Which is the hardest musical instrument to play?

Question

I already know how to play piano. I actually think guitar is harder because I've tried twice and I still can't remember the chords.

Answer 1

According to the Guinness World Book of Records, the French Horn (followed by the Oboe) is the hardest instrument to play.
Piano is one of the most important instruments in the world. It's an instrument that any true musician should at least know the basics of. I don't know how to play the piano. (Or at least well enough), yet I do play the guitar.
When you speak of guitar, what type of guitar do you mean, classical or electric? Believe it or not there is a big difference between the two of them. I play classical guitar and am fond of its basic studies by some of the greatest composers in music history (Fernando Sor, Carcassi, Mauro Guiliani, and J.S. Bach). I don't find the guitar to be a difficult instrument, yet I do know the chords b/c I can't seem to memorize them well. I'm more of the note player. I play the melody rather than accompany it. Why don't you try that instead? Good luck!
P.S.
I play the guitar, the flute, and the oboe. And by far the wind instruments are more complicated. Playing double reed instruments are hard (and expensive...) Yet the flute requires a great deal of technical experience. The guitar, I believe is much easier. Why don't you try learning as many instruments as you can!

Answer 2

In response to what xXxKiraraxXx wrote, the bassoon can actually cover almost 4 octaves, especially if a low A extension is added. Also, since when can you get a playable reed for any less that $8? Finally, the standard German system has only 17 keys (but a few more holes). Out of the instruments I play, I would put the in order like thins (1=most difficult)
1. Guitar (v. hard to progress and become a really good player)

2. Violin (OMG OMG THE TUNING DRIVES ME MAD!!!)

3. Percussion (JESUS WILL PEOPLE STOP SAYING ITS EASY!!! You have to count bars for 10 mins and come in with the most noticable instrument at exactly the right time at the right dynamic or the conductor stops the whole orchestra to shout at you. If you don't think it is technically difficult just watch the percussion final of BBC Young musician (one of my friends was on it!))

4. Bassoon (Most people overestimate the difficulty just because very few people play it. I got to grade 6 in 6 months without having played a wind instrument before)

5. Piano (anyone can bang on it, although actually it takes something special to create the near perfect tone you aim for-yes you can change your tone on a piano, just not as obviously as with other instruments)

THEY ARE ALL DIFFICULT IN THEIR OWN WAY!

Answer 3

Some people have mouths that will accommodate things like the bassoon or the french horn etc.. where others do not. Generally speaking the violin is considered to be extremely difficult because you must memorize eight different positions in which your hand plays, and they are all different. You do not have frets to tell you where your hand goes either. You must move or 'slide' your hand up the neck to the right spot. Also you must hold the bow exactly right as well as everything else or you will not make the correct sounds, where as the wood winds do not require this level of skill to become a advanced player. Not ot mention the violin has 3 or 4 books that are eight inches thick to learn and memorize where woodwinds on have on or two that are not even a sixteenth of an inch thick! Somethings could be hard for me, but not for you. It really depends on the person, but violin is generally considered difficult.

Answer 4

I've always considered the guitar easier than the piano--once you learn the chords, you're set, as the shapes of them don't change from key to key, whereas on a piano, you have to learn different fingerings and note positions depending upon which key you're in.

As for the most difficult instrument, I'd definitely give it to a reed instrument (the oboe and the bassoon are excellent examples from the above answer)--it takes an insane amount of practice (and pain, I hear) to get a consistent sound out of reed instruments.

~Scottie

Answer 5

Well, personally I picked to play the oboe in orchestra because it's one of the hardest instruments and it's challenging.

My brother chose to play the bassoon, which is probably the hardest one of all, even more than the oboe.

I think the bassoon, oboe, and violin are the hardest, while the flute, saxophone, and clarinet are among the easiest.

Don't be turned off of the harder instruments; they may be challenging, but they are rewarding too (and beautiful).

Answer 6

haven't we've been thru this several times in the past month .... piano is difficult but the orchestral strings are harder the precision has to be more precise than a piano and the double reeds are a nightmare to learn (hardest) ..... a hard time on guitar??? you just didn't practice DAILY that is after all a requirement for any new instrument

Answer 7

Well, if you cant play a guitar you definitely cant play the bassoon & the oboe.

bassoons have around 29 keys [differs in every bassoon] and has usually 3 octaves. it can go from very low [bass] to an annoying high pitch [not as bad as the piccolo]. A bassoon is about 1.4m tall and it supported by a strap. it's a double reed instrument lyk an oboe. a reed is a piece of wood that is secured in the mouth piece of wind instruments lyk clarinets and saxophones. a double reed is basically 2 pieces of wood that's stuck together flat at one end and round at the other end, and stuck into a tube in the bassoon or oboe.

the oboe is a freakishly high note instrument, lyk the flute's range, but it sounds lyk a clarinet. the fingerings are just about as confusing as the bassoon's, and the reed is much smaller than a bassoon's, making your face turn red when playing and look as if it's going to explode anytime. the double reed has a piece of cork stuck to it's end thus it is inserted into the instrument unlike which of a bassoon that is connected to a tube protruding from the instrument. it is MUCH smaller than a bassoon, which is like a super large redwood U-bend, and it looks like a mix-breed between a clarinet and flute.

Double reeds are hard to maintain and costs a hefty much too.
a normal reed costs about S$1-S$2 each. however, a double reed may cost around S$25-S$30+.

Answer 8

I'm guessing a woodwind insturment... although who knows. Each insturment has good and bad things about it. I suppose woodwinds might be easier because they probably stay in one clef the entire time, but then again you have to remember hand positions. I suppose from an outsider's POV harp would be hard... I dunno. I play the harp and I guess I got used to certain things, like position in general (elbows, hands, shoulder, feet etc). But the harp is more like a piano on its side, plus you don't have to remember how to play notes in a certain key, like in the key of G you just move the F pedal and all the f's go sharp so there's no worries. Plus the strings are color-coded. Red C's, blue/black F's.

Answer 9

Piano is a lot harder to play than guitar.

I play (in no particular order) guitar (both acoustic and electric), bass-guitar, drums, and synth keyboard.

I've never learned how to play classical guitar. I'm mainly a rock guitarist (especially when it comes to playing hard rock and heavy metal). But I can also play some blues and country, although I'm not very good at playing those 2 styles.

Answer 10

Piano is the hardest, hands down, in so far as playing top the highest levels. It is not the hardest to play some chords on and singing along, and the guitar chords are easy too, once learned. I play both, and the cello, and have some wind expertise.

The piano requires great technical mastery for two hands at the highest levels, with all sorts of difficult acrobatics. The violin is smaller, and only one hand has to finger notes, while the bowing, though complex at times, is not nearly as difficult as two hand mastery like a piano over several feet width.