Which instrument requires the least patience to learn?

[LawryPopson]

Hi,

I have always like singing and and doing it has always felt pretty natural.
I think I also have a reasonable sense of melody and I've done some tracks/ compositions with Fl-studio.

But I've never really had the patience to learn an instrument. My motor skills are somehow pretty bad and I'm bad at making different movements with my hands at the same time. Of course it's very possible that there is no easy way and I just should have more motivation. I was playing Accordion when I was little and it was very painful experience for me and for my mom

Do you have any suggestions for instruments that would be easy to get started with?

[rubber soul]

Kazoo

[LawryPopson]

Originally Posted by rubber soul

Kazoo

Yeah it would probably be challenging enough for me.
That or the triangle.

[Queen Boo]

Depends on what you're struggling with the most. I suck at playing chords which is why I gave up on guitar and took up bass, I'm no good at it but that's because I'm too lazy to practice more than anything else.

If you get past all the technical stuff I think a good quality synthesizer would be very easy to learn how to play in a style that suits you because of how versatile synths are. Unfortunately good synths are expensive as all f*ck, best option there would be getting one of those MIDI keyboards that can play different kinds of software, they're relatively cheap, though I really don't know how that stuff works. I've been wanting a synthesizer for years but they're not easy to come by.

[rostasi]

[Queen Boo]

I love the sound of that prehistoric analog sh*t but the great thing about digital synths is you don't have to take an electrical engineering class to learn how to use them.

[Guybrush]

I've tried my hand at a few instruments and imo, what makes a instrument easy to practice on, in general, are a couple of thangs.

Availability - I find it's easier to practice when the instrument doesn't need much or anything in terms of preparation. Just sit down or pick up. An acoustic guitar is easy, an electric maybe less so unless you always have it rigged and ready to go. I like to be able to pick up something and play, if only for a minute.

Versatility - in terms of melodic/chromatic instruments, those that can play single notes as well as chords are more fun, I think. And if you don't use your breath, you can also sing.

Ease of playing - I prefer easier instruments, so a melodica is more fun to me than a concertina, although they can sound kinda similar.

Some instruments that I think are fun are piano, guitar and drums. Piano is probably the best for me. It sounds beautiful and is a great tool for learning notes and theory. Just buy some note stickers and put on the keys and put a print-out of the circle of fifths to go on the sheet stand. It's also easy to be creative with a piano, so it's a great songwriting tool.

I would generally recommend electric pianos at a medium price range. You can hook them up to piano learning apps and they don't go out of tune. You can record your playing or write midi arrangements and have your piano play it. They can also sound better than most uprights you'll stumble across. I have a Yamaha CLP 635 and absolutely love it.

Guitar is also fun, but a little less easy and versatile. Drums in particular feels like you're just unlocking completely new abilities in your brain when you're first learning.

Less fun include recorders, concertina or violin that really loudly screeches in your ear with this reedy tone. I kinda like recorders and have a few around the house, but I seldom play them for longer than a minute or two.

Most boring I've tried is flute. You can only play single notes and obviously can't sing along. Getting clean sounds at the bottom notes or higher octave can be demanding in terms of technique and as a beginner, you can actually get very dizzy/unwell quickly from a lack of oxygen (requires a lot of breath). If I need flute, I will hire a flautist and am thankful they exist because the instrument can sound absolutely gorgeous.

[Queen Boo]

Originally Posted by Guybrush

Most boring I've tried is flute. You can only play single notes and obviously can't sing along.

You CAN make silly noises between notes like Ian Anderson does though.

[Guybrush]

Originally Posted by Queen Boo

You CAN make silly noises between notes like Ian Anderson does though.

Yes! Ian Anderson was of course one of the reasons I wanted to learn flute in the first place

But the guy who REALLY made me want to learn the flute was the more unknown Jimmy Hastings who provided flute to most things Canterbury, like his wonderful solo after the 3 minute mark on National Health's Binoculars <3

[indigomusic]

drums