Instrument for the musically challeneged?

Question

Title says it all.

I grew up playing Cello.
I have tried to learn Bass and Guitar.

I have enlisted proper instructors for all endeavours. I put in an hour plus per day of practice. I give them all a good amount of time.

No real luck. I have considered piano, but I think this is going to be another lessons in failure.

It seems my problem is a) I am tonedeaf to an extent. b) I live in a townhouse, so noise is a concern.

Suggestions?

Answer 1

Frankly, I've never heard of a tone-deaf musician -- one needs to be able to differentiate pitches in order to know whether or not they are on pitch. You might seek out the services of a musicologist who specializes in treating tone deafness -- I've heard it CAN be overcome.

But if you enjoy playing one of the instruments, then continue enjoying it. As to whether you should play in public, have a reputable teacher listen and evaluate. And just about any instrument is going to bug the neighbors in an apartment/townhouse set-up. Last year I had a rental house agreement fall through, so I was forced to get an apartment -- since my primary instrument is voice [operatic/classical], I had to negotiate with a couple of churches and schools to rent space to work on music [including vocalizing]. However, for piano work I have a digital Yamaha, so volume can of course be turned way down.

Answer 2

If you're really tonedeaf, you'll have problems no matter what you do. I don't think you can learn not to be tonedeaf (take American Idol auditions, for instance - there are people there who say they've been singing/taking lessons for years, and they're still out of key). But you might not be that bad. I'm sure there are online tests to see if you are somewhere.

I like piano, personally. I think it's one of the easiest instruments to just fool around on for fun. You could get an electric one with headphones, so you won't disturb the neighbors.

Answer 3

You need an instructor who knows how to play the cello, but teaches the instrument you want to learn.

I recommend the modern guitar because of its similarities to the cello, and NOT a classical guitar (12-string). You should take your lessons in the teacher's classroom or studio so you don't disturb your neighbors. You should practice on either an acoustic guitar, as demonstrated on TV by "Estaban" or an electronic guitar with earphones. Estaban also has a website where he sells his guitars and lessons. Try Google "Estaban guitar" If you get an instructor, ask if using a "pitch pipe" will help you learn. It's a simple device for producing a pitch selected from several.

Also, stop listening to loud music: it deadens your hearing.

Answer 4

I agreed with the guy who said drums since you only need rhythm and not tonality per se but as you said noise is an issue, I would suggest harmonica. Cheap, easy and fun to play. You can bring it with you to parties, jam with other musicians and since there are only 10 holes (we'll let's not get into the other harmonicas out there with more holes but...) it should be a simple matter of counting. I hope you can count!

Try a harp (harmonica) in the key of C and learn simple songs first. Move to something more bluesy and you'll be having a ball in no time. If it takes you more than about 10 minutes to learn, please write to me and I'll help you out!

As for piano - I've been playing it for 35 years and I would have to say you are correct in that it requires a bit of coordination to learn and they ain't cheap so I'd say skip it for now...

Answer 5

I play cello as well and it is no easy task to play something and be completely satisfied with it.

If you have shown enough talent to even learn how play any of the instruments you mentioned then you're obviously not that bad of a musician.

I think you need to make sure the expectations you set for yourself are not too high and make sure you're playing something because you love it and it fills you with emotion and energy. Don't play something just because you're good.

I suck at singing but I still do it because I think its fun - just not in public ;)

Im sure you'll find something - you sound too dedicated not to.

Good luck!

Answer 6

I recommend the triangle. But in all seriousness, if you enjoy playing an instrument and have a passion for music, I can't tell you how much I HIGHLY, HIGHLY encourage you to keep at it. I know it can be really frustrating, and many people aren't born with perfect pitch. You just have to keep at it and practice -- buy a tuner and practice training your ears. An awesome website I recommend is Big Ears.com. It's an ear training website. Good luck!!

http://www.bigears.com/

Answer 7

I would say sax cause once you figure out the notes and patterns its pretty straight forward but the town house part is what gets in the way

Answer 8

Try a kazoo. You can have your hearing checked and determine what you can hear. That might help. Music is about expressing yourself. It's about having fun, rejoicing, crying, mourning, expression. Unless you want a career in music, don't worry about it. Enjoy it.

Answer 9

Consider this: Beetoven was deaf, but he still played awesome music. If you simply cannot play, try drums.

Answer 10

CD player