evaluated at $400. I kept it in good condition.

They are relatively cheap. That depends on one's definition of "cheap." My first flute, a beginner's flute, was $600 Canadian. I wouldn't have a clue about how many Euros that is :) The flute that I have now cost $2500. It's an intermediate level flute! I've seen the real professional ones go up to $16,000...